Chapter 43:
By Transformersnewfan
Starscream was holding Darkwing against his canopy, while the little one was drinking from his sparkling Energon bottle. The Seeker walked around his Bondmate's ancestral cottage looking at the framed photos on the bookcases, while Dawning and Darkmount wrestled each other on the rug.
One photo was of Megatron, the Great Gladiator of Tarn, in a fierce battle with his frequent opponent, Cy-Kill. And in the photo next to it, Megatron and Cy-Kill, along with two other Gladiators, in a buddy-buddy/friends pose. The images couldn't be more contrasting.
The Decepticon Leader saw his mate looking at the photo and came over.
"How do you…I mean?" the flyer stammered.
"Leave it in the Arena?" Megs smirked, "You learn to separate your emotions. Compartmentalize, if you will."
"But how?" Starscream asked.
His Bondmate shrugged, "Just takes time, I guess."
"Thundercracker didn't even want to say goodbye to me," the red and white Seeker put their son down to play with his brothers, "Skywarp and I are hot and cold. I feel like…like I don't have a Trine anymore."
Megatron: "Anything I can do?"
"Not sure," Starscream admitted, "I guess…I have to have something come along to knock us back in sync."
The former Gladiator watched his mate for a moment as he played with the sparklings, thinking he would have to come up with a solution. Maybe talk to Soundwave about this; thoughts of the mysterious intruder still weighing heavily on his CPU.
Increased pheromone levels. Skywarp found this in one of the pregnancy datapads when he was researching what to expect at the twenty-eight weeks' cycle. Soundwave hadn't told him about this one; probably out of embarrassment.
Basically, a pregnant Seeker reaches his or her sexual peak in the third trimester, just in time for the Christmas vacation. Skywarp exhaled heavily, picturing the masculine Tapedeck now, secreting coolant from his chassis after going back and forth from the basement, bringing up those boxes that he refused to let his carrying assistant move around. The image was making Skywarp breathe heavier, envisioning himself and the larger mech kissing, touching him all over, and having Soundwave massage his wings, leading up to interfacing…
But, where would they interface? He could invite the Tapedeck back to his quarters for a romantic evening, but the environment in his room was beyond ominous these days. Sure, Soundwave would protect him, but feeling even the remnants of the haunting would be a turn-off for the telepathic Tapedeck. Worse yet, what if Gravechaser decided to return?
No. His quarters was out. Soundwave's quarters, maybe? He would have to either be very quiet with the six Cassettes nearby, and the older ones would certainly know what they were doing in the berthroom… "Hmmmm…" Skywarp hummed a bit, running his hand up and down his belly, "Control Room's the best place," he finally concluded.
Only problem now would be getting rid of Thundercracker. Of course, he greatly appreciated his big brother's love and devotion, caring and protecting not just himself, but his precious unborn daughter.
But now, he would like to have a little fun with his new friend. He felt he could even feel his pheromone levels rising. He moaned to himself a little now; how could he get rid of TC without tipping him off about what he was thinking of doing with Soundwave?
No patrols or scouting missions scheduled for the next two weeks; and his brother was still a bit weak for simply joy-flying. He debated sending him out on a propane run, lying to him that he had a pregnancy craving for it. But then, Soundwave would probably go instead, and that would defeat the purpose of everything.
Their Creators. Skywarp raised an optic brow. They had always spent Christmas with their parents. Perhaps Thundercracker could visit them for a day or two, maybe Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and then the black and purple Seeker could put on a movie for the Cassettes and keep them occupied while he forced himself on their Sire on the same sofa where he first told him about his plan to keep his pregnancy a secret seven months ago. Maybe they would open the sofa bed; his belly was taking up more and more room these days.
Back to Thundercracker: This would take some convincing, but he could play up the fact that this would be the first Christmas their parents would be without them. After all, just because he was forbidden to travel intergalactically didn't mean TC had to stay back as well. He would have to get Soundwave to agree too, but not tip his hand that he intended to turn their holiday break into a romantic rendezvous. Gravechaser wasn't the only conniving mech around here, Skywarp smirked, after all, he invented it back when he was a sparkling!
He heard his older brother stir in his recharge nap, groaning and twisting in Megatron's recliner. "Hey Teecee, you up?" he asked, feigning innocence.
"Uh-huh," the blue Seeker yawned, "slagging virus is hanging in there."
"You poor thing," the pregnant flyer smirked, sitting down on the sofa bed, "Wanna go eat? I'm starving." He would never launch right into his intended plans; he was too cunning for that. Besides, it was dinner time, and he was getting hungry again.
"Okay," Thundercracker got himself up, and they went to the mass hall.
The two brothers were drinking their Energon cubes when Soundwave came in with his brood.
"Hey," the Tapedeck acknowledged causally; no need for formality on vacation, "I just checked the cameras again. We're all clear for fifteen miles in all directions."
"I shall return to the Ark in the morning hours," Laserbeak announced to the group, "They can never go unmonitored for prolonged periods."
The Tapedeck put a piece of paper in front of Thundercracker, "Starscream called earlier, he wanted to make sure you guys had Esmerelda's phone number."
The blue Seeker promptly crumbled up the message and tossed it in the trash without blinking.
"Whoa," Rumble stated before Soundwave gave him a look, telling him to stay out of this.
"As far as I'm concerned, we're done," Thundercracker spat harshly, "I'm transferring to Cybertron come January."
"Understood," Soundwave sat down and put Ratbat on his lap; the little guy drinking from his Energon cube, "I'll notify Shockwave." He didn't really believe the blue Seeker would leave his Trine, but he never wanted to argue needlessly, knowing the two Seekers would reconcile eventually.
Skywarp used it as an opportunity to bring about his plan, "Then we're gonna go back to Vos, TC?"
"Hope so," the older Jet fiddled with a wrapper, "close to Mom and Dad preferably. That way, Mom can babysit during the day."
Skywarp grinned now; his brother bringing their parents up himself was even better than he could have expected. Now, he just slid into the next step, "Teecee, I miss them."
Thundercracker: "Me too."
"This is our first Christmas away from them," the carrying flyer faked his whining, "Soundwave, can't we go? Just for ONE little day or two?"
The big blue mech seemed to ponder this, "The electromagnetic effects on an unborn sparkling have not been fully studied…"
"No." Thundercracker told his brother flatly, "I don't want you doing anything risky, especially after your concussion."
Skywarp made a pouty expression, "I just feel sorry for our Creators, y'know? Being all alone at Christmastime…Couldn't ONE of us go? Can you go?"
TC seemed to consider this, biting his lower lip components.
"Come on," Skywarp insisted now, "I'll be fine. Soundwave's here." He turned to the Tapedeck, "You wouldn't let anything happen to me and the baby, right? We'd be safe, right?"
"Of course," the Tapedeck drink from his cube, "I wouldn't let you out of my sight."
Oh, this was wonderful, "Come on, Teecee, please?!" Skywarp pleaded, "Spend Christmas with Momma and Dad, PLEASE?!" now he faked an emotional surge he knew his big brother would attribute to pregnancy, "I-It must be so hard on Momma to have us so far away…I-I'd hate to be so far away from Crystal…"
Thundercracker wondered briefly why his little sibling wanted to get rid of him all of a sudden, but he chalked it up to his shifting emotions, "Guess I could."
"YAY!" Skywarp jumped up and hugged him, "Can I tell them?! PLEASE TEECEE?! HUH?! HUH?!"
Okay, his brother was definitely crazy, "Okay, okay," TC let the other glomp him and practically sit on him, "You can tell them. But I'm just going for a few days." He got up, "Guess I'll go pack." He left the mass hall.
"I see what you did there," Frenzy grinned knowingly at the carrying Seeker.
Huh? Uh-oh.
"Y-You do?" Skywarp asked. How did the young Cassette figure out he was in love with the boy's Sire?
"You wanna get him and Starscream back together," Frenzy grinned, "and you're gonna call Starscream and tell him to go visit TC in Vos. Isn't that right?"
Hee-hee. The red and black Cassette was clever, but Skywarp was downright conniving.
"Yep, that's it," Skywarp told him.
Just to cover his own skidplate, the pregnant Jet DID call Starscream once he got back to the red and white Seeker's quarters and told him that Thundercracker would be coming to Vos. Thus, shooting two Aerialbots with one Null-Ray blast.
"He's still pretty mad, Star," Skywarp told their Trine Leader, "maybe if you ask my Dad to talk to him."
"I'll try," Starscream held the phone to his shoulder while changing Darkmount, "I wanna settle this just as much as you must want to, Warp," he felt so far away from his siblings, "I hate being away from you two…a lot…"
"Star, he told Soundwave to transfer him to Vos," the black and purple Seeker told him.
"Ugh," Starscream sighed, "this is my fault, um, I'll think of something. In the meantime, take care of yourself." And hung up.
"I knew it," Thundercracker said suddenly, startling the pregnant Jet.
Skywarp: "Hmmm?"
"You want me to go to Vos just so Starscream can visit," the blue Seeker thought there was something suspicious about Skywarp's suddenly wanting him to leave, "you're a sneaky little frigger, but you could never fool me."
"Okay, you caught me," Skywarp faked it again, "but don't you wanna spend Christmas with our parents?" he made a sad expression.
"Yeah, I do," TC admitted now, "been weird around here anyway…" he also wondered if he should ask his Mother something, but didn't want to tell the other, "You sure you're okay alone?"
"I'm not alone, silly," Skywarp smiled, "Soundwave and his kids are here. And besides, I haven't seen or heard from whatever's been in the attic for days now. I think it's gone." He truly hoped the last part was true anyways.
"Okay," Thundercracker told him, "just promise me you'll stay by Soundwave the whole time I'm gone."
"Oh, I will," Skywarp smirked deviously, "I sure will." His plan had come together even better than he expected it to. And soon, he would have Soundwave's attention to enjoy…
Rip.
Rip.
Rip.
Gravechaser used every fiber of his evil being to control himself from exploding into a flaming ball of energy that would result in a mushroom cloud-sized blast that would tear the entire Decepticon Underwater Base to smithereens and be felt in three neighboring states.
Rip.
He found that slowly ripping paper with his claws—Megatron's Gladiatorial file—and throwing the pieces on the attic floor was a good way to dispense his roaring fury in small doses.
Rip.
"That infernal, filthy little hellion," he seethed with an even greater hatred than before, "Lusting, wretched creature," he tore off another piece, "All he thinks about is frigging around." Just like her, "Just like his mother."
Rip.
Oh, how his then-Bondmate plotted whenever he went to work, or rather, looked for work, whichever it was, depending on the era, to have her coccoid boyfriend over for an afternoon romp in the berthroom. Their berthroom. An afternoon romp in their berthroom, while his son innocently played with his pets, completely unbeknownst to what his retch of a mother was doing. When she made breakfast in the morning, she must have been breathlessly anticipating the departure of her rightful husband, and the arrival of her backdoor mech. Their sparkling as oblivious as his Sire.
Rip.
The ghost had indeed taken several days off from haunting the pregnant Jet in an effort to give the frigger a false sense of security, with plans to come back in a blaze of glory when the time proved right. Tonight, he saw firsthand how the little slut was manipulating everyone in his life. This, Gravechaser vowed to himself, would NOT go unpunished. Not at all. Not at all.
Rip.
Plotting would be answered with better plotting. The monster would bide his time now; wait for Thundercracker to indeed leave; the big mech was only intimidating from the outside, the evil ghost knew his weakness though…
Rip.
This paper would have to do until he could rip into Skywarp's innards.
Rip.
Rip.
Rip.
