Hello all!
I know that I have a half-dozen unfinished stories to work on and that most of my readers aren't even waiting for me to continue them anymore. I swear I have not given up on those others stories (namely: "Before the end of times" and "A plan less ordinary".) and I will get to write more of them sooner or later. I promise.
But, for now, have this new thing.
Warnings: Mature themes, mtmte-things such as gore, violence and general wtfuckery. Also; Rape, dark stuff, feelings, a healthy dose of consensual smut later on and probably a lot of typos too...I apologize in advance for that.
Disappearance.
Chapter one.
"The glass of Engex is always full, but the dispenser gets empty." The melodic voice of the ghost said.
"Meaning?" Starscream asked with a tired sigh.
"You know exactly what I mean," Bumblebee answered with a smile and a gesture of his cane toward the energon dispenser in the room. The level was getting low alright. "And I'm not even talking about your drinking far too much lately."
"I don't drink that much," The seeker defended himself, albeit with not much force.
"Yeah and everybody on this planet adore you and worship you." The death Autobot laughed. The drunk seeker threw his empty glass at the mocking illusion.
Starscream bared his teeth as Bumblebee 'dodged' the object and it crashed somewhere behind him. The seeker looked up from where the glass had shattered and the electronic eye of a poorly hidden survellance camera stared back at him.
"One day, they'll all see...How hard I work for them, how much I do for them..." he rasped under his breath.
But on the table in front of which he was seated, the datapad was still blank.
The Engex dispenser was empty, Cybertron was a mess and no one, in the whole universe, cared about him.
He stood up and walked toward the large window from which he usually watched the city, a slight hesitation in his steps.
He laid his hand on the glass surface and sensed a slight tremor in the material, he hastly pulled away.
Maybe he'd had one glass too much to drink...Wasn't a big deal was it?
That is when the ceiling fell down on him.
Shadows moved through the dust the damage created, those were no illusion. Horrible, gigantic hands stetched toward him, grabbing, clawing, too much of them for Starscream to escape from or fend off.
"Who are you?! What do you want?" He screamed but only sinister laughters from different vocalizers answered him. It was enough an intruduction though and he tried his very best not to show just how much he was terrifyed as he recognized those voices.
But he froze still, making it so much easier for the hands to take a hold of him, seize him and take him away from his beloved realm.
oOo
It was a most beautiful morning in Iacon; the sun was shining and the air was sweet on the olfactory sensors. Had it been Earth, it would have had a smell of spring to it, or so Wheeljack thought.
Some days, he almost missed the blue planet, and then he remembered that they were still at war back then, with no certaincy as to whether they'd be able to go back home or if they'd live long enough to find a way back one day .
Now the war was over and the autobot scientist knew that he should be glad about it. He was alive and well, he wasn't alone, had friends he could rely upon, a place to call home, and only few things he could really complain about.
But peace times weren't always perfect, he reminded himself, Windblade, Ironhide and a few other mechs stranding around him and the smoking pile of dust that once was their king-high chancelor-leader's quarters.
Rattrap emerged from the rubble, shaking the dust off his furry chassis energetically. "Found no trace of his lordship!" he anounced, a peculiar mix of amusement and concern in his ever-so-sarcastic tone.
"What do we do?" Wheeljack asked no one in particular. He looked around at the crowd gathered there and they stared back in silence, none of them looking like they were thinking hard about an answer to give to his question.
None of them liked Starscream. Wheeljack himself wasn't certain that the pity he sometimes felt for the ex-decepticon second-in-command could pass for anything that remotely ressembled affection.
If he should never be found, if he should never return, great chances were that the seeker wouldn't be missed at all.
His disapperance was only a concern because it left Cybertron without a leader, a concern that wasn't really one. As soon as...
Suddenly breaking the silence, Windblade declared she would talk to Metroplex about this...And then contact Optimus Prime, as should be.
Wheeljack just nodded at Caminus' delagate proposal.
As soon as the Prime would arrive, Cybertron's leadership would no longer be a concern.
The Autobot engineer knew that they all thought the same thing: such an occurrence was all they'd been waiting for.
Cybertron's people wouldn't take it well if Starscream- their choosen one, their elected leader- was to be dethroned by the Prime, the one who was responsible for the civil war that had pushed them away from the planet, without anyone having a say about it.
But they'd certainly be more inclined to accept the Prime as leader if there was no other choice: With Starscream gone and no one willing to fill his shoes, the people whould have no choice but to accept Optimus's leadership by interim until new elections could be arranged. And by then, the wise and generous Optimus would undoubtedly have won Cybertron's people over.
Yes, Wheeljack sighed internally, this was probably for the best.
But still...What would it mean for Starscream?
oOo
Finally, Windblade decided to contact Optimus Prime before taking this to Metroplex and Wheeljack was respectfully asked to prepare the space bridge for his arrival.
He had no doubt that Windblade had only Cybertron's best intentions at spark and that she didn't rejoice at Starscream's disappearance. She might dislike the seeker but she wouldn't go as far as to relish his fate. The Autobot scientist wasn't as naive as to think that, wherever he was and whatever had happened or was happening to him, Starscream was having it 'nice'.
He was concerned, he truly was. He didn't want anyone to suffer, even if they deserved it.
Even if they- really- deserved it.
The space bridge's lights shone through the room as it engaged and Wheeljack stood up to welcome his former commander. Optimus Prime appeared through and walked toward him, a half-smile in his optics.
"Hello Wheeljack, I got a message from Windblade saying I should come urgently but she gave no further precisions. What is happening? Are you under attack?"
"Perhaps," Wheeljack answered. "We are not too sure...but there's been damages to Metroplex."
"Damage? Is it important? Has there been any casulaties?"
"One. Starscream has disappeared. His quarters were the part of Metroplex that has been targeted and he hasn't been found...We don't know more so far..." Wheeljack looked at the Prime to catch his expression. Optimus looked surprised at first, then he frowned. "Do we have any mean of knowing what happened in there before the...incident?
"Yes, there were spy cameras in Starscream's office. They have been destroyed but Windblade is checking with Metroplex if the recordings can still be viewed."
"Good" was all Optimus said. He walked out of the space bridge chamber and Wheeljack followed him in silence, wondering what the ex-leader of the Autobots was thinking.
As expected, Metroplex granted them access to the images the spy camera had been able to record before being destroyed along with the rest of the building.
Most of Cybertron's important figures were asked to attend, just in cade. They had no idea what the recording would show, but Optimus didn't want to risk being accused of having modified the content to his advantage.
Optimus Prime, Windblade, Wheeljack, Ironhide, Blurr, Chromia, Barricade, Rattrap and Scoop all sat in a row in front of the screen and Windblade respectfully asked Metroplex to start the broadcasting.
The camera had been turned toward Starscream's desk and showed the seeker seated there, drinking and arguing with himself- thankfully, the camera didn't provide sound.- then seemingly losing the argument with his glass of Engex...
Wheeljack looked aside at Windblade and saw a shadow of pity crosses her pretty features, he couldn't blame her.
Starscream, looked right at the camera, stood up, walked shakily toward a window, then everything trembled and collapsed around him. The image became foggy and unfocused but they could still distinguish things. Starscream tried to stand up from where he'd fallen...dust moving all around him...no, not dust, shadows, huge ones.
Four or five of them, they reached for him, trying to catch him. At first, he tried to defend himself, then he tried to escape...but then he froze suddenly, as if petrified.
They all watched as the seeker was simply picked up like a doll by a monstruous figure and several smaller ones. A split second later, the building collapsed, ripping the camera from its wires.
Althought shocked by the violence and emotional potency contained in such a short recording, Wheeljack felt somehow relieved that Starscream was proven not guilty for once...
"Can anyone recognize those people?" Optimus asked the small assembly.
Barricade looked at Scoop who shrugged then looked at Rattrap who looked back at Prime: "One of 'em looks very tall..." he said. "If there was such a big guy around here, I'd know 'em."
"Scoop just nodded in agreement but Barricade didn't react right away."
"What's on your mind, 'Cade?" Rattrap asked.
"I'm not sure..." the ex-Decepticon said slowly, "the footage isn't clear enough, too much dust...But one of them looks somewhat familiar... can't remember the name though..."
"Autobot, neutral, Decepticon?" The Prime enquired.
"Most definitely Decepticon."
"Prime...Optimus? What should we do?" Windblade asked.
"Investigate." Wheeljack cut in. "No one used the space bridge, they must still be here on Cybertron."
"Except if they have a ship," Windblade supplied. "The question is what should we do about Cybertron while Starscream is gone?"
"Starscream's Cybertron's leader," Barricade said, looking up at Windblade, "to search and rescue him is what we should do about Cybertron!"
"Of course," Rattrap said. "We'll rescue him."
But he exchanged heavy glances with Windblade and Optimus. Oh yes, of course they planned to go and save Starscream if he needed saving, but the occasion demanded they have a long talk about it first among themselves, among... Autobots.
To Be Continued