IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE! PLEASE READ!
Due to the recent uproar concerning sexually explicit material on the site, this story has been edited from it's original state to conform to FFnet's ToS. I hate doing this, but I like keeping my stories here. The full, unedited version of this story, as well as those I cannot post here at all, will be available shortly on my Y-Gallery account (Takashidaimao, same as on here). Those who do not have a Y-Gallery account or do not have access to the site, feel free to drop me a PM and I'll see what I can do for you. I will fix this up a little better later, so please forgive the sloppy chop job for now. If by some miracle the petitions change the site owner's mind, I will put all the good bits back in. But, until then, this is what you get for now so I don't get banned.
Also, those who have read/favorited/reviewed my oneshot "I Wanna Hear You Scream" I greatly appreciate your support, but I will be taking the story down shortly as there is no way to edit it to conform to the ToS and still have a viable story. A copy has already been posted to my Y-Gallery.
The glow from Airachnid's optics cut through the darkness of the Nemesis' halls, her vision fixed on the next corner, lying in wait for her prey to approach. It wasn't often she hunted within her own faction. It stirred up too much bad blood between allies, which caused unnecessary distractions. This time, however, that's exactly what she wanted.
The last several months had been, well... Different, to say the least. Airachnid had become increasingly suspicious of Starscream, especially since the incident on the bridge where he refused to go on the mission to retrieve an Iacon relic with her and Dreadwing. When Megatron dragged him out to the hall she'd been mildly amused, assuming the incompetent commander was going to get the ever-living scrap beaten out of him. But no. The Seeker had come out of it without a scratch. In fact, Megatron had actually excused him of all labor intensive duties after that. Needless to say, the spider was quite disappointed. Not to mention confused. Wasn't Megatron supposed to be some ruthless warlord? Why was he suddenly doting over his Second in Command like a mother hen?
Of course, the reason had recently become obvious to the entire crew, much to the embarrassment of the commander. The expectant Seeker had apparently reached the point where he couldn't close his abdominal plates over his swollen gestation chamber anymore. Knock Out had made an extra panel for him to snap on in between his normal plating, keeping his protoform covered. Of course, that's when everyone started to stare at him. Airachnid was just as shocked as everyone else to find the Second in Command carrying a sparkling, but couldn't help but find the Seeker's misfortune hilarious. Surely this was something he'd never be able to live down.
Unfortunately, it wasn't quite as entertaining as the spider had hoped. Aside from the initial surprise, there was a severe lack of heckling going on among the Vehicons. Those who normally would have poked fun at Starscream's predicament dared not say a negative word about him, fearing what Megatron would do to them should he find out what was said about his bondmate. There were even those who seemed to sympathize with the Seeker, many of which had children of their own at one point or another. But most disappointing to her by far was Dreadwing's reaction. After what happened to Skyquake, Dreadwing wasn't exactly the biggest Starscream fan in the galaxy, but one of that seemed to matter after the large Seeker found out the Second in Command was having twin seekerlings, just like himself and his deceased brother.
The absence of the typical Decepticon drama was really starting to bug Airachnid, no pun intended. She could remember when all it took was a handful of old files to set off an argument between Megatron and his Second. Now, the two of them were practically welded together at the hip. All this 'loving family' crap had to end. Now.
Right on schedule, her target approached from down the hall. It was Breakdown making his way towards the Captain's cabin as he did every morning, carrying a cube of oddly colored energon. A smirk spread across the spider's lips before she crawled along the wall towards the one-eyed mech. "Going to see Starscream?" she asked as she approached silently on his blind side, causing him to jump. "Gaah! Wh-where did you come from?" he shouted, almost dropping the cube of energon. Primus, why did she always have to be so creepy? Airachnid let out an amused chuckle.
"I've always admired how hard working you are, Breakdown... But surely even an upstanding nurse like yourself gets tired of waiting on a spoiled brat like that." she added, gliding down to the floor on those long spider legs of hers. Breakdown's faceplates instantly flushed. "Nurse? I'm not a nurse! I'm Knock Out's assistant!" he retorted, earning a small smirk from Airachnid. "Oh? That's not the way Starscream put it. Of course, I'm sure he was just being moody when he said all that..." she replied with a dismissive wave of her servo. The irate look that spread across Breakdown's face was absolutely priceless. "Said all what? What did he say about me?" he growled out through gritted denta. Airachnid feigned a sigh, stepping forward and gently taking the energon cube from the fuming mech. "I think I'd better take this to him..."
Starscream sat at a small table in the Captain's cabin, his chin resting on the surface with his arms folded in front of his face. He glared over his arms at two glowing cubes of energon that had been left for him on the table, letting out an impatient growl. He was starving, but knew too well what would happen if he drank normal energon before he had the treated cube Breakdown usually brought him. He really didn't feel like puking it all up... Blast it, where was he with that cube?
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Finally! "It's about slagging time! The door's open!" he barked, though he couldn't be motivated to get up from his seat. The door slid open, but it wasn't Breakdown who entered. Airachnid stalked her way in, a small smile on her lips. "Morning." she said, holding out the magenta cube. Starscream was tempted to snatch it away from her, but resisted. He arched a brow plate. "Why are you bringing me this?" he asked, his optics narrowing in suspicion. "Knock Out needed Breakdown's help with something, so they had me bring it to you."
Starscream stared at her for a moment more, but eventually decided to accept her story. He took the treated energon cube from her, downing half of it in one gulp. He cringed at the taste, which seemed even worse than usual today. Airachnid couldn't help but smirk at the disgusted look on the Seeker's face. "You know, I'm surprised you're bothering with all this. Seems like a lot of trouble." she commented, gesturing towards the rather large bulge in his abdomen. Starscream's servo unconsciously moved to rest against the smooth silver plating covering his gestation chamber. It wouldn't be much longer before he'd have to get Knock Out to make it bigger again. He vented a sigh. "It's really not that big a deal..." he mumbled out before finishing off the pink cube.
"Sure it is. Letting them bend your body out of shape like that, going through all that pain, then having to deal with two screaming infants for centuries, letting them leech off your energon... I know I wouldn't have done that for anyone." Airachnid replied, creeping around to the Seeker's side. Starscream fidgeted nervously, but didn't reply. The spider let out a small chuckle. "Oh, but I'm sure you'll do just fine." she added, giving the jet's abdomen a light pat before heading for the door.
Megatron stood at the helm of the Nemesis, his servos folded neatly behind his back as he watched the forward view screens. There wasn't really much to watch, just endless desert. There was a scouting party down below searching for energon deposits, but that was it. Now he was just waiting for a report.
"Lord Megatron...?"
The Decepticon Lord turned to the sound of a femme calling his name, an irritated look on his face already. "What do you want, Airachnid?" he growled out, causing the she-spider to flinch. She made her way towards him, keeping her helm low in a submissive gesture. "I was hoping if I could ask you a somewhat personal question, my Lord." she began as she neared the intimidating figure. "A question about your bondmate..."
Megatron glared down at the spider, bearing jagged denta menacingly. "Then I suggest you choose your words wisely." he warned in a low rumble. Airachnid stared up at the gladiator with wide optics. Perhaps this wasn't such a great idea? "O-of course, Lord Megatron... It's just... I've been hearing some disturbing rumors..." she began meekly, backing up slightly. The large mech's brows furrowed. "What manner of rumors?" he roared, grabbing the spider by the neck and lifting her up to optic level. She gagged, digits desperately trying to pry the strong servo from around her throat. "I-it's Dreadwing, my Lord! I heard he claims that he's the sire of Starscream's sparklings!" Airachnid gasped out, absolutely terrified.
Suddenly, she felt herself drop back down to the ground. She coughed violently, massaging her neck with her servo. The spider looked up, catching the single most furious look she'd ever seen on the warlord's face. He opened his mouth as if to bark out another threat, but couldn't find the words. He then stepped over the femme with ease, storming off the bridge without another word to anyone.
Starscream stumbled forward down the hall, bracing himself against the wall as he swayed dangerously to one side. His optics were dim and hazy, a faraway look on his face. His processor was foggy, he couldn't focus on any one thing for longer than a minute. It was probably for that reason that he wasn't at all concerned with his current state. In fact, he couldn't tell he was impaired at all.
Soon, a large form drifted into the Seeker's view. His optics didn't seem to be functioning properly, so his processor filled in the blanks in his vision. In other words, he was hallucinating. "Hay, Megatron!" he called out, his words slurring slightly as though he were drunk. He knocked into the figure a little sooner than he thought he should, his sensory data lagging horribly. He felt two strong servos grab him by the arms as his legs gave out on him.
"C-commander? Are you alright?" Dreadwing asked as the smaller Seeker grabbed onto his forearm in a delayed reaction attempt to keep himself upright. "What's with all this 'commander' stuff? Since when d'you use my rank? S'not exactly th' pet name I'd want my mate t'use on me..." Starscream grumbled out, somehow managing to stumble over his own pedes even with the larger jet holding him steady. He glanced up lazily at who he thought was Megatron, a small pout on his lips. "What in th' Pit is Soundwave doing? Can't he steer this slaggin' thing properly?"
Dreadwing could only stare down at the babbling Seeker for a long moment, his mouth hanging open slightly. "The ship isn't moving..." he informed as he pulled Starscream back upright for the third time already. The commander gave him a hard look. "Then why is everything spinning?" he asked, tracing a circle in the air with a single digit. That alone was enough to make him dizzy, causing him to stumble to the side again. Dreadwing caught him before he could fall, venting a sigh. "Something's wrong. I'm taking you to medbay."
Starscream thought about it for a moment before giving the larger Seeker a small nod. A few shaky steps later, however... "Where are we going?" he asked suddenly in a rather casual tone. Dreadwing shook his head slightly. "I already told you. You're going to the medbay." he reiterated, trying to remain patient. He let out a small yelp as Starscream yanked on him a bit. "I don't wanna go to medbay! I wanna go back to the room..." he whined, hanging lazily off Dreadwing's arm and dragging him down. "C'mon... Don't you wanna go fool around a bit?" he added, nuzzling against the blue jet's arm. Dreadwing's faceplates flushed.
"I... uhh... I think you're a little confused..." he replied nervously, trying his best to get Starscream walking again as gently as he could. Unfortunately, the smaller Seeker wasn't budging. "I am not! I'm perfectly..." Starscream tailed off, furrowing his brow plates as he stared forward for a moment. "Why're there two of you, love?" he slurred out, stumbling into Dreadwing's side once again. At first he thought the commander was just seeing things again. However, looking forward brought him optic to optic with the Decepticon Lord himself.
Airachnid glided around from behind the warlord, a pleased smirk on her face. This was all too perfect! She couldn't believe Starscream actually mistook Dreadwing for Megatron! He was even hitting on him! This was going to be hilarious! She regretted not drugging that annoying Seeker sooner!
Of course, Airachnid was once again bound for disappointment. Dreadwing didn't exactly act like he'd just been caught having an affair with a bloodthirsty gladiator's bondmate. "Thank the Matrix! Lord Megatron, I can't get him to cooperate. Can you help me get him to the med-ack!" he began before a thin servo was shoved against his cheek. Starscream pushed his way out of Dreadwing's grip, staggering forward dangerously. This time it was the real Megatron that caught him before he fell. Even so, the silver jet went on talking like nothing happened. "Hey, I already told that Megatron I don't need to go to the medbay... Or... Wait, no... Did I tell you? Who was I just talking to?" he mumbled out, somehow becoming more disoriented than he was before.
Megatron could tell right away something was very wrong. Starscream couldn't stand upright on his own, his hull was far hotter than it should have been, and he didn't seem to realize how little sense he was making. Confronting Dreadwing was the last thing on his mind right now. Speaking of which... The warlord glared over his shoulder back at Airachnid, who instantly scrambled backwards away from him, optics wide in fear. Why so jumpy, she-spider? "What did you do to him?" he roared out, causing the spider to bolt down the hall. He turned back to Dreadwing. "After her! Now!" he ordered. Dreadwing immediately took off after Airachnid, grabbing his grenade launcher off his back as he dashed past his master.
Megatron would have liked to hunt down that traitorous bitch himself, but there were more pressing matters to attend to right now. He looked back down at Starscream, who'd gone limp in his arms. He was barely conscious, his dim optics staring off into space, intake cycling shallowly. The warlord was starting to miss the nonsensical babble. At least that didn't worry him quite so much...
"I'm still not sure what she gave him, but he should be fine now. He just needs some rest." Knock Out informed as he hooked up an energon line to Starscream's chestplate. Megatron had stood beside the medberth the entire time since bringing the Seeker in, watching everything the doctor was doing. It made examining his patient somewhat difficult since every move he made was questioned, but he could cope given the circumstances. The warlord was silent now, staring down at his unconscious mate. He held one of his slender servos in his own, refusing to let go for anything. He still couldn't understand how this had happened. He never thought one of his crew would sink so low...
"What about the twins?" Megatron asked after a long while. Knock Out vented a sigh. He knew the question was coming, he just wasn't looking forward to answering it. "The sparklings' electromagnetic fields haven't changed at all from when I scanned them during Starscream's last check-up. Their sparks are still strong, and from what I can tell all their systems that were functional before are still the same. I just can't tell what, if anything, it's done to their systems that aren't fully developed yet. I'll keep monitoring them, but I can't make any promises."
Megatron gave the doctor a small nod, but said nothing more. Honestly, this was the first time Knock Out had trouble giving someone news like this. Usually, he didn't really care, but... Well, he supposed he'd grown somewhat attached to Starscream over the past few months. For once, he genuinely hated to see harm come to one of his patients.
Starscream's optics flickered online to the sight of the dimly lit ceiling in the medbay. He let out a small groan, pressing a servo against his forehelm. His head was killing him, his processor still very foggy. He couldn't remember how he got there or what he'd done to end up there, but he had the distinct impression he'd made a complete fool of himself in the process. Of course, the second he was able to string two thoughts together was when he realized what had probably happened. "Airachnid..." he grumbled under his breath. He knew he shouldn't have trusted her! She must have slipped something in that energon cube, then...
He gasped, sitting bolt upright on the berth. The sparklings! If whatever she'd put in his morning rations had laid him out like this, what had it done to the twins? He pressed a servo against his abdomen, trying to feel for any movement. 'Please, just one little kick...' he begged in his head, his spark pounding in his chest. Finally, after a long tense moment, one of them kicked. Starscream vented a sigh of relief, lying back down on the berth. At least they were alive. Right now, that's all he cared about.
"You feeling any better?" a deep groggy voice asked. The Seeker looked to the side, smiling as Megatron lifted his helm up from the edge of the berth, rubbing his optics with the back of his servo. "How long have you been sitting here?" Starscream asked, shaking his helm. The warlord smirked, leaning over and placing a soft kiss on his mate's lips. "I asked you first, love." Starscream vented a sigh, rolling his optics. "I'm fine, I promise..." he replied, nuzzling his helm against Megatron's neck. "Where's Airachnid?"
"She ran. I sent Dreadwing after her, but he's lost her trail." Megatron replied with a small growl of reluctant defeat. He couldn't stand it. That treacherous spider could have killed his bondmate, yet she was still out there somewhere, running free. He should have beheaded her while he still had a servo around her throat. He felt two slender arms drape around his neck, pulling him down close against the Seeker. "You'll find her soon enough..." Starscream assured, running a servo down the warlord's broad back. "And then you can take your time strangling her to death with her own internal wiring. With me watching, of course." Megatron couldn't help but chuckle at that last part, shaking his helm. He gave his mate another kiss. "Is it any wonder why I love you?"