He'd never experienced the sensation of the life leaking out of another Cybertronian.

He was a scientist, not a fighter, he was never supposed to shoot a gun.

He'd never been so frightened in his life. It was a morbid thing to hear the throes of death overtake another living being. He could already feel himself trying to analyze the situation, try to escape the idea that he would be ending the life of another person in this fight.

He shouldn't be so scared, after all he's guessed that something like this would happen. He had been the one to volunteer to go in first. He'd been eager to prove his loyalty to the Autobots. He had taken the blaster rifle that Optimus Prime proffered, he'd gone inside even when Prime had told him he had nothing to prove.

He should have known that the dark would hide an enemy, he knew somewhere in his CPU that entering the cave would mean there would be darkness. He knew deep down that the place would be hiding a Decepticon, He knew that if he were attacked, he would have to fire the rifle: it was killed or be killed. He wasn't on Cybertron in a laboratory, he was on Earth entering a pitch colored hole in the side of a mountain, to try and find any Decepticon lingering after a raid on an old human mine.

Despite all this, we was surprised when two precisely aimed shots completely destroyed the high beams he'd turned on to light the place enough to see in front of his face. He was almost too shocked to squeeze the trigger of the blaster rifle. Almost. It took him two nanoseconds to pull himself together enough to squeeze three shots off in the dark.

He hadn't expected to hit anything, though. He was surprised when he heard a sickening crunch as whomever had fired upon him fell to the floor. He could smell smoke, and he saw sparks flying off of the shape of another, lying flat in the rough ground: No doubt digging soot into the crevices of his armor.

He stood there for a moment, expecting another attack from the downed soldier. All he received in response was a deep, painful moan. He could tell by the tiny shooting colors that he had badly wounded the other. He began running all the possibilities through his head, something he knew would slow him down, but he knew that he couldn't just stand there and wait for the other to die.

The Autobots could use all of the information that they could get. Though it pained Skyfire to think that he had shot someone, and would now drag them away and let them become a POW he knew it would be the best move for all parties involved.

There was a wet cough from the ground, and he could feel energon pepper the armor on his legs.

He'd spent too much time thinking. Now had to work quickly. Energon was leaking out as a quick pace, he could feel it pooling against the tips of his feet.

For a nervous moment he hesitated.

Then he knelt next to the other.

"Is there anyone else here?" It was a simple question. He knew that he'd been lucky when he shot this one, but he would not be so lucky next time. Besides that, if he could get the other 'bot out to Ratchet…

"Traitor."

It was a simple word.

It was something that he expected to hear, especially coming from the energon-streaked mouth of a Decepticon.

It was the scratchy, strained voice that sent him reeling.

Starscream.

He'd shot Starscream in the dark of a mine shaft. He'd shot his old friend somewhere in the chest.

His bondmate. His former bondmate.

The Seeker was soaking the ground with his own energon, and it was Skyfire's fault.

Starscream was dying.

"RATCHET!"