Barricade kept an eye on the girl for well over a week before he found an opportunity to visit her. Alexis taken to the medical ward, it should have complicated things, but compared to the security the Seekers had on their base; it actually made things much easier.

Obviously, the Autobots adapted and prepared for holo-interlopers, but not well enough. For in the end all he had to do was change his signature to that of Starscream's and access was almost instantaneous. One would have thought after Starscream was killed that they would have deleted his codes from the system.

All the better for Barricade.

LX did a sufficient job situating the video relays, giving him more than just a clear view of what was going on; insight into pretty much anything he wanted to know about that was going on in the base.

Alexis had not moved from the medical bay's bed since her removal from the Seeker's base. Lying in the bed inert and acknowledging few, the medic finally introduced something into her system. Whether trying to get a reaction from her, or to ease her mind, Barricade wasn't sure. Video may have been well and good, but it did not show everything.

Several hours were all it took to create a large enough gap to get through the security field, one that his holo-generator could project through, but would not be picked up by the Autobots.

Barricade's destination set, he materialized at the foot of Alexis' bed. Standing at the end, he surveyed the girl. She was set in darkness, the soft glow of surrounding equipment stretching over the white sheets and leaving her head back in the shadows.

Advancing, his hand found her face, fingers brushing down her forehead and past the curve of her nose before settling on her full mouth. Barricade scanned her the entire time, but he had already stolen the information about her condition the moment he arrived.

Nothing medical was wrong with her, but that hadn't stopped the Autobot medic from drugging her and pushing her into a state of little awareness. Barricade came prepared. Tubules leaving his wrist, they pricked her skin, small droplets of blood rolling down her flesh as the Decepticon introduced a counter agent.

Alexis stirred and moaned softly, eyes flickering before slowly being pried open. She found him right away; shock, confusion and anxiety causing her to bound up in bed.

"Starscream?" She choked on his name, her eye's widening, hands shaking while rising to meet his face. "No, you're dead. You can't be here." Alexis started to panic then, the shadows jumping across her as she reached for some sort of alert button.

Barricade stopped her by pushing the table it was on back and away. She tried to stand, wobbling; she fell on the floor, or would have if Barricade didn't catch her.

"I've come for you, Alexis. Remain calm," he commanded.

The disbelief was still there along with subtle horror, a faraway look in her eyes that spoke volumes for the power of the Autobot's sedative. The clouds in her eyes parted some when a storm began as she started to cry.

"Not again. I can't dream of you again. It hurts so much when I wake."

Lifting her off the ground and in his arms and then making his way to the window, he pushed it open. Barricade stared down; it was a good drop below, but it was the only exit that was facing the direction he was heading in. And walking through an Autobot stronghold, especially as Starscream, would not have gone unnoticed.

Barricade jumped, taking off in a wild dash as soon as he landed and holding Alexis to his chest tight, still running when they made it outside the Autobot perimeter, even farther just to make sure.

At his designated safety point with stealth devices in place just as a precaution, he set Alexis down. They were surrounded by trees and bushes and grass growing in stray patches. Scrawny wild flowers sprouted here and there in several shades of yellow and red.

Getting down on his knees, Barricade sat before the girl and waited for her to react.

She was blinking hard, hands coming up to wipe her eyes off as if that would have cleared the fuzz. And then, as if that wasn't quite enough, she pushed the sleeve of her shirt up, fingers curling before they made contact with her skin, nails scraping the flesh, she scratched hard.

"Is this real?" she questioned. "Are you real?"

"I am."

Alexis didn't wait for an explanation, didn't ask anything else. She just shocked his very spark when suddenly she was moving toward him, body falling against him as she tugged against him tight.

He should have taken on the form of Starscream much sooner.

Barricade knew that it helped a great deal that she was still clouded with the drug he introduced that was making it more than difficult for her to realize no matter what signal he was emulating, that it was without a doubt not Starscream's, but an impostor's.

And when her mouth pushed hard against his, demanding and furtive and so incredibly soft, her eyes shut tight as she leaned in close with that scent of hers washing forward as she moved and posited herself on top of him, once the shock of her reaction wore of; Barricade was surprised, followed by the delicious sensations that came from just her lips on top of his own.

He should have kissed her a long time ago as well.

But it was not time for regrets, not time to analyze his past actions. Point of fact, he wasn't thinking of anything but Alexis. The way it felt for her to be pushing him back down on the ground as she climbed farther up his body and settling comfortably.

Pulling back she looked down at Barricade, body easing onto his. Curling a little, her head rested on his chest while her hair spilled under his chin. Alexis seemed fulfilled at just that and for the next hour, she held him as soft tears landing on his shirt.

Barricade found he was neither revolted nor disturbed. But a dormant emotion came awake that caused him to hold her as well. Breathing her deep, he was so at awe by how it felt clinging to Alexis and having her there with him willingly. His fingers found her hair, brushing through the silken follicles he realized being there like that with her was what contentment felt like.

She came alive again, sitting up; she stared. Her hands found his hair before moving to the back of his neck and then higher where she lifted his head, her own following back down as their mouths met halfway.

The second kiss sent the first one straight to the pit. This time it was slower, a passion burning underneath it that heated his belly. It made the first one appear as if some sloppy test.

His hands found her waist, wanting desperately to draw her closer. She stopped him from reaching his destination, putting his hands underneath her knees and pushing them hard into the ground.

Barricade tried to touch her again, but she wasn't having it. After the third attempt, he gave up, knowing with the glimmer in her eye as she shook her head that she was to be in control.

And for once, the hunter didn't care. He was not one to easily allow that, but no one, not anyone, had ever done to him what Alexis was. That mouth of hers trailing down his neck, those fingers of her brushing and pushing and pulling, his shirt taken off as she threw it behind them. Yes, she could have it all. She could control him, anything, as long as she didn't stop.

He was gasping and moaning, other pathetic little sounds that betrayed his pleasure leaving his mouth as she continued. It didn't matter that she kept whispering the Seeker's name, didn't matter that his hands were still pinned; Barricade's touch upon her not allowed.

But he longed to feel her flesh. Longed for so much more than that. Knowing, even with the dazed look she still held, that drugged or not he was about to get that and so much more.

"I love you so much," she suddenly whispered. Pulling away she peered into his eyes. Alexis' hand found his face, tracing a lazy line down his nose and past his lips and then small circles on his jaw.

"I... I love you," he echoed back, the words easily flowing out between his lips, an ease that could only come with some truth, one that he never realized.

Alexis stilled as if his words were unexpected, but her hands kept caressing the flesh of his stomach, her eyes partly hooded.

"I want you, Starscream. I long to feel the closeness of your spark." Emphasizing her point, Alexis' head bent down and her mouth found the middle of his chest. Small kisses were planted until she used a finger, trailing a long line where her mouth had just been.

His body arched and Barricade gasped, too distracted to see where Alexis' words was heading.

"Where are you, Starscream? Tell me. I need you near me," she pleaded, the airy sound of her voice both sweet and enticing.

"I'm here," Barricade managed, head rolling back as he waited for that very capable mouth to find the sensitive flesh of his neck. Nothing came. "I'm close by." He finally added to appease her, his vocals low and strained. Barricade managed to get his hands free, one drifted under her shirt and trailed up her back slowly, the other settling on her thigh before gripping tight.

She closed her eyes, head dropping back, a soft delightful moan escaping.

"Then tell me where," Alexis demanded.

"Kiss me first."

Alexis did just that, filling his body with more delightful sensations as once more she leaned in hard. The kiss was searing; his fingers curled fitfully against her back as he melted in it. The contact ended too soon, her fingers tugging in his hair. She bit down on his bottom lip, small droplets of blood trickling delightfully in his mouth as she drew back. Her eyes opened slowly, and Alexis wobbled as she got to her feet. Barricade barely managed to sit up, his body straining against the action while his lust filled flesh begged for her to return.

She flushed, appearing more disoriented than before and suddenly unable to look at him. "I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back."

Alexis disappeared behind some bushes. Several long minutes went by. His mind clearing and his body beginning to lose pressure, Barricade stood. Tearing beyond the overgrowth, he found footprints leading away, but nothing else.

Alexis was gone.

Barricade told himself it was the drugs. That she wandered off and got lost. That perhaps once more, he underestimated the dosage. That somehow she saw beyond who he really was as she deduced he was not Starscream. Whatever the reason, he knew she wasn't herself, knew it from his continual scans on her. Perhaps he pushed her fragile mind into a state of havoc.

By the time her footprints disappeared, the excuses turned into an altogether different form of self-denial that was quickly turning into bitterness.

Dawn was soon to arrive, and while he was far beyond the Autobot perimeter, to even be near it any longer than he had already been, was quickly turning into a foolhardy action that would only lead to him getting caught.

Barricade terminated the holo-form, little aware that as he drove off he was being trailed by two objects from above. By the time his sensors did manage to alert him, it was several miles too late.

When the missiles came, knocking him off the road as he twisted and fell, body crashing and thumping against a hill as he pummeled hard against a tree, it was a strain to transform, even more so to stand. But his optics were functioning just perfectly, and when he saw the two Seekers landing and then coming straight for him, he didn't even get a chance to summon his blaster. Yet at that proximity with their weapons that action would have done no good anyway.

Fighting one Seeker was dangerous enough, fighting two; few had ever survived to even qualify at giving that occasion a name.

They came forward with steps slow and sure.

"You were right, Thundercracker," Skywarp chirped. "He was nearby. Now, do you want to dismantle him, or should I? Or do you want to make it a team effort?" He laughed at that, obviously greatly amused.

Barricade spoke up, "If this is about Starscream, I had nothing to do with that. I..."

Thundercracker's fist shot forward. Barricade was thrust back in slow motion before slamming against another tree. The bark split and broke in two, his momentum decreasing as he spun in midair before plummeting down and awkwardly landing on his side.

"Starscream had a list." The voice hovered around, twirling and jumping about his body. The sensation was a dizzying one, causing Barricade's mainframe to crackle. "You were number three on things to wrap up in case of his untimely death."

"But now that you mention it, knowing that you did aid in Starscream's capture is worthy enough of a reason on its own. Either case, the penalty is death."

Barricade expected to fight, to speak back, anything except for everything to be over so quickly. And when he felt a blade tearing through his armor, piercing his spark chamber and twisting hard, he was only alive long enough to hear Thundercracker speak.

"You clean up, I'm going after the girl."

And with that the existence of Barricade was at an end.