Starscream blinked back tears as he slowly limped down a dimly lit hall.
The warship had many, but he chose this one for a reason.
He did not want to be found.
The heavy chains cuffing his wrists together chaffed against his thin plating, and a small blue trickle had sprung hours ago as he paced the clammy hall, one of his fuel lines having been pinched in between chain links.
Every trembling, shaky step he took rattled his chains, which in turn pinched the leak open more.
The young, pitifully small and weak seeker had no idea the reason his master even put the chains on him, but then, nothing his master did made much sense, unless to harm him.
The scrawny gray seeker had been bought when only a sparkling by Megatron, and had been reared in suffering ever since.
The flier was starved, ignored, and beaten his whole life, which probably contributed to his puny build.
The very klik his interface protocols came online, however, his master suddenly took a deep interest in his slave.
The seeker was a rare model, with long, dark, elegant wings, tapered chassis, high-heeled peds and long dainty legs.
Megatron wasted no time in further abusing his slave, breaking the seals inside his body and cutting his name with his deadly claws into the pretty wings, front and back.
The seeker carried these scars of ownership for life, and was deeply ashamed of them.
Interface was excruciatingly painful for the poor jet, seeming how he was so small and fragile, and his master so enormous and rough.
It didn't help that his master took great pleasure in his cries of pain.
The seeker not only could shatter glass with his screams, but melt circuitry too.
Only his master Megatron seemed immune to his slave's screams.
Megatron always turned his slave's face towards him when he hurt him in order to see the sticky tears flood out of his blood red optics.
The reason, sad as it was, that Starscream was so flexible was because Megatron had bent and twisted his frail body anyway he chose ever since he bought him.
It's also what devolved Starscream's astroklik reflexes.
It might also have something to do with his being the fastest creature in the universe.
If it were abuse only from his master, perhaps it would be easier to bear.
But Starscream was a much-detested mech.
No one liked him, not even other seekers, of which he rarely came into contact.
Starscream was temperamental, rebellious, shrewd, whiny, pouty, manipulative, demanding, a traitor, liar, and coward.
None of that made it easy to make friends.
Starscream had no dignity, no self-esteem, and no love for any save himself.
It was how he survived the constant abuse he was given.
Suddenly, Starscream was violently thrown into the wall by a harsh blow to the side of his helm.
"M-master!" Starscream squeaked once the hall stopped spinning. "Wh-why, I mean, h-how, I-I- how nice to see you here my master!"
Starscream smiled brightly up at the scowling warlord, heavy fist raised to deliver another blow.
Starscream cringed back, ducking his head and shielding with his arms, quaking with terror.
Megatron unclenched his fist and instead sank his clawed digits into the pitifully inadequate armor on his arms, just above the chains.
Starscream wailed as he was lifted into the air and roughly shaken.
Megatron then dropped the seeker, kicking him against the wall as he had landed in a sniveling heap at his peds.
A cruel digit reached down and hooked a claw under the seeker's trembling chin, forcing Starscream to look at his terrifying master, whose pointed, filed denta were bared in a snarl.
Starscream shivered, wide optics locked in the hypnotic red glare that always pinned him where he was, unable to move until his master grants it.
"Have you been down here all day, Starscream?" the dark warlord finally speaks, and Starscream fearfully splutters a timid reply, smiling nervously.
"N-no, m-my m-master, I-ack!"
"Do not lie to me Starscream." Megatron had the struggling seeker by the throat, the thin legs peddling the air frantically as he dangled before his evil master.
"Ye-yes, m-my master!" Starscream managed to squeak.
Megatron brought the terrified seeker up to his face.
"Well?" he demands, claws digging into the jet's tender neck cabling.
"Y-yes, I-I was." Starscream confesses with scared optics.
Megatron slowly draws back a clenched fist, an evil grin on his face as he watches his seeker cower in terror of the coming punishment.
C-R-R-A-A-C-K!
A shriek, then an agonized moan came from the crumpled heap of gasping jet on the floor.
Megatron lifts a heavy ped and cruelly stamps down on his SIC's face, an endless flood of pleas falling desperately from trembling lips.
Megatron laughs as he grinds his ped down hard, shrieks erupting from Starscream as the sound of metal struts snapping his heard.
Megatron then kneels atop the gasping form, bending to growl into crushed, but still functional, audios.
"You are mine, Starscream, and nothing you do escapes my notice." He strokes the jet in mock comfort before savagely ripping off his interface panels.
Starscream starts to sob as his cruel master lines up with his port and thrusts deep into the tender valve still sore and ragged from the previous forced frag,
As his master pounded him into the wall, Starscream's vocalizer blew out, and everything went black.
Coming to, he found himself on a medical berth, Knockout's pitying optics upon him as he re-vived the damaged seeker.
As far as allies went, Knockout was almost a friend, if not for the fact he would never support Starscream in his attempts to kill Megatron, at least not publicly.
And he never hesitated to beat the seeker senseless if he found the need for it, but other then that, was fairly mild-mannered around the fragile slave.
But this time, there was a more-then regretful light to his optics as he stood up to let Starscream see he was not the only one in the med bay with him.
The dreaded Shockwave was there too, single ugly optic gazing down coldly at the crumpled form on the berth before him.
Shockwave was just as bead as Megatron, worse, maybe, because he made it no secret he would like to kill the seeker.
If not for his own master's protection, Starscream would have been skewered, melted, crushed, or fragged to death multiple times, but as Shockwave would not dare bring the warlord's wrath upon himself, he always allowed the sniveling seeker to survive the punishments at his cruel servos.
Shockwave, if possible, was looking pretty pleased, actually smug, which was not a good sign in Starscream's mind.
Unseen by the one-opticed monster behind him, Knockout gave a tiny, sad smile to the seeker looking up at him with wide optics.
"I cannot repair you any longer." The red medic informed him flatly. "Shockwave and I decided to toss you out. It's kinder then letting you live."
Starscream tried to speak, horror seizing him in its cold grip, but it was useless.
Knockout stood aside as Shockwave strode up, his red optics begging the seeker for forgiveness as the purple hulk closed strong servo around a crumpled wing and hauled him to the window.
Starscream looked back at the Aston Martin, tears spilling down his cheeks, but the shiny mech just shook his head sadly.
The medic turned away as Shockwave opened the window, dangled the now-sobbing seeker out for an instant, savoring his long-awaited victory, then simply let go.
The last thing Starscream saw was that single optic leering at him as he free fell to his death.
Silence greeted Starscream as he groggily regained online status.
Cracking open his sore optics, he stared in bleary confusion at his surroundings.
This was not Knockout's med bay!
Memories rushed to fill black voids in the seeker's memory files, and he let out a shuddering moan as remembered falling, falling, and then nothing.
"He's awake." A frightenly familiar voice announced.
It was none other then the dreaded Autobot CMO Ratchet.
Starscream tensed and tried to move, only to find himself immobilized.
"Get Prime for me Bumblebee, since you brought this wreck in here." Ratchet continued irritably.
A beeping and whirring sound was heard and ped steps quickly faded away.
Whining, Starscream tried once more to twists his head to the side, but it was hopeless.
His entire body was held in place on the hard, cold medical berth.
Starscream shivered, realizing just how chilled he was.
Before he could decide on his next course of action, however, he heard heavy ped steps approaching.
Optimus Prime.
Starscream stilled in his efforts, spark racing with fear.
What was the Prime going to do with him, tied up and helpless like this?
Megatron had filled his young mind with horror stories of the Autobots' torture, causally letting slip that with a frame like his, forced frag was defiantly on the menu.
Optimus's face appeared above him without warning, and the mechling let out a squeak of surprise and terror.
His panicky optics flickered from left to right as he resumed his useless struggles.
"p-please!" he yelped with fear. "P-please, don't hurt-hurt me!"
"We should, for all you've done to us!" Arcee spoke scathingly from somewhere in the room.
Starscream's panic doubled-no, tripled.
He had not known that the fearsome femme was there too!
"That is enough, Arcee." Optimus rumbled, not taking his optics off the frightened seeker. "We will not be harming Starscream."
No one said a word, but Starscream felt the unease ripple through the air anyway.
"How are you feeling, Starscream?" Optimus asked, kindly blue optics shining down on his captive.
Starscream managed a weak smile. "F-fine." He stuttered.
Optimus gave a deep frown.
"Starscream, that is a lie." He admonished sternly, making the seeker flinch. "Tell me how you're really feeling."
Starscream flailed mentally, not wanting hurt in any way.
"Telling the truth never hurt anyone." Optimus seemed to read his mind.
"It hurt me!" Starscream flung at the Autobot leader before he could stop himself.
Cringing deeply, he waited for the harsh blows to fall, but instead, a gentle caress soothed the top of his helm.
Starscream opened his optics wide in shock, staring into the warm blue orbs above him.
The petting didn't stop, and Starscream felt himself begin to settle.
This wasn't so bad, yet. He thought as the first faint rumbles of a purr rose in his raw throat.
Starscream forgot about the others in the room, forgot where he was actually, lost in the thrills of the first real tenderness he had ever received in his life.
He didn't hear Optimus ask Ratchet for his results, nor did he hear the grave discussion that went on amongst the Autobots upon hearing them.
All he was aware of was the blissful sensation the large servo produced in his young, tortured body.
He didn't even notice when he slipped into recharge, a soft smile on his faceplates.