Sorry about the wait between updates for this story, but I pre-warn you that updates on this one is not going to be 'regularly' consistent. Wait between chapter may be a short time, or a long one.
In this one we get a tiny little glimpse into Tory's history/story and we also bare witness to what a sicko Starscream is.

There are strong suggestions of sex and more specifically rape, in this chapter and these will be major play factors throughout the fic.
It deals with Sparkrape, and will contain a great deal of sexual content. AND TORY SWEARS, so don't be offended by the content because YOU HAVE BEEN THOROUGHLY WARNED.

If it isn't your cup of tea, I understand. But if it isn't, just don't read it; I don't want mine or Ellmarr's inboxes spammed with 'I LIEK TTLY DUN LIEK DIS STORYYY' because I like to think you're all more mature than that :)
Much love guys!
Enjoy.

Whilst the young human in his cabin was unconscious, the Prime's worst fears had come to fruition.

He had been captured by Decepticons.

Optimus felt like kicking himself for having been so foolish as to let his guard down. Using an EM detector field, in uninhabited terrain where 'Cons could roam freely?

Stupid.

The Decepticon warship was their current hold, but Optimus was unsure as to where exactly they were. He had been left in what looked like one of their medical containment cells, with a large metal berth to one side and a collection of various devices which he could only assume were to torture victims and captives. He would have gone so far as to claim one of said instruments as a weapon of self-defence, but he was restrained in his alt mode by a myriad of chains and restraints; effectively anchoring him to the opposite side of the room.

In any case, he could not transform with the human still out cold within his cab.

He was concerned for her physical health, because she had been out for a good hour now; having been unconscious through the entire ordeal. Starscream had been there to 'greet' him upon arrival, but had seemingly had very little luck with regards trying to get the Prime to transform into his bipedal mode.

It seemed the Decepticon second-in-command had taken over upon Megatron's end, and Optimus had received quite a beating in their attempts to pry information from him. Of course, he hadn't said a thing to aid them; a fact which frustrated the sick Decepticon all the more. Having ordered their prisoner be taken to the cell in which he currently resided, Starscream had informed Optimus that he would return later with some far more…creative methods to make him talk.

This worried the Autobot commander, because Starscream was renowned for his twisted and volatile methods with gaining intel. It was one of the very reasons Megatron had tolerated the shady, somewhat disloyal member of his crew. Primus only knew what sort of despicable methods the flight master had up his pistons.

A movement within his cabin startled him, but Optimus found himself somewhat relieved to sense the human girl moving around.

It meant she was alive, at least.

Flickering his sensors which were restricted to the area of the cell and the corridor just outside of it, given the EM restraint barriers in place, he noticed that there were no guards stationed outside the door. None within detectable range at least; but he had no doubt that the door to the cell was under surveillance. Starscream knew better than to underestimate him; but at least this meant he could address the girl without the 'guards' becoming aware of her.

Inside the truck, Tory had woken with a splitting headache.

Her mouth felt dry, and her hair stuck to her bare skin in semi damp tangles from the rain she'd previously been walking in. With an aching groan, she forced herself to open her eyes and sit up; she'd been out cold on the floor of the sleeping cabin in the truck.

The truck!
"Holy shit…" she cursed under her breath, suddenly remembering what had happened before she'd so gracefully knocked her own lights out. "Where the hell am I…?"

"Our location is unknown, but we are in a holding cell." Came a deep baritone from the radio. The same baritone that had spoken to her a few times before she'd blacked out.

In a near full-bodied spasm, Tory gasped and twisted her hand up in front of her body to clutch the tags at her neck and clench one of her palms into a tense fist, as if ready to fight; as though taking on a truck radio was perfectly normal…

"What. The. Hell?" she screeched, her back thumping into the wall of the cabin and tangling her feet into one another on the sleeper. Her blue eyes were wide and frantic, trying to determine whether or not she was just going insane.
"It's alright." Came the voice, "Please stay calm."

"….Calm?" she gasped, "Dude, you're a truck. What the hell?"

A loud, roaring kerfuffle (something greatly resembling an argument amongst whoever their captors were) sounded from somewhere far off followed by a metallic clang, and Tory turned her head towards the source of the sound, concerned about what the hell she'd gotten herself into. Well…if she was going to be stuck in this 'holding cell' as the truck had called it, she may as well make familiarities.

"So…you got a name Mr…uh…truck?" she asked, scratching the back of her neck nervously; she was trying to ignore the fact that she was only dressed in a pair of black cotton briefs and her blue bra.

"My name is Optimus Prime." The speakers rumbled. He was still trying to get a com-link to connect, but it was a vain hope. Starscream was intelligent enough to know that calling for back-up would be the first thing Prime tried to do. His communications systems would need repairing.

That is…if he ever got out of here.

"I'm Tory…" she mumbled cautiously, her fingers twisting into the chain around her neck in a nervous, somewhat frightened manner, "Tory Baker. So…what exactly is going on…Optimus? How can you talk, I mean…you're a truck."

"So you have pointed out." He said gently, trying to find some humour in their currently bleak situation. If the human started to panic, then he would have to occupy his time with trying to calm her rather than being able think of a plan.

He proceeded to tell her a rather abbreviated version of the story about the Autobot/Decepticon war; of how they were forced to evacuate from Cybertron and of Megatron's tyranny before his recent downfall. There was much that she didn't understand, and she was honest enough to inform him that she didn't really believe any of it…but he understood that.

He noticed that the human had gone rather silent in the wake of all the information, his interior visual spotted one of her hands clasped tensely over the military issue tags; clutching them so tightly that the knuckles on her hand were turning white.

"…Are you alright…?" he asked her gently, still a little wary of her reacting badly to the whole situation.

Tory was silent for a minute before she took in a deep breath and exhaled, trying to still her heart and stop herself from freaking out over the mass overload of information. "Well…I guess considering I went from hitch-hiking, to being abducted inside an alien truck…and locked in some bad guy's ship…I'm not freaking out too badly." She sighed heavily and tried to will away her goose bumps from the chill of being in a state of undress. "What…what about you?"

A rumbling 'hmm' sounded before he spoke again, his voice deep and level in an attempt to keep her feeling calm, "Much the same as yourself I suppose…" he noticed her nod and twist her slender fingers into the chain again; leaving red marks in the skin, "If you don't mind my asking…I was curious…why are you wearing military issue identification plates…?"

She looked down and pulled her hand out in front of her. Optimus did not miss the fond look that glinted across her eyes as she viewed them, they clearly had value to her of a sentimental nature.

"They were my Dad's…" she murmured with a distant smile, "He was a U.S Marine."
"…Was?"

"Yeah…he was killed a few years ago. I asked to keep these, rather than sending them back to the army…"

Optimus was silent for a moment, not having expected something like this; she hardly seemed the type to have been well-briefed in the aftermath of war. "What of your mother…?"

Sliding her fingers thoughtfully into the two silver bands on the chain, she tilted her head to the side with a distant expression, "Car accident. Two years ago, I survived it…she didn't." she held up the tags and rings, hoping he could see them, "These are my parents' wedding rings. I keep them to remind me…of what I'm fighting for, you know?"

"…I am sorry…" he murmured. However the young woman shook her head seriously.

"Don't be. Dad knew what being a Marine would risk, and Mom…she was so broken after he died that it's probably better this way. At least she's with him now."

"But now you are alone…?"

Her eyes darkened in a way that made him curious as she clenched the tags tighter and spoke again, "Sometimes being alone means that you're safe, you know. It isn't always a bad thing." She shrugged and released the necklace, scratching the back of her neck tensely, "So with the supposed…alien bad guys…What will they do to us?"

"I'm not sure…but I will do what I can to keep you safe; I promise."

Optimus didn't miss the hasty change in subject, but clearly it was not something she wanted to dwell on; and he was not going to press her. Especially not when she was still sceptical about whether or not all of this was even real.

She would not believe it until she saw it, and he feared that would be a moment that came all too soon. It was only a matter of time before Starscream decided he was awake, and that he could try to get some intel from him. Optimus would not admit it aloud…but he was afraid.

Starscream was one of Megatron's most skilled interrogators, mostly because he used far more underhanded methods than a beating. The flight commander could twist the mind and violate the most vulnerable parts of a bot until they begged for mercy. In his time as a participant in this war, there had been times that Optimus had seen the results of the Decepticon's sick interrogation methods; bots whom had possessed wills of steel, broken and destroyed within their mental processors.

He would do his very best as Prime to fight against an end like that, but he would be foolish to say he was not concerned. Particularly for the little female in his cabin; if Starscream discovered her there was no telling what the organic-hating bot would do to her.

Speaking of which…the door to the cell made a screeching beep, and the aforementioned Decepticon entered the room. His lithe, slender frame making him look the very image of an agile cat ready to pounce its prey. Optimus felt Tory tense in the back, peeking out the windshield from between the seats.

"Holy mother of shit…" she whispered, "That's one of them, right? The bad guys?"

"Yes…" he murmured quietly, not allowing his speakers to go above a murmur in order to avoid drawing Starscream's attention to her. "You must stay low, and do not speak a word…"

She nodded, not really sure if he could see her or not. Considering she was in underwear, she really hoped not.

"So, Prime. How have you enjoyed your stay with us so far?" the deep, almost snake-like baritone hissed at the captive Autobot.

"What do you want from me, Starscream? Get to the point." Optimus stated back. His voice was filled with such command and authority that Tory was momentarily stunned. She was starting to believe what he'd said about their being a war; about him being in a sort of 'military' position. He didn't sound afraid at all.

The one he had addressed as Starscream gave a metallic scoff, pacing back and forth in front of the bound truck.

"Now, now…such an attitude after all our…hospitality; all we want is information, Prime."

"On the Autobots." he replied, clearly not a question; he knew this Decepticon well. He was not in the mood to be 'bullshitted' as humans said. His mind was clicking and turning in an attempt to find a way out of this, for the human girl's sake if not for his own.

He needed to find a way to get her safe…or at least hide her.

"See? We can all get along, just as long as you co-operate. Now…" he leaned in to the face of the truck, pressing his hands to the bonnet of the vehicle and glaring at the windscreen. Tory held her breath as she hid behind the seat, praying that she hadn't been seen, "…tell me where the Autobots are, Prime."

"By the All-Spark, Starscream… I will not tell you anything."

Tory had to refrain from screaming out loud when she heard the metal of Optimus' hood crunching; obviously Starscream had dug those claw-like hands into the metal, causing a sharp, steely screech to ring out in the air. She heard him give a snarl of pain; clearly these 'Autobot' things felt pain as much as anyone.

"Reconsidering?" the Decepticon drawled darkly, a sickly sweet tone to his voice; almost patronizing.

Optimus gave a deep, rumbling growl in retaliation, "No."

The monster gave a calm 'hmph' before pushing himself off the hood and shaking his head. "So sorry…" he chided, "but that was the wrong answer. I suppose we're going to have to do this the hard way, aren't we?" he gave an exasperated sigh as though her were reprimanding a child, and Tory found her stomach give a twist. "That's alright though, I like the hard way."

This creature had the same demeanour as a certain lowly human she knew; and it both terrified and aggravated her.

"Primus damn you to the Pit." Optimus growled in resignation, his tone sounding like it was teeming with pure hatred and disgust at the being in front of them. She heard a smirk escape said being.

"Perhaps. But first, Prime…I'll be having some amusing fun with you. You're free to talk at any time during the interrogation. Not to say it won't be fun trying to make you."

Starscream turned towards the large metal table and rattled a few things there, organizing them. Optimus recognized the shackles on the berth and realized that at the very least, he was going to be physically harmed. Which meant they would make him transform; there was no way out of what he would have to do to hide the human.

If she was going to survive, she had to exit the cabin.

"Tory…" he murmured lowly, avoiding speaking externally so that Starscream would not take notice, "…they are going to restrain me…in my true form. You must get out."
"Out?" she hissed in a minute whisper, "But…won't that thing see me?"

Optimus was silent for a few seconds, trying hastily to locate a safe region before Starscream was done making his preparations. A cluster of body parts lay strewn a few metres from his shackle point, obviously mechs and femmes that had previously been subjected to the Decepticon interrogator's cruel ways. It was not much…but it would have to do.

"There, in the opposite corner." He murmured gently, his tone urgent, "Hide amongst the wreckage and remain hidden. I will do everything I can to keep you from harm."

Tory looked out the window and nodded, swallowing thickly. She was still only in her underwear, but she wasn't really being given much choice here. Bracing her muscles she turned to watch the 'Decepticon' for the right opportunity. Before she exited the vehicle though, she chanced a quiet question. "…Are we getting out of here alive…?"

There was a deep, pregnant pause before she heard a heavy, burdened sigh through the speakers of the truck's cabin.

"…I don't know."

Nodding to herself, Tory steeled her nerves. A Marine doesn't fear death. A Marine doesn't fear death.

True, she wasn't a Marine exactly…but her father had been, and she wasn't going to disappoint him. As soon as the large robot's back was completely turned she jumped from the open door onto the metal flooring; a landing that was rather silent given her bare feet. Then she sprinted for the pile of scraps and metal and crouched down as small as she could. She just prayed that she would be sufficiently hidden.

Starscream finally turned back to the truck with a wide, sadistic metal grin. His glowing, fibre-optic eyes were red and shone like angry hot coals from a hellfire. A sharp, metallic bark that sounded like an order emitted from his throat, and within moments two other massive robots were entering the room. He looked at them, and then pointed at Prime with a calm snarl.

"On the berth. Shackle him nice and tight."

As soon as the restraints on the trucks bumpers and tow ball were released, there was a violent sound of gears shifting and metal conforming as Tory watched the massive rig change shape right before her eyes. It transformed into a tall, red and blue humanoid robot with wide-set shoulders and a broad, red metal chest that tapered into a narrowed waist and strong silver legs; where the blue metal had been on the truck, now acted as his calves and greaves; armoured all over. She felt a little bit scared just to think about the fact that she had not moments ago been hiding in that thing.

The new robot gave a battle yell and lunged at one of the guard-bots, swinging punches and hits; clearly trying to fight his way through their desperate situation. Starscream gave an angry snarl and leapt for him, pulling a device from a cavity in his chest plating and driving it into Optimus' back. A sharp jolt of electricity arched from it and through the captive bot's body, causing him to cry out in evident pain before falling to his knees; the electrical pulse clearly having weakened his ability to support his bodyweight.

Which, judging by the colossal tremble the ground gave, was a considerable mass.

"Oh, Prime…" Starscream reprimanded, "…that was unwise. Now you're really annoying me. On the berth, NOW!" he snarled at the guards, who proceeded to drag him to the designated area and shackle him down in massive, beastly looking irons.

Starscream ordered the guards out of the room once Prime was secured before he paced back and forth on the side of the berth. Tory was watching in horror as he placed a clawed hand on the chest of the 'Autobot' and dug his fingers into the metal. The sound was comparable to nails on a chalkboard and made her teeth screech in sympathy. Was there really nothing she could do?

The interrogator held up the device he had used to disable the Prime and waved it in front of him like a bully teasing with a toy. His expression was one of power and control, and Tory once more found herself making personal comparisons.

"Powerful isn't it?" he rumbled, "It's a dual neural stimulator and disrupter; capable of either halting your neuron semantics, or manipulating their function. The disabler function has quite a sting, as you can already feel. But there is another function I like…one that's much more fun, if you understand me, Prime."

In this form, she could read her somewhat-companion's expressions, and the one that currently crossed his face was one of disbelieving horror. What was the Decepticon talking about? What the hell was a 'neural disrupter'?

"You mean…?"

"Exactly. If I so choose to, Optimus…I can activate your interface program. And as you well know, once that happens an interface must be had for it to return to original functionality."

Tory noticed Optimus begin to writhe against the shackling, his metal teeth bared and his blue neon eyes narrowing in an almost dangerous manner. "You wouldn't dare, Starscream! A rape, for the sake of what? Beside your own sick fantasies?"

There was a genuine twinge of terror in the Prime's voice, and Starscream had to admit it was exciting. If Prime was not aware of the tactical role that Sparkrape played, than it would be no doubt that the great Optimus Prime had never engaged in an interface before. This fact made the Decepticon purr in anticipation.

"For information, Prime. When a Spark merges, information is traded. The less a mech or femme interfaces, the more information is built up within their Spark and as such; the more information that is released and transferred when overload is reached." He slid his clawed hand down from Optimus' chest to the junction of his powerful thighs where the metal panel was that concealed his interface spike. "And from what I can gather, Optimus Prime…you have never reached interfacial overload."
"Stop." Optimus ordered, as though he were in any position to be giving orders at all.

Starscream gave a rumbling chuckle. "Oh this is going to be fun. To think that your first time is going to be with a 'Con. What would the Council of the Primes say to this? Mmm."

Tory felt her previous terror replace with anger. This beast was talking about rape, and no matter how small or helpless she felt against these massive creatures she couldn't sit by and let it happen to someone. She just couldn't!

Looking around desperately, she tried to find something that she would be able to use as a weapon, a projectile; anything. Her eyes rested on a thick, ribbed piece of hinged metal sticking out from the pile, realizing that it had once been a robot's finger! She was not sure as to whether she could pull it out; it looked extremely heavy…but…

"ARGH!" the sound of her companion's pained cry drew her attention. The robot known as Starscream and driven the 'disruptor' device into Optimus' chest and a heavy electrical pulse was jolting through him, arcs of electricity crackling between his armour plates every now and again.

"Now, now Optimus…" Starscream cooed, "Don't get too excited all at once. I can repeat this for as long as I want," his clawed hand slid to his own personal interface panel to run his fingers teasingly over his emerging spike, sick glee written all over his face as he continued, "and I'm going to make you overload again…and again–"

"-N…NO!" Optimus gritted out through pain and resistance. It made Tory want to cry.

"…and again. Until your systems cut out and have to force themselves to reboot. And you know what? Then I'll do it one last time. The information your Spark surrenders will just be a bonus to watching you unable to fight the overloads. Mmm, now you've got me all…shaky with anticipation."

Tory felt her skin prickle as she watched the situation, familiarity flaring up as she remembered experiences of her own. She wanted to fight back, she couldn't sit by and allow this! To let this alien submit to punishments he did not deserve, and all the while not alerting them to her presence; if she let this happen, she would be no better than every rapist on earth…

A hissing, keening whine of metal rang through the air as Starscream dug his clawed hands into the seam of Optimus' chest plating and cracked it open to reveal his Spark chamber. All the volts of neural stimulation had fed into the Spark directly making it volatile and desperate. The arcing tendrils of blue light stretched as far as they could reach before diffusing; desperate for something, anything to merge with.

It was like a human trying to thrust for sexual friction and finding none.

Tory grew desperate as she wrapped her hands around the severed metal finger, trying to pull it out. She had to help, no matter how condemned the situation was. If she died then so be it, but she could not sit by and let this happen to someone else.

Starscream was moving in on Optimus now, and Tory felt her heart slacken in relief as she finally, FINALLY managed to pull the metal weapon from the pile. However it seemed fate had different ideas for her 'stealthy' rescue… Like a giant pile of Jenga blocks, the teeming stack of metal body parts and limbs collapsed with an earthshattering rumble.

Starscream's attention was immediately drawn to the echoing noise and was visibly confused upon seeing the small human standing wide-eyed beside the collapsed wreckage with a metal scrap in her hands.
"Well, well…what have we here…?" he smirked, looking to Prime who was writhing in something between arousal and defiance. With his interface program breeched and activated, he could not fight the Spark's want; no matter how much he didn't mentally desire an interface. "A passenger, Prime…?"
"L-leave her alone, Starscream!" Optimus gritted out angrily, his fists clenching and rattling the heavy bound shackles.

"…Interesting…"

"Leave him ALONE, you fucking BASTARD!" Tory screamed suddenly, her eyes blazing with Marine spirit. Never give up, she remembered her father saying, "You HEAR me?"

Feeling his Spark twitch in rage at her insolence, Starscream lunged for her, causing her to react with a startled scream and swing the heavy metal finger with all the strength that she had. It successfully belted the crouching 'Con right in the face, but it didn't really do any damage to him; she just didn't have the physical prowess to match him. Angrily, he lifted the metal appendage and was quite surprised when she didn't let go.

Like a sticky little bug.

As he reached his long, lithe fingers towards her she gave a roaring snarl and kicked violently with her bare feet, disappointed when all she got for that was a few sore toes. The metal was tough, sleek and far too strong for her. Damn, if only she'd still been wearing her boots! Starscream growled and reached for her, snatching her up in his grip and dropping the dead bot finger to the floor with a metallic clang. Her waist was pinched between his thumb and finger as he held her, and curiously he clenched them a little; a motion which made her gasp in pain.

"Stop, Starscream! PLEASE!" Prime roared over the crackling of his Spark.

Turning to view his victim writhing on the berth, he heard the desperate plea in the great leader's voice. Humans were their weakness; the Autobots fought to defend them. This memory gave him an idea…

The Decepticon flight commander made his way back to Prime's side and curiously held the human in front of him, lifting one of his free fingers to slide it up the fleshy femme's leg and hooking it under the hem of her undergarment.

"Don't touch me!" she snapped with a violent kick, trying in vain to defend herself.

"Shut up, human." He snarled in retaliation. With a deep growl and a sharp twist, he tore the underwear from her body; causing her to hiss in pain as his claws caused a long nick in her skin. Watching the red human Energon, 'blood' as they called it, well up on the wound he heard Prime yelling angrily at him in the background to leave her.

Lifting the human to his face and restraining her legs with his free hand, Starscream ran his glossa over the skin; tasting the blood. It was surprisingly metallic, coppery with a faint tinge of rust in the background. He noticed that she squirmed at the slick sensation, but she had yet to lose that fiery expression from her face, that scowl as he returned his glossa and made sure to slide it between her thighs.

He bared his dentas at her and spoke in a dangerous tone to her, "Why do you not scream human? Doesn't this violate your kind?" he sneered.

Tory spat in his face, which was difficult given her dry throat, before she snapped at him, "Fuck you! If that asshole couldn't make me scream, then you sure as fucking hell won't, you sick goddamn PERVERT!"

"Starscream! Leave her alone! PLEASE!" the Prime called out, causing the 'Con to turn and face him.

Surprisingly, the proximity of the human femme was enough for Optimus' writhing Spark to detect a life-form. Glowing tendrils of the energy arced out from the main body, trying to grasp at her desperately. Curiously, Starscream took a step back only to find that the energy tried to follow; reaching for her before the distance was too far and it dissipated back to the source. That was when a sinister, twisted idea struck him.

Prime fought to protect humans…so how much would it break him to harm one?

"Looks like your Spark is the one that doesn't want to leave her alone, Prime." He snickered darkly, his grip tightening on her and causing her to gasp and swear once more.

Moving her forward over the Prime's Spark, as he suspected to tendrils reached for her once more. But this time a few of the weaker arcs of energy managed to touch her, snaking around her tiny feet. As the energy made contact, it reacted by the Spark sending jolts of light pleasure through Optimus' body, the energy mass feeling relief at having something in its grip to merge with. The Prime was unable to stifle an unwilling moan from escaping his vocal processors as the pleasure shot through him; tingling from his helm to his greaves.

But then Starscream removed her from his energy's grasp, detaching her from the source; and Optimus felt his Spark flare up with a mind of its own. It zapped and crackled angrily, the arcs of glowing light becoming frantic and infuriated as it reached blindly for the being it had only moments ago had in its hold.

Starscream gave a hollering, bellowing laugh as he looked over at the now-desperate energy mass. "Well look at that…The Great Prime wants his play toy. This will be interesting to watch. Perhaps all that interface energy will kill her, Optimus…wouldn't that be fun? To kill a human with pleasure."
Tory's eyes suddenly widened as she realized what the monster holding her was implying. Oh GOD how had hitchhiking turned into alien rape? Her heart froze in panic as the bot lowered his face to Optimus' with a sneer.

"I'm going to enjoy watching you overload her until she dies, Optimus Prime. I could tease you like this for millennia…Maybe I will…"
"No!" Optimus roared, his hips thrusting unwillingly as his traitorous body attempted to find some friction against his aching spike. His Spark was almost screeching with rage, demanding its desired partner back. "NO STARSCREAM! NO!"

"Oh, yes…" the 'Con chided sickeningly, holding the now struggling, snarling human over the light in an attempt to tease it again a few times; thoroughly entertained by its reaction the first time.

But this time…it was much angrier.

Tendrils of energy lunged for the soft-bodied human, the strong and solid contact causing Optimus to moan in pleasure, torn between the sensations and his need to stop his Spark from harming her. But he couldn't stop it; his Spark was already stimulated by the neural program disrupter and would not cease until it was fulfilled. Starscream was genuinely surprised when the aggressive Spark ripped the tiny human from his grasp and pulled her inward.

Looking up with a scream as she was pulled forward, she caught gazes with Optimus; who looked as fearful and terrified as she did, unable to stop what his body was doing to her.

Then the panels to his Spark Chamber snapped shut, locking her inside himself.