Author's Note- Hi this is the tenth chapter of Acid Rain. This one is censored as it features a Knock Out/Breakdown interfacing scene.
Special thanks to Starlove, Decepticon Skywhip, The-writing-Mew, fan girl 666, Kitt SummerIsle, Iwanita, poisonouswaffle'n-stuffs, Guest, Chibi Oro, NightXIV, Mavis, LittleLadyLokiStark, Alestrel, X-Eclipse, Kami Count D, Riddick, .owered, anonymous, rotorhead and silveryn83 for your reviews and comments.
Hello this is my first fic of this dark a nature so I would ask that you read the warnings carefully before reading and no flamers please. It's AU so you can imagine it however you want.
This story was partially inspired by Kami Count D's 'Crime and Punishment' fic and I would recommend you all to read it if you have not already (also if you like Starscream/Ironhide as a pairing 'Crime and Punishment's' companion fic 'The Enemy You Know' is also a very enjoyable read).
Unbetaed.
Disclaimer- I do not own Transformers or its characters.
Warnings- Rated MA (uncensored version on A03). Non-con/graphic rape, violence, perhaps some slight gore and mutilation near/at the beginning, there may be consensual slash in later chapters, Transformer swearing, angst, depression, death, trauma, mentions of masturbation.
Warnings for this chapter- Transformer swearing, mentions of previous character death (major in the Prime verse), violence, depression, trauma, hints at past rape (not described), sexual references but nothing explicit.
Units of Time:- Astrosecond- 1 second Klik- 1 minute Cycle- 1 hour Orn- 1 day Decacycle- 1 week Meta-cycle- 1 month Solar cycle- 1 year Vorn- 1 million years
Italics- Flashbacks/thoughts/memories/link speak.
Bold- Comm speak.
Recognizable lines are borrowed/paraphrased from the 2007-2011 movies, accompanying games and other Transformers media.
I hope you enjoy the chapter and please review.
Chapter Ten- Thunder Claps
Starscream's optics flickered open, frame freezing and spark stuttering as he realised who was holding him and the piercing sound of the rainfall penetrated his processor. A cold claw was placed against his lip components, Megatron's engines rumbling to send bursts of warm air against the Seeker's slim metallic body. 'Shh, little one, you are safe.'
The Air Commander looked up, optics sparkling with a hatchling's curiosity, tinged with fear, at the being cradling him to that massive chassis.
Megatron smiled back, a quirk of the lip components that, to Starscream, looked alien on his faceplates, 'see?' He caressed his second's wings soothingly as the younger mech cowered from the claps of thunder, 'nothing to be afraid of.'
For a while they sat in silence together, the tyrant holding his trembling Air Commander protectively.
The Warlord knew he should contact Hook but he wanted, just for a while, to embrace Starscream in the darkness where it seemed the flier felt more comfortable with him.
'Does your spark hurt now?' The Decepticon Lord murmured into his second's audio.
The Air Commander shook his helm slowly, 'it… it will fade.'
Megatron's optics flickered with interest, 'what will little one?'
Starscream looked away, humiliation warming his faceplates, 'my spark, triggered by my seal breaking is… preparing to mate and… form a sparkling by providing extra energy. It's drawing on energon from all my other systems. But it will- it should stop soon... at least for a while.'
He'd have to find a mate soon; it was the only way to make the sensation go away permanently.
The thought made him shudder, tanks rolling in dread. He could not tell Megatron, Primus knew how he'd react but the flier was sure it would be painful… but the tyrant had forbidden him from courting… The Seeker's ensuing whimper at that thought was lost to a rumble of thunder.
'I wish to stay here with you for a while, until you are better if I can. You should not be alone and we have matters to discuss.' Megatron, moving to mask how awkward he felt and trying to fill his voice with some confidence, stood with the Seeker in his arms and crossed to the berth where he remade then returned the flier to his improvised nest.
Starscream watched all his leader's movements, recognising and categorizing them with the accurateness of one who has been hurt by the same creature repeatedly, and nodded tentatively.
Megatron leaned back on his pedes, knelt beside the flier's berth, and gazed at the flier for a moment then questioned quietly, 'do you believe me when I say I will not harm you Starscream?'
The Seeker's beautiful red orbs lowered and his helm twitched from side to side.
The tyrant nodded, reaching out a servo to caress Starscream's faceplate gently as he reached into his subspace and pulled out a datapad he and Soundwave had worked on.
It was a contract of sorts, a guarantee that Megatron would not raise a servo to Starscream as long as the Seeker was loyal to him.
However, the Decepticon second had heard the tyrant make that promise before, verbally, and the large mech had failed to keep it. Handing the pad back, a sceptical expression settled on Starscream's faceplates before a swift boom of thunder sent a wave of terror through him. As he cowered in his nest, not considering how Megatron knew how to form it and what it should look like, a tentative servo started to caress his wing.
Sighing softly in contentment, faceplates carefully avoiding looking at the mech comforting him, Starscream, after several kliks, began to purr.
Megatron's lip components twitched, 'give me a chance little one?'
Breakdown, leaning on Hook's office door, stared at the two other medics. Knock Out was humming thoughtfully, perched on the edge of the Constructicon's desk, causing an easy smile to grow on the ex-Wrecker's faceplates as the bond calmed slightly. Apparently both of his mate and their superior were pleased with Starscream's reactions, that he had remained calm under heavy scrutiny. They were musing about everything from his ability to fight to his possibilities of having a mate and sparklings later in his function.
Loathe to interrupt their good mood, still remembering how the Seeker had tensed around him initially, the former Autobot wondered if the SIC's apparent relaxation in itself meant anything. After all, Megatron had beaten the flier many times and the Seeker hadn't become wary of any mech else before. The smaller mech may have been reassured that a mech who had never laid a servo on him would not harm him, but their Master was clearly a different matter.
Surely then, the only truly relevant data was that witnessed when Starscream was with Lord Megatron?
He supposed it may have been an old Autobot characteristic cropping up, they being more of a family collectively than the Cons were and noticing each other's upsets more quickly and, most likely, with far more sympathy. Cons tended to stick with their little groups or they struck out alone, both traits making it harder for them to realise that another outside of their self-made bubbles had issues and how they could help if they wished to do so.
It was the double-edged sword of being a Decepticon. A mech was expected to be, unless in exceptional circumstances such as part of a gestalt, completely self-reliant and that was what the soldiers proudly, arrogantly, became; however that also meant that, should you fall, no one was going to catch you.
If you broke the most you could hope for was that someone would take the moment required to put a bullet through your spark.
Starscream as one of the loners of the faction, however unwillingly, slipped under the radar for most. He also had the unfortunate label of their leader's scapegoat and so no one wished to help him openly as that would mean calling unnecessary attention to themselves.
Although the junior medic could not help but think that, when the trine-leader, when Megatron, next met Starscream's trinemates the slag was going to hit the fan hard.
Starscream shivered, cold liquid settling in his tanks as his instincts screamed at him not to be so foolish as to fall for the same promises a second time, but the image of Thrust lightly pushing his helm into the Winglord's servo shoved its way to the forefront of his processor; the knowledge that he could not protect his kin alone left an empty feeling of defeat in his spark.
He would have to give his leader another chance and, even if the larger mech harmed him again regardless, he needed to stay.
The Seeker nodded once, optics lowering then closing, as he began to shake, the drumbeat of the rain seeming to pound in his processor.
Megatron rolled his engines reassuringly in silent praise, but quickly noticed how Starscream huddled deeper into the soft purple pillows, emblazoned with their faction insignia. In the hope of coaxing his second into conversation, and to give him some measure of proof that he meant his word, the Warlord signed the datapad then reoffered it to the Air Commander.
The Seeker's servo reached out tentatively, and pulled the pad back into his chassis, momentarily anxious about taking his optics off his long-term abuser. Staring down at the carefully inscribed text (clearly Soundwave's work), his optics lighted on several pieces of information his tired processor had previously missed as it searched for what Megatron expected of him above all else. Several of the rules, if not all of them, that Megatron had introduced against him had been revoked, apparently permanently.
A confused chitter left his mouth before he could stop it and he stared up at his leader wide-opticed, surprised that he was being given even more, especially as he had failed in his task.
Megatron motioned encouragingly, holding out a stylus, and the Seeker dutifully signed his glyph. He had no intention of betraying the older mech again, not just because of the punishment he received when the attempted coup failed, but because he had never truly wished to be disloyal in the first place. Throwing himself on Megatron's mercy that orn was a heady experience. It had been agonising, though he never protested or pleaded for forgiveness like the others as he knew he deserved none, but also in a strange way quite soothing.
The tyrant had been completely in control of everything leaving Starscream to simply endure and afterwards recover. All worries, fears and anxieties temporarily melted away as the Seeker felt only a quiet acceptance, hanging at least a foot off the ground in his leader's chains.
In allowing him to live, Megatron had affirmed his second as his, and Starscream's Seeker programming, thrilling at the dominance and the Warlord's decision to keep him, had crooned contentedly in that knowledge despite everything else.
Starscream, having held onto that knowledge to get him through each orn for many meta-cycles, could not remember exactly when it had stopped doing so.
Taking the items back, the Decepticon Lord's optics glimmered, see Optimus? All is not lost…
Unless he is frightened of the consequences of refusing, this does not prove all that you hope it does, if actually anything at all.
Then I shall give him reason to believe my word. Megatron reached into his subspace, withdrawing a small model of Vos Soundwave had donated. It lacked intimate details, being only a standard replica used when the Seeker's city had been instrumental in the war, focussing primarily on points of strategic strength than anything else.
Taking the flier's servo, he pushed it gently into Starscream's grasp, 'for you my dear Starscream. I shall give you others once they are made.'
Starscream studied it for a few moments then subspaced it himself to protect it, nervously taking the tyrant's servo in the same motion so he could press his lip components against it in a gesture of gratitude, gasping when Megatron lightly caught the vulnerable appendage and pulled it to his own lip components.
'My… My Lord?' Starscream whispered, suddenly very much aware of the small part of him his leader held.
'You will not regret giving me this chance little one, I promise you that.' The tyrant relinquished his Air Commander's servo but kept their gazes locked, 'rest. No one will harm you.' Leaning over he dragged a blanket out from under the berth and laid it over the smaller mech. I'll be here.
Starscream's shutters drooped in response to the quiet order but he blinked rapidly to keep himself online a few moments longer, 't-trine?'
'They may come once the rain stops, now recharge,' the larger mech's engines purred, pleased with how the conversation had gone, that despite how stilted it had been in the beginning some progress had been made. The TIC had suggested drawing up a contract between the two, pointing out that it may help Starscream to have something tangible, to have the knowledge that he would be supported and cared for laid out so clearly before him.
The Seeker shuddered for a moment wondering if anyone, once everything came to light, would want him. A flicker of panic fluttered through him before the initiation of recharge caught up with him and he dropped offline.
After Starscream had powered down, venting lightly in recharge, Megatron settled himself at his second's desk with a small cube of energon, unsubspacing a collection of reports to work on.
Silence, broken only by the patter of rainfall as the other elements of the storm seemed to ease for the moment, fell on the two troubled mechs.
Censored to fit TOS
Megatron stared half-incredulous at the number of captured mechs before him; some had held his trust completely up until this orn. However, it was his second who held his gaze. The flier's posture was submissive and, while the others pleaded and spouted excuses, Starscream was silent, faceplates lowered.
Breaking up the group for their various punishments, some were taken away to be executed in the Great Hall so the rest could see and learn from their treacherous comrade's mistakes, others were deemed worthy of another chance once they had been reminded of their place and so were escorted to the cells at the bottom of the base instead.
The Commander was soon left alone with his second, engines growling ominously. Without a word he grabbed the Air Commander by both wings, deliberately slicing his claws through the fragile metal, and carried the bound Seeker down to Soundwave and Vortex's torture chambers.
Smashing Starscream's frame into the wall, the audio-grating sound of splintering metal following the movement, he wrenched the flier's arms out of joint as he chained him to the wall.
Though his wings and cockpit had to be distressing him, the flier remained stoutly silent.
For a few kliks he stared around the Decepticon-dubbed 'House of Horrors', so named because of how dimly-lighted, unforgiving and bleak it was, wondering what he should do. The tyrant lacked his third's finesse in this area, accustomed to simply breaking mechs and deactivating them when they ceased to be of entertainment, rather than with a mind to keeping his subject's mind intact as Soundwave had to do in order to extract information from his victims.
Of course, the telepath had given him advice on his technique but it was not something he had the time to do very often and it required a lot of practice. Soundwave, being a telepath, could easily get right into any given mech's processor, tearing apart their defences and any mental world they might create in an attempt to escape what was being done to them. Megatron had no such abilities but he did know Starscream, and that knowledge would compensate for his absence of refined skill.
Cycles later, the Seeker hung limp in the chains, vocaliser glitching as his leader finished giving him his first taste of an energon whip. Megatron dropped the mech-blood-stained tool down with its equally discoloured fellows- blades, shocksticks and other items- on a silver tray glistened with pools of purple liquid.
Anger born of betrayal beginning to simmer he approached his near-scrapped SIC, pressing their frames flush together, uncaring of how the action would irritate Starscream's wounds, and simply stood there engines and cooling fans roaring listening to the weak stutters of the Seeker's systems. Suddenly his servo shot up to imprison the back of the flier's neck, claws dipping liberally into the soft metal, as he released Starscream's useless arms.
Holding the flier against the wall he hissed into his second's audio, 'if you ever pull a stunt like this again I'll melt you down for scrap, do you hear me?'
Starscream nodded, a chittering sound just audible over the static his vocaliser was helplessly giving off.
Throwing the flier to the damp, somewhat sticky, floor, Megatron pressed his pede mercilessly into Starscream's back feeling inner circuitry give out beneath his weight.
'You are mine Starscream, do not forget it again.'
A final clank burst from the Seeker's severely damaged frame signalled Starscream falling offline.
Again the tyrant paused, debating either leaving the flier where he was and getting a drone to transport the smaller mech to the medbay, or to take his SIC there himself…
To appear as utterly sparkless or potentially weak…
He decided to meet in the middle and carried Starscream from the room, placing the Seeker in the arms of the first drone he came across with orders to ensure the SIC reached medical help immediately and that the room, primarily used by the Combaticon interrogator, be cleaned before its next use.
As Starscream left his sight, an electric shock ran through his programming, speckles of colour filled his vision as his audios filled with white noise. He clutched his helm harshly until it passed then, leaning against a wall, scanned his systems for any anomalies. Nothing came up so he put it down to a temporary glitch and carried on to his quarters.
Megatron worked steadily through his reports, the thunder that consistently jarred him from his thoughts more muffled here allowing him to work in peace. Reading his second's report, he sighed and laid the Seeker's work to one-side, rubbing his optics roughly. The language Starscream used sent jabs of self-reproach through his spark. Self-derogatory, stilted, negative… Nothing like the fluent upbeat text that he had been used to seeing from the Seeker when he was Fourth-In-Command.
Not as much progress as you thought, Optimus's voice sniggered, you naïve old fool.
This was before we spoke, the attitude he has may yet have been altered.
Ha! You hope for too much, he is damaged anyone could see it. And what will you do about his trinemates? They pose more than one problem I'm sure you are aware.
Megatron's optics shuttered, wind whistling punishingly in his audios, before they snapped open and he returned to his work.
Unheard, Starscream's systems whirred online and as soon as his optics opened he stared at his leader's back.
Megatron had not abandoned him, but did he intend to trap him?
Quietly taking out his new model of his lost home city, Starscream fingered it curiously. In truth, it would look better with a touch of paint but it was far better than nothing, and Knock Out could always polish it up for him.
It could not do any further harm to give his Master a chance, surely?
Starscream hoped that the rolling thunder answering that thought was not a bad omen of things to come.
Thanks for reading and please review.