Second to last chapter! I had a lot of fun righting this one, despite the...developments. Anyway, thank's for all your wonderful reviews, and keep them coming!
I do not own Transformers: Prime.
Starscream felt as if he were streaking through space, undefined, a speck in the sky.
Bullets flew past his ear. Megatron was advancing, faster and faster, shooting through the clouds. At this altitude, breathing was difficult, the wind tearing away at Starscream's vocal cords as he tried to scream for help – to Eva, to anyone, really – however, his voice was torn away as soon as he opened his mouth.
So he twisted his body at the last minute, latching onto Megatron's wing.
Worst mistake thus far.
The wind increased, tenfold, Starscream stomach feeling as if it were going to shoot down through his mouth. Tears blurred his vision, his breaths coming out short and labored. Megatron, feeling the disturbance, rolled over and over and over…
He shook Starscream off, and the Seek flew back, smacking into a soft object.
"Crap!" Eva screamed.
Starscream absently said a quick prayer in Cybertronian, thanking Primus that she was still alive. When he tilted his body to look up, he saw that she was falling, feet down, arms flailing, hair streaming behind her.
A foot behind was the relic.
A hundred feet below, Megatron and the Vehicon were looping around for another shot. Eva, screaming to be heard, pointed to the relic.
"Get it! I'll handle Megatron!"
She met Starscream's eye, winked and blew him a kiss, and then angled her body and shot towards Megatron like a bullet. Starscream, stunned by her courage, opened his mouth to reply, but closed it when the end of the relic brushed against his back.
He reached out and wrapped his arms and legs around its base, righting it so the tip was facing down, tearing through the sky like an arrow. Eyes stinging, Starscream's fingers began to fly across the touchscreen, breaking past codes and walls. The familiar tingling was invigorating – although, that could have just been from the adrenaline pumping through his veins.
He spared a glance down.
The Nemesis was known for soaring high above the clouds, so the fall was going to be a long one, almost shorter than he was used to. The sun touched the puffy balls of misty liquid, reflecting their light. Starscream pulled up, head searching back and forth for…
Something smashed into him. Something hard. It flew out of nowhere, a roar that dimmed his vision and sent him careening away from the relic before he had time to press the final, fate-sealing button. He cursed, arms and legs windmilling wildly.
A shadow fell across Starscream.
Blotting out the sun, falling in his bipedal form, was Megatron.
Megatron's claws were inches from Starscream's face when he recoiled.
The Decepticon leader gave a mad howl that, even from thousands of feet in the air, could still be heard. It took Starscream a moment to realize the reason for his former master's deranged howls.
Eva had her feet planted firmly against Megatron's shoulders, her ratty old jacket wrapped around the Decepticon leader's optics, blotting out his sight. Hair curling above her, face twisted into a savage snarl, she pulled the jacket tighter.
Megatron snarled, and slashed with razor-sharp claws at the intrusion.
Starscream had twisted away, then, tapping furiously at the words, his tears causing them to be distorted, blurry. The knot in his stomach was keeping him from concentrating, especially since, in the back of his mind he had a horrible, horrible feeling that Eva was in terrible danger.
He glanced back. Megatron was spinning around and around, but Eva held strong. In a brief flash, Starscream saw the deep lacerations in her back, the blood twirling through the air like a ribbon caught in the breeze.
She did not let up. Even when Megatron wrapped his arms around her waist, she did not give up.
That's my girl, Eva Bishop. That's my girl.
"Vehicons! Shoot him!" Megatron tilted his head towards the small dot that was the Nemesis. There was the familiar hum of an engine, and then twins flashes of gunfire streaked down around Starscream. Something grazed his shoulder, burning the material, causing brief pinpricks of pain to shoot down his arms.
Scrap!
"Press the button, Starscream! Press the button!" Eva howled, trying to kick, claw, and bite her way out of Megatron's grip. Through a gap in the dark hair that blocked her face, Starscream could see a single eyes staring out at him, pleading, begging…
He slapped two fingers against the touchscreen. Scrambling in the open air, Starscream extended his arm, kicked the end of the rod so to allow the tip to face upwards, straight at his face.
A small, circular hatch on the end of the rod opened. A beam of red light caught Starscream in the forehead.
Jagged bullets of agony rippled through his head. There as an explosion, a thunderclap of immense proportions, and suddenly Starscream felt his legs begin to grow and his neck extend and his chest heave outwards, as if his heart was about to burst from his chest. He was sure he screamed – someone screamed, maybe Megatron, maybe Eva, and in a fraction of a second, he saw information scrolling across his optics.
Familiar information.
His information.
Whipping around, Starscream faced the falling Megatron, twin missiles aimed and ready to fire at the twitch of a finger.
However, he faltered when he saw Eva's writhing, cursing form.
It gave the pair of oncoming Vehicon's time to transform and plow into Starscream, full speed, almost wrenching his arms out of their sockets. He fired a missile on accident, and it shot away, spiraling wildly, disappearing into the clouds. He lashed out with a well-aimed kick that almost knocked one of his attackers away.
Almost.
Two Vehicon's had his pinioned, helpless. He was flightless, almost weaponless, still trying to get used to how his body functioned – as if it hadn't known before – and retain whatever feeling of himself he had left.
All the while, Megatron had Eva in his grip and was beginning to inch closer and closer.
When he looked down, he saw that they were heading towards the last stretch of clouds. Then, the true free-fall would begin.
He was beat. They were beat.
But that didn't stop Megatron from initiating the most terrible, horrific, scarring moment in Starscream's entire life.
He laughed, baring shark-like teeth, and then began to squeeze. Squeeze the human in his hand, claws seeping through flesh and crushing through bone. Eva spasmed, shrieking, clawing, more in pain than in fear. One leg kicked uselessly at the air beneath her. Blood poured from her lips, a constant torrent, a waterfall.
Starscream bellowed and tried to wrench himself out of the Vehicon's grip. The Vehicon's not expecting such ferocity, slackened.
Starscream thrust his claws through a Vehicon's spark, and then kicked it away. The lifeless body began to spin, trailing blue energon in all directions.
The other Vehicon dodged the blow and looped his arms around Starscream's neck, catching him in a chokehold. The Seeker, now too horrified and broken to retaliate properly or land a decent hit, began his groping, tortured screams.
Eva had fallen remotely still. One arm dangled, the other still twitching and slapping. Her head lolled back, revealing rapidly blinking eyes. She spat out blood, but it caught in the wind and was whipped back up, splattering against Megatron's chest plates.
Starscream felt tears prickle at the edge of his vision.
"This, Starscream, is what happens when you mingle with the erroneous species, the weak!" he shook Eva's body, "The frail!" he thrust her out, and she was so close, suddenly, so close that Starscream could into her eyes, see them begin to glaze over… "The contemptible! They are nothing, Starscream, and by associating with them, you've shown me that you are unfit to serve in the Decepticon ranks ever again! That you're no better than the female you've been fragging!"
Starscream gave a final wail, lunged for Eva, lips forming words but body unable to express them.
Iloveyousomuchpleasepleasedo n'tleaveme…
Please.
Then he turned away as Megatron's talons closed over his mate's head and crushed her skull as easily as a human would crush a fly.
He tossed her body away and it disappeared. Megatron, realization that the ground, an oncoming death, was rushing towards him, he transformed and blazed away, back towards the ship.
The Vehicon released Starscream and transformed, but Starscream bellowed and smashed his claws into the drone's wing. Hauling himself onto the Vehicon, his feet smashed into the cockpit, obliterating the glass.
Smoke streamed from the Vehicon's wing, mixing in with the thick tears that ran down Starscream's cheeks.
What if he let himself fall?
Let himself die. Death was…a blessing.
Death was…good.
He wanted to let go. Wanted to die. Wanted nothing more than to join his mate.
For eternity.
His grip slackened. The Vehicon rolled in the air, almost pitching Starscream off. He would have let go if it hadn't been for the fact that his claws seemed to be digging too deep into the Vehicon's wing.
He had about thirty seconds. They were falling, spiraling towards a vast, glittering lake, surrounded by snowy mountains, not a town in sight.
He slammed his heel into the Vehicon, urging him on. Sparks flew, energon leaked, splattering against Starscream's chest plates. The Seeker, enraged, gave an animalistic snarl.
Ten seconds.
Nine.
Eight.
Five.
Before Starscream and the Vehicon could both smash into the frigid water, Starscream jerked back, the Vehicon skimming over the small waves. They hit once and bounced, like skipping rocks, and then again, and again, until they slowed some – some, mind you – with Starscream clutching for dear life the entire time and trying his best not to howl in agony or fear.
The Vehicon smashed into the sandy shore. The impact crushed its helm like a tin can, dislodged its spark, and tore it from its socket. It also launched Starscream into the air, where he cartwheeled half a dozen times before crashing into the cold grass.
The landing was instantaneous, over before he had time to even think.
He couldn't process the pain. Not yet. No. In his sluggish mind, it would take time. Hours, even. Days. Hopefully days.
So he just lay there, listening to the soft breeze and the sloshing waves.