This chapter has been edited/partly rewritten as of 02/21/19
Ups and Downs
...
When Aria woke up she was freezing. Disoriented and surrounded by leaves, she shot up, only to get tangled up in even more foliage. She swatted at the leaves in a blind panic before coming to her senses.
She let out a long groan and put her head in her hands. That's right, Starscream decided she would be the star pawn of his newest plan.
She shivered, suddenly feeling self aware of the fact she must have looked like a fool half sticking out of a giant plant. She wiped the moisture off her face that had collected on the leaves that she had disrupted.
No, no, that wasn't important. She fought with the long leathery leaves until she freed herself, grabbing her glasses as she did so. It was dawn but the sun hid behind a distant dune. The sky was painted pink and purple just above the horizon, but it looked hazy, almost foggy. It was then Aria noticed the humidity.
"What the hell?" she muttered to herself, looking for the source of the mist.
Since when did deserts feel tropical?
Looking up she could see misty clouds lying across the peaks of the surrounding dunes. Her curiosity won over her thoughts of burrowing herself back under the strange plant and she started hiking up the crest of the dune that tapered off closest to her.
It was cool enough that the physical exertion of climbing the dunes filled her body with a pleasant warmth. Every step she took, her feet would sink deep into the sand, sending the displaced particles tumbling down both sides of the slope.
As she gained altitude, the fog grew more dense and the humidity drastically increased. The wind was only a light breeze, but it carried the strong scent of salt water. Aria nearly stumbled when she was hit with the realization of what it was. It was the smell of the ocean.
Now thoroughly confused, she tried to picture a mental map of the world to try and figure out which desert bordered the ocean in the southern hemisphere. However, she couldn't for the life of her think of which one it could possibly be.
She reached the top of the incline of the dune and now walked across the level crest. She could tell from the windswept side of the dune that the wind always blew from the same direction. If she followed it, she knew she would reach the ocean. That was of course, if she was anywhere near it. Who knows how far the wind carried the fog.
She sat down facing into the wind. It was brighter up here then the shaded valley, but still cool.
The ocean was her best bet. At least from the shore there was a possibility of a ship sailing by. She could start a signal fire to catch the attention of ships miles out into the sea.
She was thirsty though, and hungry. Food she could live without despite the discomfort, but water would become critical sooner than later, especially if she kept climbing up sand dunes. She had no idea where to find water though, much like most of the life in the desert.
Where could she find water? It was unlikely there was a stream or river nearby. Maybe a watering hole or oasis? No, that was equally unlikely, she hadn't seen a single animal since she got here. She huffed in annoyance and waved her hand through the fog. Stupid, stupid Starscream, taking her to a desert filled with water that she couldn't drink.
Or maybe she could. Her mind flashed back to the plant she had just crawled out of. Her hair was still wet from the water that condensed on the leaves.
Without so much as a second thought, she jumped back up and scampered back down the dune, following her tracks back down the crest to the strange plant.
She fell to her knees beside the plant and took in the sight of the droplets of water scattered on the foliage. They accumulated and formed thin streams that ran down the leaves into the surrounding sand. It must have been how that plant survived here; by using it leaves to water itself.
She first grabbed a leaf and picked off the dry shrived bit at the end and then leaned down further so she could use the leaf as a funnel into her mouth. She shook the leaf to encourage the water down.
After repeating the process on multiple leaves, she felt much better. She wished she had a container to store more in.
She sat beside the plant fiddling with a leaf to see if she could come up with a way to make it hold water. The sun was higher in the sky now, and the fog was evaporating to reveal more and more blue sky and the temperature became more comfortable.
As Aria experimented scooping out sand and lining the hole with leaves to form a bowl, she thought of her options. She could stay by this plant that provided shelter through the night and water in the morning—that is, if it was foggy more often or not—or try to find the ocean.
She felt isolated here, no one would ever be able to find her unless they happened to travel to this exact spot, or fly directly over.
By the ocean was much more open, and who knows what she would find on the shore. There would most likely be driftwood that she could make a fire with. She could also have a better chance at finding her bearings, maybe find some sort of hint of which ocean it was so she could figure out where she was.
It was unlikely Starscream would have any trouble finding her, any distance she could travel in days would only take him minutes, or even seconds. That is, if he was even coming back.
The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to find the ocean. It couldn't be that far could it? She could use the dunes to guide her straight into the prevailing wind and she would be there. There was virtually no chance of getting lost.
Right?
Curiosity of the unknown got the better of her, as it always did. She gave one last glace at the shallow bowl lined with leaves she managed to make before getting up and brushing the sand off. There was no way the bowl could fill with enough water for it not to evaporate or leak out within minutes.
She looked over to the dune that she had previously climbed that morning. The crest of it ran adjacent to the direction of the wind—it was how they were created after all. The windswept side was a much gentler incline then the other side. She just had to keep crossing the dunes until she reached the water.
Because that dune tapered off beside the rocky outcrop she was, she could just keep going past it until the next one much further up ahead of her.
Thanks to Crux, which she could use to find true south, she knew the crests of the dunes ran east to west, which meant the wind blew from the south.
Aria scratched her head, trying once again to picture the deserts of the world. It was hopeless. She swore to herself that if she ever got back, she was going to memorize every desert, forest, ocean and prairie on the planet if it was the last thing she did.
If she got back.
Her chest felt tight as she felt the familiar sense of dread return, weighing her down. She squeezed her eyes shut to try to keep the tears at bay. She couldn't waste anymore water on crying, not now.
Her hand covered her mouth as she let out a sob. She fell back down again and cradled her face in her hands. The more she tried to hold back her tears, the more they fell. Why her? Why?
"Breathe, Aria."
She hiccupped. Even in her head Ironhide was right. She took another breath in. She would get out of here. She exhaled. Her dog was fine. Inhale. Her horses made it out. Exhale. The Autobots were looking for her. Inhale. She would help them however she could. Exhale. She would see him again. She had to.
She got back up, filled with a new found determination. She would set the whole beach on fire if that's what it took.
With a single step, she began her journey.
It felt like almost an hour later when she began to climb up the largest dune she had come across yet. Sand and dirt stuck to her sweaty skin and clothes. Her throat burned with every breath. Her legs felt like heavy like her feet were made of lead.
Sand spilled down both sides a she made the slow journey up to the highest part. The last traces of fog completely vanished only leaving behind sand, blue skies and the blazing sun. Thankfully the salty smelling breeze remained, and the higher she got, the windier it became.
She was finally approaching the tallest point of the long stretch of the crested sand. She decided that was as far as she was going to go before turning back. She tried to push back the hopeful feeling in her chest in order to lessen the blow of disappointment if she was wrong.
As her line of sight crested the tallest point of the sand, she gasped. Dead ahead the horizon was no longer sand; but water. She had found it!
She had been wrong about the direction of the dunes in relevance to the water. The ocean wasn't south of the desert, it was west of it.
She fell back into the sand just looking at the turbulent waters. She was still a ways away from the shore. At least mile was her best guess.
She found the ocean! There was hope!
It looked like the dune would taper off onto the beach, so she wouldn't have to climb up anymore sand to get there. With more determination than ever, she marched on.
…
When the sun was at the highest point in the sky, she stepped foot on the beach. Her eyes however, weren't on the water. They were fixed upon a giant shipwreck washed up on the sand.
Most of the metal body was covered in a layer of rust and the railings were lined with bird nests. It was a large vessel with a hull that protruded from the sand at least ten feet high. Half of the boat was on dry land, and the waves lapped at the other. Various debris were scattered around it, half buried in sand.
Sea birds squawked loudly from above, but Aria paid little attention to them. She was more concerned with how to make the rusted boat into a shelter.
Her sight shifted from the vessel to the long expanse of beach beside it. Off in the distance there was another shipwreck, or at least the skeleton remains of one. In the opposite direction there were large bones that looked to once belong to a whale.
The distant sound of jet engines tore her attention away from the bones and to the sky behind her. The sight fixed her with mixed feelings that even she could not distinguish; fear, anxiety, even relief, as much as she didn't want to.
It only took a second for the distant jet to close the distance. It headed straight towards her causing her eyes to widen and her legs to begin to dart away.
Suddenly she was falling. She didn't know what she had tripped on, but held her hands out to catch herself. Looking over she saw the F-22 skim over the nearest dune before transforming mid air, still flying towards her. She let out a scream as the Deception came to a stop in front of her.
Her vision was temporarily blocked by dust while she sat back up, coughing.
"Trying to run, insect?" Came Starscream's menacing voice.
The fear of Starscream's approach quickly wore off and was replaced by pure annoyance and anger. The dust settled and she could see him now.
"There's nowhere to run, Starscream," she hissed back.
Her eyes darted down to his hand. He was holding a piece of cord with a jug of water hanging from it. Aria couldn't help but lick her dry lips.
Starscream noticed her staring and let out a low laugh that rumbled like when he spoke Cybertronian. It sent a chill down her spine.
"Looking at this?" he mocked, lifting his hand up dangling the withered plastic jug in between them.
Aria glared at the Decepticon. She wanted the water more than anything, but the thought of asking him of all beings, disgusted her. She knew it wasn't the time to fret over her pride. She had to treat this like a game and play along until he either let her go, or she was found.
She looked him dead in the eye, her sweet tone contrasting with her glare. "May I please have the water?"
"What happened to that feisty attitude of yours?"
"Please," Aria tried again, not hiding the desperation in her voice. She needed that water.
"So weak," Starscream scoffed and dropped the water jug.
Aria crawled towards in and hastily unscrewed the lid. She downed half the jug before she had to stop and catch her breath.
Meanwhile her captor walked over to the rusted remains of the fishing boat and sat down against it. She watched him out of the corner of her eye with mild curiosity. Sitting against the ship, he looked tired.
Good.
Seeing as the giant alien made no attempt to patronize her further, she got up and put the jug of water in a shaded spot by the hull of the boat on the opposite end Starscream currently sat.
She felt much better now that she was hydrated. Now she could resume trying to figure out a shelter. Walking around the boat for things that might be useful, she felt the Decepticons eyes on her. Paying him no heed, she rounded the vessel to the ocean facing side.
The cool water lapped at her feet and she nearly sighed in content as she walked. Her heart soared when she saw driftwood washed up against the entire length of the boat. She immediately started her search for long thin pieces that she could carry back.
After finding two that looked adequate, she drug them back around to the spot she placed the water. Putting one down, she stuck the other in the sand and leaned it up against the hull, then did the same about a meter away with the second piece.
She backed away and tilted her head while she looked at her work so far. The base of the branches were about the right length away to have room for her to sleep without any excessive space. Now she just had to gather enough wood to finish the frame and then fill it in.
She began her journey back around the boat half expecting Starscream to make some sort of rude remark as she passed, but he made none. Risking a glance, she saw absently looking into the distance similar to a person who was doing their best to stay awake.
Aria scoffed after she passed him. So the menacing Deception was sleepy? Being so utterly diabolical must be truly tiring work.
She picked up another couple of pieces of driftwood still soggy from the water.
Now that she thought about it, had she ever seen a tired Transformer? She knew they slept, or went into stasis as Ratchet informed her. Maybe it was because they slept in their alt modes at the base. Did they have a preference to what mode they slept in?
So far she gathered that the Transformers preferred to be in their true form and only transform when they need to travel or disguise themselves.
Despite the Decepticons being the bad guys, they seemed to stay more true to who they were as Cybertronians. At least from meeting Starscream she could tell he stayed in his robot form more often than not and even spoke Cybertronian, something the Autobots never did.
Obviously this was because they weren't held back by the government and human laws like the Autobots were. Even if the NEST base was put back on a secluded island they would probably be much happier.
She placed the driftwood in position beside the other pieces. One of the branches slid over on the hull and bumped into the three others that were propped up. All four pieces fell over. Aria growled and crossed her arms.
It didn't take long for her to get a new idea and start propping the wood back up. This time instead of making a tent off the side of the hull, she made a cone. She rested the tops of the branches together so they balanced each other out.
She crawled into the smaller space and sat cross-legged inside. It wasn't big enough for her to stretch out, but she doubted she would be doing much of that during the cold nights.
As she sat she noticed a dark green mass half buried in the sand. She couldn't even begin to guess what it could be, so she went to investigate. As she got closer, her eyes widened and she picked up her pace. It was an old fishing net!
Without a second thought, she grabbed it and began pulling it out of the sand. She dragged it back towards the boat, more and more coming out from the sand. It was massive. She was nearly back at her shelter by the time it was completely freed.
She went back around the boat to grab a few more branches for the structure before she began draping the netting over it. This time when she passed Starscream he looked completely out. His red eyes were dim and his head tilted forward. One leg was bent with an arm resting on it.
She paused to get a better look at the Decepticon. Unlike the other Transformers she had met so far, Starscream had markings and engravings all over his body. The markings were dark and geometric in shape while the glyphs looked like they were painfully etched in, the biggest one being on his leg.
Before he could wake up and catch her gawking, she began walking again. It was good to know the Decepticon thought so little of her that he happily fell asleep without a care in the world. She could use that to her advantage as soon as she could figure out exactly how to.
Aria ended up making two more trips for wood before she began the process of putting up the netting. It was plenty big enough to layer a few times to overlap the small holes into a solid surface.
"What is that abomination?"
Aria looked over to the Decepticon that now regarded her from his spot, his red eyes glowing bright once again. That was a short nap, she thought.
"A shelter," Aria stated coldly and turned back to her work, lifting more of the heavy net over the driftwood.
"I thought you would bury yourself into the sand like the little insect you are."
"I'm not an insect, I'm a human," she answered flatly.
"I see little difference," Starscream waved a dismissive claw like hand in the air.
Aria clenched her jaw and stopped what she was doing. She turned to face the alien. "Well following that logic, you're no different from the old rusty fishing boat," she punctuated her remark by knocking her fist on the hull, the hollow sound of metal echoed through the beach.
Starscream straightened his posture and whipped his arm out, smashing the hull with the side of his first. "You dare compare me to this piece of human garbage, girl?"
Aria flinched and held onto her tent as the entire vessel shifted and groaned from the impact of Starscream's blow. Fortunately the shelter held and the ship settled again. Aria didn't let the Decepticon see her fear.
"As long as you compare me to a worthless insect, then yes, I will."
"But you are worthless," Starscream taunted. He too shifted his position so he faced her.
Aria's brows furrowed further, her hands clenching and unclenching, grinding the sand that stuck to her palms. She did not like being called worthless.
"Everything about this situation says otherwise," she began. "I'm currently being held hostage for all of the naturally occurring Energon on the planet; something that you Cybertonians cannot live without, making its value nearly priceless. And yet, here I am. Chosen by you specifically, which means you alone have deemed my value to be that of your most precious resource."
Starscream's expression hardened as she spoke. Aria didn't break eye contact even after she finished. She waited for the Decepticons response.
He said something deep and foreboding in his native tongue before switching to English. "You are not here because I see the value in you, rather I see the Autobots value in you. To them you are worth something. To me you are nothing more than something to keep alive until I get what I want," he paused and lowered his voice. "Although they have yet to respond, so I question even that."
Aria broke the eye contact to look at the ground, leaving Starscream to celebrate his victory with another deep laugh. They haven't responded yet? Not even to negotiate terms?
She didn't know if she should be angry at the Autobots for not doing anything, or the government for not allowing them to.
No, she couldn't blame anyone. Despite her trying to convince Starscream of her value, she truly was worthless. She was not worth any amount of Energon in the hands of a Decepticon. They were right not to respond. What was one person in a war that affected millions, even billions of people?
Starscream's plan seemed stupid now. They would not give up the Energon, and Starscream was not one to negotiate.
Her only option was to get out of this on her own, but that was just as hopeless. Seeing all the shipwrecks on the beach meant wherever she was wasn't a good place to sail, which meant no chance of a ship spotting her.
She was completely dependent on Starscream for water since there was nothing to drink for miles. She didn't even want to think about food now. Hopefully Starscream would bring her some before she was forced to ask and she was already starving.
She glared back up at the Deception. "I liked it better when you were sleeping."
...
Mr. Starscream bring me a dream
Make him the baddest that I've ever seen
Give him to lips like iron and copper
And tell him that his lonesome nights are over