Author: Arken

Translate by: Taipan Kiryu

Authors notes: This fic it´s dedicated to Taipan Kiryu.

The adventures of the banished Decepticons are just getting started. There is a long way to go. Thank you for your reviews and support.

Chapter 4: Cybertron

We both knew how hard it would be to get close to Cybertron. If Octane was right, we wouldn't find memories of our kind there; we would be completely on our own.

My new wingmate glanced at me as I was tracing lines on the surface of the asteroid. My mind was analyzing hundreds of possibilities, trying to calculate possible weaknesses on Cybertron's security system.

"Consider this, Octane… if we manage to infiltrate in Cybertron and escape without being detected, Charr will be no challenge," I said, my optics fixated on the schemes on the ground.

The Triplechanger didn't reply. He stood up and walked around, admiring our surroundings.

"This asteroid is big," he said.

"Yes, it is," I replied coldly, not really wanting to engage in conversation. I was focused on my plan to get inside Cybertron and didn't want to be distracted. However, Octane had knowledge that could be useful. "Haven't you heard anything about their security systems?"

"Like I said, Starscream, only the few rumors I heard on taverns, nothing you could actually consider to plan a strategy."

He stopped closed to the edge of a rock. "What are we going to do once we get there?" he asked, more to himself than to me.

His question took me by surprise. It was unbelievable, but I hadn't thought about that, absorbed by my desire to watch my home planet again. What would we do? Visiting the ruins of the cities? Making sure nothing was what it used to be?

No, though it wasn't a bad idea… All I wanted was to know what happened during my absence.

"I just want to know if the rumors are true," I replied.

"You want to see for yourself if there are still Autobots."

I was upset. In very few time, Octane had began to read through me like if I were a slagging datapad. Though this had some advantages; I saved time in explanations and didn't have to pretend. It was a good change.

Octane sat beside me. "When are you going to finish with that?" he said looking at all the ciphers and lines on the ground.

"If you keep asking, NEVER!" I claimed annoyed.

Thanks to Primus, Octane seemed to understand and remained silent. His personality was disturbing. He could be the darkest mechanoid and suddenly transformed into a cheerful sparkling.

I shouldn't have been amazed. Also Blitzwing and Astrotrain used to suffer the same abrupt changes on their moods, though they were quite more aggressive. Maybe it's a common thing in Triplechangers.

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After some minutes of peaceful silence, our radars buzzed an alarm signal.

I was surprised. We hadn't done anything to reveal our presence. However, the possibilities of friendly encounters were minimal. Octane began to find some place to hide.

"I just hope the signal belongs to a freighter ship or something like that," he whispered.

"Yeah, me too…" I replied. It wasn't on my plans to face enemies so soon. My situation wasn't the best and my conditions were close to be desperate. Octane seemed to share my point of view. We had known each other for millions of years but we had very few days of actually talking; it was weird.

Feeling the proximity of the unknown ship, he towered me and covered me with his darkest paint job. "It's getting closer…" he whispered, justifying his action.

Many times in the past I heard from many Transformers that my paint job was enviable; beautiful, elegant, colorful and impressive. If those fools would have known the truly curse my colors were… Indeed they were a matter of pride for me; I was singular, unique, different… but that proved to be useless and dangerous in battle. I learned it the painful way.

A big metallic structure towered our heads.

"That is definitely not a freighter ship", Octane said, worried.

It was obvious that the intentions of the newcomers were not friendly, but it was very upsetting to not know who the enemy was. Also, Octane's fear was beginning to irritate me, literally.

"Get off me!" I grumbled, pushing the massive structure of the Triplechanger, but he didn't retreat and pinned me to the surface of the asteroid.

"Ssshh… don't talk, Starscream… don't move… keep your energy levels at the minimum…" he warned me as he was following his own instructions.

If there is something I TRULY detest is to be ordered, and more when no explanation was given for it. But Octane had survived more time than me. I had to listen to him, as painful as it was for my pride.

The enormous ship stopped moving, increasing our tension considerably. Octane and I remained motionless and silent, hoping the unknown enemy wouldn't notice us and leave.

Feeling Octane's body against mine was very disagreeable. He was so heavy and was crushing my cannons with his wings. Being a Seeker meant being free. I couldn't stand anybody occupying my personal space.

Finally, the ship started to move again. I could feel Octane relaxing a little. The immediate danger left with the ship.

"Bounty hunters… very dangerous…" Octane said as he moved away.

"For your reaction I can notice you had some issues with them."

"Yeah, something like that… You are not the only Decepticon considered a traitor, Starscream."

I wondered how many of our kind had paid for Galvatron's madness.

"I know," I replied as I returned my attention to the cold surface of the asteroid. A soft wind was already erasing the traces I did on the ground.

Breeze? There can't be breeze on an asteroid! I frantically turned around but I couldn't sense any energy signal, nothing… But I knew there was something out there. I couldn't stand to remain ignorant and I activated my radars. The presence of another sentient being was more than clear.

Whoever it was, it was moving too fast. It disappeared from my radar and appeared again. The thing was not moving, but teleporting. The only one I knew who was capable to do that was Skywarp… and he was dead.

"Move!" I cried pouncing on Octane. We both fell to the ground and rolled. Our sensitive wings felt the impact but at least we were still in one piece. There was a deep cut in the place we were standing before.

"It's them! They found us!" shouted Octane as he prepared his flamethrower. He looked worried but full of determination. He was a Decepticon warrior, after all.

I didn't know what we were facing but I knew something: we wouldn't fall without a fight. I activated my sword and waited for our enemy.

"They are too fast and brutal…" continued Octane. "They are merciless and will only keep you alive if the reward specifies so."

"Well, that is a problem… I don't think the word "alive" is an option concerning the reward for my head".

As I finished talking I could feel the foreigner presence. Without any second thought I straightened my sword and launched forward at full speed. My movements were exact and fast, my intentions deadly.

I can't see you with my optics but my radar is not blind. I have fought with your kind in the past, enemies that believe their invisibility makes them invincible…

"Show yourself!" I demanded as the sharp edge of my sword sliced something solid before me.

"Legends don't lie. You are a powerful warrior indeed."

The strange voice finally revealed the presence of my enemy. His figure appeared before me.

During my long life I had known all kind of races, organic and inorganic. But this creature was above any nightmare. He was some sort of deformed hybrid made of body parts of different kinds of beings, probably former victims. Flesh and metal together in the most grotesque way I could imagine. I couldn't help to take a step back.

"You are fortunate, Seeker. I don't reveal myself before any opponent, but you have managed to uncover me, so I thought to reciprocate. Hee hee… today I will terminate the last great Seeker," the bounty hunter continued.

Octane was as surprised as me. But the grip on his flamethrower left his message clear: he was a Decepticon, and there was no Decepticon who wouldn't fall without fighting.

"You talk too much, hunter!" I said as I prepared my sword to attack again. Our enemy raised his own weapon but Octane didn't give him time to take the initiative. Certainly, the bounty hunter didn't expect the Triplechanger to intervene.

"You made my life a living hell and you will pay for it!" cried Octane as he began to fight the disgusting creature.

The deformed hands of the hunter revealed sharp and deadly knives, which cut mercilessly through my friend's armor. But Octane didn't retreat; he kept fighting with immense rage. Something must have happened between them in the past. Octane was never that aggressive unless he had a reason.

I could've escaped during their combat, but I was not the same one I used to be. Being dead can do amazing things to one mech's spark… I felt I couldn't abandon my own kind anymore. I owed that to Skywarp and Thundercracker.

My sword cut the air at the same time the hunter took Octane down. My weapon flew from my hand and penetrated the middle section of our enemy.

"Never lower your defense!" I retorted as I brutally twisted my sword inside the hunter. He cried in pain and attacked me with his deadly claws. I dodged his onslaught barely by millimeters.

His fighting skills were outstanding. Only my experience in combat allowed me to remain functioning, the same happened with Octane.

The eyes of the hunter dimmed. "This is getting interesting…" he said in a low and screechy voice.

I didn't give him time to finish. I attacked him again but he blocked my sword with his claws and stepped back. I couldn't afford to let him recover. I started to charge my cannons. My energy levels wouldn't allow me to shoot a full power blast, but it would be enough to buy some time.

His hands trapped my sword, ignoring the blood that slowly began to drop through his palms. Soon my weapon was covered with that red viscous liquid, revealing the organic flesh behind his damn armor, created of the remains of mechanoids like Octane and me, creatures like us that, despite not having blood or veins, had life, soul and much more.

"This is the end, Seeker!" he cried as he grinned, his eyes as bright as his threat.

"The correct word would be farewell," I replied as my cannons lowered. Octane saw the blast coming and dropped himself to the ground. An immense lightning beam cut through the darkness like the fleeting stars I used to watch on planet Earth.

A marvelous spectacle, as beautiful as deadly.

The light disappeared finally. The hunter laid on the floor, his armor destroyed and his face completely burned. The smell arrived to my olfactory sensors, assaulting them mercilessly. Melted steal and burned flesh… disgusting.

I stepped back and fell to my knees. Being a metallic Cybertronian, I shouldn't have been affected by emotions such as disgust, but for some reason I had never been able to help it. The dying figure moved slightly, leaving remains of burned flesh on the surface of the asteroid.

"We must leave before others arrive," I heard Octane saying. He was already transformed into his Boeing 767 Jet mode and ready to fly, waiting for me to join him. He was hurt; I could notice the energon leaking from one of his wings. But that didn't matter in that moment. We had to leave, he was right about that.

I nodded and we both flew through the dark space again, aware that there was no much left for us. Hurt, tired and hopeless, we continued our journey, the distance between us and the bounty hunters becoming an obsession. Our only way out was to fly. There were no choices for a couple of loners in exile like us, lost within the infinite, without a place to call home.

Nobody would care if we survived or not, nobody would cry the death of two cursed Decepticons. We were nothing more than the memory of a past that many wished to forget.

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This time we managed to escape, but for how much longer? Becoming a prey in such a short lapse of time, with all kind of disadvantages on our side, only made me miss even more everything that I have lost so stupidly. I couldn't help repeating myself how different things could have been… but it was already too late for lamentations.

A slight groan of pain beside me returned my attention to Octane. His injure was deep, but during the time we have been flying he had barely complained.

"We must land," I commanded. He didn't say anything but I suppose he felt grateful that I considered his welfare.

We headed toward Cybertron. This time it wasn't a matter of curiosity or challenge, only survival. We both knew it was the only place we would manage to reach considering our energy levels.

"I just hope those new inhabitants won't be too hostile," I said as we were getting closer to the planet we once called home.

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Two flying objects were detected by the local radars. Unfortunately for the new Cybertronians, their speed and random course of flight made impossible the exact localization of their landing spot. The only thing the radars showed was that it had happened in a neutral zone. Maximals and Predacons began the search.

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At least this time the landing was relatively decent. Octane and I transformed to our bipedal modes and used the vegetation to cover ourselves.

Vegetation… in Cybertron… I didn't know what to think; I was shocked by that sight. No words could describe what I felt when I saw that new reality with my own optics.

Octane seemed to have similar feelings. All our war, all our pain, all our existence… it was all there, buried under the new green landscape.

"After all we went through, we didn't win anything at all…" I whispered as I caressed a tree. At least the trees were big, according our size, not like those tiny specimens of planet Earth. The situation was highly ironic. We used to detest Earth because of its excess of green, and now this…

"We are the first Decepticons to come here after our banishment," Octane said, his voice nostalgic. I used to despise humans, and now I could see how similar we were after all.

"During my journeys, I heard many things about this Cybertron… but they can't compare to what is before our optics," continued Octane. "Beautiful, but at the same time…"

"We have no home anymore," I interrupted him.

I didn't know why I wanted to be in Cybertron so much. All I had found was the living proof of everything we had lost. It was so depressing to realize our war had been useless, we had fought for nothing… At least it didn't end like Charr, the giant tomb that was waiting for me.

"So, here we are… What are you going to do now, Starscream?"

"Repair your wounds, refuel and leave," I said without thinking. I had seen enough. I didn't want to keep standing on the grave of our former life.

"But I thought you wanted to know more about what happened to the Autobots."

"It's pointless now. Every survivor took a different path, as we have done."

I walked toward Octane. "You should be grateful that I have experience in this kind of wounds. Otherwise you would be in real problems," I continued as I prepared the necessary equipment to repair him.

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Repairing Octane was fast. His injure wasn't as bad as it looked. He had also lacerations on his chest but those would have to wait.

"You will survive," I said as I made a final scan on him.

"You are good with tools. I guess you have experience in self repairing," he replied as he analyzed my work.

"You could say that." I was tired of giving explanations about my past, about all the things I could've done different. But I was fooling myself. I was in Cybertron, after all.

"Do you still have fuel on your tanks, Octane?" I asked as I put back the tools on Octane's compartment.

"Some… but I don't know if it will be enough to return."

A slight sound within the grass silenced us. Great, just what we needed. Did Primus hate us?

The Triplechanger walked away silently looking for some place to hide. I followed him, taking advantage of his bigger height to cover myself. We manage to disappear without being noticed.

And then I saw him…. One of those new Cybertronians…

His shape was so strange, so stylized… He looked almost like an organic being, with that weird fur mixed with his metallic armor. He scanned his surroundings, smelling, listening… his senses maximized.

With a softer noise than the usual transformation, he switched into a familiar shape. I knew that creature. I had seen it before, in Earth… How could that be?

The feline stopped and watched the marks Octane left when I repaired him. The energon from his wound laying within the grass, emitting a purple shine.

My worried wingmate looked at me. He knew we could pay for that mistake. We didn't know the intentions of the power of that animal transformer.

"Grrrrr…"

A growl, an animal growl. He knew we were there. I was so tired of not having even one single moment of peace.

Slag! Just let us rest for a while… We will leave and never come back, we won't turn around…

My thoughts were broken by his voice. "If your intentions are peaceful you better come out," he said as he looked toward our position. His voice wasn't aggressive; it sounded quite juvenile.

"I'm a Maximal. I won't harm you," he continued, his tone kind and patient.

Maximal… the pacific fraction, I assumed, the replacement of the Autobots. However, that didn't give me any comfort. Octane and I were still Decepticons, their enemies.

"I heard enough. I don't plan to stay to fight," I radioed Octane through a private frequency.

We both left our hiding spot and transformed. The feline followed us but our speed was superior and we soon left him behind.

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Cheetor watched the two foreign ships flying away. He couldn't help to admire them. He didn't know who they were but he had a clue. He felt sadness when he thought about the departure of the former owners of the planet that now was his home.

History was so unfair… Why the ones born in Cybertron weren't able to return to their planet?

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We flew for some time in silence before reaching the ruins of a city. The place was desolated, obviously abandoned. The once glorious buildings were shattered, covered by that impossible grass. The roads were devastated, vanished.

"This is our legacy," I said as I landed. I slowly walked to see the result of our war.

"The new Cybertronians must have their own cities," replied Octane. "Though I would've preferred they stayed in ours. At least some of our history would have survived."

I continued walking among the destructed structures. "It would have been pointless to rebuild the past. We abandoned those cities, we destroyed them, one by one… We stole the greatness of our Golden Age and let nothing but rubbish. Who would've liked to live here, anyway? Death and destruction had left their traces."

"Your optimism is contagious," Octane said sarcastically.

"This place must still have large underground structures that can hide our presences," I replied as I looked for a way to go down.

My efforts were rewarded when I found a hidden passage. Octane and I moved some sort of massive door and behind it we found a dark corridor, just what we needed.

"Let's get in," I coldly ordered. My patience was reaching its limit. All I wanted was to recharge in peace.

"As you command," muttered Octane as he closed the door behind us.

I suppose he noticed my bad mood because he didn't a say a word as we walked through the large tunnel. Those tunnels were common in our times. They were used to transport merchandises under the cities and they also proved to be quite useful to escape during the war.

We reached the center of the tunnel and decided to rest there. The logic action was to stand guard, but we were too exhausted to do it. Octane didn't take long to enter recharge mode. I had an urgency to do it too, but I wasn't able to relax. That place only increased my anxiety and my claustrophobia.

"Don't worry, Screamer. Everything will be fine. I'll be your guardian," said the voice of a ghost, the same one that accompanied me when I escaped from Charr.

"You should've left, Thundercracker," I whispered calmly, though I knew he wouldn't reply again.

I thanked him in silence and decided to enter recharge mode. I just hoped luck would continue in our side when we wake up.

…………………………..

To be continue...

Author's notes: Thank you very much for your reviews. You really encourage me to go on.