He stayed away as long as he could. Which, when taking off the time he was involved in furthering the Decepticon territory, helping to destroy more of the U.S. military bases, and cleaning himself of the grime and filth afterwards, didn't amount to much time at all.

She was constantly on his thoughts. The vision of her limp and motionless and stretched out on his palm, body pressing against his metallic flesh was at the forefront of his processor. He detested leaving her behind, hadn't liked the fact that she was there at all. And yet he knew now that he wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

Starscream watched her before he entered the room, releasing the human's bored guard as he settled before the moving screens, readings, data and other relevant info scrolled through. The scout was still in repair mode. The other female still unconscious, and the girl who had been on his processor for the last cycle since he deposited her in the room was the only one up. Wandering slowly around the room that was massive in comparison to her small self and settling on a course of action, she started to rip strips of cloth off her body. Moving quickly across the room, she laid cold compresses onto her friend's flesh, the burned areas covered with a delicacy that he coveted.

When she wandered back to the other side of the room and stood before the only sink, water pouring slowly out of the spout that she cupped in her hands and drank thirstily, that he activated his holo-form. It had been a while. The light mass felt strange, his body feeling incomplete and off balance without his wings. He found it awkward to walk. But walk, he did. Starscream went past some cots, knowing what was in store for those unfortunate ones in the future who ended up in the room that contained them.

She sensed him even sooner than he expected. Her hand drew away from the water, the facet turning off immediately. The area was suddenly full of a hollowness that clung to the empty area. She didn't turn to him, didn't say a word. But she was tense. Slowly straightening up, the girl stood firm.

"Go away," she finally shot out, her words heavy with hatred curling around each letter, such potency in the tone that for a moment Starscream almost did exactly what she said. Surprised at his near action, his feet pausing underneath him for just a moment, he continued forward. Not knowing why he felt the need or wanted to do anything the human asked of him.

Still refusing to turn around, he came behind her only stopping when they were nearly touching. Her back became even further erect. Her hands suddenly jittery, she brought them in front of her before clasping them tightly.

"You forget where you are, human. We are no longer on your precious Autobot base." He reached slowly forward, fingers wrapping in her loose hair. Turning her head from him, she pulled the tendrils out from his grasp. Her elbows lifted, pushing him away as she took a couple of quick steps from him. However, he expected such an action. Grabbing firm to her wrist, he halted her dead. She tried to get away and then tried again, hissing and moaning as he pressed against her flesh harder. Loosening his grip just a little, his hand going down her hand and past her wrist, he saw she had welts on her skin. His other hand dipped underneath her sleeve. Starscream brought it up. There was more bruising, more burns, patches of skin missing, discolored flesh exposed and...

That all faded when she finally looked at him. The girl's face came upwards. Shadows pushed back as the overhead lights surrounded her, giving Starscream a vision of something pure and vibrant and something that had been beaten. She had a slash underneath her right eye, a bruise on her cheek and a bump on her forehead that still looked to be forming.

"Who did this?" The rage was overwhelming, the irregular compassion firm.

Her eyes suddenly came alive with emotions. Once more, she tried to get away, her body shifting. Starscream didn't know why, but he let her go. Her hands and fists came at him as she hit, punched and even kicked him, flashes of movement that continued as she let loose with burst after burst of rage and anger, all of it directed at him. She couldn't hurt him, not really. And he didn't know if it was amusement or something else entirely that had him allowing her to continue.

The human became still as she stared at him, such a coldness in her gaze that he felt something creep into his human flesh and cause things to stir inside as his body reacted oddly.

She tried to slap him next, hand shooting out quickly as she almost made contact with his face. Almost because he stopped the movement, catching her hand with his as he pulled her closer. Starscream vaguely heard the whining of an engine, tires squealing against the floor. The shackled scout was on-line and aware that the girl was in distress. She groaned at his touch. He had forgotten about her burns again. It was then that Starscream realized he didn't want to hurt her, then that he realized he really didn't want anyone else to either.

"Megatron did this to you?"

Liquid formed in her eyes as she turned her head away. He released her a little, allowing her some space, feeling such sympathy and warmth that confusion took hold. The stray emotion shook his insides as he tried to make sense of it all.

"Be grateful that you do not share the fate of the male."

That confirmed what the Seeker already believed. He had been so much in need of seeing her again that he didn't bother speaking to Megatron, didn't think of asking what had happened when he was gone. Most the times it was of little importance to him. But by the terror that was shadowing her face, she had obviously seen her friend and the cage he was now in that was positioned directly above Megatron's ostentatious throne. Everyone could see it. Everyone knew what it meant and what it would mean for the entity inside it when their leader got tired of flaunting his prize.

The liquid started to pour out of her eyes from his words, leaking and leaving a glittery wetness down her flesh. She brought her hand up as she wiped them away quickly. It had been a while since Starscream had seen the symbol on her wrist and even with the damaged flesh around it was still quite clear. Starscream met her gaze again, fingers twitching at his sides as he found he wanted to touch her. He wanted to be gentle and soft as the female whispered to him, asking without really saying, beckoning him to be her savior.

Starscream cursed inwardly as he stowed the soft contemptible feelings away.

"How could you let this happen? How could you betray us?" Her voice was chilly and remote; her eyes flashed across his human face. She blinked slowly as if seeing him more clearly, hurt and fear seeping through into the orbs before they were replaced with an explosive hatred.

"Betrayal implies that I was one of you. We both know I never was."

"You shut down the security and allowed Megatron and the others on the base."

"Yes, I did," Starscream proudly confirmed.

"You killed all those Autobots."

"Yes."

She shuttered, yet her eyes didn't waver from his. "And you planned to do that all along?"

"Yes."

"Did you enjoy it?"

That question caught him off guard, as if she knew more about him than sometimes he would even admit to himself. He had never been one not to brag, but he found he had no answer for that, found for once he didn't want to say.

"How many people did you kill today?" Her voice wavered and clipped, emotions bursting through as she mourned openly, obviously aware of the attack the Decepticons had started on her world. It sickened him that she could have such sympathy for strangers and yet treat him with such obvious disdain, even if he had earned it.

Starscream moved back to the girl. He grabbed tight onto her arms and pulled her to him so that they were just inches apart. He found he was smiling because he knew how much it would get to her, smiling because he didn't want her to see how much she was getting to him.

"More than I needed to," he whispered, warmed when he saw he had shocked her, "and I led others that did the same."

She paled at that, skin turning white as she stared at him appalled.

"Nothing to say to that, human? You disappoint me."

Orbs of green flashed with her mouth tightening as she pressed her lips together. Turning away, she lowered her head. The female's hair fell over her face and hid her from him.

His hand moved forward, once more reaching for her hair. Brushing through, he felt her skin. It was smooth and soft and a little damp. Her face slowly came upwards, his hand sliding along with it, the filaments brushing against his flesh. Her eyes lazily latched onto his before they widened with animosity.

"Don't. Touch. Me."

He stared at her for a moment. Starscream was caught off guard by the viciousness that had been in the three words. He dropped his hand off her face, but tightened his hold on her arm. She flinched, obstinacy dominating her features.

"You're in a fragile world right now, human. One that is going to come crashing down despite anything you humans or the Autobots do. Perhaps you should start considering what danger you are in, and remember that I can help determine whether you live or die."

The girl leaned in this time. Starscream's eyes were on her mouth that was so close to his. She caught him watching her, and she actually smiled, an elusive, crazed thing that disappeared before it really showed.

"If you really want me dead, then kill me already. Otherwise, I would really like it if you just left me the hell alone."

Something was wrong. Sam felt that right away. There was a heaviness that twisted in his shoulder, a pain that shot up through his stomach and landed between his eyes. A sharp breath shot out of his mouth with a moan following as he turned over onto his back. For a moment, he didn't know where he was. For a moment, his world was actually okay, at least until sounds focused and shot into his ear canals.

A voice dominated the area above the others. Fear pounded inside him, thick layers of dread flashing within. Suddenly, everything came back. The three of them making their way through the base, stoked by the fact that they could move, for the automatic defense systems seemed capable of sensing them, shutting down in any area they happened to be. They had found and lured their first Decepticon, then ran from the area and watched as the weapons came back on-line, targeting the individual who had been stupid enough to follow them.

Making it to the weapon's room, Sam tinkered his way inside and they armed themselves. And then for the next fifteen minutes, they almost felt like they were getting somewhere. Of course, there were too many of them. More than they had first thought. And when they made it into the air shaft and thought they had heard Bee, they were distracted when it was confirmed by a howl of pain that held a familiar ring to it. Soon after, they were discovered, rounded up and shoved before Megatron.

Megatron.

Sam's eyes shot open. Light assaulted them as he flinched uncontrollably. He tried to shift upwards. Rolling just a little, he stopped when a stinging started that seemed extremely acute along his arms and left face. Staring down, he saw his skin was burned and covered with patches of red, some of his flesh missing in areas. The pain was intense and hard. Biting down on his tongue, he forced himself upwards. Emotions increased when he figured out where he was and why air seemed to be rushing toward him, and why he should have stayed inside the vacuum of a void he had been in.

He was caged. More than thirty feet up in the air, dangling freely, his world swayed back and forth. Or at least it had been, suddenly it lurched to a stop, the sound of metal meeting metal filling the air as red dominated the area along with the voice that would forever haunt him in his nightmares.

"So, you're finally awake."

Sam's eyes widened when fingers poked through the bars, sharply taloned things coming straight at him. It was in little time at all that he no longer heard that voice, but the sound of his own as he started to scream, new pain mixing with old.

"Did he hurt you?"

Alexis needed some ibuprofen or something even stronger. It wasn't enough that her flesh was burning, but now her head was assaulting her as well. She heard the voice, but for a moment it was like it was in her mind. It wasn't until headlights turned on and off that her steps picked up their pace.

"Bumblebee." She paused. Her mouth was suddenly dry and her throat scratchy. "I was so worried about you. I thought... I thought..." She dropped slowly on the ground in front of him. All her energy was suddenly gone. Keeping a hand on him, Alexis leaned down on her legs.

"I was in deep recharge. Didn't Sam inform you of this? Where is he?"

Alexis glanced over at Mikaela; she was moving just a little but was still unconscious. As for Sam, the last time she had seen him was when she was taken to Megatron after she had woken up. Tension drifted into her once more as terror tried to take hold. She explained to Bee what she had witnessed and what she had been told. He listened quietly while interrupting with a question here and there. His voice was weaker than she was used to, but she was so grateful that she finally heard it at all that Alexis didn't care. Even if she knew by looking at him that he obviously needed more than just a simple recharge.

"I tried my best on helping Mika and..."

"You are hurt as well."

Alexis turned away from him just a little, hiding her face that was cringing terribly. It had been a horror in itself to wake up in the strange place even more to find she was the only one that was up. She had been essentially all alone, things going from bad to worse when she was dragged before the Decepticon leader. She hadn't really believed she would have been coming back at all, especially since she had been unable to answer any of his extremely demanding questions.

"Megatron's way of welcoming me to his base," she let him know.

"And Starscream?" he inquired gently.

She kept her face turned away from him, not wanting him to see the distress. "I don't know. I don't know why he keeps... talking to me. I..."

Bumblebee cut into her words, worry softly clinging to what he said, "You have sustained second and third-degree burns. I see Mikaela has as well."

"Yes, Megatron did something when he caught us on the base."

There was a long pause that didn't feel right. She turned to him, eyebrows rising as she waited for what he was about to say.

"I ordered Sam to take you two and leave. You were not to come back for me. That was a very foolish thing to do."

She flinched at his tone. Understanding what he said, but also knowing it no longer mattered. "Foolish or not, it's done." Alexis waited for further chastisement, but there was none.

"I have some medical equipment in my trunk. I suggest that you find Ratchet's burn cream and apply it to yourself and Mikaela." She heard a faint snap of the trunk opening. Getting up slowly, Alexis did as she was told. Bee said nothing to her as she applied the cold substance to her and Mika's wounds, wrapping the worst of them in some thin gauze. Almost complete with the task, Alexis compared her burns to Mikaela's, disturbed by what they showed.

"Is something wrong, Alexis?"

It was such a silly question under the circumstances that for just a moment she felt her grip on reality slipping as the room circled quickly around her. She exhaled slowly and focused. "Nothing, I just seem to be healing faster than Mika. That's all. However, I forgot that Ratchet told me that was to be expected." She frowned. Moving closer to Bumblebee and distracting herself, she organized the first aid kit, trying hard not to think about Sam, but she couldn't. "What about you, Bumblebee?"

She looked at his frame. Paint was missing, deeply charred areas were along his hood and side. Alexis wondered how he was able to get back into his Camaro form, but even after spending months with the Autobots, she didn't know very much about their mechanics, nor how they functioned in every circumstance.

"My internal repairs can take care of some, but my damage is quite extensive. Without proper assistance, it will take some time, and I still might not recover fully. If the Decepticons decide to do any further damage, I will have to settle on the fact that I might not make it."

Her mouth was hanging open from that comment. A package of band aids in her hand froze in mid air. Tears were forming in her eyes again along with a lump in her throat that seemed intent on being stuck.

"You say that they are attacking..." he probed softly.

She nodded her head dumbly. Her mind was still wrapped around what he said before, not fathoming how he could tell her such a thing so calmly. "Megatron was bragging about it, seems they have already taken 12 percent of the planet and have destroyed more than half of all the combined military."

"Any word of the Autobots?"

"Just that he can't locate the remaining forces."

"And the base?"

"I'm sorry. They... they destroyed it."

Bumblebee visibly shuttered, engine revving before it sputtered and died. Alexis got up off the ground and went to him, hand moving gently on his hood as in her way she tried to provide comfort.

"...Stars ...Starscream," he stuttered, his voice full of emotion. "Starscream did this. I told Optimus not to trust him, told him not to..." His voice broke, and if Alexis thought it was capable she would have believed he was crying. He shook underneath her, his body feeling colder than she was used to, not as warm and energy pulsing as she usually felt.

Moving from him, Alexis started to walk away, thinking that he wanted to be alone. But then his passenger door opened slowly, creaking just a little.

"Alexis. Please. Please, stay with me right now."

She nodded her head. Alexis walked past Mikaela and a couple of the disfigured cots that lined the entire room, ones that she already hated. They made her mind conjure up images of what Megatron could possibly have planned for so many humans. She sat down slowly, scared of hurting Bumblebee. He left the door open, and she didn't bother closing it. Concerned for him, she started to shift, suddenly thinking she might be causing him pain by being there.

"It's OK. It's a part of me that doesn't hurt."

"So, you do feel pain." It was a stupid thing to say, but he didn't seem to mind.

"We are capable of relaying the signals to other areas that are better suited to dealing with it while we repair, but it seems mine were damaged as well."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Just sit here with me."

"I can do that."

"Alexis?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you in much pain?"

"I didn't get burned as much as I think I could have, perhaps because I was wearing sneakers, and they protected me from most of the electrical discharge? Mikaela got some bad ones on her legs though... I..."

"Don't worry, that ointment that you applied to both of your skins shall increase your healing process. I believe it is also supposed to numb the pain."

"Yes. I do feel a little better," Alexis admitted. "Almost feels nice, like cool water mixed with aloe."

"And the bruising on your face?"

"Could have been worse I suppose, and nothing I can't handle. I guess with what I have heard and seen of Megatron that I am grateful that I still have all my limbs."

"And Starscream?"

"He seems more intent on threatening me than hurting me."

"That doesn't mean I am going to take it easy on him when I get free. I could extinguish his spark on just the way he touched you alone."

There was something in his tone that was past the rage and sorrow, something that had Alexis sitting up a little straighter as she lowered her eyes at his dashboard.

She sighed, eyes shutting as suddenly her headache became worse. Pangs shot through her that felt like she was being hit once more by Megatron, over and over again. It had only been a digit he had used, a signal finger that came at her so fast that she had nothing to do but brace herself for impact.

"Alexis?"

She swallowed slowly, everything twirling around. Alexis thought of the encounter with Megatron, then with Starscream and everything in between. And she had only been conscious for a couple of hours, although she was still trying to ascertained how long she had been out. Her fingers were shaking, even folding them over and forcing them into a fist didn't help. Shutting her eyes, Alexis held her breath, nausea building as the headache decided to evolve into a migraine.

The world seemed to shift. She realized Bee was lowering the seat. Alexis shifted slightly, words that were soft and delicate and full of promise floated around her.

"Rest, Alexis. I'll watch over you."

She smiled, frowned and then did her best not to cry, succeeding just barely.