No Cybertronian was forged evil. Just like the children of organic creatures, they are born innocent and curious of the world. In the beginning, all Starscream wanted was to be loved. In the end, it was still the same, yet he no longer understood it was that which he sought.

He had lived for approval, thriving off praise and respect. Without it, he believed he would be worthless. And so it was, when Starscream at last had his power, he was still lost. For it is one thing to be admired and respected, and another to be loved. Nothing filled the void; no amount of riches or power ebbed the itching frustration within that made him snap at others.

Starscream did not understand why he felt such comfort in having a master. As much as Megatron abused him, he wanted his security. He wanted someone to command him and take away the weight, someone he could impress, someone who would praise him- who would want him. Torn in two he was, unsure of which path would make him feel whole: absolute power as Lord of the Decepticons, or Megatron's approval. Eventually, the fight left him and Starscream submitted to Megatron's rule. This path was the easiest, thus the desire to kill Megatron faded away as his attachment grew.

He needed Megatron; Megatron protected him from worse fates. The abuse was tolerable, as long as Megatron still wanted him… There in the Decepticons, Starscream had a purpose and at least scraps of worth and dignity left. Perhaps he was now a joke, nothing to be feared by the Autobots, or mere entertainment for Megatron. It was hard to bear this and his spark shrieked for more, not sure of what it wanted, only clinging tighter to a master's protection and hoping he would at last give him something that would fill the violent void.

Starscream had not been ready to lose him when he did.

But for a long time, Starscream did not know who Megatron was.

It was during the final glorious years of the Golden Age of Cybertron, long past midnight, when a beam of light shot out of the Well of Allsparks. Carried within it was a medium-sized bot, who stirred only once he was gently set to the side of the hole. Blinking in awe, he stared at the Keepers of the Well who came to inspect the new life.

Unknown Cybertronians helped him onto his feet, but their touch was so professional that the young flier instantly started paying attention.

"Seeker," one bot reported to another, who had started typing something on a pad.

The new Cybertronian glanced all around, at everyone else's colours and shapes, then at himself. His arms were a lustrous red, and as he curled his black fingers, he was addressed.

"Do you understand us?"

The flier perked up and refocused on the bots before him. In an instant, he realized that they had these black round things on their bodies that he (rolling his limbs) realized he did not have.

"Yes?" the flier squeaked, then felt his neck in admiration of his first sound.

"Good, this one was properly forged," the one typing said, while continuing to tap rapidly. "Do you have a name?"

The red and silver flier closed his eyes, grasping for the dream he had had while arising from the Well. There had been blurry flashes of the world, but the strongest memory was of the shapes that sped around that had made his spark flip with excitement. He had wanted to join those shapes who looked so free and happy, dancing along the colourful fabric. Ignoring the question for a moment, the flier looked for the fabric and found it.

His head snapped back and his eyes widened with glee.

"The sky!" he cried.

Someone stuttered, "W-what?"

Then the flier transformed where he was, blasting upwards and knocking them back from his heat and wind. The nimble jet spiralled higher towards the clouds, rapidly becoming a small speck far beyond their reach. Cool mist brushed him and he squealed in delight, popping up and down through the clouds like a needle through cloth. Then, he burst out into the clear over the Hydrax Plateau with only the countless stars above him. With a gasp, he glided on to admire them, upside-down then right-way-up.

Those are the stars, for which I was named!

The young flier flipped and pointed his nose to the sky, then rocketed straight for them. The wind whistling past him excited him, pushing him higher and higher until he heard a voice shout out to him. Another jet cruised up to his side, a massive orange and black form.

"Whoa there, where are you off to?" he laughed. "You shouldn't be up here, kid."

"I shouldn't?" he asked.

"No, not unless you're a trained Seeker, or with your attitude, a trained space Seeker!"

"Oh, okay…" he murmured guiltily, swerving around and heading back to the ground with disappointment felt heavy in his chest.

"There now," the older Seeker said. "Don't you worry; you'll be doing lots of flying in your time. Now, you rapscallion, could you land for us and answer some questions?"

They headed back toward the cloudline.

"What's a 'Seeker'?" he piped up.

The large jet chuckled and answered, "Oh that's precious. You're a Seeker, little one. That is what we call the swiftest of Cybertronian fliers. You are very lucky indeed to be one! We are very important to Cybertron, but we also get to enjoy things that many others never will. And by your behaviour, I can already tell that you are going to be an amazing Seeker!"

His spark burst with pleasure.

Once they broke through this cloud layer, the young Cybertronian saw his first city from above. Aglow with yellow and blue lights, the busy city was awake in the night. Vehicles dashed through the roads, transport craft floated low over the buildings, and sounds of banging and roaring wheels drifted up to them.

"What is that?" he exclaimed.

"The city of Kalis, kid. Now pay attention, because one day you're going to have to know every city out there."

"More cities?"

"Oh yes. You're going to see them all."

It was apparently possible for his spark to swell with even more joy.

They landed on top of a building, but the young flier immediately leaned over the edge to spy on the passing cars. His head flicked side-to-side, wings fluttering as he tittered. When he heard another jet incoming, however, he sat up and looked back.

"There's our little escapee!" A purple and yellow Seeker transformed and landed neatly among them.

"Hello," he smiled, charged with joy since so far, no one had reprimanded him.

"Now, what is your name?" the new Seeker asked.

"Starscream," he purred.

"Star… scream?" she laughed, and the large Seeker chuckled with her. "Why, that is an unusual one, though I suppose still traditional."

"We won't be forgetting this Seeker, that's for sure!" he agreed.

"Crazy, little Starscream..." She tried to swallow her laugh but shook. "Oh, what an impression! A few moments after being forged, he flies off. No one even taught you how to transform! Why, imagine if he had been around during the Quintesson invasion, right, Emberwind?"

"Oh Primus, I cannot imagine," Emberwind laughed. "The secret of the T-cog would have gotten out immediately. If only!"

"You…" She poked Starscream in the chest. "You are a natural! If that was your first instinct, then you are going to be one heck of a Seeker."

Starscream was confused by everything, but the constant praise lifted his wings high.

"Alright," the purple Seeker said. "Well now, I got to take you home. Ready to fly with me, Starscream? We are heading to Vos."

"Vos? Is this a city?" Starscream chirped.

"The best city," she replied. "Our city."

And compared to the city he had just seen, Starscream did not think anything on Cybertron would ever beat Vos. The first time he laid eyes on the Seeker capital was a memory that would stay with him forever. He would forget Emberwind and the other Seeker whose name he never learned, but this moment created a space of love in his spark just for the city.

The rising sun fell upon Vos and the tallest skyscrapers of Cybertron. Hundreds of buildings disappeared into the clouds while other hundreds of colourful jets zipped around each other on their business. Starscream felt the energy of their life hit him from a distance, and he could not wait to join them. This place, they had said, was his. He had a home and it was one built on the freedom of flight. Every building was large and spaced apart, and this design made the city so open. No Seeker here needed to feel trapped, and the wind flowed nearly unhindered through the streets.

Starscream had arrived just in time for the first class of the day. Passed from one Seeker to the next, Starscream made it across the city to a tiny school on the outskirts. First, he was escorted inside to an office, then a secretary led him outside to the class just starting morning calisthenics. Every step he took, his head was turning and soaking up every sight.

A group of about twenty Seekers had been flying laps around a large field when Starscream was dropped off beside his teacher. At that, the teacher brightened up and called all his students back to him. As they returned, he asked the young flier, "Are you a talker?"

Starscream blinked. "I can talk… why wouldn't I be able to?"

The large, bright-coloured Seeker patted his shoulder. "Good, good. Properly developed this time."

The class formed a double line with the smaller Seekers at the front. Every one of them leaned and looked at him in curiosity, eyes too young to know how to judge.

"Alright everyone, we have a newly forged student joining us today." Then tilting to Starscream, the teacher murmured, "Sorry you came a bit late into the stellar cycle. You'll have some catching up to do, but I will help you with that after our regular classes, okay?" He raised his voice again. "Now, could you tell us who you are, new spark?"

"My name is Starscream," he smiled.

"What a unique name," the teacher chuckled. "I wonder how you got that 'scream' bit. Well now, how about everyone else introduce themselves? Tell Starscream your names and your favourite thing about being a Seeker."

The answers were a bit overwhelming, and Starscream did not catch every name. Yet what he heard about school and all the evening games excited him immensely. Every morning, they had basic training in agility, then their classes, before they spent the evening partaking in any extracurricular activity they wished. There were scheduled games, beginner-level competitions, and obstacle fields...

"And we get to do this every day?" Starscream gasped.

The teacher, who was called Lunarsweep, was to be simply called Instructor L. He chuckled, "Of course, Starscream. Elementary-level Seekers need to get as much flight training as possible before you are ever sent out on missions. We strongly encourage it! We wouldn't want to lose anymore than we have to, you know."

"Lose?" Starscream blinked.

Instructor L. rubbed his head and coughed, "Er, well, don't worry about it, Screamer. Now, enough delay! Everyone, get out there and give me some spiral laps."

The class raced out and tore into the field. Starscream jerked forward to join them, but the teacher held him back for a moment.

"Have you transformed yet?" he asked.

"Yes," Starscream replied.

"Just watch them for a bit, then try to copy them," he advised. "And you can fly closer to the ground."

Starscream quivered in impatience, watching the others zip around the field, spinning every length and taking the corners slowly. Some Seekers were more timid than others, puttering on near the ground where the instructor wanted Starscream to fly. Above, a strong, blue flier zoomed around the field much higher than everyone else, spinning several times each length. It looked wicked fun up there, and Starscream could not wait to join the other Seeker.

"I don't need to watch anymore," Starscream said. "I know what to do."

The instructor chuckled and lifted his hand. "Alright, Starscream. Be care-"

The red and silver Seeker shot away from him, jumping and transforming in the air. His jaw dropped as the one-day-old Cybertronian hurried to the top to join the boldest student of the class. Starscream caught up to his side, matching his speed even around the corners, and started spinning along in flight.

"Hey, not bad there," the blue flier laughed. "Starscream?"

"Yes!"

"Think you can go any faster?"

Starscream heard the challenge in his voice and assumed something fun was coming.

"I bet I can," he smirked with his voice.

"Bring it on then, newbie!"

The blue Seeker blasted off with a powerful cracking sound. Starscream brought power to his own blasters and rushed after him, trying to remember to do his spins as he chased the other student. For a few laps, Starscream could keep up, but then he began to lag behind in exhaustion. Once that began to happen, Starscream felt the start of a small, bad emotion. Since his creation hours ago, he had been constantly praised for his flight capabilities. If someone was better than him, would they stop praising him to praise this flier instead? What would happen if everyone stopped smiling and laughing with him?

The instructor called back everyone with a whistling device, and Starscream landed beside the blue Seeker, panting to cool his systems.

"You were great," his peer whispered.

"I was?" Starscream straightened up.

Their teacher overheard them, then continued the conversation, "You were excellent, Starscream. Your endurance will come with time. But, I have never had such a daring, first-cycle student. I think I already know what specialization you are going into."

"Specialization?"

The instructor herded the students back toward the school, but explained, "Yes. After a few stellar cycles of elementary training, you then go into the intermediate level with some easy assignments, and then the advanced level is entirely based on your own skills. It will all be higher education and practical training."

"What can I pick from?" Starscream bounced along at his side.

"Oh, well if I tell you now, you won't understand what I'm talking about," he chuckled. "How about you take a few classes first, alright? You haven't even had science and technology lessons yet."

Starscream was finding that he was blinking a lot in confusion.

"How much is there to learn? And how long is a stellar cycle?"

The class poured into the halls, but more than half of them broke away and followed other instructors into different rooms.

"What is happening?" Starscream added. "Where are they going?"

"Such a curious and attentive young one," his instructor laughed. "There is a lot to learn, Starscream, and those students were forged a while ago. We all take physical education together in the mornings, but your education level is lower than theirs, so you will stay with me."

"But that means… we are a small…"

"Yes, a small number of Seekers…" A shadow seemed to fall over Instructor L.'s eyes, and it spooked Starscream. "Only five of you this stellar cycle."

Starscream felt his first kernel of fear in his spark. What he did not know frightened him, and he desperately wanted to know more about this world, except the teacher forced himself to brighten up.

"We have history first, but afterward during mathematics, I will teach you how to count, alright, Starscream?"

He frowned and nodded. Maybe, he thought, learning how to count would help him learn what the unsaid darkness was.

The remaining students followed the bulky Seeker into a room of desks with interactive tabletops.

"Starscream!" The blue Seeker waved at him. "Sit beside me today!"

The blue student sat down first, then Starscream slid into the desk beside him.

"Do you remember my name?" he asked.

Starscream shook his head. "Sorry, so many were talking..."

"I understand. My name is Thundercracker."

This time, he made a special effort to memorize it.

"Starscream," Thundercracker said. "It was really fun flying with you today. Er, would you like to play with us after school?"

As the instructor set up the screen, Starscream beamed. "Wouldn't I! What will we play?"

"Hmm, well, since you were just forged, I think we should just play a bit of winghunt and then hang on the obstacle course."

Starscream noticed that the instructor was standing and waiting, but watching them with an amused expression. With a class so small, a bit of wasted time did not seem to bother him.

"That is a good suggestion, Thundercracker," Instructor L. said. "Take care of our new friend and help him catch up, alright?"

The lesson on prehistoric Cybertron began, but Starscream called out, "I have a question. What is, are the… uum, Quueen… hmm, the Quinteeza, the-"

"The Quintessons?" the instructor stiffened. "Who was telling you about them?"

"Are they the flightless bots?"

The mood passed, and the instructor burst out laughing. "Oh, 'Scream… No, no. They were a race of evil alien invaders that we drove off Cybertron. But that was the Age of Wrath, many centuries ago. I will talk about them again another day. Cybertronian history is divided into a few periods, and I'm sorry that you will be a little confused at first. Today we are talking about old civilizations in the Age of Evolution. It was a time before anyone knew they could transform, before there were Seekers, a time when monsters ruled the sky…"

"Monsters?" a yellow Seeker said. "Oh, the Predacons…"

"Indeed, Sunstorm. Massive beasts that forced our society to create defensive weapons… Most of them could fly…" The instructor began to search through his slides for images. "Although, we modern Seekers are much swifter and more agile than they ever were. Had we known about transformation back in the day, well- then we would have made short work of the Predacons!"

Starscream shrank back when he saw his first image of a Predacon. Thundercracker noticed and whispered, "They don't exist on Cybertron anymore, Starscream."

"What are those sharp pieces on their faces?" he gasped.

Starscream did not know what pain or wounds were yet, but something instinctual told him that sharp things could hurt him. With that, he glanced at his fingers and noticed for the first time that they were rather sharp.

"Hush, Starscream," Instructor L. exhaled. "You will learn more if you listen."

They did not speak about the Predacons, but instead of the structures and weapons of the first kingdoms. Once, there had been nothing where Vos lay. That blew Starscream's mind, but he supposed it made sense. These amazing buildings (the school was dreadfully short, but those other buildings) were not natural, but had been built to accommodate the flying race.

The others were taking notes, but Starscream had not yet learned how to write. The knowledge of Primus' language was natural, but the created, written form of it was not. He paid as much attention as he could, but already he was getting such a headache from his exposure to the new world.

Next came their math lesson, and Starscream flopped over his desk in absolute loss as the teacher explained today's topic. But once he assigned the others something to work on, he rummaged through a cabinet, then brought fistfuls of metal objects to Starscream's desk. He knelt down and scattered little metal figurines of jets over his blank notes, then explained.

"Alright, Starscream. We will start from the top and teach you basic math."

Moving the little jets, Starscream counted quietly with the teacher from one to ten, happy to be catching on quickly. He felt like the words had been inside him, but the concept had just been blurry. After he made it to twenty, the teacher went back to instruct the class while Starscream repeated his numbers to himself.

Then, while waiting, he lifted one of the jets and pretended to make it fly. Imagining himself performing the tricks, he made the toy do steep dives and rolls, until Thundercracker snickered and both Seekers got a shake of the head from the teacher. Starscream went back to counting, then Instructor L. began to tell him about addition and subtraction. The little jets were slid along the desk into little piles to show him how it worked, then Starscream tried it himself. Sometimes, Starscream made an error, but each time he heard a 'good job', he beamed in joy.

The elementary level for Seekers was a school day of four classes after calisthenics. Halfway, there was a break in which Starscream scampered after Thundercracker to an energon canteen in the school. There, they were given a free choice of one energon snack or drink.

"Get something high-grade, since you're going to need a lot of energy for tonight," Thundercracker advised. "After today, you will be exhausted. I remember how it was for me…"

Thundercracker went with a regular cup, while Starscream was given a handful of cubes.

"Why are they different colours?"

"Well, energon is usually blue," Thundercracker said.

"Okay, so what do these other colours mean? Do they do different things?"

"Those? No, someone told me they're 'artificial colours'. I believe that means it is just to look pretty."

"Ah."

"Is this your first time consuming energon?"

Starscream nodded.

"Great! Go ahead then!"

Starscream bit into the cubes to swallow the pieces, and the sweet taste that struck him was pure and amazing.

"Oh, wow!" he gasped.

Thundercracker laughed, "Yeah, 'wow'! Energon is awesome. Just can't ever get sick of it."

Starscream kept munching as he followed Thundercracker outside into an area walled in by the school buildings. Here, there were benches, little play structures, and metal pillars scattered in the large area. The two sat down, and their classmates skittered over to join them. But as they chattered, Starscream gazed around at the other students of the upper years. They sat on their own benches or climbed on the bars, but otherwise, there was a noticeable amount of empty benches.

On top of that, there seemed to be too much room at school for a mere (Starscream counted) twenty-one students. If buildings were full of rooms, and one room had held five of them, then…

There are a lot of empty rooms.

"Why is there so much space here?" Starscream asked. "Why is this school so large when there are so few of us?"

Everyone paused and gazed at him in curiosity.

"I don't know," Thundercracker admitted. "I noticed that some time ago, but when I asked, L. told me not to worry about it."

"I asked one time too," someone else said.

"Did you?" Thundercracker widened his eyes.

"Yeah," he replied. "But he told me I would learn about it later."

Starscream held his chin. "Do you think that once, there was enough students here to fill the school? Our teacher did say we were 'only' five. Then his face looked funny."

"Wow, Starscream, I think you are onto something," Thundercracker agreed. "Or maybe... maybe it is something bigger?"

"Like what?" Sunstorm asked.

Thundercracker brought his voice into a whisper, "You know how there are parts of the school we never get to see? What if those aren't actually part of the school. What if they use those rooms for something else?"

The youngest Seekers all clustered tighter together in the adventurous prospect.

"This sounds like a real good mystery," a black Seeker murmured. "Do you think we could sneak in and find out?"

"Are you kidding, Shadewing, of course we are going to sneak in!" Thundercracker clenched his fist.

Starscream blinked again. "Sneak? What will happen if they see us?"

"Will they get mad?" Thundercracker caught onto what he meant. "Who knows. If they do, then we know we are onto something. But still, I think we have to plan this carefully."

Shadewing rushed, "One time I left my puzzlebox and came back to school in the evening, and staff was still here. And there was this creepy grounder janitor bot. He was polishing the floors and just stared at me. He might have been there all night."

Starscream stammered, "I don't think I want Instructor L. to be, er, mad at me..."

"Oh come on, Starscream," Thundercracker said. "He won't be that mad even if there is some super cool secret. I mean, we're all Seekers! Seekers can know Seeker secrets. He might think we are too young, but it's not like we're dirty criminals!"

"But weren't we going to play games tonight?" Starscream frowned.

"We will," Thundercracker promised. "After all, we have to find out first if the school is fully closed at night. I think we should come back in two nights."

"Hmm…"

"Starscream, you caught onto this weird thing on day one. You notice things." Thundercracker prodded him. "You started the mystery, so I think you should help us solve it. Come on, are you not just dying to know? You love asking questions, but unless you do this, then L. is never going to give you the answers…"

Starscream's wings twitched, then he sighed. "Alright… I will come with you."

The others cheered, then quieted down when the older classes glanced over. To play innocent, Shadewing pretended to wrestle a grey Seeker until they looked away. All the while, Starscream continued to frown and stare at the empty benches and playground equipment.

In his young spark, something began to mature quickly. While his classmates dreamed of adventure, of finding monsters or secret labs in the closed parts of the school, Starscream felt that there was truly nothing extraordinary to find. In fact, the quiet and emptiness of the school, the abandoned sections, and the look in his teacher's eyes... made Starscream believe that they were only going to discover a sad truth.

(In which Starscream is a sweet child lucky enough to enter the privileged life. Elsewhere beyond his knowledge, a miner is slaving away in deadly conditions, born without a name and called simply D-16. He never had an education because his life has no value; Starscream's is precious to Cybertron... simply because he was forged with wings...)

Starscream doesn't have his drawl yet, so imagine the most innocent voice possible.