He woke in the med room of the Nemesis. He sat up in the berth, looking around him. He noticed right away that there was no one around, and that he was all alone.

After a quick glance down at his body, he gasped in complete surprise. The wounds were gone and no scars were left to show that they had once been there. Straight away Starscream wondered how long he had been out, and he was amazed at the medical work of whichever medic had healed him.

He got up, surprised at how good he felt. Peeking out into the hall, he saw no one, so he stealthily snuck out. Although he truly wanted to escape, his curiosity overtook him. He wanted to know what had happened and when they had found him.

He walked to the control room, evading the attention of the vehicons along the way. He knew the Autobots would be there, and he hoped sincerely that he could sweet talk his way into their favor.

The door was open, which was quite odd, but Starscream guessed that the Autobots had a more trusting mindset than that of a Decepticon. As he approached, he heard their voices.

The first was Knockout's, who was asking, "So, were you able to find out what that signal was you found yet?"

"Not yet,"Ratchet responded. "Just let me, ah- there we go. It was a high frequency signal, but that's all there is. There's no message."

Smokescreen exclaimed, "No message? Like, they didn't have time to send one out or something? What gives?"

"Who's it from?" Arcee interjected.

"Let me see..." Ratchet huffed. "It's from Starscream."

"What would he want from us? " Wheeljack grunted.

"Starscream? Probably a trap," Arcee growled.

Starscream was becoming more and more confused. A signal? He didn't recall sending out one. Additionally, they weren't acknowledging his presence aboard the ship.

How could they not know? he thought. Weren't they the ones who healed me?

"Where's his location?" Knockout asked.

"It's... The signal came from Darkmount," Ratchet replied.

"I'm not surprised. But should we check it out?" Arcee wondered aloud.

Wait, what? Starscream was at a loss for words. Signal, at Darkmount? But that was a long time ago, wasn't it? I have already recovered from my wounds, so how could they not know? How come they are only getting this signal now? What...?

Starscream didn't even know what to think anymore. As Ratchet had opened up a ground bridge, Starscream stumbled into the room, exclaiming, "Okay, would someone please be kind enough to tell me what the frag is going on right now?"

No one turned around or acknowledged at him. What, are the Autobots deaf or something?

"Um, hellooo?" Starscream walked towards them. "Someone tell me what's happening right now!"

Bulkhead and Arcee transformed their arms into blasters and Wheeljack pulled out his swords.

"You three, keep your comm. link on," Ratchet said. "We can back you up if there's trouble."

The three Autobots disappeared into the portal, but Ratchet kept it open.

"Slaggit," Starscream hissed. "I don't know what kind of advantage you're getting out of this, but I demand that you stop your trickery this instant!"

Then, the Autobots and Starscream stopped to listen as Wheeljack's voice came in through the comm. link.

"Yeah, uh, Ratchet? We have a... situation."

Ratchet moved up to control panel then pushed a button to respond.

"I'm here. What is it?" he asked.

"It's a... it's a slaggin' mess. I don't know how to describe it to you. I think you should have a look for yourself."

Ratchet gravely turned around and walked into the portal. Curiosity was in the other Autobots, and so they all followed him into the ground bridge as well. Starscream, not sure what to do, followed them.

They arrived onto the top platform of Darkmount. When Starscream came through, he heard instantly the gasps and murmurs of shock. Starscream, not able to see, had to step around them. What he saw almost made him pass out, he coughed out a sob.

Before everyone was a scene of gore. There was energon, and a lot of it. Sticky underfoot, splattered, pooled across the floor, and smeared on the throne, it glowed in magnificent blue. Small pieces of metal, and pieces of body parts were strewn everywhere. A tail fin at their feet, ripped wiring across the room- then in the center, a mangled body lay twisted from an agonizing end.

It was his body.

Starscream's corpse was ripped with claw marks that were deep, jagged, and brutal. His wings were reduced to contorted metal ribbons, his legs were ripped from top to bottom. His arms were in the same condition,as though massive knives had cut them open to expose everything that lay inside. But his abdomen- even the Autobots' optics were bugged out in astonishment of it all. His guts had been torn out from him to spill over the floor in ripped and separated tatters. Glass sparkled in the energon as his cockpit had been destroyed when they pulled out all his organs. As for his face, only a long scratch marked it. His eyes were black and his body was limp and cooling.

"By the Allspark," Ratchet breathed.

Bumblebee gasped, "The Predacons... did- did they do this?"

"He's... He's dead," Arcee exhaled.

Starscream collapsed while he could not pull his eyes away from his body.

A dream- it has to all be a bad dream! his mind screamed.

Then memories flashed through his mind and overwhelmed him. Starscream was finally aware of the truth after he saw his own body. He knew then, that he never did escape, and that something completely different had occurred.

He didn't fly away.

Darksteel raised his claws, and Starscream only had laid there helplessly as Skylynx came to gnaw on his arm.

Darksteel raked his claws over his frame, constantly, unendingly- again and again.

Then Skylynx tore at him, tearing open his legs, wings, chest.

The missiles were thrown away.

He was then thrown across the room, towards Predaking.

Predaking transformed and dipped his head down to surround his body with fangs.

Starscream was smashed on the throne repeatedly until he was thrown and left crumpled on the floor.

He remembered the pain; it had been more intense than anything he could have imagined.

He remembered crying openly, being so terrified, wishing beyond hope that someone in the world would hear his screams, that someone could have helped him.

In the short time he had, he had sent a last resort message.

Too late.

Predaking grabbed his core, shattering the cockpit between his teeth. Starscream tried scratching at his face, but Predaking only growled in irritation. Starscream's screeches heightened, becoming increasingly louder and higher as he watched the Predacon tear out his guts right in front of him.

When Predaking relented, they all stood around him to watch him finally bleed to death. Out of all the memory flashes, Starscream saw this one the clearest.

In his final moments, he stared up into those dark, frigid optics. He had observed all the sadistic faces of his murderers before his body went still and he died.

Starscream collapsed before his body. He wanted to scream out to somebody, but he realized finally that no one would hear him, like no one besides the Predacons had heard his dying screams. Stress filled him as he felt as though he had been forsaken by higher powers. He hadn't wanted to die and have his life just taken away so suddenly from him. It all seemed too sudden; so unfair. He had tried so hard to keep himself safe, even if it required cowardice. Yet now, it was over.

And so he put his helm into his servos and quietly sobbed.