CHAPTER 11
A Familiar Face
"Starscream? You sleeping?" a small voice sounded in the silence.
Starscream opened his optics into slits. His gaze went around the room before falling to the floor, where Amy stood, staring up at the sitting Seeker with big glossy blue eyes and a smile.
"Amy," Starscream said and groaned, stretching his arms and arching his back, feeling a bit stiff. "What are you doing here? How did you even get in my room?"
"The door's open," Amy replied, smile unfaltering. "So I walked in."
"Didn't you say you live in the city above? Why do you keep coming down here? Or did you even return to the surface?"
"I sneak down here from time to time," Amy replied, "because I want to see you. I can't stay down here for long though, or my parents will get worried. And then they'll start looking for me, and they'll find you guys. I don't want them to get you, Starscream. Who knows what they'll do to you?"
Starscream frowned in confusion. "Who are 'they'? Bots? Humans?"
Amy's smile seemed to falter, and, surprisingly, replaced by a worried frown.
"Anyone," Amy replied. "People don't like your kind. They don't like those who look different, those who think differently. They don't understand. But I do. At least I think I do. I don't think you deserve to be treated like that. Nobody does."
"What are you talking about? You're not making any sense."
Amy shook her head and put her smile back on. "Nothing important. Just make sure to stay with the Autobots, alright? They'll keep you safe."
Amy was already walking out of the room.
"Keep me safe from what? Megatron?"
"We can say that. Well, gotta go. Gotta be in bed before Mom and Dad wake up. Goodnight, Starscream!"
Before Starscream could ask: "Mom? Dad?", Amy was gone like the wind. Starscream huffed. "This is getting stranger and stranger. Probably just another dream. Better get some more sleep."
Starscream got up and walked over to the door and pressed the button to close it. Afterwards he walked back to the berth and laid down on it. He glanced at the clock on the shelf. 4:47 AM. Early morning. Several interruptions. He probably would not get much rest tonight. Then again, not like he had anything planned for the day other than training, and that could be done at any time, it seemed.
Slowly, after several minutes of thinking of nothing in particular, Starscream closed his optics and fell back asleep.
Barely a moment later, someone knocked on his door, wincing him awake. He glanced at the clock again. 10:27 AM. Almost six hours had passed since he fell asleep. Not enough rest to cover the entire day, in any case.
Whoever was at the door knocked again. Starscream groaned.
"What?" he snarled at the door.
The door opened and Ratchet stood behind it. Starscream sat himself on his elbows.
"Good morning to you too," Ratchet replied sarcastically and showed himself inside. "Did you sleep well?"
Starscream groaned and let himself fall back into the berth, still tired.
"Well, at least you got a real berth to sleep in now," Ratchet replied. "Wheeljack told me you had a nightmare. And you didn't show up this morning. Did you get enough rest?"
"I doubt it," Starscream mumbled and shifted to lay on his side. "Still tired. I want to sleep."
"It's almost noon, you have to get up now," Ratchet said and poked Starscream on the arm.
Starscream waved the digit away. "Leave me alone," he grumbled. "Just let me sleep."
Ratchet huffed and grabbed the Seeker's arm and started pulling him up. "Unfortunately for you, we Autobots can't afford to sleep in whenever we want. Better not get you into such a habit. Maybe if you get tired enough throughout the day, you'll sleep better at night."
Starscream barely resisted the pull and let himself get hauled onto his legs, having hard to keep his optics open. "Maybe, you say," he grumbled in reply. "Or maybe I'll drop dead."
"Don't be overdramatic, your energy levels aren't low enough to affect your biology yet. You'll be fine."
Ratchet started shoving Starscream out of the room.
"Easy for you to say," Starscream muttered. "You're not the one who got his head cut open."
"I know," Ratchet said and stopped pushing when Starscream started walking on his own, heading for the command center. "You'll just have to survive somehow."
They entered the command center. Everyone seemed to be present for once. All nine Autobots stationed in Metroplex City were in the command center. For the first time since the day Starscream arrived, humans were present in the base, not being Amy. He recognized the man called Leon on the floor next to Ironhide, along with a few other humans. The rest were scattered across the railings on the small upper floor at level with most of the bots' heads. Everyone seemed to be looking at Starscream, not chatting or doing anything, almost as if they had been waiting for him.
Starscream felt a bit unnerved by all this unwanted attention. "Uh..." he drawled out, not sure what to say. Or if he should even say anything. He just stood right in front of the hallway, stalk stiff with his arms and wings spread to the sides, optics darting around the room.
Ratchet stepped past Starscream and joined the rest of the crowd. Now everyone was staring at Starscream, who stood alone against them all.
His gaze moving from bot to bot, Starscream noticed Optimus Prime was present. Just like he had two days ago. Starscream lifted an optical ridge. The bots had mentioned Optimus didn't live in the base. So what was he doing here again? And why were all the humans present, when they hadn't been yesterday?
Starscream, not wanting to look silly, straightened his back and let his arms fall to his sides, his wings flapping gently behind him. He gave the Autobots a faint frown.
"What's going on here?" he finally asked, his voice still a bit groggy.
Optimus stepped forward, the others letting him past. "Starscream," Optimus greeted. "It has been decided that you should return to the base in which you were originally stationed. I have contacted the base and informed the head of the base that you are alive and well. They are looking forward to get you back."
Starscream opened his optics wide up, his pupils narrowing. "I'm getting moved?" he asked confused. "Back to my old place? Away from here?"
"Yes," Optimus replied. "They should be arriving via GroundBridge soon. If there is anything in this base that you feel you need to bring with you, we shall allow you to have it."
Starscream's wings perked, then fluttered excitedly. "I can have the swords? And the puzzles?"
"Sure thing," Ironhide replied. "Nobody else is using them. You may as well have them."
"And I'll be willin' ta make ya more puzzles if ya want," Wheeljack added and rubbed his olfactory sensor shyly with a digit. "Since you seem ta like 'em so much."
Starscream finally gave what seemed to be a genuine smile. "That would be nice. Does this mean I won't have to stay underground all the time?"
"Most likely," Optimus replied. "Where you are going, there are Fliers like you. Others who understand your needs better than we do. Especially one of them, I hope."
Starscream cocked his head. "One of them especially?"
"You'll see," Wheeljack replied and winked. Starscream wasn't sure what to make of that.
Starscream looked around, still standing by the entrance to the hallway, keeping his distance from the crowd. "Is that why everyone is present here right now?" he asked. "To see me off?"
"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Cliffjumper said and grinned. "Everything will go back to normal again."
"Almost," Bumblebee replied.
"It'll be fine, Bee," Goldbug said and pat his brother's shoulder. "Don't you worry."
"Who knows, maybe we'll see you again, Scream," Sideswipe said. "If we do, let's have a fight, huh?"
"Yeah, you're pretty quick on your feet," Sunstreaker said in agreement. "Watching that training of yours yesterday got me pumped!"
Starscream smirked at the small bots. "Perhaps we will someday," he chuckled.
A swishing sound was heard to Starscream's left, and they all looked at the GroundBridge. A green portal had emerged, and three figures seemed to be approaching through the portal. Starscream finally stepped forward a little to get a better look at the approaching figures. Two small bots, walking beside a pretty large bot, probably bigger than Optimus Prime. The big bot and one of the smaller ones had both wings. The last one seemed to have winglets.
The three bots fully emerged from the portal and one could now distinguish paint jobs and detailing, including their faces.
The smaller winged bot was mostly golden, with blue arms and legs, while his pedes and wings were red.
The bot with winglets was blue, white and red, and seemed to have a sports car for an alternate mode. The number 38 was painted on his winglets.
The big winged bot was almost entirely white, though had a red thing peeking from behind his back, between his small white wings.
Starscream stared in wonder at the bot in the middle. The white Flier was almost twice Optimus Prime's size and barely fit under the ceiling of the base, let alone the GroundBridge tunnel. There was something familiar about him.
"These," Optimus started to explain, as the three newcomers stopped just outside the GroundBridge opening, "are Autobots from our secret base in Siberia. Smokescreen," Optimus gestured the bot with winglets, who waved and smiled at Starscream.
"Metalhawk," Optimus continued and gestured the tri-colored Flier, who nodded at him with a blank expression. "And-"
"Skyfire," Starscream interrupted, covering his mouth with both servos while gazing at the large white Flier. "Skyfire, is that you?"
The bots all seemed to stiffen in the room. Even the white Flier seemed surprised.
"Uh, yes, Starscream, it's me," Skyfire confirmed, a bit flabbergasted. "You remember me?"
Starscream removed his servos from his mouth and stepped forward, a smile starting to form on his face. "How could I not remember you? And to think, here I thought I didn't have any friends. I can't believe I forgot about you. I'm so glad you're still alive!"
The much smaller Seeker approached the giant Skyfire without hesitation. His smile softened on his face as he gazed into Skyfire's bright blue optics.
"After all, are we not Amica?"
