Chapter 31

Sari ascended the steps to Starscream's fortress, shouldering her way past much larger, fiercer looking mechs. Every now and then she was barged roughly, whipping round to glare at the perpetrator. 'Oi! Watch where you're going, twat!'

A growled garble of Cybertronian came back to her and she glared. 'Oh, that's nice! Right back at you!'

She looked down into her cupped hand as she continued her climb. 'You OK?'

Lucy, her legs swinging over the edge of Sari's fingers, looked up, nodding bravely. 'Yeah. The air tastes weird…'

'You'll get used to it. The air is breathable, but the oxygen content is lower. Just don't go jogging.'

Lucy gave a shaky laugh as above her head, Sari continued speaking.

'We'll go and find Alexis first and then wait for news on Frenzy. OK?'

The Autobot reached the top of the steps and strode into the Decepticon fortress. A guard moved forward to challenge her. 'Autobot, you don't have clearance to…'

A palm was thrust into his face. 'Whatever.'

The guard stared after Sari. Without slowing down, she deftly high-fived Thundercracker, who was heading out of the entrance. He turned, giving her a casual salute. 'Hey, brat.'

She didn't look round, cockily flipping him the bird. 'Only Screamer gets to call me that.'

Thundercracker quirked an eyebrow, and nodded to the guards, who swiftly moved to block her path with a clash of crossed weapons. He folded his broad arms as she was forced to come to a halt. 'And only I get to call him Screamer. You're lucky he's not here.'

Sari paused, considered this for a moment, before turning around, tilting her head up. 'Fair enough. Where are you going?'

'To join Starscream,' replied the second-in-command. Something in his tone did not invite further questioning, and after a few moments Sari nodded, knowing that was all the information she would be getting out of the towering blue jet. Thundercracker tilted his head. 'Where are you going?'

'To see Alexis, of course.' Sari kept her head up, meeting his crimson stare. The guards remained where they were, still blocking her entrance. After a moment of Thundercracker watching her, she shifted from one foot to another, betraying her slight unease. 'C'mon, Thundercracker. I'm her best friend.'

'Mm. Well, you will forgive our tendency to be slightly more… protective of our Consort, recent events considered.'

'Yeah, but… it's me,' said Sari, her optics large with trepidation. 'You're not gonna stop me from seeing her… surely?'

'I thought you would be with Arcee and the rest of the Autobots, fawning over those shivering little human prisoners,' rumbled Thundercracker. He stepped forward, his cool gaze flicking down to Lucy, who swallowed hard, keeping her head down.

Sari shrugged. 'Friends come first. Is Alexis in her quarters?'

'Yeah. I just took her there.'

'So… we're good, right? You know, if you felt like making my life easier, you could send across the access holograms. In case I get stopped again. Please?'

Thundercracker sighed, touching his com link. 'Fine. Just this once.'

The guards stepped back, clearing her path. Sari repositioned Lucy gently in one hand, placing her free hand onto her hip. 'Thanks. Is she... alright?'

Thundercracker shrugged. 'I guess, in the circumstances. She's watching TV.' He turned to leave, pausing when Sari called after him.

'What is she watching?'

He continued towards the steps without looking back. 'How should I know? Your human entertainment looks all the same.'

Sari snorted. 'Please. Alexis has told me about you and Arcee. Your Netflix marathons. I've seen your watch list!'

He froze, before turning slowly on the spot, fixing her with a glare that would melt armour, his voice a threatening rumble. 'You'll be glad to keep that to yourself. I'd had a lot of energon that night and…'

'Oh, whatever. Just tell me: Is she watching Gavin and Stacey?'

The second-in-command frowned harder. 'The one with the silly humans always arguing and laughing about nothing? That... does ring a bell, now you mention it.'

'Shit.' Sari spun round on her heel, striding into the fortress. Lucy looked up. 'What? What's wrong with Gavin and Stacey?'

'Nothing. It's a good show,' said Sari, frowning in concentration as she counted turnings, setting off up a gently sloping corridor, illuminated from above by soft, glowing lights. 'But if Alexis is in a dark mood, she watches Gavin and Stacey, without fail.'

'But nothing actually happens in it,' said Lucy, closing her eyes as the ground below whirled by sickeningly with the speed of Sari's stride. Above her head, Alexis' oldest friend snorted. 'Exactly. That's why she likes it.'

Sari rapped on the huge doors once, before activating the door controls. They slid apart, only to reveal Alexis on the threshold, dressed in black jeans and a leather jacket with the hood pulled up. She started in surprise. 'Oh. Hey!'

'Er… Where are you off to?' Sari lowered an awestruck Lucy to the floor, who was staring past Alexis into the wide open space beyond, taking in the soaring ceiling and soft lighting, the mixture of huge Cybertronian furniture and human-sized belongings scattered about. 'I just saw Thundercracker. He said you were in here watching TV.'

Alexis shrugged. 'He left me watching TV, yeah. You think I'm going to sit in my quarters like a good girl whilst Frenzy is injured? I'm going to find him. Hey Lucy,' she added, rubbing the redhead's shoulder warmly. 'Sorry about running off back on the ship.'

'Is it true your dad went up to speak to Starscream?' Sari's optics glowed in gleeful disbelief. 'I SO wish I was a fly on that particular wall!'

Alexis strode out into the corridor, the others following her. 'Ugh, don't. I'm not actually sure which is worse, the fact they had "the chat…" she waggled her fingers in mid-air '...or the fact that they seemed to weirdly get on. Is it bad that I'm relieved Dad is gone? I know that sounds...'

Sari swiftly strode forward, her legs barring Alexis' way. 'Woah, woah. Hold on there, girl. Let's go back in there for a bit, take a moment.'

Alexis stared up at her. 'Take a moment? We have to find Frenzy!'

'Skywarp found Frenzy,' said Sari gently. 'And he warped him back up here, where Ratchet is performing surgery on him. Trust me, I'm going to get any updates firsthand. Now, come on, let's go into your quarters for a bit, yeah? Lucy's ready to faint, look at her. Poor cow hasn't seen a bite of food since all this kicked off.'

'Lucy, you want to find him?' Alexis stared at the girl, willing her to take her side, but Lucy gave a sad smile.

'Of course I do… and I'm worried about him, but… I think Sari is right. We have to trust the Autobots. The best thing to do is wait.'

Visibly frustrated, Alexis fidgeted, biting her lip, before sighing and wheeling back around towards the doorway. 'I just want to DO something! FUCK!'

'I know, I know,' said Sari, unphased by her oldest friend's outburst as she thumped the wall. She exchanged a wink with Lucy, silently answering her worried, querying look with a reassuring grin.

The three of them made their way back into Alexis' luxury palace quarters. Lucy couldn't help but stare at the incredible space. The central room had a thick soft rug on the floor, a huge wall-mounted TV, a sofa with cushions and throws, an illuminated fish tank on the far wall. She also took in a couple of soaring archways leading off to other rooms. The TV was on, the volume turned down, and Lucy looked up to see that Sari had guessed correctly - an old episode of Gavin and Stacey was indeed half way through.

Food containers and empty drinks cans that were strewn about the room slightly ruined the cosy effect.

Sari stepped forward, only to gingerly lift her foot as it crunched onto an empty Coke bottle. 'Had a party without us, eh?'

'It's that Brendan guy.' Alexis began picking up a collection of empty cans, throwing them into a black refuse sack. Lucy moved to help her, wrinkling her nose at the smelly, congealed remains of a microwaved meal. 'I asked Starscream to move him in here after I questioned him. I'd forgotten all about him, to be honest. Looks like he made himself at home.'

'Well, that's putting it politely.' Sari leaned down, picking up more rubbish between her fingers, pooling it in her palm. 'Is he still here? He needs some lessons in being a good house guest!'

'No, he's gone, I'm guessing he's been hauled off to be with the others. At least, I hope so,' said Alexis, looking temporarily anxious.

'Come here,' said Sari softly. After a moment, Alexis moved forwards. Sari knelt down, enveloping her friend in a hug. 'Are you really OK?'

'Yeah, of course,' said Alexis lightly, rubbing her hand over Sari's metallic arm, her slight body swamped by her friend's femme form.

'The guys said you'd been through hell. With that arsehole who beat you up… and that awful experiment.' Sari lowered her voice, searching her friend's face concernedly. '... Alexis, it sounded terrible. Want to talk about it? You know you can talk to me.'

'Thanks… and… yeah. But I'm fine. Really.'

Sari narrowed her optics and watched her oldest friend carefully as she flopped onto the sofa. 'Lucy, there's wine and food in the kitchen if you want any? Just through there.'

Lucy, nodding enthusiastically, made her way through the archway Alexis was gesturing to. Sari pulled up one of the Cybertronian chairs, settling herself on it and leaning her elbows on her knees, looking down as Alexis picked up the remote, turning up the volume.

'Alexis, are you sure that…'

Alexis cut across her, and fortunately Sari had known her long enough not to take her surliness personally. 'For the love of… look, I'm fine. I'm just sick of doing nothing and feeling so fucking helpless. And guilty. And I know I'm being a grumpy bitch and I'm sorry about that too.'

Sari watched her as she stared at the screen, discreetly scanning her. Her head was inflamed, an angry wound glowing from under her hair. She was bruised, and Sari's sophisticated circuitry also picked up traces of sedatives, still lingering on the edges of her bloodstream. Her wrists were bruised and blistered, still imprisoned in the cuffs. A datapad was in her lap, glowing up at her. Sari leaned forwards. There was a name in a search bar at the top of a long list.

'Who is Joshua Black, Alexis?'

Alexis didn't look around. After a moment she tapped at the datapad, darkening the screen. 'No one. I was just double checking the slave manifest, seeing if I recognised any names on the list. Actually, it's quite interesting. I think the doctor was brought on board. I might go down and see if…'

'Is he the one that hurt you?' asked Sari quietly.

Lucy made her way back into the living area, passing a full glass of wine to Alexis. Sari watched as her friend took it, her hand shaking ever so slightly. When Lucy had returned to the kitchen she spoke again. Sari could swear her voice also had the slightest tremor.

'Um, yeah. A bit. I just, I… um… I was just wondering if he'd been picked up by the Decepticons when they rounded everyone up, that's all. He's not there, which means he got away, which, to be honest, I'm really fucking relieved about.'

Her voice, gathering speed, cracked at the end of the sentence, and she hurriedly ran a hand through her hair, her fingertips brushing at her eyes.

'Did he… do anything else?'

There was a long silence.

'Well, he hurt Dad, if that's what you mean…'

'You know what I mean, Ali,' said Sari softly.

Another long silence.

'No,' Alexis said. 'He… he was interrupted.'

'Oh, hun,' said Sari softly.

'I'm in a mess, Sari,' whispered Alexis. She couldn't bring herself to look round, and Sari sat perfectly still. 'I thought I was strong, thought I was one of them…'

'You are one of them,' said Sari quietly. 'Alexis, you're their fucking Queen. They love you.'

'I don't know why,' said Alexis thickly. Finally it was starting to pour out. 'I'm just a stupid girl who got in way too deep and nearly cost lives. I just want to do something, I just want to make it right.'

'It's not always going to be you alone sorting things out,' said Sari gently. 'Optimus Prime taught me that. Autobots know that you're never at your best on your own. It's OK to not be strong all the time. It's OK to sometimes need help, need rescuing.'

Alexis wiped her eyes on her sleeve, hurriedly hiding her woe from Lucy, who had shut the fridge, preparing to re-enter the room.

'Does Starscream know about this Joshua guy?' asked Sari in a low murmur.

'I don't think so, thank God. He asked some questions on Earth but I managed to deflect them. I don't know what he would do if… and anyway it really doesn't matter. I just never want to see that creep again. I don't want to make any more fuss, Sari.'

'But he needs to face…'

'No. Please, please don't talk about him any more. And please, please don't tell Starscream.' She looked up, her face pleading and desperate.

'Alright, alright. I won't.' Sari placed her fingers soothingly onto Alexis' shoulder, feeling the tension in her bones. 'It's OK. It's gonna be OK.'

Lucy, unaware of the sombre atmosphere, padded back into the main living area, and settled herself down on the other half of the sofa with a bag of potato crisps. She looked up at the screen. 'Ooh, I love this episode.'

'Me too!' Alexis replied. As if a switch had been thrown, she began discussing the TV show animatedly with Lucy, laughing and joking as if the last few minutes had never happened.

Sari sighed, getting to her feet. Trying to keep her movements discreet, she raised a hand to her com-link. She still had full access to the Decepticon network. There had been an order, released over all channels not half an hour ago, that Starscream was not to be disturbed under any circumstances. She ignored it, opening a channel regardless.

'Starscream? Starscream. You there?'

After a few moments of silence, the familiar menacing snarl came over the com link. 'This had better be good enough to warrant you disturbing me.'

Sari was on the verge of retorting that he could just block his com link, but something in his tone had her swallowing any thought of cheeking the Decepticon ruler. He sounded angry, murderous, the rage in his voice like a taut spring ready to snap.

'S… sorry…'

'What do you want? Be brisk and to the point.'

'I'm... really worried about Alexis. I'm with her now. Starscream, I think she's traumatised.'

There was a silence.

'Um… You still there?'

'I'm here. What's your point, exactly?'

Sari blanched, her optics wide. Alexis, seemingly unaware of the silent exchange, was sipping wine and staring at the screen with Lucy. 'What's my point? My point is she's not OK, Starscream!'

Starscream's voice was soft and dangerous. 'And you presume, perhaps, that I am unaware of this?'

'No, but…'

'You have your unique… strengths to bring to this situation. I have every faith in you. In the meantime, I am handling this very matter you speak of.'

There was a loaded pause, and Sari moved away, towards the window.

'What… what are you doing?'

His voice was now dark and silky, laden with a sinister undercurrent of pleasure, a savouring of a delicious task to be carried out. 'Never you mind, little Autobot friend. Let's just say I'm dealing with a few little flies in the ointment. Small problems, which will be a lot smaller once I have finished.'

Sari didn't know how to reply. She glanced back at the two human women on the sofa, still chatting and laughing.

'Sari?'

'Still here,' she muttered over the com link.

'You are with her?'

'Yes. Yes, of course.'

'Good. Stay with her. Care for her. You do your job, and I will do mine. Do not disturb me again.'

The com link was closed, and Sari gripped the edge of the window sill, staring out into the vast metropolis of Iacon, the millions of lights glittering in the fading light. At the sound of voices calling for her she fixed her smile back on, turning away.

AN: Happy new year! I could be wrong but I think the next chapter might be the one you guys have been waiting for. :D Shout out to those who take the time to review, in particular thanks to Alondra for your kind message. Bear with me while I make sure I get the next part right.