Chapter 34

The whole group remained seated, stunned. Starscream got to his feet, a triumphant grin curling his mouth, sliding his hands into his pockets. 'This is perfect,' he said. 'This is just perfect.'

Thundercracker leaned forward to inspect the old man. 'It can't be!'

'All of it adds up,' said Starscream, beginning to slowly pace the circle of chairs. 'Presumed offline these past cycles… but here he is, tucked away inside a secure database. Sloppy work, Skyfire. You've outwitted more sophisticated traps in your time.'

'Hold on a klik…' Skywarp turned to stare at Starscream. 'How do we know he is real? He could be a trick sent to lure us into a trap!'

'Now wait, I could say the same about you,' protested the elderly Skyfire, his gaze flitting from face to face. The group exchanged glances. Only the background chatter of the lounge could be heard.

'For now let's just assume everyone's real,' said Alexis, sitting forward. 'It's not like we have any other choice, is it?'

'Is there a way out of here, old friend?' asked Starscream, still pacing.

Skyfire frowned. 'Give me a moment to think on it. And for Primus' sake, stop pacing and sit down. You haven't changed, Starscream. Still just like the rash and impatient youth from the War Academy.' He looked up with a wry grin. 'And as we don't appear to be in any immediate danger, tell me what I have missed these past few decades. Are we still warring on Earth? What of Cybertron?'

Starscream seated himself slowly opposite Skyfire once more, lacing his fingers together. 'Oh, the things you have missed, old friend. Cybertron lives. Its refineries blaze once again. I revived it.'

'You lie!' Skyfire sat upright, staring into Starscream's superior grin, his wrinkled features lit up with incredulous amazement. 'It was given up for lost! Destroyed! How did you… Megatron must have rewarded you beyond measure!'

'You could say that,' said Starscream calmly. 'He rewarded me with his throne. Megatron is dead. I rule the Decepticons now.'

Skyfire sat back, shaking his head. 'Well I'll be…' He stared at Starscream, a disbelieving smile on his face. 'You finally did it, you conniving son of a… All those stellar cycles of plotting…'

'Finally brought to fruition,' said Starscream. 'You remember Thundercracker–' Skyfire turned in his seat to look at him '–He is my second-in-command. Megatron lost his way as our leader, turning his back on our noble planet and forcing us into exile on Earth. The Decepticons needed a decisive figurehead, and I was only too happy to oblige. Your weapon put an end to his life.'

Skyfired stared as he digested this turn of events, momentarily lost for words. Finally he broke into a broad grin. In the last few minutes, the years seemed to have fallen from his features. 'How noble you make your ambition sound, you old schemer. And what of Earth?'

'I ruled it for all of six hours,' said Starscream, 'before gifting it back to the natives, and the Autobots, of course.'

Alexis rolled her eyes and shook her head. 'Oh, of course,' she said drily. 'You honoured an agreement, you liar. One that you knew you had to, or you'd be in trouble.'

Skyfire's gaze turned to her. 'And you are?'

'Alexis,' she said, giving him a brief smile. 'I'm a human, though I was in a transformer body before all this… it's complicated. I wish I could say Starscream had told me all about you, but…'

'My old friend doesn't dwell on the past, particularly those presumed lost forever,' said Skyfire. 'From what I know of Starscream, he doesn't let just anyone into his inner circle. No offence meant, young woman, but since when does Starscream tolerate humans in his ranks?'

'Since he met Alexis,' chuckled Thundercracker. 'She's… well… She's one of us.'

'You can trust her. Much less pathetic and weak than others of her kind, let me assure you,' said Starscream.

Alexis raised an eyebrow, unperturbed. 'High praise indeed, coming from him, and enough to put your mind at ease, I hope. Now, can you help us?'

'Forgive me…' Skyfire leaned forward, puzzled. 'But if Megatron didn't send you… what brought you all here?'

Frenzy kept watch. Guests came and went, the buzz and chatter of the hotel lounge rising and falling as the minutes passed. Starscream told Skyfire everything, starting from his discovery of the Requiem Blaster back in England, his ascent to power, and the sinister events concerning dark energon on Cybertron.

'I came to find out who wanted me dead,' finished Starscream, simply. 'Someone planted that dark energon there to poison me and make me a slave to its will. We've done our own research here and there is talk of a servant – the Mouth of Unicron. What does that mean to you?'

'Nothing,' said Skyfire, shrugging his wasted shoulders apologetically. 'I am able to discern small threads of information here and there, such as your arrival, but outside matters are a mystery to me.'

Thundercracker sat forward, perplexed. 'I still don't get why this entity, this… Unicron, would bother to archive data in these detailed libraries. Why is he so interested in Earth?'

Alexis had been chewing her thumbnail, staring into space whilst the others had talked. 'So he can study the menu before he decides what he wants to eat,' she said quietly.

Starscream and Skyfire exchanged glances. 'Between the two of us we must have catalogued every resource on that wretched sphere. And there is no reason why Unicron wouldn't have archived similar data on Cybertron.'

A silence hung over the group, broken when Frenzy reappeared, his lanky frame fidgeting, running his hands through his dark hair. 'My lord.'

'What is it?' Starscream drummed his fingers on the arm of the leather, thinking hard.

'There's a ruckus in the lobby. A group trying to get in, but they're being refused. There's a big guy and some cronies, and a woman. They look rough.'

Alexis felt her heart begin to pick up speed. 'Stormstrike?'

Starscream smiled humourlessly. 'A imaginary world so faithful to the original… who would have thought these idiosyncrasies such as dress codes would come in useful.'

'Might be an advantage to find out why they are after us,' said Thundercracker. He half rose from his seat, but Starscream halted him with a gesture.

'Skyfire, old friend. We need to find a way to escape, and regain the weapon. What do we do?'

Skyfire leaned forward, his wrinkled brow furrowing. 'In a data stream like this, the Blaster will have found a weak spot in the code in which to hide itself. Who did you say had it last?'

'I did,' said Alexis.

'And have you seen anything out of the ordinary since you got here? Anything that doesn't belong?'

The whole group froze. Skyfire leaned further forward, looking into their faces. 'You have.'

'There's this building, back at my…'

'No, don't talk about it. Just hold it in your mind. We must get there right away.'

Starscream clicked his fingers. 'Frenzy, exit.'

'I've already scouted one, my liege. We can head off to the right through the back. Follow my lead.'

Starscream strode out into the lobby, the rest of the group hurrying after him. Alexis paused, turning her head. A group of porters and doormen were blocking a group of people, just as Frenzy had described.

'Let me through!'

The big man's face, the one they suspected was Stormstrike, was contorted in murderous rage, battling to get through the line of hotel staff trying to block his way. Throughout the lobby, guests murmured in concern, staying well back. A receptionist was reaching for the phone.

Alexis tried to peer at the group, making a mental count in her head. She reached for Frenzy's arm, just as Starscream reached for hers.

'This way, Alexis. Hurry.'

Skyfire drew alongside as they headed towards a long carpeted passage, with Frenzy leading the way. 'Starscream, if we get into a fight here… we'll be drawing attention to ourselves from him. We have to get out of here.'

Alexis glanced behind. There were shouts, followed by an explosive bangs and screams… Starscream made an exasperated noise.

'Alexis, eyes front!'

'That sounded like a gun…'

'All the more reason to make a swift exit.' Starscream clenched his fists and spat onto the carpet, taking her elbow. Arcee and the wingbrothers stayed in the rear. Skyfire strode beside them, his head up, his eyes bright. He met Alexis' gaze with a grin.

'Once more unto the breach, dear friends.'

'Ultra Magnus?' rumbled Thundercracker.

'Henry V,' said Alexis, managing a smile.

'Less Shakespeare, more focus,' said Starscream. Up ahead Frenzy was pushing open a fire exit.

'How did you know that was Shakespeare?' asked Alexis as they stepped into the open air. Arcee was looking round for a vehicle. The wingbrothers were hanging back in case of attack. Skyfire was chuckling in amusement.

'Never you mind. Drive us back there fast.'

Arcee beckoned them towards a large laundry van, piles of used tablecloths heaped in the back. They hurried towards it.

'I have had lots of time to read whilst stuck here,' said Skyfire as he lifted himself up into the van, his movements somehow younger and more spry. 'But as for Starscream… what's his excuse for knowing the works of the bard?'

'Shut your mouth, said Starscream coolly, deftly catching the keys flung by Arcee and passing them to Alexis. 'Remember who you now address.'

Skyfire winked at Alexis, clapping Starscream on the shoulder. 'I've missed you too, little guy.'

Sorry for the wait, and sorry for the shortness. It may not look like much, but wow did this chapter give me a headache. I will endeavour to have more up soon.

PS - I have gone back and made some changes to my first story, An Uneasy Partnership. Nothing concerning plot, and you may not even notice them, but I have tweaked Alexis somewhat to bring her more in line with how I now see her.

PPS - I saw TF4. What did you all think? I was left feeling disappointed, big surprise. I thought the killing of a certain character near the beginning was symbolic of what Bay has done to the franchise. Thank goodness for Prime and all the other decent cartooons!