Title: Fly on High Winds
Chapter: 1/1
Universe: G1
Characters: Starscream, Skywarp, Thundercracker, Megatron, Soundwave
Summary: Because of Megatron's jealousy, Starscream and Skywarp lose the most precious thing in their lives
Rating: M/NC-17
Warnings: Major character death, mention of rape, torture, m-preg and sparklet death (all non-graphic), cruel Megatron with yandere tendencies, ANGST.
Disclaimer: Still do not own Transformers

It had taken over 16 hours for Thundercracker to die.

16 hours of dead silence and horrific agony.

And that was not including the hours of abuse and torture that had preceded the silence.

For Starscream it had felt like 16 vorns. Mag-locked to the wall, he and Skywarp had been powerless to do anything but watch as life slowly and irrevocably faded away from their bondmate. Megatron could hardly have come up with a more effective way of tormenting them.

The tricoloured seeker felt decidedly disinclined to feel any admiration for the efficiency of his commander's methods.

And what had it all been for? Jealousy. Petty, base, selfish jealousy.

Megatron had wanted Starscream. It was as simple as that.

Starscream had known for a long time that his commander desired him, and had gone as far as he could to appease him, knowing that downright refusal would be unwise. He had even accepted being a regular if not all too willing guest in his berth, but in the end it hadn't been enough. Megatron had wanted his air commander and SIC completely for himself, wanted his spark. It hadn't been a desire driven by care, certainly not by love and probably not even lust. It had been possessiveness.

Even vorns ago, when Starscream would actually had been flattered by such an offer, the answer would have been no. He was already bonded to his trine mates, and such bonds were for life. Also, even if he had admired his leader's strength and determination he'd known that he would never love him and never be able to trust him the way he trusted his trine mates.

The Decepticon warlord had not taken the rejection well, but for a while he'd seemed to have settled with what he had. That was, until he found out that Thundercracker was carrying. Somehow, that had been the straw that broke the camel's back.

Mere seconds had passed between first wave of pain and shock from Thundercracker and Skywarp teleporting them to their bondmate's aid, but it still hadn't been fast enough. When they arrived they had just had time to see Megatron direct another blow against the blue seeker's chest before they had been unceremoniously sent into unconsciousness by point blank stun shots.

When they had finally onlined again, it had been to agony, though it had taken a while for them to realise that the pain wasn't their own but came from Thundercracker. Once the connection was made the unfathomable sorrow and pain that flooded the bond had left little doubt as to the cause.

Megatron's beating had extinguished the sparklet.

All Starscream had wanted at that moment was to kill the Decepticon warlord. He had made a move to throw himself upon the silver-plated mech, fully intending to tear him apart component by component, only to discover that his frame was mag-locked to the wall and he couldn't move a millimetre. He'd tried to scream out his anger, frustration, sorrow and hatred at the cruel, selfish bastard he had called his leader, but his vocalizer had been disconnected, effectively rendering him mute. Skywarp had obviously been treated in a similar way, while Thundercracker lay twitching on the floor, curled up and desperately hugging his chest, as if doing so would somehow restore the little orb of life that had dwelt there.

Then Megatron had turned to them.

"You could have had everything, Starscream," he had said, bitterness and contempt colouring his voice as he stepped in front of the furiously struggling seeker. "Instead you chose to waste your spark on such worthless filth," a kick directed at the whimpering mech on the floor, "as a mech who isn't even truly dedicated to our cause. Now all of you are going to pay for your treachery."

Ignoring the impotent rage of the tricoloured mech the gunformer had turned his full attention back to Thundercracker again, obviously intending to continue his "punishment". Unexpectedly, Soundwave had tried to intervene.

"Suggestion: exercise caution," the TIC had advised. "Further damage: could prove irreparable. Loss of lead trine: detrimental to the Decepticon cause."

"I amthe Decepticon cause," Megatron had snarled with enough ferocity to make the normally unwavering telepath actually backpedal, "and those who deny me had better be prepared to pay the price of treason!"

Then he had grinned maliciously at Starscream before making a shipwide communication that had turned the energon in the seeker's lines into ice.

"Decepticons, we have three traitors who need punishing. Anyone who wants to take part is to report to the brig within 5 minutes."

Needless to say, there had been no shortage of volunteers.

Torture would be too mild a word to describe what had followed. Megatron had declared that the three seekers had been found guilty of high treason and that every mech willing would get 10 minutes to subject Thundercracker to whatever punishment they saw fit, bar killing. The other two were not to be touched - yet - but it was to be made sure that they saw everything.

Then the tyrant had left the room, closely followed by Soundwave, leaving the already downed seeker at the mercy of 19 maliciously grinning mechs who all had some score or other to settle, if not with Thundercracker personally then with his trine.

Most had raped him. After all, the entire army was built upon the principle "kick your fellow mech while he's down and you're one step closer to his rank and position," and what better way to claim dominance? Furthermore, it wasn't every day you could get your servos on a seeker, and since having 'faced with a seeker was more or less considered a badge of honour few were willing to miss this rare chance. No-one seemed to care that what they did hardly qualified as interfacing and that the frame type of their victim did very little difference in such a setting. To them it was merely an unexpected bout of sadistic pleasure, a proverbial feather in their figurative hats and a rare occasion to deal a blow to a superior and get away scot-free.

The blue seeker had stopped screaming after the first six. After that he'd merely lain silent, staring into nothingness, seemingly oblivious to what was being done to him, but his trine mates had felt the violent internal turbulence in his spark and the pain that grew worse and worse for each assault, sexual or otherwise.

Only when everyone had finished did Megatron return. He'd barely dignified the mangled, energon-covered mess on the floor with a glance, instead crossing the room to where Starscream was restrained. The tricoloured seeker had been nearly catatonic, both from the echoes of his bondmate's pain and the sheer personal trauma of what he had just been forced to witness. It had taken a punch to his face for him to even fully realise that his leader was standing before him again. Megatron had merely smiled at the burning gaze his SIC gave him.

"Remember, this is all on you, Starscream," he'd said with a gesture towards the badly damaged seeker on the floor. "If you had done what I wanted this would never had happened. His death will be on your conscience."

With that the warlord had turned his back on them again, left the cell and carefully locked the door behind him.

It was not until then it had dawned upon Starscream that Megatron actually intended to let Thundercracker die, and for him and Skywarp to remain helpless in their restraints and watch it happen. The realisation had thrown him into yet another fit of furious panic and he had once again thrown himself with all his might against the bonds that held him.

He had not stopped until the power cells to his hydraulics overheated and automatically shut down to prevent permanent damage, but it had all been in vain. He could not get free, and so all he could do was watching and feeling how life slowly ebbed away from his bondmate, trying offer comfort over the bond even though most of the time it was doubtful if Thundercracker even registered it.

Starscream would never forget those hours, so short a time in the life span of one of their race and yet capable of containing an eternity of suffering. Neither would he forget Thundecracker's last words to them, pushed over the bond just before he lost consciousness for the last time, about two hours before his systems finally gave in and his spark faded and extinguished.

::Fly…on high winds…::

Those were words from the traditional Vosnian funeral rite, and Starscream knew exactly what his dying mate had meant by them. It was not only a farewell, but also a plea for them to live, to try to find a way to move on without him.

It had felt like he was asking the impossible. How could they live, how could they possibly go on after this? Losing him, losing their sparkling, all because of petty jealousy from a mech whose cause they had all served loyally for countless years. What was the point?

But it had been his last wish and Starscream knew he was going to do his best to respect it, with or without hope. For the time being, though, all he felt was a huge, raw wound in his soul and an echo of the same feelings from Skywarp's end of their shattered trine bond.

Skywarp…

Starscream made an effort to pull himself out of the emotional bog of sorrow he was sinking into. He couldn't afford to break, not yet. Skywarp was still alive, and knowing Megatron – and Starscream knew Megatron better than anyone else, much to his dismay – the former air commander had little doubt that the black and purple jet would be the gunformer's next target. He couldn't let that happen, couldn't allow yet another of his loved ones to be brutally murdered because of him. He had topull himself together, had to find a way to get Skywarp out of here before -

As if in response to his thoughts the cell door opened and Megatron entered.

"Good evening, my little traitor," the grey mech said, passing Thundercracker's lifeless frame without so much as a glance at it and stopping a mere step away from his ex-SIC. Starscream could even sense the heat from the other's frame and felt his own plating cringe.

"So, did you enjoy the performance?" the gunformer asked in a light tone, as if he were inquiring about the weather. "I was told some of them were quite creative."

Still unable to speak Starscream had no way of answering but he lifted his helm and met Megatron's optics. The burning intensity of his gaze was more than enough to communicate the boiling hatred nurtured inside the seeker's spark for the mech responsible for Thundercracker's torment and death.

Megatron merely laughed.

"I've told you time and again that some day or other my patience with you would run out, Starscream, and you'd feel the full weight of my retaliation. You knew you had it coming. You could have had everything, and yet you chose to saddle yourself with a brooding coward and a stupid, immature prankster.

He turned demonstratively and went over to Skywarp.

"However, I will admit that there's a certain physical appeal," he said, placing his rough hands on the pinioned seeker's wings. The fact that Skywarp didn't even flinch said quite a lot about the level of shock he was still in after the psychological torture inflicted on them. "Thundercracker never really was my type. Your second mate, however…"

He turned his helm slightly, just enough to allow Starscream to see the wicked grin on his lip plates and the lustful gleam in his optics. The reaction was very satisfying.

Starscream could only watch in silent horror as Megatron began pawing the lithe, dark frame of the younger seeker in a sickening parody of foreplay. A convulsive shudder went through Skywarp as the blunt fingers pressed against his interface cover and Starscream felt an explosion of fear, anger and revulsion from his sole remaining bondmate's spark. The teleporter's optics flared to life and he began struggling violently in his restraints, apparently much to the warlord's amusement.

"Feisty, aren't we?" the gunformer said with a note of satisfaction in his voice. "Maybe I should re-connect your vocaliser so we can all hear you moan for me like a two credit pleasure bot, just as your precious trine leader does when I take him?" He moved one hand up to Skywarp's cockpit, slowly tracing its edge. "Or perhaps I should go straight for your spark? After all, since Starscream has denied me his spark, it's only fair that he gives up something else instead."

The two seekers' sparks flared in united horror at the suggestion. With the recently shattered bond Skywarp would probably not survive a forced merge, and if he did there was a severe risk that their desperately searching, imbalanced trine coding would latch on to Megatron's spark and pull him into the void left by Thundercracker. Both of them would gladly choose deactivation over that, but by the look of things that was not a choice they'd be allowed to make.

Megatron's fingers tightened their grip, making the cockpit glass creak ominously.

All of a sudden an alarm went off, the signal blaring through every speaker in the ship. Megatron swore roundly and took half a step away from the mech he'd been molesting.

"Soundwave, what is the meaning of this?!" he shouted into his comm. link, obviously furious about the interruption. "Soundwave!"

"Soundwave is down!" came the nearly hysterical reply, from Frenzy by the sound of it. "Autobots have infiltrated the base! We need back-up on the br-"

The signal was cut short and replaced with static. The silver-plated warlord spat another series of curses and made for the cell door. Before leaving he turned and addressed his former SIC again.

"This is far from over. Make no mistake; I will come back and finish this once I've dealt with those miserable Autobots!"

With that he slammed the door shut, leaving the seekers alone once more.

Starscream's processor raced. They had been given a short respite and he was fervently trying to think of something to do with it.

::Starscream?:: came hesitantly over the bond, and the tricoloured seeker turned his helm to meet Skywarps optics. ::I can't… I won't allow him to do it. I can't let him take what we had with TC and defile it further.::

::I know, but I can't think of any way to stop him!::Starscream replied, frustration and an overwhelming feeling of inadequacy and failure accompanying his words.

Skywarp shuddered and looked away before he continued.

::If I… allow him to merge with me unchallenged, I can redirect the excess power from his spark to my warp generator. Since its output is blocked it will overheat within 30 seconds if I push it. The explosion should be enough to kill us both… and him.::

Starscream thought about it for a moment. His tanks churned at the thought of Skywarp having to let that monster into his spark, not to mention killing themselves would mean disregarding Thundercracker's last wish, but at least they would all be avenged. The trine leader knew he would be lying if he tried to deny the fact that death held more appeal to him than life at the moment, and if the alternative was to remain alive but bonded to Megatron, Starscream felt sure that Thundercracker would not have blamed them for taking the easier way out. There was also the merit that their frames, along with Thundercracker's, would be completely destroyed and thus spared from being cannibalized for parts, something that was considered despicable in the Vosnian culture but unfortunately was the norm among the Decepticons.

For a moment the thought that he, Starscream, was actually considering the benefits of suicide struck the currently very unbalanced seeker as morbidly hilarious and he wondered briefly if all the mechs claiming that he was insane would finally be proven correct.

::Star…?::

Shaking his helm as if to clear it from the strangely fuddled thought processes Starscream prepared to answer his mate when the lights suddenly went out and both seekers fell to the floor as the mag locks released their hold due to lack of power.

Before he even had time to process his actions, Starscream pushed his aching limbs into action and stumbled over to Thundercracker's greyed, mutilated frame, lifting it gently and pressing it tightly to his chest, as if doing so would somehow compensate for all the hours he had been unable to offer any such physical comfort. Skywarp was with him an instant later and the two of them merely sat there, grieving and hurting as they were finally reunited – and yet not – with their bondmate.

It was not until an explosion was heard from not too far away that they stirred and managed to tear their attention away from the lifeless shape in their arms. Reluctantly the two seekers set up emergency partitions in their processors and pushed all the emotions concerning the loss of their bondmate behind them. It was only a temporary solution and really not a healthy thing to do but they both knew that if they were to have any chance at all of escaping they would need to be able to focus and think clearly.

::The Autobots must be serious this time::Skywarp reflected, finally getting up, and Starscream nodded, for once wishing the enemy the best of luck. If the distraction went on long enough then maybe – maybe – they'd be able to make it out of there before Megatron got back. Neither of them was in any shape to fight, but if they could just get out of the cell and the brig then maybe…

A sound was heard from the door, and both of them instinctively and irrationally positioned themselves to protect Thundercracker. There was no need for spoken agreement; they knew each other too well. If that was Megatron coming through the door they would attack him, no matter the odds.

To their surprise and bafflement, the door opened to reveal… no-one.

They waited in tense silence for another couple of seconds, but nothing more happened.

::The frag?::

::Maybe it's that invisible Autobot spy?::Skywarp suggested, though it was obvious he didn't really believe it. After all, why would the Autobots even break into the brig, seeing there were no prisoners there at the moment except for the seekers?

::It's probably a trap of some kind, but we have to risk it:: Starscream said. ::I can't get your warp generator working without the proper tools, and as soon as this battle is over Megatron will return. We have to get out now::

Nodding once in agreement Skywarp bent down and gently picked up Thundercracker's greyed frame, a stab of pain going through his spark in spite of the dampening filter provided by the emergency partition. Until their bondmate's frame was one with the winds as the Vosnian tradition decreed they were still trine, and leaving him behind was out of the question.

Making sure that Skywarp was ready to follow Starscream braced himself and exited the cell, half expecting to be instantly shot. When nothing happened he gestured for his trine mate to follow and swiftly made his way towards the door leading away from the brig, all available sensors on high alert. He tried not to think about how ridiculously low the odds of them actually getting out of this alive were, unarmed and with the whole Decepticon army ready to shoot them on sight, not to mention the attacking Autobots. Still, they had to try.

The following 15 minutes were some of the strangest Starscream had ever experienced. In spite of the surrounding sounds of battle, always seeming to be no more than a corridor away, they did not encounter a single living being. True, they often had to use alternative routes since many doors for one reason or another refused to open for them, and for a while Starscream suspected that they had been spotted over the security feeds – they should have been by now, battle or no – and were being funnelled to some specific location, but he soon abandoned the theory as far too unlikely. Had they been discovered they would have been stopped by now, not led on a chase through the bowels of the Nemesis. Besides, roundabout as their track was, they were getting closer and closer to their destination.

The boarding tower.

They had only a few corridors left now and almost against his will Starscream began to hope that maybe, maybethere was a chance that they'd actually make it. True, he had no idea whatsoever what to do or where to go once they got out, but that was a problem he couldn't spare any processing power for at the moment. Right now all his focus had to stay on a) avoiding being caught and b) getting away from the base.

Carefully rounding the last corner both seekers involuntary ex-vented in relief: the corridor was empty. Hurrying forward to the controls Starscream impatiently punched the command code for the tower to rise.

Nothing happened.

Hands trembling, the tricoloured seeker repeated the attempt, just in case he had somehow made an error.

Nothing.

:: No, no, no, no, no!:: he cried, both to himself and over the bond. ::It's not responding, the access codes have been changed!::

He felt the growing panic from Skywarp and knew that his own partitioning patch was crumbling and might come crashing down any minute. The tower controls had been designed and programmed by Soundwave and were virtually unhackable, and without Skywarp's teleporting ability there was no other way off the ship. Except maybe blowing a hole in the hull and swim, which was currently also beyond their capabilities.

They were trapped. And since this place was definitely being monitored, Megatron had undoubtedly been made aware of their whereabouts.

Starscream rammed his fist into the obtrusive door and screamed in powerless frustration. This was not happening. He could not let Skywarp down like this. He had already failed to save Thundercracker and he would not, could not allow himself to fail again.

And yet, what could they do? Try to find a hiding place and escape later? No, they would be traced and found immediately. Try to overpower the next mech coming to use the tower? Weakened and unarmed as they were, they might as well march to the bridge and line up for execution.

For the first time in his life Starscream felt ready to give up.

He turned slowly and met his sole remaining bondmate's optics.

::It's not your fault, Star,:: the teleporter sent over the bond, not needing words or explanations to know what his trine leader was feeling. ::Don't you dare blame yourself, it's all on him.::

::I… I…::

Starscream tried to find something to say but the words failed him. He could feel how Skywarp was fighting just as he was not to simply sink to the floor and scream out his anger, sorrow and hatred at the world in general.

Suddenly a door swished open to their left and before Starscream knew what he did he had positioned himself in front of Skywarp. Unarmed or no, whoever came through that door would only touch the two other seekers, living and dead, over the former air commander lifeless shell. However, if chance took pity on them and it turned out to be one of the smaller Cons there might be a chance…

The last sliver of hope was brutally crushed as the massive shape of Soundwave emerged in the opening.

In a move so amateurish that he would have been ashamed of it had he been completely rational, Starscream gave a vicious snarl and hurled himself at his former fellow officer and subordinate.

Soundwave did not move a plate. Instead he mentally reached out, accessed the attacking seeker's processor and stopped him mid-stride. It was a move that wouldn't normally have worked on such a powerful opponent, but with the seeker's mind in such disarray the telepath got past his firewalls in no time at all. Skywarp, who had just been about to lay down Thundercracker's frame and come to his trine leader's aid, soon found himself immobilised as well.

So, this was it. Soundwave would keep them captured until Megatron showed up and then it would all be over. Starscream, meeting the telepath's unreadable visor, caught himself wishing that the mech would just kill them, it would be preferable to ending up in the warlord's clutches once more.

Then, to both seekers' utter astonishment, the navy tapedeck stepped over to the tower control console and punched in a series of commands, unlocking it. Turing towards his two prisoners he unsubspaced two sets of seeker armaments, four cubes of energon and a small box that he placed on the floor in front of them.

"Distraction: will remain for another ten minutes," he said in his eerie monotone, then returned to the door he had come from. Just before he left he turned towards them again, seeming to hesitate.

"Soundwave: offers condolences."

Then he was gone.

The telepathic lock on Starscream's motor relays released the moment the door closed but the seeker stood unmoving for yet another couple of seconds, completely stunned by the other Decepticon's words and actions. Soundwave had helped them?

Soundwave had helped them?!

Little love had ever been lost between Megatron's two top commanders and if there was anything Starscream would have been willing to bet on it was that the TIC, although he might not be the openly backstabbing type, would have no qualms whatsoever about leaving his fellow officer to their commander's not-so-tender mercies, so blindly loyal that anything the gunformer did would be considered appropriate.

And yet, he had helped them.

Maybe it was the fact that he was one of the few who had anything resembling a family? Starscream didn't know exactly how strong the connection was between Soundwave and his cassettes, but he suspected it ran at least as deep as trine coding and possibly even came close to a true spark bond. If that was the case it was quite possible that the telepath could actually understand to some degree what the seekers were going through right now. Not that Starscream had ever seen him – or any other 'Con outside his trine, for that matter – show the merest hint of empathy, but how else would his current actions make sense?

And how the pit could the mech know that the Autobot attack would last for another ten minutes, by the way?

Starscream shook his helm. Right now the 'hows' and 'whys' weren't important. Soundwave had given them an escape route and ten minutes to use it; they had better get going.

Without a word the former air commander collected his set of null rays, subspaced the cubes and quickly checked the box to make sure it didn't contain anything explosive or traceable. His optics widened somewhat when he saw the contents and his turbulent emotions echoed over the bond, prompting Skywarp to send a careful, inquisitive pulse his way. Not trusting himself to put it in words even over the bond at the moment Starscream merely returned a feeling of 'not now' and subspaced the box as well, before helping his mate to re-attach his weapons.

::You okay, Star?::Skywarp asked, uncertain how to interpret the sudden burst of emotions but unwilling to probe deeper since his mate obviously didn't want to address the matter.

::Yes,:: Starscream replied, not bothering to reflect on how absurd that reply was, given the circumstances. He knew what Skywarp had meant with his question and that the teleporter would understand his answer the way he meant it. ::Come, let's get out of here.::

With that he triggered the door open and made sure both his mates were safely inside the lift pod before activating the tower controls. The door closed and he felt the field of gravity shift somewhat as they sped towards the surface. 14 seconds later the door opened again, revealing a calm sea and an almost clear sky.

They had made it.

Starscream felt a bitter taste in his mouth as he stepped out on the platform and took to the air. Yes, he and Skywarp had made it, but they had still lost Thundercracker. And the sparklet. All sense of victory was suddenly drowned out by that thought and once again the tricoloured mech caught himself wondering why they had even bothered.

Because it was his last wish, that's why,he answered his own question.

Fly on high winds.

Once more he felt the walls holding his emotions in check tremble and threaten to come crashing down, but he resolutely forced them to stay up. He mustn't give in just yet, one more thing still remained.

Making sure that Skywarp didn't fall behind, weighed down as he was by his horrifying yet precious burden, Starscream made a quick search of his topographic data banks for the highest mountain peak within their range and then set course towards it.

They flew in silence for nearly two hours before Starscream signalled his intention to land. He set down on a bare expanse of solid rock and carefully laid down Thundercracker's frame, which he had been carrying for the last half hour or so. Still saying nothing, the trine leader produced a soft cloth from subspace and began meticulously cleaning the greyed, battered frame, removing every trace of leaked energon, coolant, transfluid and half a dozen other liquids that stained the plating. Equally silent Skywarp joined in, doing his best to smoothen out the dents in the armour and scrub away paint transfers. Had they been in Vos before the war, this process would have gone on until the frame was restored to perfection, usually even painted in its original colours. They didn't have the materials or the equipment to do the same here, but they would do their best.

::Star…:: the younger seeker whispered over the bond when they had been working for a while. They hadn't bothered to reconnect their vocalisers, seeing no reason to do so even though they easily could now that they were free. ::Star, what shall we do with him? I can't take just leaving him somewhere and we don't have the means to surrender him properly, not without-::

::Yes, we do,::Starscream interrupted, never taking his optics off the plate he was currently polishing.

::We do?:: Skywarp asked, a mix of confusion and hope blending with the sorrow that flowed through his spark. ::But how… you mean… Soundwave? That box?::

Starscream nodded.

::How?::

::I don't know how he found out, or managed to find it, but apparently he did. It's our own.::

Skywarp was speechless. They had hidden it so well and never talked of it, locked the information away behind their strongest firewalls, so how could Soundwave have discovered? Well, apparently he had, and not only had he not confiscated it, he had made sure to retrieve it for them when they most needed it.

The black and purple seeker couldn't even begin to understand what had moved the telepath to act like he did, but no matter what the motives might have been Skywarp was sure that he had never felt so grateful in his entire life.

The two seekers worked on in silence for nearly an hour more before they were satisfied with the results. Though still grey and sporting a few gashes and dents they couldn't do anything about, along with the cracked cockpit glass, Thundercracker's frame looked otherwise normal and was impeccably clean and polished. Painful though it had been they had even opened his chest and made sure that nothing was contaminating the empty spark chamber.

Now, only one last step remained.

Gently Starscream and Skywarp lifted their mate's frame between them, each draping an arm over their shoulder, and took to the air. Higher and higher they rose, optics firmly focused on their destination: the highest of the mountain peaks in front of them. In Vos there had been special towers for his but here on Earth this was the closest they would come.

The ascent was slow, partially because their systems needed time to adapt to the change in temperature and air pressure, but also because they were both subconsciously trying to postpone the inevitable parting they knew they were heading for. Finally, however, they set down on the windswept rock and looked around. The view, which would have been considered breath-taking by any human, was nothing special for someone who was used to seeing the world from this perspective, but it did confirm that the place suited their purpose. There was nothing but air in any direction and the wind was strong.

It was as fitting a place as they were likely to find on this planet.

Carefully they laid down their burden, Skywarp arranging the unmoving frame while Starscream rose, reconnected and modified his vocaliser to be able to speak in ancient Vosnian, which was necessary for this rite. Then he accessed his subspace and brought forth the small box Soundwave had left for them. Just like Skywarp had done before he sent a wordless thought of immense gratitude towards his once-rival for retrieving this for them. Without it, they would not have been able to give Thundercracker a proper funeral, and even though neither he nor Skywarp could be considered especially superstitious or religious it would have bothered them greatly.

Unlocking the box by a distinct series of clicks and whistles in seeker cant Starscream carefully extracted a small, metallic device, shaped to perfectly fit in a seeker's hand.

A shadowspark generator.

Before the war every seeker trine formed had been given one of these, but with the fall of Vos the knowledge how to make them had been lost and the devices were now extremely rare.

The power and the resonance of a Cybertronian's spark was what held the metals in their frames together. Thus, when a spark extinguished the frame would begin to deteriorate. The outmost layer would decay instantly – hence the unavoidable loss of colour – but for the rest of the frame it could take vorns, depending on its size and how strong the residing resonance echo was. Many Cybertronian cultures therefore built mausoleums to house the dead frames of their beloved ones until they were completely gone.

For the Vosnians, however, whose worst punishment for the living was to be grounded and forever kept from the sky, such practices had always been considered wrong. A seeker's place was in the air, and that was true for the dead as well as for the living. That was where the shadowspark generator had come into the picture.

The device, when properly coded, would mimic a Cybertronians spark, only with reversed frequencies and purpose. Instead of keeping the atoms of the different materials in the frame glued together it actively pushed them apart, thus reducing the frame to nothing but microscopic dust in a matter of moments.

A dust so fine that it would be easily carried by the wind.

For the procedure to work, however, the spark coding frequency had to be exact, meaning only your trine mates or someone you trusted enough to share your core coding with could make it work.

Starscream heaved a heavy ex-vent, suddenly feeling old in a way he had never experienced before. As trine leader he had expected to be forced to do this for one or both of his mates sooner or later – they were at war, after all, and in a war mechs got killed – but Thundercracker's death had been so meaningless, so unnecessary, and it wasn't even for the greater good or some other higher purpose.

It was so unbearably unfair.

Seeing that Skywarp was done with his task Starscream slowly went down on his knees opposite him and with Thundercracker's frame between them. Gently pried his fallen mate's chest plates and then the spark chamber open. Securing his grip around the shadowspark generator he allowed it to connect with the special port hidden in his palm, creating a direct line from his own spark to the device, feeding it the necessary data. A small jolt went through his systems as Skywarp linked up with him, confirming the data and offering what support he could, both emotionally and energy-wise.

::Do it,:: the younger seeker said softly over the bond, not even trying to hide the effort it took to produce the words. ::Set him free.::

Starscream placed his hand and the device inside the empty spark chamber and shifted his gaze to Thundercrackers face, taking it in and committing it to memory for the last time. Then he shuttered his optics and sent the activation codes.

At first nothing seemed to happen. Then they heard a soft hum and felt the drain on their own strength as the generator set to work.

Optics still shuttered, Starscream began to speak in the melodic traditional dialect of ancient Vosnian.

"By the power of our shared spark we release you from the bonds of this frame. By the depth of our love we deliver you to the winds, to be one with the element of our sparks. By the strength of our bond we shall know that whenever we feel the wind on our wings you will be there with us, never lost, never alone, but trine forever."

He felt the surface under his hand beginning to give and had to fight the urge to look, knowing that he did not want the image of Thundercracker's half disintegrated frame imprinted on his memory banks. This was difficult enough as it was.

"May you remember us with love, as we will always keep you treasured in our sparks. May you fly on high winds, and be at peace until the time has come for us to meet again."

With a keening sob Starscream felt how his hand suddenly hit the cold rock and he knew it was over. With a scream of pure grief he hurled himself forward into Skywarp's arms, finally allowing himself to let go of every restraint, every obligation and responsibility, and be nothing more or less than a mech overwhelmed by sorrow, a mech who had lost one of the most important things in his life.

Finally, he allowed himself to cry.

END