Fallen Angels

part 7

Starscream went with Jazz when the TIC went to retrieve Prowl from the brig. He had to admit, he was starting to like the Special Ops mech a lot. Jazz was willing to listen to Starscream, and after the end of six days had even stopped calling him Screamer. (For the most part – he still liked doing it to annoy the slag out of Starscream on occasion.) Starscream was starting to trust Jazz.

"So, did you comm. Prowl and let him know we're rescuing him?" he asked, suddenly in a much better mood than he'd been the entire six days Prowl had been locked away.

Jazz shook his helm. "I tried. Can' raise 'im." he said calmly enough.

Suddenly Starscream realized just how fast they were walking, being quick without actually running. "This isn't something normal, I take it?" he said lightly, attempting to keep his voice calm. His wings were twitching badly. Jazz shook his helm again.

"No." He glanced at Starscream. "Look, I ain' sayin' anythin's happened ta Prowler, but ya gotta promise me that ya ain' gonna do anythin' stupid."

Starscream froze as he digested that bit of information. "That depends entirely upon Prowl's condition when we find him." he said tightly. Jazz nodded sharply.

"Guess that's good 'nough fer me." he muttered.

Starscream glanced at Jazz as he caught back up. "He always responds to me when I comm. him." he said quietly. "We've kept in touch when I can't get down there."

Jazz nodded again. "Have ya noticed anythin' strange? Trine leader, ya would know if somethin' was wrong with yer trine mate."

"It's weak." Starscream said bluntly. "Our bond, I mean. Trine protocols weren't mean to take a fourth member. One of us always stayed pretty close to Prowl, since that was really the only way to keep the bonds active. Right now – " He fell silent, searching out for the bond. It was so very faint, fainter than it should have been. The bond had slowly been getting stronger the longer Starscream stayed at the Ark. And now . . . . "I can't – "

"Ya can' raise 'im either?"

"No. It's too faint. It's like he's unconscious or something."

"Let's hurry, then."

They practically ran down the halls. Red Alert was already down at the entrance to the brig, holding a squirming Cliffjumper tight against his side. He nodded to Jazz and Starscream. "I already Ratchet." he said bluntly. "You might want to go and calm Prowl down though."

"He's conscious?" Starscream demanded.

"Very."

Starscream brushed past them, shoving the door open and letting it slam behind him. All the bars to the cells had been retracted. Starscream immediately darted to Prowl's cell, almost colliding with the wall before he was able to stop and calm himself enough to walk in. He still couldn't sense Prowl at all. "Prowl? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Star." Prowl said, his voice laced with static. Starscream frowned.

"I don't believe you." he said flatly. "Let down your block. It's not helping."

There was a brief pause. "Star, trust me when I say – you don't want me to do that."

"I do."

There was another pause. Starscream scowled and walked into the cell. He froze. "Slag, Prowl." he breathed, kneeling beside the injured mech. "What did he do to you?" Prowl's left door wing was badly damaged, dislocated with the sensor panel torn. His left arm had also taken serious damage. He wasn't moving it, keeping it tucked tightly against his body. This was only the damage Starscream could see. He knew there was more – Prowl was holding himself too stiffly, refusing to turn and face Starscream head-on like he normally would. "Prowl – "

"I'm fine."

"Stop lying, fragger!"

Prowl's helm snapped around, shock and confusion plain on his faceplates. Starscream didn't stop though. There was too much to say. "You want me to trust you again – but how can I when you won't trust me? Primus, Prowl, you're my trine mate." Starscream leaned back, tanks churning. "You're my trine mate, Prowl."

There was another pause before Prowl spoke again, and for once he didn't sound like the Autobot SIC. He sounded as frightened and confused as he had been when Star had found him half-dead in the Academy med bay. "You were dead."

Starscream could faintly hear Jazz and Ratchet arguing, but Prowl was far more important at the moment. "So were you."

Prowl looked away. "I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to apologize for. How could we have known?"

Prowl waved his good hand dismissively and almost unbalanced himself in the process. "I meant later. When I found out – and I knew where you were – I didn't come for you. You or TC or Warp. I just left you there." He refused to look at Starscream again. "I should have gotten you out. I could have told Prime everything then. He would have backed me."

It was Starscream's turn for an uncomfortable silence. Which had hurt worse, he wondered darkly, thinking that Prowl had been dead for several thousand years, or finding him alive and wearing the Autobot symbol – the symbol of those who had destroyed the Academy – on Soundwave's security footage?

No matter what Starscream had learned since then, he couldn't deny the pain that was still there. He had never told Skywarp and Thundercracker that their adopted trine mate was a traitor. Better they thought he was dead.

He reached out for Prowl. "Let me help you."

Prowl looked at Starscream for a moment, trying to see something Star couldn't figure out, then nodded slowly. He dropped the blocks at his end of their trine bond.

Starscream wasn't aware of Ratchet ordering him to leave so he could get Prowl out of there. He wasn't aware of Jazz grabbing his arm and begging him not to do anything rash. He turned and stormed out of the brig, pain – Prowl's pain – washing through his systems as he went in search of the one mech who could actually put things right again.

Primus help him if he didn't.

/-/

Optimus was mildly startled to see Starscream storm into his office, taking care to shut the door behind him. He was downright paranoid when the Seeker locked the door. "Star – "

Suddenly his back was against the wall, the smaller mech having him pinned rather effectively as he glared up at him. "Why didn't you stop him?" he all but growled, and Prime had to fight not to shiver in fear.

"Stop who?" he asked, his voice remarkably calm for someone in his position.

"Cliffjumper."

"What did Cliffjumper do this time?" Optimus asked, resigned. It seemed the minibot just couldn't stop causing trouble.

Instead of answering him, Starscream reached up and touched a finger to Prime's temple, connecting to a data port there. Optimus stiffened at the sudden intrusion, but instead of invading his processor, Starscream merely presented him with a recent memory file. Suddenly, Optimus understood the Seeker's fury. He could see Prowl's battered body as well as feel the internal damage Starscream knew had been done.

Task done, the Seeker disconnected and pulled back, wings trembling in anger. "Why didn't you stop him?" he hissed. "You knew Cliffjumper was angry with Prowl. Why didn't you do something – "

"This really happened?" Prime interrupted him.

"Yes!"

"Cliffjumper was responsible?"

"Check with Ratchet and Red Alert if you don't believe me." Starscream snarled.

Optimus nodded. "No need. I will deal with Cliffjumper personally."

That stopped Starscream cold. "You will?"

"Yes." Optimus met Starscream's optics. "No attack against a fellow Autobot goes unpunished. Especially not Prowl, as he is SIC."

Starscream laughed coldly. "If Prowl doesn't retaliate on his own, Jazz will do it for him. He doesn't need your protection."

"He doesn't need yours, either."

"No, he doesn't. But old habits die hard."

Optimus chuckled at that. "Very old habits. And how did Prowl feel when you told him you were joining Megatron?"

For once, Starscream did not hesitate with his answer. "Considering I thought he was dead and had been told it was the Autobots who destroyed the Academy, I thought he would be proud of me." he said sharply. He turned on his heel and walked out of the office with a parting comment.

"Deal with Cliffjumper – before Ido."