BM : Roadmasters - "Dying of The Light..."

by Stephen R Sobotka

Based on the BW/BM RPG: Follow a former Villian into Hell and back. Will he survive?

Beast Machines : Roadmasters

"The Dying of The Light" - by Stephen R. Sobotka, Jr.

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Disclaimer : This story is based on situations & characters from the animated series "Beast Machines : Transformers". It was produced to entertain fans of the original show, and is in no way, shape or form intended to be published for monetary gain. Please do not sue.

Certain characters within are property of Hasbro Inc. and appear here without acknowledgment or consent of same. The characters of Ironhorse, Blancwulf, Pantera, Inaurai, Baretta, Stormrave, Braddore and others too numerous to mention are owned by their specific creators from the Beast Wars/Beast Machines Online RPG Forum. All other characters – chiefly Maximum Prime, Alegra, Rav, Halftrak, Sabre, Darter and Rampage II are the rightful property of the author, and are protected by copyright law.

Author's Note : This is a story that grew out of a little brainstorming between myself and Amy K. Cyrway, concerning a little twist to the canon character from Transformers named... well, I'd spoil it by saying his name now. Suffice to say, this grew into a great art session from Amy (Thanks Ace!), and some cool art of my characters, which are now posted on my own Beast Machines fansite. I'll be posting the URL in the future.

For now, sit back and enjoy the story! :)


###


~ The Lower Factory Levels, Rubicon Base, Present Time Cycle ~

Heat.

Throughout his long existence, Starscream had become quite familiar with heat. The universe held a myriad palette of heat; thermal waves from solar energy. Radiant heat from nuclear fission. Intense heat at the heart of a birthing star. and the cold heat from the barrel of a laser gun. From scores, scorching, backblasts, burns, scorings and other assorted battle trauma... even the heated stares from Megatron on down to Rumble, or the cool fire from... someone... oh, yes. Heat was no stranger to Starscream.

But the one heat that Starscream felt certain he would never miss, was the kind of heat around him at that moment; infernal, oppressive DAMNING heat from nearly a double score of metal processors sitting in the semi-light around him. Processors that smelted amalgamations of raw ore, crystal and chemicals into a lake of liquid metal. Metal itself that went to feed the massive machines that ran seemingly endlessly in the heart of the factory above. The factory of Rubicon Base; stronghold of the New Decepticon Order.

Moving stiffly between the rows, hampered mostly by the heat and the discipline harness he wore, he used a dilapidated scrubber to clean the accumulated grime off of the readout gauges on the sides of the processors. A dirty job, considering that as soon as one set of gauges were cleaned, by the time the next set was started on, a new coating of gunk quickly formed on the first set.

Any normal operation would have had dozens of worker drones down here, working round the clock to keep this place clean. But, this was far from any _normal_ factory operation.

Just then, a heavy load of ore rattled down from an overhead hopper, landing with a resounding SPLASH into the processor directly above him. A wave of chemical slop washed over the side, raining down like hot blobs of acid rain. A few made contact with Starscream's ragged wing-struts, hissing and sputtering as they ate away a few primaries. Too tired to even register the pain, the former Air Commander plodded along towards the next cluster of readouts.

Truth be told, all of the worker drones were all present in the _upper_ levels; working to build an endless stream of Seeker, Tank and Hover Drones... which, by default and the circumstances currently prevailing, left the slop-and-mop jobs to Starscream. In fact, it seemed like nearly every job that dealt with cleaning, scraping, scrubbing or polishing... it fell to the one and only Maximal in a Decepticon Factory.
Setting the scrubber noisily against the first of the next set of gauges, Starscream's frazzle synapses rolled over that thought... him, a Maximal. Eons ago, he'd have ripped out someone's coolant hoses if they'd told him he'd renounce the Decepticon name. But now, after seeing - and experiencing - what his kind were capable of...

Arriving at the next cluster, he slowly lifted his tool and planted the head heavily against the face of the nearest dial. Thumbing the starter, he braced himself as the scubber coughed and rumbled to life. Spooling up, the rotating head quickly became a blunt-bristled dervice, flinging flecks of brownish-brackish muck outwards in uneven fan. This spray quickly coated the build-up of muck encrusted on the scrubber handle and Starscreams unprotected hands. No longer blue, it was hard to tell where the brine ended and his metal began.

Blinking against the backwash, his eyes were dull and colored a lackluster red. A sorry sight from head to toe-claws, no one would have ever recognized this poor, wretched creature as one of the supreme warriors of the Decepticon Battle Fleet of old...

However, for most of the beings that lived in Rubicon Base, they didn't need much to know who he was.

"Starscream!"

Slowly, the scrubber ground to a halt. Lifting his head, Starscream peered up at one of the catwalks that hovered above the moving gantries and automated mechanisms. Standing there with an air of superiority was one of the people that made the past hundred solar cycles literal hell for him; the current Air Commander of the New Decepticon Order.

"Move your skidplate topside," Tempest snarled. A tall, powerful Neo-Seeker in yellow and blue trim, she looked at Starscream with thinly-disguised disgust before jerking a thumb towards the end of the row. "Hordax wants to see you... personally." The way she added that last word fairly dripped with promised menace.

Dully, Starscream dropped the scrubber, letting it clatter on the grimy floor like the last rattle of a dying Junkion. Wordlessly, he shuffled towards a gap between the processors, where a ladder gantry would allow him to climb upward...

Back into the light of the 'World above...

###

~ The Command Tower, Rubicon Base, Present Time Cycle ~

From the front of the room, leaning against the doorway with an almost insolent stance, the SOC of the Neo Decepticon Ground Forces blinked twice, then grinned snidely before straightening up. "Hey, Bossbot! Commander Tempest is ba-ack! An' she's got th' varmit with her!"

At that, nearly every head in the command chamber turned to face the doorway... save one.

"Good, Lieutenant... the one thing you can always count on; Commander Tempest's adherence to punctuality." Pausing to idly rub a smudge off of his command panel, the leader added, "Places!"

All of the Decepticons moved to form two lines, leading from the doorway to where the main command panel sat. Amid the shuffling, smirks and snide whispers were traded. It wouldn't be long now...

"What do you think's gonna happen to the 'Air Commander' now?" asked Warscream, looking up to the current Decepticon spymaster.

"[Fate... undetermined,]" Soundwave replied, his faceplate blank from emotion, even while his eyes glittered with satisfaction.

"That's for our leader to decide," Komet said tonelessly. The smaller Neo-Seeker didn't care one iota herself about what was going to happen. It was just one more thing to finish before the end of another solar cycle.

"Well, Ah can tell you one thang, Partners," the Ground Force Officer smirked, "Ah wouldn't want t'be in HIS treads right now! Nope! Not f'r all th' energon in th' Galaxy!"

Just then, Starscream dragged himself through the doorway, followed closely behind by Tempest - who was doing her level best not to just reach out and haul his pitiful carcass the rest of the way. As he limped up the aisle, he could feel the stares from each and every Decepticon on both sides of him; from Komet to Soundwave, to Bombshell to Thundercracker... each one of them had at one time or another suffered under his wrath or command in the past. Now, he was the object to scorn; the fallen warrior who deserved no more consideration than a squashed fleshling under their feet.

At last, he staggered to a halt before the last one at the head of the twin rows. Shoulders slumped, he waited for Tempest to formerly announce to her leader... that the 'prisoner' was there.

"Commander," she said at last in a crisp tone that quickly slid into disgust, "I have brought... Starscream up from the pits, for your... decision, sir."

At that, the tall black and red Decepticon turned on the ball of his left foot, towering over Starscream like some ebony and crimson god. With a slow smile, the leader regarded the bedraggled Maximal before him.

"Greetings, Starscream," Force Commander Hordax said at length, his words like slow, rich oil over gears. "Welcome, to your day of decision... and believe me, this has been a day I have looked forward to so very, very much!"

Starscream said nothing.

Hordax chuckled. "What? Nothing to say in return?" Stepping forward, the larger Decepticon began to circle his victim, walking around with a slow, measured tread. "No cutting remarks... no promises of revenge... not even a scream of defiance." Coming to a stop, he nodded. "No. That's not to be expected of you now, is it 'Air Commander'? And that's how it is..."

Again, Starscream held his tongue. It was now sheer instinct that prevented him from replying... repeated use of his discipline harness had taught him that lesson.

Turning to face the rest of his forces, Hordax smiled broadly. "Fellow Decepticons... this is a momentous day, indeed! For centuries uncounted, we've had to deal with the misfortune and suffrage of one of our... former comrades, who simply did not know his place in the order of the universe." Waving one hand, he brought the abused Maximal to their full attention. "Starscream... pride of the Battle Fleet! Always plotting, scheming, dreaming dreams of grandeur. Hoping that one day he would lead the Decepticons to conquest and glory.

"But, not any more," Hordax finished with a grim, dark look. "Not after I managed to do what no one, not even Megatron, could do..." Stepping in close to Starscream, he leaned down until his head was next to the barely-cognizant gyrfalcon. "I've _broken_ you! Trapped you and placed you where none of your machinations and tricks could help you. Worked your extremities to failure-point. Put where you have no allies, no failsafes... no friends!" Hissing out the last syllable, Hordax chuckled and straightened up. "BROKEN! The once and former Starscream... now nothing more than that which he hated the most; a weak, pitiless, and impotent flesh-covered creature. And all Decepticons can relax in the knowledge that he will never threaten our superiority, ever, again!"

A short cheer went up from Hordax forces, followed by a question from Tempest: "What is to become of... him, now that his 'sentence' is over, sir?"

Hordax affected a mock look of contemplation. "Yes... what is to become of such a creature? After nearly two-hundred solar cycles under my... 'protection', and voluntary 'service', one should consider its fate."

Starscream said nothing. He knew what was to come.

"Slag 'em! Just vape th' varmit an' get it over with!

"[Suggestion seconded.]"

"No! Drop it in the the refinery and smelt it down," Warscream suggested. "Make him into a metal floormat. Now that's poetic justice for ya!"

Hordax held up one hand, and the rabble fell into silence. "No... such a thing as this doesn't qualify for the honorable death of a weapon, nor such an ignoble sentence as the smelter. As a Maximal, it does not even require our respect or attention in that matter... like so much garbage under our feet." With a wicked grin, the Decepticon leader nodded to himself. "As such, all garbage ends up in one place. Air Commander Tempest!"

Tempest snapped to attention. "Yes, Commander?"

"Detail someone to take... this..." he ordered, flicking an absent gesture at the wretch before him, "and throw him down the sludge pipe! Then return at once. We have a raid against Megatron's forces to deal with."

Tempest saluted. "My pleasure, Commander." Reaching down, she snagged the back of Starscream's torso, hauling him into the air as she turned to face the others. Sweeping her eyes down the double row of her fellows, she came to a stop on a familiar face. "Komet... deal with this, as Hordax commands." With a grimace, she tossed Starscream away, watching as he clattered to the floor, coming to a stop in a disjointed pile.

Expressionlessly, Komet reached down and snagged on of Starscream's legs. Without another word, she began dragging him towards the door and out towards a lift platform.

"Well, there goes Starscream!" The Ground Force Officer chirped, giving the Maximal a mock wave of parting. "So long, varmit! Have fun rottin' away in th' Pit, y'hear!"

"That's enough, Quickstrike!" Tempest scowled at the smaller Decepticon. "Get your gears in alignment. We have a raid to plan, so pay attention!"

Those were the last words Starscream heard from his former comrade - one he might have called 'sister' - before the doors to the command center closed behind him with a hollow CLANG!

###

Back in the lower levels, away from where the smelters and processors ran, sat the Refuse Processing Area; a maze of troughs, pipes and tanks, all used to draw away the sludge and muck that was the by-product of a heavy industrial plant. Amid damaged and partially-working lighting, a few slop-drones kept the flow of sludge moving, where it ended up being sucked into pipes as large as ship hawsers. These pipes sent the sludge moving away from the factory... to be dumped somewhere on the surface of Cybertron.

It's here that Komet brought Starscream, to dispose of him.

If one thing could be said about Komet, it's the fact that she showed no emotions at all. She was as dedicated to the New Decepticon Order as the rest of Hordax's forces - a open dedication that had been won through Hordax's work and rewards for their loyal service - but she showed no glee or relish, no remorse or guilt.

Walking to the end of a gantry that opened out over the largest of the sludge-pools, Komet took a moment to regard the brackish, scumy fluids below, before she turned back to haul Starscream up to the edge.

"End of the line, Maximal," she announced, her dead voice cutting through Starscream's haze. "If I cared, I'd gloat over this like certain others would. However, this is just one task like any other to me." She hefted him over head, pausing to get her balance just right. "Farewell, Starscream." With that, she lobbed him out into the pit, watching dispassionately as his dirty, mangled form tumbled end over end before smacking into the surface of the sludge with a dull splash!

Breaking through, his body sank out of sight for several nano-clicks... then, like some morbid buoy, it floated back into view, just in time for Komet to witness it getting sucked into one of the large drainage hawsers to disappear for good.

Without another gesture, Komet activated her comm-link. "Komet to Hordax."

"Go ahead, Agent Komet," came the reply.

"The Maximal has been disposed of," she reported. "Returning to the command center for further orders." Snapping the communicator off, she turned on her heel and stalked away into the darkness...

###


~ The Plain Outside Rubicon Base, Present Time Cycle ~

For the umpteenth time, the grizzled, tiger-faced soldier muttered under his breath, his eyes fixed on the massive fortress that was Rubicon through a pair of modified binocs. "Slaggit... this is not the way I wanted to spend my retirement years!"

Set up in a shielded 'blind some distance away from the Decepticon base, Halftrak pulled away from the viewer to rotate his neck, hissing slightly when a ripple of pops sounded off. Erected well out of sensor range, the Maximal 'blind was situated on a short plateau, surrounded on either side by tall metal struts - the remnants of a old building of some kind. To the rear, the plateau sloped away into a small canyon, which feed into a point that connected to the underground; the hidden roadways of Cybertron.

Fitting his face to the viewer again, the Roadmaster elder grimaced at what he saw. Rubicon used to be just another manufacturing plant - one of hundreds that sat all over the surface of the planet. Now, thanks to Hordax and his newly reborn Decepticon forces, it was a virtually impregnable stronghold. High walls protected its loading areas and the main courtyard. Drones of varying type and model patrolled its perimeter and airspace. Defensive grids, loaded with weapons and other 'goodies' of warfare bristled out like spines on a narkfish.

In short, Rubicon was looked as easy to crack as an old earth coconut... especially if you didn't have a nutcracker!

Sighing, Halftrak turned to look just behind him. Lying on the ground were his replacements, Maximum Prime, his leader, and the young Maximal's mate, Rav. Both were in beast mode, their feline bodies snuggled together like a well-connected socket plug. However, where Max's face was covered in the blank look of sleep, Rav's face twitched and grimaced with barely contained worry.

"Poor kid," Halftrak mumbled to himself. "This mission's been hell on her... yet you couldn't talk her out of it, not for all the sparks we've yet to save on this mixed up planet."

The mission had been one none of the other Maximals had been keen to allow: watch Rubicon Base, and find a means to get in undetected. The purpose for such a mission? To rescue someone Rav felt for certain they could save... even though some of the more hard-liners of the Maximals claimed it was a fool's quest to even allow it to be attempted. But Rav had argued most eloquently to have it approved by the current Maximal Ruling Council, since she felt it was needed - no, owed - and there was little anyone could do to sway her.

In the end, the active members of the current leadership council - Ironhorse, Optimus Primal and Max -agreed to allow the mission to proceed. Rav needed volunteers to man the 'blind, and Max and Halftrak both agreed to help. Max, due to the fact she was his mate, and that he always helped her in her endeavors; 'Trak... well, he'd officially stated that he knew how most Decepticons operated, so his experience would be invaluable. But, deep inside he had another reason...

Just then, Max lifted himself from his curled up position and yawned mightily. Shaking himself, he spoke softly to Halftrak, "Anything change?"

The old soldier replied, "Negative... nothing's changed from yesterday when I first came on watch. That Hordax... he's learned from our time spent on Midiara! I've looked and I can't find any of the usual weak points in that fortress of his."

Padding up to where Halftrak crouched before the viewer, Max made another yawn and smacked his lips. "Well... he has to have a weak link in his defensive chain. It's bound to reveal itself sooner or later."

"You know," Halftrak grumbled, "we need to start preparing for an all-out attack from Hordax. He said he'd come back for us soon enought."

Max shook his head. "We're doing what we can back at Iacon, old soldier. The main thing that's worked for us so far where Hordax is concerned is that he's focused all of his energy on battling Megatron and his Vehicons. He doesn't consider us Maximals to be much of a threat just now."

Snorting, Halftrak growled, "Taking out the greater evil, before he gets to us! Blast it, Prime... we never should have agreed to bring that carpet-slagger back to Cybertron to stand trial!"

Stretching, Max said, "I thought we'd decided the right course of action at that time, old friend... besides, we're slowly rebuilding our own forces. Eventually, when either one of them has gained victory, we'll have enough strength to deal with them before they can rest and regroup."

"Nice though that," Halftrak grunted. "Nice enough to be a pipe dream." Sighing, he leaned back and cracked his neck again. "Primus! I'm getting too old for this!"

Max chuckled. "Then go back to base, old soldier. Rav and I have the next watch. You deserve a break."

"Yeah," Halftrak yawned, reverting to beast mode as he did. "Rest, some down time in the Repair Pods, and a tall mug of energon cider... now that's my idea of a break!" Looking back at the base, Halftrak queried, "You going to be okay out here, Prime?"

"Sure, everything should be a-okay," Max replied, shifting into place before the viewer. "Nothing's gone wrong so far."

"no... no..."

"What!?" Both males turned, looking at Rav's form lying on the ground. Max moved back to his love's side, peering at her twitching form. "Rav? Rav!? Can you hear me??"

"What's wrong with her, Max?" Halftrak looked at the Roadmaster femme with worry. "She's having a dream?"

"Feels more like a nightmare," Max shot back. "Rav?! Wake up!"

Suddenly, the snow leopardess bolted upright, her eyes wide with stark and sudden fear. Lurching to her feet, she reverted to robot-mode so quickly it surprised the both of her companions, leaving them to stare at her as she fixed her gaze on the factory in the distance. "No... Primus! We've got to move!" Stooping down, she snatched a portable medi-kit and a arm-mounted searchlight, before turning around and bolting from the 'blind.

"Rav!? What's going on!?" Max swore under his breath, taking a quick moment to transform into robot-mode himself.

"What'yer doin', Max?!?" snapped Halftrak. "You want to get us spotted!?"

Max grabbed a searchlight of his own, as well as one of the light-plasma rifles that they'd salvaged from the wreckage of their ship. "If we get spotted, we can always fade into the underground," he replied, quickly performing a self-test on the weapon. "Besides, something's got her spooked, and I'm not just going to let her go off alone!"

As Max turned to exit the 'blind, Halftrak gawked at the young leader, then snarled in exasperation, "Are you two crazy!?! We're in the middle of... blast it!!!" With a leap, the older Maximal started down the slope after the two younger ones, who were just about to enter a large pipe that connected to the underground. By the time he caught up with them, the medic and her mate were sounding like two mad fishwives, tearing nails out of each other.

"How can you be so certain!?" Max argued, glaring down at the smaller female. "You still haven't explained how come you've suddenly become his defender--!"

"And I don't have too," Rav bristled, scowling at her mate with her eyes flashing. "At least... not now. I'm not even sure HOW to explain it. All I can say is I _know_ Starscream's no longer inside the base, and unless we can track him, he could die!"

Halftrak panted, "Check your memory chips, kid! Starscream has an indestructible spark... he can't die!"

Rav glared at the elder with such a look of scorn that he suddenly felt that he'd said the wrong thing. Sighing, she got her temper under control. "His spark may be indestructible, but it can still leave his shell! After that, who knows where it will go!?" Making a fist, she added, "I made a promise... to bring him back to the Maximals, if an opportunity presented itself. That was the whole point of this mission... and, by Primus, we've got that chance!" Looking at Max and Halftrak with a resigned expression, she said at last, "I'm going on to find him. Come with me or not, I won't hold it against you."

Both Max and his companion looked at one another. "Rav... we both said we'd take this mission with you, and we're not about to back out now. It's... just that I can't trust the fact that the Decepticons would just let him go."

"Kid, you know that Hordax never did trust Starscream," Halftrak reasoned. "Even back during the Great War, there wasn't a 'Con that would have turned their back on Starscream, if they didn't think he'd cross them!"

"Then don't trust the 'how' of what I know," Rav countered. "Just trust ME. I know he's no longer with Hordax's forces... and his contact with me is growing weaker the longer we stand her and debate this!" Taking a step deeper into the pipe, she looked at her two comrades once more. "Please... trust me! We can't waste any more time!!!"

With a sigh, Max looked to Halftrak once more, before he finally nodded. "All right, love... where do we go from here?"

Rav breathed a sigh of relief, taking only a second to get her bearings. Motioning towards the darkness inside the tunnel, she said, "This way! I can sense him, but it's a weak feeling..." Without another word, she flipped her searchlight on and started to jog away into the black shadows ahead.

With a grunt, Halftrak reverted to robot-mode, taking a second to growl at Max, "Y'know, someday I'd like to get some answers out of her!"

Snapping his own searchlight on, Max snorted, "Be my guest, old friend... I'm still waiting for those answers, and I'm mated to her! Come on. Sooner we help her locate this 'feeling', the sooner we can get back to base and figure out what to do next..."

###

Coming out from the underground, the first thing that hit all three Maximals was the smell; a strong, overpowering, odious stench that seemed to come from the bottom of a slag dump... which, in all truth is exactly where the odor was coming from.

"By the Nine Rings!" Halftrak's tiger-face scrunched up in a feline scowl. "Wheeew! This is worse that the bilge tank back on the Pride!"

Max's own muzzle was equally deformed. "I think this is worse, 'Trak... much worse!"

Looking around, the trio observed a landscape as bleak as some of the dead planets they'd encountered in the past; a pall of greasy, tan and brown smoke hovered overhead, reflected in the misshapen rainbow splotches that covered a multitude of pools, dotting the land like so many dead sockets. Each pool seemed to be filled to overflow with all sorts of chemical waste, half-melted slag and dirty water... and more and more of the sludge continued to emerge from the large, rust-encrusted pipes that emerged from out of the shale slope behind it all.

With a frown, Max hissed, "I don't see how anything could have survived around here."

Rav didn't listen. She was fixed on the landscape, looking every which way as she tried to pick up on their objectives location. Darting her eyes this way and that, she finally stepped cautiously into the clear, mindful of the gunk that seeped over her toes.

Beside her, both Max and 'Trak took up positions on her flanks. "Well... you're call, Rav."

The leopardess finally fixed her sights on a point just off to the right of the tunnel's entrance. Without saying another word, she trudged off into gloom.

Max brought his rifle to bear, nodding to the elder Maximal across from him. "Keep your eyes open. She might be tracking him, but..."

"I know, son," Halftrak rumbled. "Anyone of us might find him... if anything can be found in this... slagheap." Lapsing back into silence, the two males started off after their companion...

###

Something... wet...

Coughing on the toxic grunge that threatened to clog his airpipe, Starscream weakly became aware of the feeling of liquid around his legs. Unable to raise his head more than a micron, he didn't dare attempt to try to see what he was in... although, his frazzled mind could formulate a good guess from the sensory input he was getting; the stench, the dead heat... the slag pits. His final resting place.

He didn't recall much of the journey down the drain... just the sudden rush of air before he plunged head-first into the deep waste. Even though it was futile, a small part of him forced him to keep his eyes and mouth shut as he was pulled under the liquid sludge. Despite this, he still swallowed a good astro-liter of the poisonous muck as he bounced along the pipes, eventually ending up dumped back out onto the open pits at the end of his destination.

Covered from head to talon in waste, most likely dying from the exposure... his Maximal shell wasn't strong enough to withstand such treatment, especially after the solar cycles of torture he'd been through beforehand.

*still,* he told himself, *it's not like i'll have much of a chance to live... after all...* Instead of being angry or bitter, like he would have been had this happened eons ago, Starscream felt himself fall surprisingly calm. *after all... i've died before... so what's the big deal... if i die again?* The odd thing he'd noticed though, after all this time, was that he found a part of him wishing he could have seen Pantera, one last time... Even though she betrayed him by going after that Maximal fishhead, Depth Charge, for a reason he couldn't explain, he felt he had to tell her... he understood.

*ah, Arty... i guess it's just irony... not like... my life wasn't... already like that...*

With that last thought, he felt his conscious self slipping away... enfolding into that deceptively-warm blanket of velvet that he'd felt embracing himself... so very long ago... or wasn't it recently? Either way, the noise of the world around him faded away, just as he could have sworn he heard someone... a distant someone... calling his name...

###

"Starscream!?" Squinting his eyes, Halftrak peered at the far bank of one of the larger slag pits... there! He nearly didn't trust his optics to believe it, but there it was; a flash of crimson and white, nearly lost amid the brown and filth around him. Coming to a stop, he turned to face the others. "RAV! MAX! OVER HERE!!!" Having alerted the others, he quickly scrambled down the sloping hilltop, dislodging solid chunks of matter and half-cooled metal fragments.

Coming over the rise, the other pair of Maximals paused to see what had gotten Halftrak's attention. Rav took one look at where he was headed, and spied the broken form resting half in the pool of muck.

"No... Primus, no! Come on!" Without stopping, she plunged down the hillside at full tilt with Max right behind her. By the time they reached the bottom, Halftrak had already sloshed through the pit to the other side, and was now dragging his discovery back towards them. "'Trak! Bring him over here! There's enough clear space so I can examine him!"

His breath hitching, the elder Maximal shot a glance over his shoulder. "I don't know if it'll help, kid!" But, despite his misgivings, Halftrak did as he was told.

Reaching the 'shore', Max stepped into the sludge himself to help pull the limp form onto dry land. By the time they placed it down on the 'beach', he could tell that they found him... but, Primus! "We may be... too late..."

Kneeling beside them, Rav reached out to wipe the slime of of the smaller Maximal's face. Peeling one eyelid back, she made a cursory scan with her medi-kit. "No... no, we're not too late! He's got sparksign. It's weak, but it's there!" Looking around, she spied a half-burned pipe sticking out of the ground nearby. "Quick, 'Trak! Help me... move him... over there!" Taking hold of the comatose warrior, she started to drag him over to the location, where she and Halftrak propped him up against it's rusted surface.

Leaning back, Halftrak gazed at the bedraggled creature. "Great Primus... look at him! What did that stinkin' pile of waste-carbons do to him!?" He referred to Hordax, of course; snarling under his breath as he watched Rav start to work.

"Whatever it was," Max said, unlimbering his rifle to stand overwatch for his friends, "it's a sure bet Starscream just barely survived it."

Rav grimaced at the readings on her scanner. "High levels of toxins in his organic parts... massive exposure ratios on his electronics... that dunk in the slag didn't help matters either!"

Halftrak hissed through his teeth. "We'd better get him back to base... sticking around here's not going to be good for our health, or his."

Max scanned the smoke-filled sky above him, nodding in agreement. "That sounds like a good idea, old soldier. We can do more--."

"We can't move him!" Rav turned back to look at her leader with a firm countenance. "By the time we got back to Iacon, we'd have a dead-shell... I have to work on him now!"

The two males looked at her in exasperation. "Rav! We're exposed out here! All it would take is one over-observant Vehicon or one of Hordax's long range sweeps, and we're all dead!"

Max crouched down, placing a hand on Rav's shoulder. "Halftrak's right... the longer we stay, the more of a chance we're detected." With a soft look, he asked, "Is he worth such a risk?"

Fire stung Rav's eyes as she shot an accusatory glare at Max. "For me? No... but, there's someone else..." Waving his arm away, she set her jaw before turning the readouts towards Halftrak. "Keep an eye on this... if it goes flatline, then I've failed." Facing Max again, she said, "Watch out for the enemy... I'm going in to see what I can do about the damage."

Both males were concerned. "Are you sure about this?" Halftrak asked, worry clouding his feline features. "Believe me, I don't want to see Junior here pass on no more than you do..."

Rav turned away from Max, taking hold of one of Starscream's limp hands. "As sure as I have a spark, old timer."

At that, Max sighed and rose back to his feet, ratcheting the action on his rifle. "Stay with her, old friend. I've got you all covered." With a last look to Rav, he moved away to climb back up the slope; his claws digging into the rancid earth to propel him back to the top.

With a resigned puff of air, Halftrak watched his young leader go, then he faced Rav with a firm nod. "I've got a handle on this here. Just get in there and see what's what, okay" With a slight, sad smile, he placed a hand on her forearm to give her a gentle squeeze. "And be careful, you hear?"

Rav's features fell into a small smile. "Aren't I always?" Sighing heavily, she turned back to face Starscream. His head had lolled to one side, his eyes still closed... no external signs of life from his battered body showing.

"Okay," Rav said softly, squeezing Starscreams hand as if to give him reassurance. "Here we go..." With that, she raised her free hand to place it just a few centimeters in front of the comatose Maximal's face. Closing her eyes, she concentrated all of her will... focusing on the strange-but-powerful healing 'force' that the Oracle had given her. She'd never full understood how she knew what to do with this ability... it wasn't something that came to the logical, conscious part of her mind. Somehow, she just thought... concentrated... then, as if her mind was filling up with un-thought - no cognizant patterns or memories - and the 'force' did all the rest.

Right now... that force was reaching out into Starscream's body; seeking the fluttering, shivering point of light that was his own spark. Closer and closer, she could feel the glow in her head, reaching out to take charge of things and make it all like new again.

But then energy and spark connected. And the next thing Rav felt was a wrenching sensation, all the way down to her core being...

###

~ Netherspace ~

Opening her eyes, Rav's first view was that of a barren corridor... its gleaming metal walls were covered with blast marks and smudges, scrapes and craters. Stretching out before her, the hall seemed to go on and on, ad infinitum...

Glancing down at herself, she noted the seemingly-luminescent shine in her own body. Recognizing her state, she quickly fought down a swell of panic; she was in Starscream's mind!

"Great... now, I have to find his spark," she told herself. Turning around, she noticed the hallway extended far behind her as well. "I don't have much time... make a choice, Rav!" Facing forward and back, several times in succession, she finally faced forward again. "Well, in like Flint... better just go." With that said, she started walking down the corridor, her footsteps echoing in the brilliant air around her.

#

A short while later - after moving through a segment of half-melted, twisted space that had to be damaged memory chips, and dealing with some creatures that looked like half-formed parodies of several legendary Transformers - Rav exited another tunnel, coming into a room that looked like... well, nothing she'd ever seen before. Mostly due to the fact that it literally WAS nothing: no floor, no ceiling, nothing. Just black, empty space for as far as her optics could penetrate.

"Primus," she whispered aloud. "What in the galaxy is this supposed to represent?"

"Nothing." A voice echoed from all around. "Just what it's supposed to be... absolutely nothing."

Rav's ears pricked upwards. Even as distorted as it was from the echos, there was no mistaking who the voice belonged to. "Starscream. Where are you?"

"What does it matter? If I were you," the voice cautioned, "I'd leave this place. Now."

Rav looked down from where the end of the tunnel left off. Hesitating, she gingerly put one foot out into the blackness, not knowing if she'd be swallowed up, or if she'd start falling. To her surprise and relief, her toes touched something solid; like the surface of a walkway or sidewalk. Pressing down with her weight, she checked to make sure she wouldn't go tumbling after all. Then, with more confidence she, stepped out fully onto the invisible surface.

"I can't do that, Starscream," she said at length, peering around for some sign of his presence. "We found your body... in the slag pit. I'm trying to get it repaired so we can get you back to Iacon."

"How noble," Starscream's voice replied. "But, then again I shouldn't expect less of an Autobot... always ready to save a weakling from ultimate peril."

Rav scrunched up her face. "I'm a Maximal now... and I'd do this for anyone that needed help! We've been waiting for ages to find a way to get to you." Taking a few tenative steps forward, Rav tried to see how far the walkway extended before her.

"Well, thanks for clarifying your purpose in life." A touch of his old sarcasm returned in his reply. "But, you're wasting your energy and time."

"I think I should be the judge of that, Starscream," Rav replied, stepping forward a few more paces.

"As usual, you always assume that YOU have to decide what's best for someone," Starscream chuckled acidly. "I should just force you out... but, let me show you what you're up against, shall we?"

All of a sudden, something unseen siezed hold of Rav, immobilizing her like a fly-bot trapped in fossilized mech-fluid. There was a sensation of fast, forward motion... then, a sudden flare of light...

#

When she found the courage to open her eyes, Rav found herself on a large, flat platform, floating in a stary-space.

"Welcome, Maximal... to my darkest hour."

Turning around, the snow leopardess nearly blanched at what she saw; Starscream's head, the size of Unicron!

"Quite a sight, aren't I?" The head gloated. "I always wanted to be as big as the cosmos... mostly in stature and power. Ambitions didn't ride too low for me at one time."

Swallowing her initial reaction, Rav asked, "How... how did you...?"

Another voice, much closer to her than the booming head's, said softly, "That really isn't the _real_ Starscream, y'know." Turning around, Rav spied a bedraggled form with wings; much like the Starscream who's body she was trying to save in the physical world. "That's just a manafestation of his ego... rather sickening, if you ask me."

Rav's eyes narrowed in comprehension. "Then you must be... his current mindframe?"

"Close. I'm what he percieves himself to be," the pitiful Starscream explained with a pained sigh. "Pathetic, aren't I?"

"You miserable fleshling," a third voice snarled. "You could have been the supreme ruler of the Decepticons, if you'd only made better plans!" This time, a towering Seeker - fresh from the Pre-War Age - appeared before Rav and the other two facets, standing with all the pomp and precision of a parade-ground expert.

Rav sighed. "Of course, you must be his Decepticon Warrior's spirit?"

"Correct, fleshling," the Seeker replied. "Why are you here?"

"Who cares? It's not like she has any other place to go," the Maximal Starscream replied.

"I'm here... because I'm trying to save your-err, I mean Starscream's life," Rav answered.

"Phagh! Autobot sentiment," the Warrior scoffed. "Had he followed the true tenents of his Warrior heritage, he'd have fought for his freedom and died a true Decepticon!"

Ego boomed, "I am beyond such concerns as Death... I am immortal!"

The Maximal cringed. "Truth is, I'm beaten... ironic, really. I never cared much for defeat, so I never got to really taste it for myself." Shrugging, the pitiful shell seemed to grow smaller. "It's not very pleasant, let me tell you."

Rav shook her head. Trying to talk to all three was starting to get disorienting. "Look, enough! Where's Starscream... and I mean the REAL Starscream? His spark!?"

~I believe you mean... me?~

Expecting something else, Rav wasn't prepared for what she saw when she turned around. Gasping, she nearly fell backwards, only just recovering at the last second to prevent herself from flattening the Maximal facet behind her.

~That's the first time someone's reacted that way to my presence in eons... rather nice, in a twisted way...~

Rav swallowed thicky. "You... you look... different!" Which was an understatement. Starscream's sparkform looked nothing like the images around her; he was tall, thinner than his Decepticon form, but strangely handsome with a face that looked weathered and youthful at the same time. His hands and arms looked... human, while his wings were a strange mixture of metallic and natural shapes, and his entire being was surrounded in an etherial glow.

~This is the real me, Maximal. The part that no one has ever glimpsed at before.~ Pausing, it looked at the facets with a passive look. ~Go. This one and I have things to discuss.~

Ego and Warrior looked ready to balk, but Maximal Starscream quickly faded into the darkness. Finally after several moments, the other two vanished as well.

Rav cocked her head to look up at the sparkform before her. "Starscream... we're trying to save your shell from expiring. Most of the repairs are done-."

~I know,~ it said, calmly interupting her. ~A valiant effort, but unessesary.~

"What do you mean?" Despite her question, the sparkform began to move away from her. Stepping away quickly, Rav ran to keep pace with it. "Wait! Why is it unessesary to save you!?"

~Because, I do not wish to return to what you term as 'life',~ it replied. ~You cannot appreciate the scope I possess, Maximal. I have existed for hundreds of years... most of them spend wandering the cosmos, without a shell to interact with 'living' lifeforms. It was only through the graces of the Oracle - a being that you may yet come to understand someday - that I returned to a physical form.~ Pausing, the sparkform turned to gaze at Rav, a slight touch of meloncholy filling its eyes.

~Now, after cycles of toil and labor, I have decided... it is hard enough living in the physical world. I mean to return to the void,~ it explained calmly. ~Return to drift, berift of a shell once more.~

Rav stopped in her tracks, thunderstruck. "But... w-why!? You've been released from Hordax! We can save you, and your spark... take you back to the Maximals again!"

~Ah, the Maximals,~ the sparkform said, no malice or scorn in its tone. ~A group of beings that cannot understand one such as I, nor fully come to accept what I am.~ It turned to face Rav squarely, crossing its arms over a chest covered in glimmering armorplate. ~What I am... what I was... is something that they will never accept. I slaughtered hundreds of Autobots during the wars leading up to the discovery of Earth. I've plotted and schemed against friend an foe alike, all for the lowest thing such as revenge, to the lofty goal of universal domination.~

Rav started to say something, but the words would not come forth.

~I have destroyed more than I have built. My enemies curse me, and my allies feared me,~ it went on, neither ranting nor raving; but speaking with all the calmness of a master orator. ~In the end, look where I have ended; a shattered shell on a doomed world.~

"But we _can_ save you! Surely--!" Rave started to protest, but a gesture from the sparkform silenced her again.

~There is no need. I have decided... and it is for the best, really. After all, I am hated by both Maximal and Decepticon, Predecon and the like... why bring more hatred onto one such as I, when the Void and it's singular serenity calls?~ At those words, a tall portal appeared behind the sparkform; shaped much like the ancient Decepticon space bridge, save for the etherial glow eminating from it. With a silent hiss, the entrance doors slid apart, revealing a softly-pulsing nexus in the center of the core.

Rav didn't need a roadmap to know what that represented. She moved foreward to block the way into the core. "No! I can't let do this!"

~I have decided,~ the sparkform of Starscream replied calmly. ~I shall return to the void... and there is little you can do about it, Maximal.~ It made a sudden gesture, and Rav gasped as she felt herself bound up in an invisible grip, lifting her up until she was eye-level to the entity's face. The sparkform made a fist, and waves of earth-shattering agony rippled through her being, making her scream into the darkness...

###

~ The Physical World, Cybertron, Present Time Cycle ~

From Halftrak's point of view, Rav started to whimper, her face contoring with pain while the glow from her hand started to flicker and dim. A quick glance at the medi-kit readout revealed double trouble; her spark sign and Starscreams were starting to register at dangerously low levels.

"Slaggit! What's going on inside Junior's noggin?" Scowling, he nearly reached out to touch the younger female, but stopped himself before he got within an inch of her body. There wasn't any way to tell what affect that would have on her tenuous link with her patient... or even on herself.

"Kid, I hope you're making progress," he muttered. "Unless you can jumpstart Junior, we're in big trouble!"

Suddenly, the sky above reverbed with the sounds of several jet engines passing.

Halftrak's gaze darted upwards in alarm. "Oooo, SPIT! Primus, please don't let that be what I think it is..."

With a clatter of loose litter, Max appeared at the hill, his plasma rifle at the ready. "Trak! Get up here, now! I tagged an ID on those flyers!" A look of great concern filled his features. "Vehicon jets!"

With a growl, Halftrak rose to his feet. "Slaggit! We should've moved Flyboy to a safer location!"

"Save the 'should haves' for later, old solder," Max cautioned, scanning the skies above. "If they located us, they'll be back! We need to draw them away from Rav... give her more time to repair Starscream!" Looking away, he pointed towards a rusted, boxy structure. "Head there! We'll face them from within. Give us a better chance if we're partially shielded!"

"Right, Prime," the elder Maximal replied. Looking back down at Rav and Starscream, he made a off-handed gesture of good fortune. "Stay safe you two... Primus willing, we'll be back!" With that, Halftrak scrambled up the slope to join his leader as they headed towards their chosen hold-out spot.

#

A short distance away, ten sleek forms arrowed through the smog, led by the dark-blue form of their General. From the interior of his cockpit, Jetstorm heard the familiar tones of his internal computer: "[maximal signature... detected.]"

"Well, well! What have we here?" he chuckled to himself. "If it wasn't for the fact they're felines, I'd say Cybertron's scrap heap just got some junkyard dogs!" Winging over to look at the ground, the Aero-drone leader sneered, "Jetstorm to Thrust... come in! We've got Maximals at twelve o'clock!"

The reply came from a low, growling voice, issuing from the lead vehicle in a phalanx of Cycle-drones far below. "I hear you. Moving in."

Jetstorm waggled his head in derision. "My! We're gonna need to work on your people skills, Biker-boy... but, then again he's got the right idea. Time for action!" With a surge of thrust, the Vehicon leader swooped toiwards the slag pits below, his mindless drones following...

###

~ Netherspace ~

As her screaming abated, Rav found herself face-down on whatever surface there was, next to the entrance of the gate. Shaking her head, she raised herself up, looking for Starscream's sparkform.

It was standing there, just inside the entrance to the Gate... waiting for the enevitable to come and claim him.

"No... I can't let this happen!" Rav struggled to her knees, her mind working furiously. What could she do? As a sparkform, Starscream reigned supreme in his own mind. This, by all accounts, was his universe. His existance. He could just twist her around his finger like twine if he chose to. Shoving herself back to her feet, she staggered towards the sparkform, reaching out to try to pull him away from the gate...

...and what she got was a massive feedback shock that threw her several feet backwards. Hissing, she wrapped her other arm around her hand as she looked back at the gate. A shimmering barrier lingered there for a moment, then vanished.

"Slaggit! A protective field!" Clutching her hand to he chest, she snarled. It seemed hopless... if she could only be as powerful as Starscream's spark...

The gate began to rumble. From where the void waited, a light that didn't seem like a light started to glow.

Suddenly, it hit her. "Wait," she told herself. "I'm thinking about this all wrong! I'm not physically here... if I'm in Starscream's mind, then I'm a spark, too!" With that, she ignored the numb feeling in her hand. It wasn't her physical hand... none of this was physical, she reasoned. "I'm just a spark!" The moment those words left her mouth, Rav suddenly drew in a massive intake of breath. Her body instantly became wreathed in a glow similar to Starscreams, while it grew several decimeters in height. No longer did she look like a Maximal... but something more.

Opening its eyes, the sparkform that was Rav looked at Starscream and the gate. Moving forward, the female sparkform paused just at the threshold, not daring to test the barrier again... instead, its reached out with one open hand, and willed its internal power to emerge.

~Starscream,~ it said simply.

The sparkform in the gate turned halfway to face Rav's sparkform, showing neither surprise nor shock at what it saw. ~Impressive... you learned quick. Not quick enough.~ Pointing towards the non-light, it said with a sigh, "~Oblivion awaits me, Maximal... and I will not be swayed.~

~Mostly because you have not even begun to be swayed, Starscream,~ Rav replied. A pearly-glow enveloped her open hand. ~Please... you may wish Oblivion, but there are many that wish and wait for your return.~

Starscream's sparkform scowled. ~I told you before, Maximal...~

~Let me prove it to you,~ Rav's sparkform insisted. ~Take my hand, Starscream... I won't pull you away from the Void, but let me show you just how much you are missed. If you still wish Oblivion after that... I'll help you on your way.~

The etherial Starscream looked down at her hand, then at her: his eyes searching with the intensity of a pair of supernovas. He turned back towards the Void... paused, then, as if something drew him back he turned to face Rav's sparkform fully. ~If this is a Maximal trick...~

~Sparks never lie to one another,~ Rav's sparkform offered. ~Please... trust me.~

With one last moment of hesitation, the taller sparkform reached through the barrier between them and clasped the other's hand with his. The white glow quickly engulfed him, and for a moment, the world around both sparks seemed to buckle and change; save for the nodule of non-light behind Starscream...

["Starscream was always more trouble than he was worth... but, 'Tera liked him, and trusted him. I guess you could say she's the only reason he's a Maximal after all."]

["That bucket of chicken wings would've sold his own transistors to get what he wanted... but, you have to admit, he had a style even a RAT could envy."]

["Starscream... heh! Now that flyboy's about the saviest flyer around. Can't say I liked him much as a Decepticon, but... these days, there's no one else I'd like to have in the trenches with me."]

Voices... coming from everywhere, and nowhere at the same time. Voices he remembered from his time among the Maximals... Primal, Blanwulf, Nari... all speaking without ire or rancor. From what they said, they all could see some of the faults he had, but they all spoke unsaid volumes; his presense had been felt when he was with the Maximals...

But, it was the last voice Starscream's sparkform heard that seemed to linger on, even after the rest of the voices had stopped...

["It's like... I lost him after Galvatron, only to find him after the Beast Wars. Now, he might be lost to me again... I know you're going to try, but if I have to I'll storm Rubicon myself to get Starscream back!"]

With obvious reluctance, Rav's sparkform withdrew her hand; the glow retreating until it vanished back into her hand. Pulling back a step, it gazed at Starscream's face passively.

The sparkform inside the gate looked genuinely shocked; not out of terror or disgust... but out of sheer surprise. Blinking, it looked into the face of the sparkform outside the gate, opening it's mouth to speak, but keeping silent. Almost as if it couldn't find the words to say at this moment.

~I offered you proof,~ Rav's sparkform said simply. ~And I keep my promise. Make your own choice, Starscream. Either return with me and live... or let me at least help you pass on...~

###

~ The Physical World, Cybertron, Present Time Cycle ~

Crouched behind a half-buried wall of rusted metal, Max paused, gripping the stock of his plasma rifle tightly. With a snarl, he whipped himself around one corner, aiming into the sky where several of the Aero-drones hovered. Reacting a bit faster than their targeting systems, Max pumped the trigger, sending several crimson bolts of energy soaring off into their midst. One drone took a shot high on its shoulder, spinning around like a top before crashing into three more blasts. With a blossom of fire and smoke, the drone rained down as fresh parts for the slag pits below.

From behind him, a voice sneered, "Nice shootin'! Wonder if you do as well being the TARGET!"

Max spun around, just barely moving out of the line of fire as twin streams of particle bolts rained down on his sheltered position. Looking up, he growled at the sight of the blue-colored Vehicon hovering there.

"Wow, Top Cat! You can move fast... but not FAST enough!" Jetstorm cackled as he swung around, diving at the Roadmaster leader with his weapons blazing. He nailed down a few hits to Max's leg and lower chest, but Max ignored them - mostly - so he could rise up and slash the General as he passed. Four new scoremarks fell down Jetstorm's flank, while the impact sent him spinning away.

Elsewhere, Halftrak bounded from pile to heap, keeping just a micron ahead of the shots from Thrust's cycle-drones. Every odd moment, he doubled back and managed to rip one apart with his vibroblades, but it seemed that for every one down, another would arrive to quickly pick up where the fallen one left off.

Meanwhile, from a nearby vantage point, Thrust directed his troops against the agile form of Halftrak. The elder Maximal was moving with a skill only eons of experience could give, even though at times his body stalled from a stubborn joint or a sudden flash of pain from a near-miss.

"Fancy moves, old cat," Thrust rumbled appreciatively. "Too bad yer gonna get slagged."

Halftrak snarled, sweeping a blow through two cycle-drones, disemboweling them in a shower of mech fluid and parts. "Ever hear the saying, 'It's not over, 'till the fatbot sings.'?" Another leap, and he slammed a third drone to the ground, pinning it with a double shot from his vibro-blades.

"Sorry," Thrust replied, "I don't do High-C's."

"Fine!" Halftrak yanked his blade's free, glaring at the Vehicon General. "Why don't we just have you play B-FLAT!" He would have charged Thrust, but two more drones moved in to block the elder Maximal, heming him in against a hillside.

Moving back to allow more of his drones to the fore, his optics caught a flash of color against the dull, barren scenery around them.

"Hello? What d'we have here?" Revving up, he moved away from the fight towards a small rise, looking down into a pit where the colors seemed to come from. He was met with the sight of one of the other Maximals, seeming to be asleep next to a body covered in muck.

"Well... looks like easy pickings here," he chuckled. Leveling his blasters, he started down the slope towards the female Maximal...

###

~ Netherspace ~

Both sparkforms looked at one another... surprise and shock on one, while hope and openness. The one that was Rav waited; her emotions muted but boiling inside.

Starscream's sparkform however looked away for a moment, unable to keep the awe out of it's voice. ~ I... I had no... idea... ~ It turned back one more time, staring at the maw of the abyss behind it.

~ You _are_ needed, Starscream, ~ Rav's sparkform insisted, nearly pleading. ~ Whatever was done in the past is of little consequence of what you can do _now_, here, in the present. There are many that would not miss you, but there are those that matter who would. ~ The female sparkform's hand reached out in a gesture of invitation; not to coerce or entrap... it had all the openness of a new chapter, waiting to be written.

Starscream's sparkform wavered. ~ To return... after all this time... it won't be an easy task. ~

~ There will be those there to help you, Starscream. ~

~ And... I still don't like taking orders from Primal! ~

~ We have a proper leadership council now... Max, Primal... even Ironhorse. They all work together to lead us. ~

Another pause. Then, the sparkform inside the gate shook itself before squaring its shoulders. ~ I'll need your help... in getting back. ~

Rav's sparkform nodded once. ~ Come back with me.~

With those words, Starscream's sparkform took one step away from the abyss... then another... until it stood next to Rav's. In that instant, the gateway vanished without a trace. Without another glance back, the taller sparkform reached out and took the other one's hand.

~ I/We certainly hope you know what you are doing, ~ Starscream's voice said, filled with a touch of his former bravado.

Rav's sparkform only nodded. With a suddenness that surprised even her, the light around them intensified, as an unseen wind whirled around them in a frenzy of movement. At first, it seemed wrong... then, with a jerk, both sparkforms hurtled upward into the stars, where one bright star seemed to be welcoming them both...

Welcoming them home...

###


~ The Physical World, Cybertron Slag Pits, Present Time Cycle ~

There was a sudden shock... breaking off that deep fo a link was never easy, but in a click Rav's senses returned her to the land of the living. Drawing the healing force back into her body, she blinked several times, regaining a sense of who she was, and where she was...

Just in time to receive the backhanded swipe from a cycle-bot that sent her sprawling.

"So," Thrust hissed, towering over the female Maximal as she sluggishly tried to regain her composure. "Looks like you were tryin' to save the Flyboy there. Too bad you didn't pay attention to what's around you."

"I... did... what... I... could," Rav gasped, reaching for her battle staff, only to have it shot out of her grasp as she brought it around to defend herself.

"Not good enough," Thrust replied. "Nighty-night, kitty-cat!"His arm blasters cycled up, ready to spew plasma at her.

Rav winced, knowing full well there wasn't a way out this time...

A loud BANG, followed by a rasping whimper from Thrust interupted this dramatic scene. Jerking his head to the side, the Vehicon tried to turn around, but something prevented him from budging an inch. With a slow turn, whatever it was that had a hold of Thrust came into view... and the cycle-bot's whimper suddenly rose in volume and pitch.

Rav blinked in surprise, as the still-bedraggled form of Starscream towered over the Vehicon, now looking stronger than she'd ever seen before.

"No...nnnnoooo!!!" Thrust seemed to have an apoplexy. "NO... not GHOSTBOT!"

"Good of you... to remember me," Starscream smirked. "But, you seem... a little nervous! Why don't you just relax... here. Have a DIP!" There was a sudden FLASH of light, and Thrust went spinning away to crash into the murk of a nearby slag pool.

Rav recovered her staff and her wits, just as a few of the other cyclebots started to move in to recover their fallen general. "Starscream!? Are you all right?"

Starscream sank to his knees wearily, but that smile of satisfaction was still there. "A little... drained... but," he replied, reaching out to pull her down as a fusilade of energy shot ripped through the air. "I can travel. How... about you, doc?"

Rav answered by rising up, flipping her staff over and triggering several blasts from the cryo-unit embedded in the end. Where the beams hit, both slag, refuse and Vehicons were turned to frozen junk. "Never better... though we could use some help here, or we'll never make it back to the underground!"

Suddenly, the bark of a plasma rifle echoed through the air, sending several Vehicons flying apart like blossoming supernovas. Both Maximals turned around, just as Halftrak crested the hill, scrambling down towards them like a madman possesed.

"Rav! Is he--!?"

The female responed by shouting, "He's all right, but needs help!"

Skidding to a stop next to them, Halftrak grinned, "Then help's what you get!" Taking ahold of Starscream's left arm, he hoisted him up into a fireman's carry across his shoulders. "Hold tight, Junior. We're getting back to base, where I'll treat you to the best energon lager we can scrounge!"

Chuckling ruefully, the former Air Commander replied, "Elder... you don't know how _good_ that sounds!"

Halftrak motioned with his head to Rav. "When Max starts firing again, head for the entrance and don't stop! We're right behind you!" Getting on the balls of his feet, the old soldier prepped himself, just as Rav gathered herself to charge out into the clear. On cue, the plasma rifle sang out, filling the air with another stream of destruction. Like two bats, the Maximals burst over the rise and charged towards the underground entrance.

As they drew close, Rav could see the welcome sight of Max; standing at the entrance with several scrapped Vehicons lying on the ground around him. With a momentary grin, he fired another rolling burst into the air behind the retreating Maximals, before replying, "Is he okay!?"

"He's functional," Rav shouted, her voice colored with relief. "And quite happy about it, it seems!"

"Good! Let's get back to base and close this rescue then!" Max started to herd them into the entrance to the tunnel, still firing back at the remaining Vehicons to keep them at bay.

Starscream looked backwards in concern. "I hope you've got a plan to keep them from following us!"

The tall Warden leader simply said, "Sure! Just take one plasma rife..."

"...and one strategically weakened tunnel support," finished Halftrak, just as he and Rav passed beneath the thick beams supporting the entrance. Backpedling behind them, Max stopped concentrating on the Vehicons and vented the full fury of his weapon on the supports. Metal pooled like quicksilver, and then groaned as the weight of the tunnel buckled it like a cheap tin toy.

Several of the cycle-drones had started inside when the tunnel started to collapse. Heedless of the danger, they barely got another meter inside before tons of metal, rock and matter came crashing down, burying them under an obstruction tens of meters thick.

Pausing for a bit, the Maximals looked back at the ruin of the entrance. Lowering his weapon, Max gasped before he let out an explosive sigh. "Think they'll dig their way through before we're gone?"

Halftrak slowly lowered Starscream to the ground, where Rav quickly took up helping to hold the former Air Commander upright. "Are you kidding? Unless they start blasting..." quipped the elder male.

Max nodded in agreement. "In that case... let's go and get back to Maximal territory." Looking over at Rav and Starscream, he asked politely, "Can he travel?"

Rav simply nodded, but Starscream said it best: "Are you joking, Prime? If I had to... I'd gladly _dance_ out of here, if it meant I wouldn't have to see those tripple-damned Decepticons again!" In a less harsher tone, he added, "Besides... a session in a repair chamber and a scrubber sounds... rather agreable right now."

With a grin to his companions, Max nodded. "Then let's not keep this Maximal waiting any longer." With Rav's help, Max helped to support the still-weakened gyrfalcon while Halftrak took point, and together they set off for Iacon... and home...

###

~ Iacon Defense (aka Fort Iacon), Cybertron, Present Time Cycle ~

From the wall, the coyote-featured Maximal named Inuarai leaned back and threw a metal disk into the air - the hub from a front wheel off of a cycle-drone. Taking a deep breath, she hollered, "PULL!"

Down in the courtyard below, standing in a line were three of the Maximal's flyers. Each one pulled out a weapon - a razor disk for Alegra, a sharp-winged boomerang for Sabre, and feather-blades for Silverbolt. As one, they tossed their weapons at the sailing disk. Both Alegra's and Sabre's shots went wide, and Silverbolt's blade cleaved the disk in two, right down the middle.

The golden eagle warrior looked sideways at the slightly taller condor. "Nice shot."

Before Silverbolt could reply, Sabre's boomerang curved around, slamming into the falling halves of the disk, turning them into falling shards. As the pieces rained down, Sabre held out his hand to recover his weapon.

"Nice recovery, friend," Silverbolt replied.

Alegra smirked at her companion. "Never could resist showing off, eh?"

The former Roadmaster pilot just shrugged, but there was a small upward tilt to the corners of his mouth.

From the wall, Inuarai called down, "That's sixteen to twelve, favor to Sabre. Another shot?"

Sabre looked at Silverbolt, who nodded simply. "Set it up again, girl," he shouted, "only put up three this time!"

Over on the other side of the courtyard, four more Maximals watched the display of marksmanship with idle attention while seated on a few containers of old parts from the wrecked Roadmaster ship. The one, a large canine named Rampage yawned and flicked his ears. "Yeeaaaa-H... big deal. He shot a hubcab out of mid-flight. Ooo, dangerous!"

At his side, a spidery female reached out to thwap him against his large shoulder. "Oh, be quiet! Ever since the fighting broke out between Megatron and Hordax, we haven't had the chance to keep our battle skills sharp."

Seated on the ground below them, a black-and-white female stretched and yawned. "Well, I for one am glad they decided to go after each other, rather than come after us," Blancwulf commented. "Gives us a chance to relax for a change."

Next to her, the lithe, yellow-gold form of her mate Cheetor mumbled, "Yeah, until one of them get's blown to pieces."

Yawning again, Rampage growled, "Cat's got a point. Soon as one of those two yahoos beats the other into scrap, they'll come after us next! And let me tell you... if Hordax wins, he's not gonna be gentle about puttin' us all on the scrap pile!"

A smaller canine form ambled over from where the entrance to the fort's interior lay, hearing Rampage's comment. "Hey, ease back there, big guy! Just because we're not in the thick of things doesn't mean we don't get our fair share of combat. After all, Megatron might be focused on Hordax and his Neo-Seekers, but he still sends plenty of Vehicons our way."

"Fortunately, not enough to give us too much trouble," Blancwulf added.

"But, it's enough to warrent us keeping our guard up," Black Arachnia finished with a sigh. "Anything new happening, Firefox?"

The dun-colored fox-bot shook his head. "Nothing of concequence... Rattrap's manning the scanners with Ironhorse, and the last I checked all the activity amounted to a few lone aero-drones in sector Sierra-Lima." Taking a seat near Black Arachnia, Firefox shook his head before adding, "And still no word from our unit out in the field..."

At that point, the trio from the other side joined them. "Now, now... I'm certain that Prime and the others have the situation well at hand," Silverbolt commented.

Sabre shrugged. "Not likely. Hordax has learned a few things since we had his titanium carcass in the brig."

Alegra nodded, "Considering how Rubicon's defenses are, it's going to take a miracle to get in there."

Firefox snarled, "Then why bother? If it's that tight, why not leave Flyboy to his fate!?" This earned him a few dark looks from Blancwulf and Cheetor, as well as a mix of other expressions from the others.

Black Arachnia said it best: "Because of two reasons; one, no matter what Starscream was before, he's still a Maximal now... even though he doesn't like to hear it said to his face."

Firefox blinked. "And what's the second?"

The spider-bot said simply, "Pantera..."

###

Inside the high tower at the center of the fort, the Maximal Command Hub sat overlooking the entire complex. Its high windows afforded a complete three-hundred-and-sixty degreee view for any of the Maximals manning the command center, as well as providing a vantage point for the new Hyperbeam Scanner Array, newly mounted on its apex. Armored with salvaged ship plating and armorglas, it was probably the safest point above the thick walls of Fort Iacon.

Currently at post, two Maximals sat on call at the command board; the wheel-footed form of Rattrap, and the ever-brooding presence of Ironhorse. Both were attending to the readouts from the scanner, as well as the new enhancements programed into it by Alegra. While they finished the latest sweep, the tall form of the former Axalon commander entered through the lift door, lumbering forward in his simian beast-mode.

"Any activity out there?" he asked.

Rattrap clicked a few keys before replying. "Ahh, nuthin' showin', 'cept for a few Vehicon/Decepticon signatures over by Hordax's neck of da woods."

"Megatron's quadrants are silent, too. No major activity to speak of," added Ironhorse.

Optimus Primal peered at the readouts for a moment. "Any word from our unit in the field?"

Rattrap sighed. "The old cat made a short report nearly twenty cycles ago," he said testily. "Still nuthin' comin' up near Rubicon Base." He snorted. "Looks like that overgrown Seeker Wrangler still not gonna show his skidplate... not for a while, anyway. Ehhh, looks like Max and Rav are gonna have another wasted night out there."

A short intake of breath behind Primal made all three occupants turn to face the elevator, where a lithe, dark female form stood as if she was standing on jagged glass.

"Pantera?" Ironhorse querried.

"I... just came up to... to see," she muttered, "see if it was my... turn on watch." Pantera's eyes looked at Rattrap, and if they had been laser cannons, he'd have been one fried rat.

Optimus said gently, "No, not just now. I've got the next watch. We'll... let you know when it's time."

Pantera shifted away from boring holes in Rattrap's hide, to look at Optimus with a slight nod. "Fine... I'll, be in the armory, if you need me." With that, she stepped back into the elevator, which closed shut on her with a grateful hiss.

"I'm going with her. My shift's over anyway," Ironhorse said flatly, moving towards the lift with a short, scornful look at the rodent. In a click, he too was gone from the Command Hub.

Optimus spun around, glaring at the smaller Maximal. "Can't you learn to watch what you say? After all this time, you know how she feels about what Rav and the Roadmasters are trying to do!"

"Hey, hey! Back up, Optimus! Look, I ain't sayin' I wouldn't welcome the Bird-boy back, if Max and his team could find a way into Decepticon Central," Rattrap explained. "But... ehhh, let's face facts: it's been over several solar cycles since Hordax got ahold of Starscream. If they'd found away in to get him out... it should've been long before now, right?"

Optimus looked away, out through one of the armorglas windows, to where a speck on the horizon seemed to smoke endlessly. "I can't say for certain, Rattrap. What I do know is that there's a slim filament of hope - hope that we can bring Starscream home - and that's the only thing holding Pantera together. If it breaks..." He trailed off into silence, leaving the obvious unsaid.

Rattrap looked chastised. "Eh, well... I, er, didn't want to sound, y'know..."

The primate Primal just nodded.

Shaking his head, Rattrap turned back to the command panel, tapping in a sequence to start up another sensor sweep.

[///...Prime t-////...Come in Ia-///...]

"Huh?" Rattrap paused, squinting at the readout for the communications relay.

[///...Come in-///...Base!///...s Maxi-//...Prime!]

Optimus turned to stare at the panel, his eyes wide. "That sounded like Max! Quick!"

"On top of it, Boss-Monkey," Rattrap said, his fingers flying over the comm-link controls. "They must be transmittin' at the edge of our receiver range... but that would put them-!"

"Out of their operations area," Optimus finished, slightly unnerved. "Boost that frequency, now!"

"Ah, I'll try. But this old equipment's at the upper limit already!" Fiddling with some additional controls, Rattrap squeezed a bit more power into the ancient array. "Okay, I got ya another twenty-five percent. Hope it's enough."

Optimus replied, "It'll have to be. I... AM TRANSFORMED!" With a flash, Primal converted from ape to robot; reaching over to key in the transmitter. "Optimus Primal to Maximum Prime, come in!"

There was silence... then, a reply returned over the speaker in a perfect five-by-five: [Max here! Roadmaster unit returning to base.]

Both Optimus and Rattrap looked at one another in concern. "Uh-oh! That's... not a good sign."

"Max, is there an emergency?" Optimus asked.

[Just have someone boot up a Repair Chamber... and break out the energon. We're bringing our long-lost Maximal home!]

###

Cresting the last rise out of the flats, Max and the others were quick to see the results of their transmission to home base: Usually running low at night, all of the avalible exterior lights were online and blazing like a thousand beacons. The once stolid and stark structure looked like it was wreathed in dazzling light and colors. Also, the front gates were wide open; movement of some sort could be seen, just through the wide mouth beyond.

Max looked over his shoulder at the trio behind him, but his question was for the Maximal in the middle. "Ever thought an Autobot city would look so good, Air Commander?"

For a moment, Starscream said nothing. "That doesn't look like an Autobot city, Prime..."

All three Roadmasters looked at the former Decepticon.

"That looks like... home."

Rav smiled. "It sure does."

"I think we need to be there... don't you, kid? We've kept him from getting a good pull on a mug for too long now." Halftrak shot an amused look at Max.

Max chuckled, "Then let's go." With a flash, he coverted to beast-mode, pausing to look at Starscream. "Mind if I give you a ride in? We walk, and it'll be that much longer getting you to the infirmary."

Starscream gave the Maximal leader a look of mock-consideration for a half a click, then he extracted himself from Rav and Halftrak's hold. "Why not? Frankly, at this point I could care less if Optimus Prime himself carried me back." With a wry smile, he mounted Max's back and settled down.

Max grinned all the more. "Roadmasters, transform and roll out! Let's go home!" At his command, the other two Maximals converted to beast mode, and all three set out for the fortress at a good clip. Holding on, Starscream couldn't help the smile that crept over his face as they drew nearer and nearer to the edifice of his former foes...

Foes? Could he really call them that, after all they did to bring him back? Glancing down to his right, he looked at Rav as she paced her leader stride for stride. As if she sensed he was looking at her, Rav turned her head for a moment, grinning a feline smile at him before she turned back to point. No, the thought of these... people as enemies was something only the old Starscream would have considered.

That alone made the gyrfalcon warrior pause. Friends... something he'd never considered before. He'd have allies, partners of convenience, certainly. But friends? It was going to take some getting used to, he thought... as much as it would calling himself a Maximal.

When he came back to himself, the trio of felines had crossed the threshold of the gates. Looking up, he saw a surprising sight: nearly every Maximal had assembled in the courtyard. Uncharacteristically, they were cheering - for him! - as if they were welcoming back a long lost hero of antiquity. Feeling Max come to a halt, Starscream reflexively shifted to dismount, finding Rav there to support his still-weakened legs.

"Hold on to me," she cautioned. "You're going to need some time to recover."

A scowl filled his features, but it was softened by the light in his eyes. "I suppose I'll be confined to a bed until I'm fit for duty?" Looking sideways, he watched as Optimus Primal arrived, meeting with Max at the entrance to the fort's interior. From the look on the older Maximal's face, he was pleased with Prime's completion of the rescue.

Rav mock-punched him in the side. "Oh, just until you feel up to tussling with a few Tank-drones on your own." With a grin she added, "Just do what I tell you while you're in my infirmary, and you'll do fine."

Starscream shot her a smirk, turning away just as Optimus stepped forward. Unconsiously - though he'd deny it later - he straightened up to look at the Maximal leader eye-to-eye.

"It's good to see you alive, Air Commander," Primal said, genuinely pleased. "You look the worse for wear... but we'll have you back to fighting trim in no time."

"I'm... glad to hear that, Primal," Starscream replied. With a nod, he added. "Anything to get back on the front line." A dark look flashed over his features. "I've got a few... matters to settle, with my former captors."

"I suppose so," Optimus said warily.

In a click, the darkness was gone, and Starscream smiled. "But, for the record, I'm no longer an Air Commander... the Decepticons aren't what I want to be." Holding out one grimy hand, he added, "If... it's not too late, I'd like to be recorded as a willing member of your forces. As a Maximal."

By now, everyone had gone quiet, listening to the exchange between the returning gyrfalcon and the simian leader. Murmurs of surprise rolled around the courtyard.

With a solemn nod, Primal reached out and gripped Starscream's hand in his. "We can always welcome a fellow Cybertronian to our ranks. And, I speak for all when I say; welcome home, Maximal." Someone made a whispered comment, but Starscream ignored it. Returning Primal's grip measure-for-measure, he just nodded in return.

Just then, Rav noticed something behind Primal. "Optimus..." She just pointed with her chin, smiling softly as she pulled back from Starscream's side.

Puzzled, Starscream looked at her with a question on his face.

"Don't worry... just, remember," Rav replied. She stepped back to where Max was now standing, the two of them unconsiously holding hands.

Slightly forwarned by her cryptic remark, Starscream turned around in time to see Primal move away...

Standing in the interior entrance, Pantera's dark, feline form seemed to hesitate. She had an unreadable look on her face, and her hands were balled up at her sides.

"'Tera?"

At his voicing of her nickname, Pantera's lips compressed into a thin line. Moving with stiff, controled movements, she walked the full length of the courtyard to where he was standing; her eyes never wavering from his, while every pair of Maximal eyes followed her. Finally, coming to a stop in front of him, the elder female continued to stare at his face, not moving or even saying a single word.

Starscream felt his insides go cold. Could she have so changed her opinion of him, after all this time? Clearing his throat, he dropped his eyes before speaking. "Arty, I... I just..."

Pantera said nothing.

Starscream suddenly slapped himself mentally. Stop it! She knows why you did what you did! She doesn't have to apologize to you... after all, weren't you the one that nearly killed her over her feelings for that... He stopped himself from that train of thought. He'd paid his personal pennance for that action. If he had more to go... so be it.

Steeling himself, he looked back at Pantera and said simply, "It's... good to see you, again."

Pantera's face remained fixed in an iron, impassionate freize. However, she reached up to run a single talon along the edge of one of Starscream's tattered wings. "Can't say the same, Starscream... you look like hell."

"Pretty... slottin' accurate," he replied evenly.

Reaching down, she gripped one of his encrusted hands and shook her head slightly as she raised it, as if inspecting it. "Slag... they put you through the grinder, didn't they!?"

He shrugged, as if the cycles spent in that Decepticon slag-hole had been nothing. "Well... they tried. Damn well nearly killed me." His voice suddenly dropped a few decibles. "And I nearly obliged them by dying..."

Pantera's eyes snapped back into line with his, icy as glaciers. "There were times... I really did wish you were dead! You know that, don't you!?" Her grip on his hand tightened slightly, as if she was going to crush it by the strength of hate alone.

Starscream didn't avert his gaze, but he didn't let his temper rise. The Old Starscream would have been ranting, raving... trying to justify his actions with feelings of betrayal and worse...

Instead, he replied, "Yes."

Pantera said nothing... as if she expected something more than just a confirmation of his knowing her feelings... the pain and the suffering, after all that they'd put each other through.

"'Tera... I... I'm sorry."

The dark-colored femme's eyes widened slightly, followed by a sudden intake of breath through her nose. "What... did... you... say?"

Now, his eyes dropped once more. "I'm sorry... I don't know if you can forgive me," he said, stopping as he snorted softly. "Slag, I know I can't forgive myself... but... at least I had the strength to come back to say it. I mean... isn't it writen somewhere that Maximals, like us, can forgive even the most heinous crimes, if we truely want to?"

Pantera said nothing... at first. Then, she let his hand go. "I don't know... you hurt me, Starscream. I mean really... and what you did afterwards..."

Starscream didn't lift his eyes. "I understand-."

"No! You don't!!!"

At that, he did look up... and came face to face with Pantera; her face crumbling into a semblance of sadness.

"I wanted you dead... for the longest time, that was the only reason why I wanted Max and Rav to bring you back," She explained, a tremor in her voice that seemed very out of place for the formerly firm and iron-willed elder. "Then, as the cycles went by, I just wanted you back so we could punish you - whether by locking you down or something else, I don't know. Then, it was as if the only thing left was to just get you back, even if it was just to reprimand you before our entire group!"

Starscream listened, as did everyone else; not one Maximal dared to break this tableau, while Pantera rambled on.

"Now... now, you're back," she said, winding down at length. "And... it's not like before, when the Oracle brought you back. I... I don't know why or how, but, it's like before, After Unicron and Galvatron..."

With a nod, Starscream raised his hand to stop her from continuing. "I know, Arty. And, I'll understand if you want things to change between us." He let a little smirk play across his lips. "Really, I shouldn't expect you to-."

Without warning, Pantera suddenly lunged forward, throwing her arms around him, surprising both him and every other Maximal in the courtyard. At first, he though she was screaming into his shoulder, while one fist pounded him on his back. Then, it hit him: she wasn't screaming... she was CRYING?!?

"'Tera!?" His query was hardly audiable. A faint whisper, nothing more.

With her body shaking from her sobs, Pantera hissed her words into his wiry frame, "Damnit! Damnit! Damnit!"

Unsure what to do, Starscream went on gut instinct: he put his arms around her and just held on, waiting for her storm to ease itself off. For what felt like a stellar cycle, that's the scene that played out in the courtyard...

Eventually, her tremors eased off, as did her repeated blows against his back. From his chest, Pantera's next words were muffled, but Starscream could hear them clearly: "Damnit, Flyboy... I hate you for what you did to me... to us... but, I can't stop what I feel-."

Making a soft, silencing sound, Starscream tightened his embrace around her. "I know, 'Tera... for now, let's leave it at that, okay? We've got all the time in the world to... discuss this." It was his own way to tell her... well, she knew.

Raising her head to look at his face, Pantera didn't look like the wise, iron-tough elder she usually was; in fact, she looked like any other female who had been betrayed by the male she loved - the one she truly loved! - and had been given a second chance to tell him so. Nodding, she quickly composed herself, slipping back under that iron mask of control. "You're right... we do. I guess... that's enough for now."

He nodded. "It will do."

Pantera stepped back, but her grip lingered on his arms for a moment. "Why don't we... get you cleaned up, huh? I think you'll need that before we bring you up to speed on all that's happened around here."

Starscream smirked, but it was a genuine smile of relief, without all the cockiness of his old self. "Fine, then you can update me over some energon lager..."

###

THE END