The Good, the Bad and Starscream Chapter 25: Scattered, a transformers/beast wars fanfic

CHAPTER 25

Scattered

"Lord Megatron," Shockwave greeted and bowed in respect.

"Shockwave," Megatron greeted with joy. "This is quite an unexpected turn. I thought you'd perished on Cybertron."

Megatron glared at Starscream behind him, whose wings flicked down by the snap.

"Yes, yes, as did we all," Starscream said nervously and tried to stay cool.

"Reports of my demise were greatly premature," Shockwave said darkly while staring ahead. "A pair of Autobots infiltrated my facility on Cybertron, sabotaging my Space Bridge. I gave chase, but failed to accurately calculate the outcome."

Starscream remembered very well how Shockwave had stormed into the Space Bridge portal, moments before it exploded, leaving his fate unknown but at the time seemingly obvious.

"I awoke in the rubble, blinded," Shockwave continued. "It soon became clear that I was marooned on our dead planet, with no means of communication. In time, I repaired my wounds and resumed my experiments. The solitude enabled me to make tremendous advances in my research. Until one day, my instruments detected a massive surge of unidentifiable energy. I travelled to investigate its origin, at the edge of the Sea of Rust, where I encountered your salvage team and the smoldering wreckage of the Omega Lock. But this was not the search party I had anticipated so long ago."

Shockwave turned to look at Starscream, along with Megatron, Dreadwing, Knock Out and Soundwave.

"Leaving one, unanswered question," Shockwave said and began approaching Starscream, while staring deeply into the Seeker's optics. "Why was I left for scrap? Abandoned? Why?"

Starscream's wings drooped in fear as Shockwave got uncomfortably close and stared deeper into Starscream's face, staring into his very Spark. Shockwave didn't have a face he could express his emotions with, but Starscream knew the Cyclops was mad. Furious. He had to be quick if he wanted to stay alive.

"The-the-the explosion, it," Starscream stuttered, "it collapsed the power core chamber! The last thing anyone witnessed was you charging into the Space Bridge portal! No one saw you come back out!"

Starscream stared anxiously at Shockwave's single red optic, waiting for his answer.

"I find your reply to be..." Shockwave drawled out and flicked with his audio receptors. "...logical."

Starscream let out a sigh of relief, but his wings remained drooped. Shockwave had committed himself fully to logic, so he was only really understanding of your actions if they were logical.

To be honest, Starscream could understand Shockwave's anger here. Starscream had just recently been abandoned by his Autobot comrades, left for scrap. He had been asking the exact same questions to himself as Shockwave had just asked right now. At least they had that in common.

Shockwave, Megatron and Dreadwing turned away from Starscream, heading for the exit of the conference room. Starscream stepped forward, his wings shooting back up again, as he remembered something.

"But you will be pleased to know that I avenged your seeming demise," Starscream said in a brighter tone and fluttered with his wings, "by personally terminating the Autobot Cliffjumper, haha..."

Shockwave stopped, his audio receptors pointing backwards, seemingly listening to Starscream's words. Truth be told, Starscream had been the last Decepticon to kill an Autobot for quite a long time now, at least within the last three years. It was a big deal, and Starscream hadn't had enough chances to brag about it, having had to keep it a secret from the Autobots for three months. Now that the secret was out and he was back with the Decepticons, though, he could once again brag about it all he wanted.

"Careful, Starscream," Knock Out said teasingly, "you may dislocate a landing gear, patting yourself on the back."

Shockwave turned his head slightly to the left. "I am curious, Lord Megatron," he said. "Why are you letting an Autobot wander the halls like he's one of us?"

Starscream's upbeat mood fell, along with his wings. Megatron lifted an optical ridge in confusion.

"What are you talking about, Shockwave?" Megatron asked and glared back at Starscream.

"I am talking about Starscream," Shockwave said and turned back to look at Starscream. "Why does he have the Autobot brand on his frame?"

Starscream stiffened as Megatron looked the Seeker up and down, gaze falling onto the insignia on his chestplate.

"You haven't changed your insignia yet?" Megatron growled.

Starscream let out a nervous laughter. "I, uh, must have forgotten," he lied. "It's only been a day, I mean..."

"Or maybe you still think you are one of them?" Megatron snarled and began approaching Starscream, who crouched a bit and stepped back in fear. "How do I know if you are serious about coming back to our cause? How do I know you won't stab me in the back again when the opportunity arises?"

Starscream tried hard not to cringe at Megatron's close, looming, menacing figure. "I-I am serious," Starscream stuttered. "I just didn't... I mean, I-"

"How about we make it simple, Lord Megatron?" Shockwave said from behind, making Megatron look at him. "Use the cortical psychic patch on him to see if he truly intends to stay with our cause, and in case he's keeping secrets about the Autobots from us."

Megatron rose up to his full height again, two digits placed thoughtfully on his chin. "Good idea, Shockwave," Megatron said.

Starscream stared between Megatron and Shockwave. "What? No, no, I'm not," Starscream protested and hiked his wings in defense. "I'm not keeping any secrets from you, I swear!"

"Then you won't mind if we check out your mind," Megatron said in a silky tone, gazing down at the silver Seeker, "unless you are lying to me? You are not lying, are you, Starscream?"

Starscream held his arms defensively in front of him, his wings drooping again, staring up at his master. He let out a sigh and slumped his frame.

"Fine," he said. "Let's get it over with."

After announcing that, while Dreadwing retained military authority, Shockwave would become the First Lieutenant of all scientific endeavors - much to Starscream's indignation, as now there were two... no, wait, three bots other than Megatron who ranked above him, if one was to include Soundwave, being the First Lieutenant of Intelligence and everything - Shockwave got Megatron and Starscream prepped for the cortical psychic patch.

As soon as the cables were attached, Megatron entered Starscream's mind, starting with the memory of the warlord perishing at the destruction of the Space Bridge, after Megatron's return from space in three years. At first, Starscream seemed to have forgotten everything that had happened after that point, currently living in the memory. But soon, as Megatron showed up, Starscream was in for a real shock.

Well, well, Megatron's voice sounded all of a sudden. You certainly didn't waste any time.

What?! I just watched you perish! Starscream exclaimed.

I did not perish then, and I'm very much with you now, Megatron replied with a chuckle. The present you, as well as the past.

"All hail Starscream!" could be heard coming from behind them. As Starscream turned around, he saw to his shock his past self swagger in front of the Vehicons, his wings lowered in playfulness.

"I can't hear you!" Starscream's past self called and held a servo at his audio receptor while smirking widely.

"All hail Starscream!" the Vehicons chanted.

"One more time!" Starscream's past self ordered and pointed to the air.

"All hail Starscream!" the Vehicons continued chanting enthusiastically.

Starscream's present self cringed as his past self started dancing, shaking his legs and waist around in an embarrassingly sexy way, which seemed to excite the Vehicons even more, continuing their "All hail Starscream!"-chant. The Vehicons loved Starscream's features and loved it even more when he showed off his moves like this. Starscream wanted to scream so loudly in embarrassment and facepalm, but instead he just turned slowly back to Megatron with an embarrassed grin.

You're inside my head, aren't you? Starscream thought in embarrassment.

The cortical psychic patch, Megatron clarified. You see, there are no secrets in here. Only your memories. You cannot manipulate their content or modify their outcome. What we see is how it happened.

The second memory that popped up was the time immediately after the first one, just after Starscream had awakened Skyquake, Dreadwing's late twin. Optimus was present in the memory, taking place in a canyon.

"If you want to be a true leader, Starscream," Optimus said, "then stray from Megatron's path, and lead the Decepticons toward peace."

"I would be... willing to consider a truce," Starscream's past self said, "if you would be willing to bow before me, Optimus Prime."

A new memory popped up, shortly after Megatron's supposedly deceased body had been found, taking place in the command center of the Nemesis, with Knock Out and Breakdown present.

"You have defied my orders yet again," Starscream's past self accused the doctor.

"My mistake, Commander Starscream," Knock Out said with a servo on his chest.

"It... is... LOOOOORD!" Starscream's past self shouted into the doctor's face with annoyance.

The next memory that popped up was of Starscream and Soundwave interrogating Wheeljack, back when Makeshift was still alive.

"Haven't you heard?" Starscream's past self snarled at the silent Autobot. "I lead the Decepticons now."

A new memory immediately replaced the former, of Starscream announcing his leadership of the Decepticons to the crew.

Now, where did we leave off? Megatron's voice rung through Starscream's subconscience. Oh yes. 'All hail Starscream'? A rather obvious motif, Starscream. You deem yourself more able to lead the Decepticons than myself?

No, not anymore! Starscream's present self protested. I have learned from my many failures, master!

A memory of Starscream struggling with fixing a scrambled Rubik's Cube advanced to a later memory of him fixing the same cube in a little over two minutes. Afterwards was a memory of Starscream reading a datapad, followed by a memory of Starscream swiping loose at a metal dummy in the Autobot base' training room.

Seems you've been living quite comfortably with the Autobots, haven't you? Megatron remarked.

Oh, all that's nothing, Starscream's present self said and laughed nervously. Just ignore it...

Soon came the memory of Starscream approaching a frozen Megatron and brushing the latter's armor with his claws.

"Oh, how long I've dreamed of doing this, oh mighty Megatron," Starscream's past self said with a silky voice and brushed Megatron's past self's neck cables. "What I could do to you, right here, right now, without you even knowing."

Starscream's present self cringed at the memory. Back to the puzzles, back to the puzzles! he tried to think, but it was in vain.

"Why, I could finish you off with one punch," Starscream's past self hissed as he held a claw dangerously close to one of past Megatron's optics. "Like I punched Cliffjumper."

Starscream's present self turned to look at a very displeased present Megatron.

Tell me why I should keep someone around, whose every waking impulse has been to TWART me, UNDERCUT me, OVERTHROW me! Megatron yelled at Starscream while looming over the frightened Seeker. Starscream didn't know that Megatron couldn't actually hurt him in his subconscience, which Megatron himself had learned about back when Bumblebee had invaded his mind. But Megatron would do anything to terrorize the Seeker.

Not true! Starscream protested with downcast wings and wide optics. I've always put your wellbeing before my own!

As he thought, the memory of Starscream pulling out a shard of Dark Energon from Megatron's dying chassis appeared before the present pair.

How does this revolting chapter constitute a 'tending to my wellbeing'? Megatron asked skeptically.

I was simply trying to help, Starscream lied, as the memory of Megatron's polished but still damaged body lay in coma on the warship, by ridding you of the dark matter polluting your body!

But Starscream's past self was quick to betray Starscream's present self.

"Seems I possess the only thing that would allow you to rise off that slab and walk again, my dearest Megatron," Starscream's past self said while strutting and smirking widely in mischief.

The next memory that popped up was just before Starscream's capture by the Autobots, down in the collapsing Energon mine, where Starscream's past self was struggling keeping the ceiling above him from falling down and crushing him to bits. Considering how big the ceiling was and how thin Starscream's arms were, it was quite an impressive feat, even if his arms were about to give in at every moment he stood there. Thinking back on it, it had probably been adrenaline that made him stronger than he usually was, to keep himself alive.

I even risked being buried alive for you! Starscream exclaimed, cringing by the memory.

Starscream's past self gasped with relief as he saw Megatron's past self appearing from the tunnel.

"I... I did not abandon you, Master!" Starscream's past self cried. "I returned! To SAVE you!"

Starscream's arms began growing weaker, perhaps by the knowledge that Megatron was present and able to save him, if he chose to, causing the ceiling to descend further towards the poor Seeker.

"Look into my Spark, Lord Megatron," Starscream's past self whimpered painfully. "My intentions were true!"

WERE they, Starscream? Megatron's present self accused the present Starscream. Were they EVER?

The next memory showed what happened just before Starscream's predicament in the Energon mine, when Starscream had gotten himself out of the already collapsed mine. The past Starscream stood, covered in dust.

"Now who has hit rock bottom?" Starscream's past self said, again betraying present Starscream. "Oh, what's that? I'm sorry, I can't hear you beneath all that rubble!" Starscream's past self started laughing hysterically at his master's predicament. "Farewell, Lord Megatron! May you rust in peace!"

But before Starscream could take off, he paused and looked back at the mine, his smirk falling.

"But you have survived far worse," Starscream mused. "If you manage to free yourself, you would blame ME for your setback! And there is nowhere that I could possibly escape from your wrath... or worse yet, your mindless followers will come looking for you, and take credit for your rescue! Credit that could rightfully be MINE!" Starscream's past self let out a roar and a scream. "MEGATRON!"

Starscream's present self stared down into the vast darkness of his subconscience, shocked over having been betrayed by his past self. And right behind him, Megatron stood and watched all his failures with amusement. Starscream let out a rattling sigh of frustration over his predicament.

A word of advice? Megatron offered, making Starscream flinch and look over his shoulder at the warlord. Stop thinking aloud.

Starscream turned all the way around. I don't want to play this game anymore, Master, Starscream cried. Take the insignia off me, imprison me, let me go! Let's just pretend none of this ever happened!

No, Starscream, Megatron snarled, making the Seeker shake in terror. There are only two possible outcomes, based upon what I find here in your twisted little mind. If I do not deem that you are worthy of staying with the Decepticons, you will PERISH on this very day!

Starscream cringed and let out a whimper. Uh, is-isn't termination rather extreme? Starscream stuttered. I mean, a really good trouncing usually straightens me out, doesn't it?

Now they looked at memories of Starscream getting punished by Megatron, starting with the warlord bashing the Seeker onto the floor and then stepping onto his head and upper body, which were the same size as Megatron's huge pedes.

Afterwards, the memory of Starscream's vain attempt to escape Megatron's wrath in jet mode displayed Megatron throwing the small jet onto one of the wings of the Nemesis, knocking the Seeker back into bot mode. This was immediately followed by Megatron grabbing Starscream's head and dragging him inside the warship to brutally beat him half to death, having to be on life-support just to survive. The past Starscream cried and screamed in terror, begging for Megatron to release him, but in vain. Starscream dreaded that memory.

Why wouldn't you wish to harness my talents for the Decepticon cause, when I have so much deviousness to offer? Starscream asked anxiously, then showing Megatron the memory of the deceased Cliffjumper, gifted to the warlord himself as he returned.

"Consider it a welcome-home present," Starscream's past self said and smiled up at his master, who gave him a pleased toothy smirk in return.

See how generous I can be, my liege? Starscream's present self commented.

When it SUITS you, Megatron's present self pointed out, as the memory continued, showing the rampaging Terrorcon Cliffjumper dismantling a poor Miner.

"Master, that's your plan?!" Starscream's past self exclaimed. "Bring Autobots back from the dead to attack us?!"

The memory of Cliffjumper's death popped up immediately after. They watched as Cliffjumper was brought before Starscream by two Vehicons.

At other times, you can be quite INSOLENT, Megatron's present self growled.

Starscream's past self narrowed his talons, then punched them into Cliffjumper's chest, making him leak. Cliffjumper stared at Starscream for a moment before looking down at his gaping wound and the claws pulling out, stained blue with Energon. The next second, Cliffjumper fell to the floor, swimming in a pool of his own Energon, and died a few seconds later.

Uh, apologies, Starscream's present self said. It's just that I'd gone to so much trouble to terminate the Autobot in the first place.

The memory was replaced with Megatron slicing the zombified Cliffjumper in half, which fell into the Energon mine.

Trouble would have been facing him as a gladiator, Megatron protested.

I've always considered my wits to be my sharpest weapon, Starscream defended.

The memory of Starscream finding a crack in his former cell and beginning to carve out the piece to escape from his prison popped up, followed by his hiding from Bumblebee before sneaking into the Autobots' command center and taking Rafael hostage, ending with the Seeker consuming Synthetic Energon. Afterwards the memory seemed to fade. The next thing that appeared was Starscream waking up in his cell with his servos bound to his back, unable to do much if anything.

You never learn, Starscream, Megatron said pitifully at the memory. Your arrogance will trump your wits every time.

The next memory to appear was right after Megatron had brutally beaten Starscream half to death. Starscream stood in a canyon, facing the Autobots with his badly damaged armor, probably barely even able to keep himself standing.

"You cannot harm me while Dark Energon flows through my veins!" Starscream's past self growled as his optics shone purple. "I am invincible-"

The next second, Optimus shot off Starscream's right arm, much to both Starscreams' shock. It had been so troublesome to get his arm replaced, as it was of an old, obsolete model, like Knock Out had said back then. Afterwards came the memory of Starscream using the Energon Harvester on Bulkhead.

"You're a big one," Starscream's past self snickered. "This could take a while."

But the Wrecker soon stood up and grabbed the Energon Harvester, followed by punching Starscream in the face into the wall behind him. Starscream's present self cringed at the sight. That had really hurt.

Next was the memory when Starscream had been captured by the Autobots. It was Starscream and Arcee talking about partners.

"What? She's taking credit for scrapping him now too? That was m... Megatron's doing," Starscream's past self almost slipped.

Megatron raised an optical ridge. "So your wits trumped your arrogance once, I see, Megatron remarked. Now I understand how they took you in...

The next memory was of Starscream's attempted suicide, which caught Megatron by surprise. They watched as Starscream, in the middle of a flight, suddenly switched to bot mode and let himself fall towards the ground, with seemingly no intention of transforming back. Until he did, just a dozen meters before hitting the ground, apparently changing his mind.

You sure you want to live so badly, Starscream? Megatron asked skeptically, glaring at the smaller Seeker. Because your past self seems to think otherwise.

I, uh, I don't remember any of this, Starscream lied and laughed nervously. I must have been out of my mind, hallucinating or something...

Several memories of a depressed Starscream popped up, hereamong Starscream laying on his berth and staring into the ceiling, laying on an operating table in the medbay and waking from a nightmare, as well as fighting against Thundercracker, who accused him of treachery towards the Seekers. Afterwards appeared the unfortunate memory of Starscream lying on his back in an embarrassing position, with his cuffed wrists trapped behind his knee struts, followed by the Seeker biting off his own servo to escape his prison. Next was the memory of Starscream wandering the wilderness aimlessly before falling exhausted to the ground, deprived of energy and Energon, barely alive before being discovered by Arcee. Afterwards came the memory of Starscream getting abandoned by the Autobots on Cybertron, leaving him among the burning, smoking ruins of the Omega Lock.

Your life with the Autobots seems to have taken a toll on you, hasn't it, Starscream? Megatron chuckled by the Seeker giving himself a miserable time. So tell me, did you enjoy the time spent with them? It would seem you had quite a lot of fun, judging by these memories.

Instead of thinking further about it, Starscream instead showed the memory of himself being brought before the Autobots, wrapped up in Airachnid's web, begging for the Autobots to take him in.

"Megatron tried to extinguish my Spark in cold blood, then all but replace me with that traitorous wretch Airachnid," Starscream's past self exclaimed. "She ABANDONED me! Left me for SCRAP! So why not rat them out?"

No one ASKED you to leave the Decepticon fold, Megatron pointed out.

I wasn't exactly made to feel welcome at the time, Starscream's present self pointed out as well, as the memory of Megatron trying to kill the Seeker in the Energon mine appeared, his fusion cannon pointing at Starscream's head.

"Master, PLEASE!" Starscream's past self cried and threw himself on the ground in submission, his wings drooping slightly in fear. "Give me one more chance! I beg of you!"

Despite the fact that I had seen the error of my ways and dedicated my Spark to you, Starscream's present self said somberly, as the memory of Starscream speaking to Soundwave about his dedication to Megatron appeared.

"I have gained a clear understanding of my place in this universe. Of who I am. Of who I was always meant to be," Starscream's past self claimed and turned to look at Soundwave. "Starscream: second-in-command. Humble servant to Lord Megatron."

Until the next opportunity rises to subvert me, Megatron accused, as the memory of Starscream plotting against a comatose Megatron with Knock Out appeared.

"And how is the patient doing today?" Starscream's past self asked Knock Out.

"Same old," Knock Out said.

"An inglorious fate, that he should remain in this vegetative state."

"On the contrary, Megatron's body may be scrapmetal, but his mind is still percolating."

"Keep that to yourself. That blasted Soundwave sees and hears everything."

"The eyes and ears of the Decepticons."

"Well, as long as their master remains in limbo, so does their cause. The Decepticons deserve a strong, alert leader."

"One who would require a loyal second-in-command."

Starscream's past self started chuckling. "A candidate would need to earn that post, by making a strong case to said 'eyes and ears'."

"A case for showing mercy, Lord Starscream?"

The next memory was also about Starscream and Knock Out with the comatose Megatron, but this time with Soundwave in the medbay as well.

"Knock Out," Starscream's past self said, "if you would be so kind as to provide your expert medical opinion to Soundwave, for the... historical record."

"Simply put," Knock Out said, "unaided, Megatron could remain in this deathless slumber forever."

"How our master would not have wanted to be seen this way," Starscream said in a fake sad tone. "To stand idly by, while he remains captive in his own body, is not just."

Soundwave stepped forward and pointed a long digit on a long arm at the brainwave activity on Megatron's status monitor.

"Brainwave activity," Knock Out sounded the silent mech's silent comment, "not evidence of consciousness, but merely of an endless dream from which Megatron may never wake."

"Soundwave," Starscream sighed in his fake sad tone, "we must face reality. Megatron is lost to us."

"The only honorable option would be to show him mercy," Knock Out said, also in a fake sad tone.

"A simple throw of the switch," Starscream said.

The memory ended, and Megatron and Starscream's present selves were once again surrounded by the gray void of Starscream's subconscience.

Is it any wonder that I have come to value loyalty above all else? Megatron asked in a retorical question.

Starscream chuckled nervously. Well, you know, we are DECEPTICONS, Starscream pointed out. I'm sure that even your beloved Dreadwing isn't perfect.

No one is perfect, Starscream, Megatron pointed out. But like his departed twin, Dreadwing understands honor.

The mention of Skyquake triggered the memory of Starscream awakening the green Seeker many months ago.

"Awaken, warrior," Starscream's past self ordered as the box Skyquake had locked himself inside of opened up. "Rise and serve your new master!"

Skyquake emerged from his box and descended, smashing his fists together and towered over the much smaller silver Seeker.

"Skyquake serves only ONE master," Skyquake said.

"Excellent," Starscream replied naively. "Your loyalty and devotion will set a fine example for the troops. No need to be timid, Skyquake. You may bow."

"You fail to grasp my meaning," Skyquake clarified. "I am here on a mission, assigned to me by my one master, Megatron."

"Yes, him. Sadly, Megatron is no longer with us."

"Impossible."

"Why is this so difficult for everyone to accept?!"

The memory continued with Skyquake assuming his Earth-based alternate mode, the same jet form as Dreadwing and Thundercracker sported, only to be assaulted by Bumblebee and later catch on fire and smoke. While Bumblebee managed to jump to safety onto Agent Fowler's jet - which, unbeknownst to everyone, was actually the dormant Thundercracker - Skyquake continued to fall towards the ground.

Normally a Flier would revert to bot mode when crashing to avoid suffering fatal damage, but apparently Skyquake had either not had the time or the strength to revert to bot mode in time. He remained in jet mode and crashed into the canyon, his internal organs shattering and exploding from the intense heat of the fire and the impact, resulting in his demise.

After the memory of Skyquake's death came the memory of his resurrection, by a badly damaged Starscream with a Dark Energon shard in his servo.

"Ah, the grave site of the mighty Skyquake," Starscream's past self remarked. "So quick to reject my authority while you lived. But, as the first of my reanimated warriors, you shall bow to my command!"

Starscream broke the crystal in half, which became enveloped by a violet flame, and threw one half into Skyquake's grave, resulting in a purplish light emanating from the boulders. Afterwards, Starscream stuck the other half of the crystal into his own Spark chamber, much like how Megatron had done himself, causing his optics to shift to violet rather than red.

Starscream grunted with pain and pleasure from the feeling of the Dark Energon's power. "Yesss..." Starscream wheezed. "Power of Dark Energon... be MINE!"

Suddenly, Starscream's entire frame caught on fire, but an ominous violet flame, originating from his Spark chamber. He let out a rattling roar by the intoxicating power.

"Symbiosis..." Starscream laughed maniacally. "I CAN FEEL IT!"

With that, the flame disappeared from Starscream's frame and instead surged into the ground below him. Afterwards came the memory of Starscream's arm shooting a missile at a zombified Skyquake, causing it to lose its arm. However Starscream had managed to get that memory was beyond his recollection.

He perished that day, Megatron remarked.

Well, Skyquake is neither living nor dead, Starscream's present self explained, and no doubt continues to wander through some dimensional nether realm, in search of his missing limb.

It would be wise to keep that to yourself around the warship, Megatron warned him.

Starscream perked and turned to look at the warlord. Does this mean...? Starscream asked hopefully.

Yes, Megatron replied. I will allow you to stay in our ranks, if only because you are more valuable beside me than against me.

Starscream fell on his knees and laughed in relief. Oh, thank the AllSpark! he exclaimed.

Infighting has nearly destroyed the Decepticons during your absence, Megatron said. We must operate as a united front if we are to conquer this planet, as well as find another way to revive Cybertron. That means each and every one of us, Knock Out!

Megatron added the last part by gazing into the air, into some invisible camera that those on the outside could see through to Starscream's mind.

Shortly after, the patch ended and Starscream was deemed fit to go and do as he pleased, as they had found no sign of the Autobots' whereabouts either.

Only, when the two Decepticons awoke again, only Knock Out and Shockwave stood in the lab, welcoming them back. Dreadwing had gone off somewhere.

Starscream slumped as he wandered the hallways of the Nemesis, heading for the flight deck. After such a nasty session of the cortical psychic patch and letting everyone know of his misfortunes with and without the Autobots, Starscream needed to clear his head by taking a nice, calm flight.

"Ah, it'll be good with a nice, long, relaxing flight," Starscream mused to himself as he entered the flight deck. "I can't wait to-"

Starscream silenced as he found that he wasn't alone on the flight deck. Right in front of him, with his back turned, stood Dreadwing. It was still night, and it had begun to thunder and lightning striking across the cloudy sky. For some reason it gave Starscream a bad feeling. He tried to ignore it and instead headed for the edge of the deck.

"Hello, Commander," Starscream greeted as Dreadwing slowly turned around as the smaller Seeker got closer. "Heading for a fly? The weather doesn't seem to-"

Dreadwing blocked Starscream's path with his sword, silencing the smaller Seeker. Starscream stiffened and kept his gaze on the blade.

"Wh-what do you think you're doing?" Starscream stuttered quietly.

"I will make you pay for your crimes," Dreadwing growled and drew back the sword, "desecrater!"

Starscream quickly turned around and threw himself onto the floor just in time to avoid Dreadwing's swing of the sword, keeping his head on. He shrieked and crawled backwards, while Dreadwing continued walking towards him, blade still in servo.

"D-Dreadwing!" Starscream whined, keeping his gaze on Dreadwing and his sword, knowing that if he didn't, he'd be dead. "What has gotten into you?!"

Dreadwing stuck his sword just above Starscream's head, preventing the smaller Seeker from crawling backwards any further. Starscream yelped and stiffened, still staring up at the bigger, royal Seeker.

"Th-this is about Skyquake, isn't it?" Starscream said and chuckled nervously. "Casualties are an unfortunate consequence of war, but I assure you, your twin met his end with great honor!"

"Which you disgraced!" Dreadwing bellowed. "By raising him from the dead!"

Starscream cringed. "Oh, you know about that, huh..." he remarked quietly. "Please, there must be something I can do! Some way I can make it up to you and alleviate your anguish!"

"Your SPARK will suffice!" Dreadwing yelled and grabbed Starscream by the throat in one servo, lifting him above the floor. Starscream shrieked and tried desperately to pry the servo off his neck cables, but Dreadwing's grip was too strong.

Dreadwing pulled his sword out of the floor again and held it against Starscream's neck cables, making the smaller Seeker cringe and whimper.

"Please don't do this..." Starscream whined quietly.

Dreadwing pulled his sword back, preparing to execute Starscream. "You are not one of us," Dreadwing growled. "Farewell, traitor."

"DROP HIM!" two bellowing voices sounded from behind them.

Dreadwing paused his blade, inches before hitting Starscream's armor, and turned around, so they both could see who had disturbed them.

It was Thundercracker and Skywarp. Both were pointing both their arm cannons at Dreadwing, baring their denta and hiking their wings in anger. Starscream whimpered in fear, dangling from Dreadwing's tight servo, unable to pry himself free, only able to stare between Dreadwing and his Trinemates.

"Leave us," Dreadwing warned the two Seekers his own size. "He must pay for his actions."

"Drop. Him," Thundercracker snarled, clenching his fists slightly tighter. "Or else."

"Or else what?"

"Or else we will kill you," Skywarp growled.

Dreadwing glanced between Starscream in his servo and the two angry Trinemates. He bared his own denta at them.

"If you kill me, then Megatron will terminate both of you," Dreadwing warned. "I do not fear death. You can kill me if you want, as soon as I take care of this traitor."

"Sure, you can kill Starscream, then we will kill you and Lord Megatron may kill us," Thundercracker said, "and then he has no Seekers anymore. No Air Commander. No First Lieutenant to look after his army."

"Yeah, you really think he will want to lose four Seekers instead of just two?" Skywarp hissed. "That'd be really bad for the Decepticon cause. Do ya want that, huh?"

Dreadwing snarled at the Seekers. Starscream tried to calm himself, certain his Trinemates could reason with Dreadwing. Dreadwing stared back into Starscream's optics, making the latter's wings droop as low as they could, his optics widening as much as they could.

"If my actions here today will destroy the Decepticon cause," Dreadwing said, briefly gazing back at the Trinemates, "then so be it. It is a cause I am beginning to lose faith in. I will not allow a desecrater like this one to live!"

Dreadwing drew back his sword once again to strike, Starscream letting out a scream.

"Wait!" Thundercracker exclaimed and held forth a servo. "You don't have to kill him!"

Dreadwing paused in his attack, glaring back at Thundercracker, while Starscream restrained himself from crying.

"It is the only way he will pay," Dreadwing growled.

"Is it?" Thundercracker replied and lowered his arms, putting on a calmer manner, confusing Skywarp beside him, still aiming his weapons at the royal Seeker. "I mean, would a swift, painless death really make him pay for all his crimes, considering how bad they are?"

Dreadwing raised an optical ridge but did not lower his sword, staring at Thundercracker. Starscream vented deeply and quickly, his optics darting from Dreadwing to the sword to Thundercracker and back.

Seeing as how he had gotten Dreadwing's attention, Thundercracker continued. "He caused the death of Skyquake, and he rose him again from the dead and left him to wander aimlessly forever. Not only that, but he has betrayed the Decepticon cause more times than Skywarp can count."

"Hey!" Skywarp hissed in offense.

"And he even betrayed the Seekers and helped destroy Cybertron," Thundercracker continued, ignoring Skywarp. "And he even sided with the Autobots! Does a bot like that really deserve something as merciful as a swift death?"

Dreadwing's scowl seemed to falter, his face assuming a more neutral expression. He seemed to be thoughtful. Starscream stayed silent, afraid what would happen if he spoke out loud. Soon, Dreadwing's gaze returned to Starscream, who made the most miserable, pitiful expression he could make, complete with downcast wings and optical ridges and huge optics and a tightly closed mouth. Dreadwing snorted at the sight.

All of a sudden, Dreadwing threw his arm, holding Starscream, back and threw the smaller Seeker into the wall of the Nemesis, right beside the entrance, past Thundercracker and Skywarp who watched the throw with shock. Starscream hit his back hard against the wall and let out an exclamation by the impact as he slid down the wall to the floor. Barely had he opened his optics again before Dreadwing had approached the smaller Seeker, lightning litting up his back and making his front dark and ominous, thunder roaring and adding to the looming Seeker.

Starscream made himself flat against the wall, but before he could reach the entrance to the Nemesis, Dreadwing stuck his sword to his right, preventing him from escaping. Dreadwing punched his right servo into the wall, trapping Starscream between the sword and the arm, having nowhere to escape to. Starscream could only stare up at the large, looming, dark figure of Dreadwing and his two solid glowing red optics, staring into Starscream's very Spark. Starscream started hyperventilating, anxious for what Dreadwing was planning to do to him.

Dreadwing knelt down and leaned in uncomfortably close to Starscream's face, making his venting go even faster.

"If you ever betray the Decepticon cause again," Dreadwing hissed, "I will kill you."

Glaring into his optics for a few more seconds, Dreadwing spat a lump of lubricant onto Starscream's face between his optics. Starscream closed his optics in reaction, his terror now laced with anger and disgust. As he opened them again, he saw Dreadwing standing up again, pulling his sword out of the floor and disappearing into the warship. Starscream remained in his stiff position, lubricant trickling down his face, his vents still quick and hitched, staring after Dreadwing.

"Starscream, you okay?" Thundercracker's voice sounded from above.

Starscream's gaze shot upwards, looking at Thundercracker, kneeling before the smaller Seeker and offering him his servo. Starscream stared at his Trinemate for a few seconds before snarling and bashed the servo away.

"No thanks to you," Starscream hissed and finally relaxed a bit, getting back onto his pedes by himself, leaning against the wall. He wiped the lubricant off his face with the back of his servo, then wiped it off on the wall. He stared down at his shadow as another lightning stroke from behind. His wings drooped at the sight of his frame.

"Scream, I-"

"Stop calling me that," Starscream hissed and glared at Thundercracker, silencing him. "I hate it when you call me that."

Thundercracker's wings flicked a bit. "I did it to save you, you know?" he said quietly.

"Why thank you," Starscream said sarcastically. "Thank you so much for giving me another guy to have to worry about on this ship! I really appreciate it!"

"Scr-... Star," Skywarp said from behind Thundercracker. "We were just trying to help..."

"Well, if you hadn't noticed, I didn't ask for your help," Starscream snarled and turned to the entrance. "I'm going to turn in."

Thundercracker and Skywarp followed behind him to the hallways. "Do you want us to follow you there?" Thundercracker asked calmly.

"No," Starscream snarled and stopped for a moment. "I don't want to look at either of you right now. Just leave me alone."

With that, Starscream continued forward, heading for his quarters. Thundercracker and Skywarp glanced between each other and decided to go after him anyway.

"What did I tell you?!" Starscream growled, still walking.

"We're not following you," Thundercracker protested. "Our quarters are in the same direction. We're going to turn in too."

"True," Skywarp said in agreement.

Starscream snorted and turned his attention back to the hallway, wings still downcast, as he made his way to his quarters, dreading what was going to happen to him from now on.

The following three days passed with nothing but anxiety on Starscream's side. He got up in the morning after having nightmares about both Megatron, Shockwave and now also Dreadwing. Afterwards he went for a morning fly, returned and encountered Dreadwing who silently threatened him in the hallways, or Shockwave who simply stared with silent contempt at the Seeker as they passed each other.

Ever since Dreadwing's attempted termination of Starscream, Starscream could not have even a moment to relax. Whenever he wandered the hallways, he would keep looking from side to side and behind him, spying around every corner to make sure Dreadwing wasn't there before moving on.

At the moment, Starscream was possibly more afraid of Dreadwing than either Shockwave or even Megatron himself, if only because Shockwave could be reasoned with logic and Megatron would just beat him up and yell at him. Dreadwing, however, was so stupidly honorable that he did not care if he died himself, as long as he could end Starscream's life, which only made him all the more terrifying.

Whenever Starscream did encounter Dreadwing, the royal Seeker would scowl and snarl at the silver Seeker before moving on. Even the occasional oil bath did not offer Starscream a moment of relaxation. He kept spying around the pools, concerned if Dreadwing had decided to follow him or just happened to be in a nearby pool and would attempt his life there. It wouldn't surprise Starscream if Dreadwing suddenly decided to change his mind and kill him after all.

Even flying was something he could not enjoy anymore. Whenever he went out flying alone, he kept his radar on full alert, scanning his surroundings at all times, in case Dreadwing decided to follow him and end his life out in the wild and blame it on the Autobots. Then again, Starscream rarely flew alone anymore; since Dreadwing's scene, Thundercracker and Skywarp had accompanied Starscream on almost every single flight, and even on the warship they practically never left him alone anymore. When he asked, they claimed Dreadwing had given them both orders to keep a close optic on Starscream, to make sure he wouldn't betray the cause again, and if he did, they should report directly to him. But Starscrem knew that wasn't the case. They were only following him to keep Dreadwing from making another attempt at Starscream's life.

It was incredibly annoying, as Starscream not only had to watch his back every waking moment on the warship and in the sky, but he never got any alone time outside of his quarters anymore. Also, because of Dreadwing's stunt, Starscream found himself necessitated to lock his door at night, fearing the royal Seeker would come into his room at night and finish him off without anyone knowing. For the same reason, Starscream also locked his door in the morning after leaving his quarters, so Dreadwing wouldn't be standing in there, waiting for Starscream to turn in at night, and then finish him off then.

While annoyed, Starscream very much appreciated Thundercracker and Skywarp's presences wherever he went. It was annoying not being able to have even a second alone, but at least their presences made him feel safer, as Dreadwing didn't seem keen to approach him while he was with his two 'bodyguards'.

And now that Starscream was no longer one of Megatron's many First Lieutenants, but only a mere captain, he didn't have as much authority as before. The low rank, while still high, made Starscream feel unsafe and stared at, combined with his still-present Autobot insignia. He felt that his lower rank would cause some on the ship to mock him or take advantage of him because of it.

The day after Shockwave had returned, the Cyclops had pointed out that Starscream still hadn't replaced his insignia. Starscream had tried to defend himself, but found no good counter.

"Unless that Autobot insignia turns out to have some practical use to us, have it removed," Megatron had growled at Starscream.

"What, you mean, like, calling the Autobots?" Starscream had asked nervously in response.

"Yes, something like that."

On the second day after Shockwave's return, Starscream found himself flying alone for once, Thundercracker and Skywarp having other duties to attend to. While flying around in the desert region of Nevada, he speculated if he could even call the Autobots anymore? With the base gone, so was their communications grid, which possibly meant communications were down and they were unable to reach contact with one another.

Despite this, Starscream reverted to bot mode and landed on a random cliff in the canyon and decided to try it out.

Starscream put two digits on his audio receptor to try to get a connection. He decided to start with calling Ratchet, the Autobot he trusted the most.

"Ratchet, do you read me?" Starscream called, but only heard a lot of static. "Ratchet, come in!"

Starscream called Ratchet's name for half a cycle before giving up. The medic could have deceased or moved somewhere where his signal couldn't be tracked. Not wanting to give up yet, Starscream tried calling Bumblebee instead.

"Bumblebee, please answer," Starscream called, but received only static. He tried someone else.

"Smokescreen, can you read me?"

"Optimus, please respond!"

"Bulkhead, answer me!"

No matter who he called, he only received static. There was still one bot he hadn't called yet, but there was a reason why he had saved her for last. Arcee was the last one he wanted to call and hear her screaming at him about his betrayal and his killing of Cliffjumper. As no one else had answered, however, he decided to try anyway.

"Arcee?" Starscream called hesitantly. "Can you hear me? If you can, please respond..."

But nobody came. There was no answer. Starscream waited and called several cycles, but he got no response. He gave up and shut down his comm.

"Communications must be down," Starscream mused to himself. "Without a base of operations, there is no communication link and their comm's do not work. Which can only mean one of two things. Either they are still scurrying around in the wild like mechanimals, or they're dead."

Starscream's thought went to the children. They had cell phones, and those did not depend on the communication link to work. They worked on the humans' own satellite connection. He could call the children, and then he would know where the Autobots were, as they likely were all paired up with their human partners. There was just one problem though.

"I only have Miko's phone number," Starscream muttered. "Back when we got back from that flight two weeks ago. I can call her and find out if she's with Bulkhead..."

Starscream hesitated. He knew the warship was closely monitoring the humans' as well as the Autobots' comm's and calls. This included Starscream's own comm., as he was still an Autobot, energy signature, comm. link and everything. If he called any of them, just as he had comm'ed them now, Megatron would be listening. And if the humans answered his call, the warship could possibly track down their signals and drive them out.

Starscream sighed and put two digits to his audio receptor, dialing Miko's number. He heard several deep beeps before getting a voicemail: "This is Miko Nakadai! I can't call you right now, cause I'm out rocking and rolling! Leave a message!"

Starscream heard a lighter beep and felt his Spark race a bit faster, thinking about what he should say. After two seconds of silence, he decided to just go with his instinct.

"Hello, Miko," Starscream said, trying to sound as calm and collected as he could. "This is your good friend, Starscream. I just wanted to hear if you and Bulkhead are doing well? I am doing terrific. Wheeljack, not so much. We might be thinking of executing him soon. But if you give me a call, I might convince Megatron not to. Poor Wheeljack, so scared and suffering so much. Maybe you should come save him, just the two of you? I will make sure to give you a good welcome. If you decide to stay silent, well, I hope your friend's life doesn't mean much to you."

With that, Starscream ended the call and let his arm fall to his side. He did want to know how everyone was doing, but knew that any attempts at communication would result in them getting hunted down, possibly with greater force than Arcee and Jack had met. He had tried to make his message sound as little deceiving on Megatron's behalf as possible. He deliberately made it sound like he was hoping for their safety in a skeptical tone, to make his fellow Decepticons aware that he was trying to trick the human into giving away her position. Chances were it wouldn't work, of course, but at least they would know he tried.

Starscream stood for a moment and contemplated. Perhaps he should try to fly out and look for the Autobots himself, excusing it to Megatron as trying to locate the enemy? Would he even be able to track the Autobots' energy signatures? Probably not. Even if he was still an Autobot himself, if the actual Autobots couldn't track each other down and regroup at the moment, Starscream certainly wouldn't be able to either, neither would Megatron.

Besides, even if he had been able to contact and track down the Autobots, there was no way they would want him back with them. He had betrayed them, not to mention revealed that it was him who killed their comrade. They would never want him with them again.

Starscream let out a sigh and reverted back to jet mode, heading back to the Nemesis. He fell deep into thought.

"Maybe Megatron is right," Starscream mused to himself as he flew among the clouds. "Maybe I did sabotage my alliance with the Autobots without knowing. Primus, I can't even trust myself anymore..."

He hadn't just betrayed the Autobots, the Decepticons or the Seekers. He had even betrayed himself. He wondered if he had ever been reliable in his life. Maybe, back when he was newly created, before he got into prison for the first time, before he even changed his own personal information. He had only really done that so he would get a job and get respected, as honesty had seemed to get him nowhere. And he hadn't really broken any other rules or laws throughout the five years he had his first job.

One day, though, someone found out and told the authorities on him, getting him before court and deeming him guilty, charging him with ten years prison. Had he been Forged, he would have barely even still been a Sparkling, only fifteen years old and still a minor. And it turned out to be the biggest mistake they had made with him.

It was in prison that he had ended up learning from the other inmates how to lie, how to steal, how to smuggle and how to hate society and look out for himself and no one else. It was in prison that his deceitful nature and hatred of other bots had flourished and ended up defining who he was as a bot. He entered the prison as a Sparkling, and got out again, as a mech. A mech who intended to get back at society for what they had done to him. For what they had put him through.

As Starscream reached the warship and reverted to bot mode, his thoughts went to Shockwave. Dreadwing was not the only bot on the ship who made his life miserable these days. While not directly bullying him or even interacting with him, Shockwave constantly chattered and boasted to Megatron about his scientific accomplishments and his research, his hypotheses and his theories. Starscream wanted to gag every time Shockwave opened his non-existing mouth - he may have had one behind his optic, but who knew. Who knew how he even refueled?

From Starscream's point of view, Shockwave was giving Megatron nothing but empty promises about inventions that might not even work. Of course, Megatron ate it all up, because Shockwave was perfect, Shockwave was the best, Shockwave never failed. Starscream hated the mech and his arrogance.

"Shockwave's toting is so transparent," Starscream grumbled to himself by a monitor in the command center by early evening, four days after Shockwave's arrival. "Megatron's respect is earned through deeds not words."

Starscream was currently helping search for the Autobots by looking at pictures from that conspiracy website Rafael was on all the time, to replace pictures of especially Bumblebee with animations of silly Earth animals. He found nothing but the usual useless stuff of fake aliens and what not.

"Useless, useless, useless," Starscream grumbled as he scrolled through the website. "Billions of cameras in the hands of those miserable humans, one of them is bound to catch an Autobot eventually..."

Starscream felt a rush in his tanks as he found a particular picture and clicked on it. His Spark raced faster. It was Ratchet, running across a road filled with cars, looking into the camera that caught him. In robot mode. The picture was taken the previous night, but the darkness had apparently not been enough to keep Ratchet's white frame from getting spotted by the humans.

Starscream looked behind him at Megatron, Shockwave and Dreadwing, standing in the other end of the command center, busy with their own monitors. He hesitated and looked back at the picture. Should he alert his superiors on the Autobot? Should he remain silent? Would revealing the picture do Megatron any good?

"What are you looking at?" Dreadwing's rumbling voice sounded behind him.

Starscream leaped in surprise and turned to look at Dreadwing. "I-uh, I found a, uh..."

Dreadwing shoved Starscream aside and looked at the monitor. Starscream waited for the royal Seeker to blame him for not alerting the others sooner. But all he heard was a strange, high-pitched chattering from an Earth monkey. Starscream turned in his spot and saw to his embarrassment that the picture of Ratchet had been replaced with an animation of a tap-dancing monkey!

"It was an Autobot," Starscream said quickly, trying to push Dreadwing away from the monitor. The commotion attracted the attention of Megatron and Shockwave, who began walking over to them. "I swear, he was just there! Did any of you see him?"

Dreadwing stepped aside with a deep, dark frown and snarled at Starscream as he made his way over to an astonished Megatron, staring between Starscream and the silly monkey. The warlord frowned in disgust.

"Starscream..." Megatron snarled. "Rather than wasting time on your... fetishes, you should focus on finding an actual Autobot!"

Starscream nodded and laughed nervously at the warlord before turning back to his monitor. "Fetishes," Starscream repeated lowly to himself in a hiss and quickly clicked the animation away, turning it off.

"Lord Megatron," Shockwave said, gaining the warlord's attention. "Surely our Autobot prisoner is a better source of information than this primitive data-net?"

"I will have you know, Shockwave, that I have been grinding Wheeljack down for days," Starscream hissed, not caring what tone he was using against his superior. "If he knew anything, he would have spilled it by now."

Well, probably not. He was a Wrecker, and a very tough one for that. Wheeljack's torment was the only thing that kept Starscream sane these days, allowed him to think about something else other than Dreadwing, Shockwave or Megatron. It wasn't the healthiest way to keep one sane, but it was all he got. Though it may have done himself more harm than good.

Starscream had continuously, especially after an encounter with Dreadwing or Shockwave, cut deep wounds into Wheeljack's armor, as well as punching, kicking and zapping him with an Energon prod, doing as much damage as he could to Wheeljack without knocking him unconscious. He wanted Wheeljack to suffer, as he was the only one Starscream could make suffer. He was the only outlet Starscream had at the moment, the only one he could take his anger, frustrations and angst out on. He also threw in verbal insults, calling the Wrecker useless, worthless, pathetic, trash, garbage, whatever his processor could think up at the moment.

But Wheeljack was a tougher bot than Starscream had thought. The Wrecker could handle the pain as well as the insults, but he was also quick to catch on that Starscream was really angry at himself and only took it out on Wheeljack because he couldn't take it out on himself. And being the annoying mech he was, Wheeljack made sure to talk back at Starscream by mocking him about it, saying he was talking to the wrong mech and needed only to look in the mirror to find the one he really should be assaulting. This comment only made Starscream even angrier and caused him to knock the Wrecker unconscious with an Energon prod.

Starscream knew Wheeljack had nothing to say, but keeping him as a prisoner for torture was the only thing Starscream ever looked forward to every day.

"Again, some prove to be better at holding their tongues than others," Megatron repeated from several days ago.

"Perhaps you would have better results if instead of a club, you used a scalpel," Shockwave suggested. "I recommend a cortical psychic patch."

Starscream sneered silently at the Cyclops. Go ahead, make a fool out of yourself, Starscream thought gleefully. Make my day.

Later, around midnight, just as Starscream had predicted, the cortical psychic patch proved itself useless.

"The patch failed to yield any new information on the whereabouts of the Autobots," Shockwave reported to Megatron on his throne at the top of Darkmount, with Dreadwing and Starscream standing by, the latter with glee all over his face.

Megatron hummed. "I see."

"As it would seem Wheeljack has outlived his usefulness," Dreadwing announced, "I shall see to his execution immediately."

Starscream took a step forward. "Please, Commander Dreadwing," he said, restraining himself from frowning, "allow me to do the honor."

Dreadwing glared down at Starscream. "Very well," Dreadwing said darkly. "Be my guest."

Starscream nodded quickly and reverted to jet mode, descending to the Nemesis. He walked through the hallways, heading for the dungeon, where Wheeljack had been put back after the failed cortical psychic patch. He encountered a few Vehicon Fliers and decided to take them along.

"You two," he said and gestured, "follow me. We have an execution to attend to. You two," he added to two other Vehicon Fliers as they passed another corridor, "you are coming with me. Wheeljack has outlived his usefulness and is to be executed today."

The four Vehicons followed Starscream close behind, as they headed for the dungeon. The Vehicons were about the only bots on the ship that Starscream could still order around. They were at the bottom of the hierarchy, being clones and everything, so even a captain like Starscream had greater authority over them. Technically he also had greater authority than the Insecticons, but they were large and ominous and more loyal to Megatron than his subordinates. He didn't expect them to follow his orders, considering he had been an Autobot and everything.

Soon they arrived at the dungeon, and they stepped inside. Wheeljack was still unconscious. Starscream stared at the Wrecker for a moment in thought. Maybe he should let him go instead? Place a tracking device on him and let him lead the Decepticons to his comrades? That would certainly gain him favor with Megatron, but it would also put the others at risk...

Starscream shook his head. "Take him down," he ordered the Vehicons. "And bring him to the smelting pool. Make sure he's conscious when you throw him in there. Tell him I ordered his execution. Report back to me when you're done. I will be with my Trinemates on the flight deck until then."

The Vehicons nodded in understanding and brought Wheeljack away. As they exited the hallways and arrived on the flight deck, the Vehicons took off to Darkmount with Wheeljack, off to the smelting pool. Starscream stood behind and gazed after them.

He hated Wheeljack, but at the same time he didn't want him to die. He wanted him to find the others, make sure everyone was safe. Maybe even allow them to regroup so they could come rescue him later? Starscream chuckled and shook his head. It was a silly thought. They would never come to save him. Why would they save a traitor like Starscream? A tormentor who blamed all his misfortunes on an imprisoned Wrecker? A murderer of their close comrade?

No. He was going to stay with Megatron for the rest of his life, he knew it. There was no escape from the warlord. Neither physically nor mentally. Megatron was always with Starscream. Always watching, always listening. His followers always keeping an optic on him. Always judging him.

But the least he could do was make sure he was the one who ordered Wheeljack's execution and not Dreadwing. Dreadwing would kill him personally, with his sword or his cannon. But if only Vehicons were present at his execution, the Autobot had a chance to escape, if only vague. He was a Wrecker. Starscream had chosen Fliers to send him to execution. Wheeljack was a smart bot. A survivor. He would figure it out. He would be fine.

Starscream gazed down at his black claws that began to shake a little. He had technically committed a crime against Megatron now, by allowing Wheeljack a chance to escape with his life, and not even trying to monitor his movements. But Starscream was not present to directly add to the crime. He could just claim Wheeljack had tricked him, outsmarted him, that Starscream had underestimated the Wrecker. The worst thing Megatron could do to him was give him a beating. Maybe even beat him half to death like last time. Call him incompetent, useless, pathetic. But at least he would still live, as would Wheeljack.

Starscream let out a deep vent and just stared out at the landscape before him.

"Be safe, everyone," Starscream barely whispered, his wings drooping slightly.

In a car scrap yard, some time after midnight, Bumblebee and Raf drove in, looking for Ratchet. They had found a picture of him on the conspiracy website, and after Raf had replaced his picture with an animation of a tap-dancing monkey, the pair had set off to the location where the picture had been taken the previous night. They hoped Ratchet was still around.

"He's gotta be here," Raf said and looked around at the cars stacked on top of each other, looking for anything red and white.

As they turned a corner, Bumblebee pulled to a stop, gaining Raf's attention. They looked ahead of them. Right in front of them stood a white and red ambulance parked, with its car lights turned off. There was no mistaking. They had found the right ambulance.

"Ratchet!" Raf called as he got out of Bumblebee, who reverted to bot mode the next second, and approached the ambulance. "Ratchet, it's me, Raf!"

They stopped in front of the ambulance, which was strangely quiet. Something was wrong.

"Uh... Ratchet?" Raf tried again, more quietly this time.

"Go away," Ratchet's voice sounded quietly from the ambulance.

Bumblebee knelt down to the ambulance's level. "Ratchet, what are you doing?" Bumblebee bleeped in question.

"You're interrupting my power-down," Ratchet replied.

Raf and Bumblebee shared glances. "This ain't good," Bumblebee buzzed somberly.

"Come on, Ratchet," Raf said. "We need your help to find the others!"

"Yeah, we need to get the gang all back together so we can strike back at Megatron!" Bumblebee beeped enthusiastically.

"We can't stop Megatron," Ratchet replied somberly. "Not anymore. The war is over. And we... lost."

"You're giving up?!" Raf exclaimed in disbelief. "We can't just give up!"

All of a sudden, Ratchet reverted to bot mode, standing tall and gloomy in front of the full moon, darkening his front.

"Then tell me what we can do!" Ratchet exclaimed. "Without communications, without a GroundBridge, without a base of operations or resources of any kind!"

"What about the Harbinger?" Bumblebee suggested. "We found the Immobilizer in it, maybe it has other stuff in it too."

"Bee's right," Raf said in agreement. "The Harbinger could be full of Cybertronian tech, and no one's using it! It might even have a GroundBridge in it!"

Ratchet scoffed at the air. "Well, resources won't be of much use," Ratchet said and stared up at the moon. "Not without someone to... lead us."

"It's a start," Raf said, trying to be positive.

"Then you'll have to start without me," Ratchet said somberly. "This is someone else's fight now."

"There is no one else, Ratchet! Just us. Just the team!"

Ratchet shook his head. "Please," he said and turned his back to them before reverting back to ambulance mode. "Just let me... rust in peace."

Raf and Bumblebee stood and watched with sorrow as Ratchet turned off his car lights again, falling silent. Raf shook his head and turned away from the ambulance.

"Come on, Bee," Raf said quietly.

Bumblebee reverted back to car mode and allowed Raf to get inside. As soon as Raf had fastened his seat belt, Bumblebee closed the door and drove off, leaving the scrap yard and the depressed Ratchet behind, heading for the Harbinger out in the desert.

By the break of dawn, the Vehicon executioners had still not yet reported back on how Wheeljack's execution had gone. Having a sinking feeling about this, Starscream decided to go investigate on his own. He found the smelting pool empty, both of Wheeljack and of Vehicons. As he searched around a bit more, he noticed scorch marks on the spikes and pillars of Darkmount, as well as several wreckages on the ground from Vehicons.

He landed by one of the wreckages and investigated. He found a trail of car tracks on the dirt road, going away from the crash site. Starscream smirked. Wheeljack had escaped. Perfect. That was the good news.

The bad news was now he had to go report the incident to Megatron. And he was not happy at all when Starscream reported back to him on the spire as it was almost noon.

"This is how you handle things?" Megatron growled at the silver Seeker, standing next to Shockwave and Dreadwing, the latter judging him deeply.

"Wheeljack is not the first prisoner to escape Starscream's care," Shockwave pointed out.

Starscream flicked with his wings. "I deeply apologize, Lord Megatron," Starscream said. "I underestimated Wheeljack's determination and will to live..."

Megatron rose from his throne and glared down at Starscream, who winced back with droopy wings. He did not like the way Megatron was looking at him.

"My quarters," Megatron growled at Starscream. "Now."

Meanwhile, at sunrise, Bulkhead and Miko sat by a hill, which was the coordinates of Earth where the Wreckers by protocol were to meet up at in case they got seperated. They had been waiting for two days at the hill, waiting for Wheeljack to show up. Two days prior, when they first arrived there, Miko's phone had begun ringing, but Bulkhead told her not to answer the phone.

As she let the phone ring, it went to voicemail. Both were shocked to hear Starscream's voice calling from it.

"Hello, Miko," the live message began. "This is your good friend, Starscream. I just wanted to hear if you and Bulkhead are doing well? I am doing terrific. Wheeljack, not so much. We might be thinking of executing him soon. But if you give me a call, I might convince Megatron not to. Poor Wheeljack, so scared and suffering so much. Maybe you should come save him, just the two of you? I will make sure to give you a good welcome. If you decide to stay silent, well, I hope your friend's life doesn't mean much to you."

Despite their shock and Bulkhead's anger, they both stayed silent until the message ended and Starscream had hung up. They didn't want him to accidentally hear them. As soon as the call had ended, Bulkhead raged.

"That weaselbot," Bulkhead growled. "Trying to blackmail us."

"Should we go save him?" Miko asked concerned.

"Nah," Bulkhead said, to Miko's surprise. "Jackie's a Wrecker. I'm sure he'll escape from the 'Cons, especially if it's Starscream taking care of him. He's done it before. He can do it again."

So they sat down and waited. For a long time. After having waited a whole day, Miko began voicing her doubts.

"I don't think he's coming," Miko said gloomily the evening after Starscream's message.

"Don't worry, Miko," Bulkhead said softly. "Every Wrecker knows the protocol. Jackie will show. If he's still kicking."

The next morning, after two days of waiting, Miko was sound asleep leaning against Bulkhead's leg, the latter of who was still wide awake as he had been the last few days they had been on the road. The hum of an engine sounded, making Bulkhead suddenly rise to his pedes, causing the girl to fall onto her back, knocking her awake.

"Miko, wake up," Bulkhead said.

Miko rose to sit and stretched her arms, letting out a yawn. "Why?" Miko asked tired.

Bulkhead looked at her and turned his servos into a wrecking ball and a blaster. "Someone's coming," he said.

Bulkhead aimed his blaster at the road ahead of them. As the engine humming became louder, Bulkhead's optics went wide and he turned his servos back into hands.

"I'd know the hum of that engine anywhere," Bulkhead said with a chuckle and ran out on the road.

From around the corner drove in a white race car with red and green detailing on the topside. The car pulled to a stop and transformed into the bot Wheeljack. Barely had Wheeljack finished his transformation when Bulkhead ran up to him, laughing joyfully.

"Jackie!" Bulkhead exclaimed and gave his smaller friend a chest bump and then hugged him tightly, lifting him into the air. "Where you been, buddy?!"

"Cussin' up with a few ol'... dance partners," Wheeljack wheezed, barely able to breathe in Bulkhead's tight grip.

Bulkhead let Wheeljack back down, after Miko had taken a photo of the white mech with her phone for her album. Wheeljack smiled down at the girl.

"Good to see you, kid," Wheeljack greeted and looked around. "Safe to assume we're the only three Wreckers around?"

As he placed his fists on his hips, Bulkhead and Miko noticed the countless scratches and cracks on Wheeljack's armor, everywhere on his frame, but especially the two really thick scratches across his chestplate on the horizontal side, made by the Scratchmaker.

"Jackie," Bulkhead said quietly. "What did they do to you?"

Wheeljack noticed the other two's concerned gazes and waved a servo. "Oh, these? These ain't nothin'," he said. "Just a few new battle scars. I'll take care of 'em later."

"They look painful," Miko said concerned.

"Hey, I'm a Wrecker," Wheeljack said and gave Miko a smile. "I can handle it. Took down four Vehicons like this and got away from the 'Cons in V-mode too. If I can handle it, anyone can."

Miko smiled at Wheeljack's toughness and decided to go along with it.

"So what are we waiting for?" Miko said eagerly and punched the air with her fists. "Let's do some damage!"

"What's our next move, Jackie?" Bulkhead asked, also feeling encouraged by Wheeljack's toughness. "Circle back to base?"

"There is no base," Wheeljack replied somberly. "'Cons blasted it to dust."

Bulkhead and Miko shared worried gazes. "Figured as much," Bulkhead replied gloomily.

"I salvaged some ammunition from the Jackhammer on my way out," Wheeljack continued with a smile. He reverted to car mode and turned for the road. "Let's go play with some 'Cons!"

Bulkhead immediately reverted to car mode as well and let Miko get inside him before the three Wreckers went for the road, heading off to somewhere where they could do some damage.

Starscream felt anxious as he and Megatron reverted to flight mode and made their way down to the Nemesis. As soon as they landed on the flight deck and reverted to bot mode, Megatron grabbed Starscream by the shoulder and shoved him inside the ship, though not so much that Starscream fell over. Afterwards it was just a long, painfully long and tense walk towards Megatron's quarters in uncomfortable silence.

Megatron had seen through Starscream. He knew the Seeker had once again stabbed him in the back. He had allowed an Autobot prisoner to escape with his life, and he hadn't even made it part of some special plan or scheme in the favor of the Decepticon cause. Starscream had just been insolent, insubordinate. He had to be punished.

Starscream followed Megatron's side without protest throughout most of the journey to his quarters, staring silently at the floor, dreading what was about to happen. He never knew how mad Megatron was when he was going to punish the Seeker. He never knew how much damage the warlord intended to do to Starscream. He never knew if Megatron would settle only for punishing him, or if he would, for once, actually try to terminate him. It was the unknown that made Starscream so terrified of Megatron. The warlord was unpredictable in his own way. Anything could set him off, anything could justify him to take out his anger on Starscream.

"Lord Megatron, please," Starscream said quietly, getting too uncomfortable with the silence. "It was a mistake, I-"

"Be quiet," Megatron growled, silencing the Seeker.

After what felt like hours, the pair finally reached Megatron's quarters. Starscream paused just before the entrance, as Megatron opened the doors. Megatron glared back at Starscream. Starscream couldn't move his legs. He was frozen in place. He wanted to flee, he wanted to run away, he didn't want to go in that room.

If he went with Megatron in that room, he would have nowhere to escape to. Which was exactly why Megatron had chosen his own quarters.

Starscream took a step back in hesitation and fear. "No, Master, please," Starscream begged and tried to turn away. "I don't want to do this, please-"

But before he could get away, Megatron grabbed Starscream by the wing and threw him inside the room, the Seeker letting out a shriek. Starscream landed hard on the floor and rose to his servos and knees. He felt panic rising as he watched Megatron close the doors and lock them. He had nowhere to escape to now.

"Master, please," Starscream pleaded again as Megatron approached him, large and looming. "Forgive me, I didn't mean to-"

Megatron slapped hard across Starscream's faceplate with the back of his servo, shutting the Seeker up. Starscream's wings drooped in fear.

"Shut up and take your punishment like a Decepticon," Megatron growled and grabbed Starscream's arm.

Megatron threw Starscream against the wall, slammed him onto the floor, punched him in the face, the chest and the abdomen, flung him across the room by the leg and knocked him into the wall. As Starscream sat on the floor, leaning against the wall for a moment of recovery, he stared up at Megatron with large optics filled with fear.

"M-Master, please," Starscream whimpered. "I can explain, I-"

"Shut up, you little glitch," Megatron growled at him and grabbed the Seeker by the neck cables, lifting him up. "Your excuses are as much worth as your pathetic existence. You useless, incompetent piece of garbage."

Starscream cringed by the taunt and tried weakly to pry Megatron's servo off his neck cables. Megatron threw Starscream back onto the floor, on his front. Starscream tried to rise up, but he was quickly shoved back onto his front as Megatron placed a pede onto his back. Starscream's venting became quicker.

"What... what are you doing?" Starscream asked anxiously. "You're not... no, please..."

Starscream felt panic rising as he felt Megatron's servos grab both of his wings in a tight grip. Starscream let out a scream of terror.

"NO! MASTER, PLEASE!" Starscream screamed and flailed under Megatron's heavy weight. "NOT MY WINGS, PLEASE! ANYTHING BUT MY WINGS!"

Megatron growled and started pulling Starscream's wings back with great power. Starscream let out a deafening scream at the pain of his wings being about to get pulled off.

"MASTER!" Starscream screamed. "NOOOOOOOO!"

Starscream screamed even louder as he felt the nerve wirings snap and heard the metal at the top start tearing.

"NOOOOOOOOO!"

"Lord Megatron," it suddeny sounded from outside the room. "I am sorry to disturb you, but I have to show you something."

All of a sudden, Megatron just let go of Starscream's wings, making the Seeker hit his head against the floor. As Megatron stepped off his back, Starscream vented deeply and quickly, frantically flapping his wings, just to make sure they were still there. It felt like they still were.

"What is it, Shockwave?" Megatron asked. "Can it wait? I am in the middle of something here."

"I think you will find what I have to show you utmost interesting," Shockwave's voice sounded.

Megatron let out a growly sigh and unlocked the doors, opening up to his quarters. Starscream barely got a chance to look up before Megatron grabbed his right wing, making the Seeker flinch in terror. Megatron threw Starscream out of his quarters and out onto the floor of the hallways. Starscream slowly lifted his head, gazing up at Megatron and Shockwave.

"Go lick your wounds," Megatron snarled and turned away from the Seeker, Shockwave walking silently beside the warlord.

Starscream's venting was still quick, but it was beginning to slow down just a bit. He began shaking frantically. He whimpered and sobbed and tried hard not to cry, struggling to keep the pressure behind his optics under control.

Starscream lay on the floor for a few minutes before pulling himself together and rising to his servos and knees, then slowly, and on shaking legs and leaning against the wall, got back onto his pedes. As he took a step forward, he felt a stinging pain in his left leg and limped. Megatron must have torn a cable when he threw him by the leg.

Starscream gazed behind him, trying to get a look at his wings. They were still there, but a large tear could be seen near the base of each, as well as deep, painful dents from Megatron's grip on them. He would still be able to fly with them, but wings took a long time to recover, depending on the damage done to them. These wounds would take at least a few days to heal properly, maybe even over a week before they completely recovered.

With a heavy Spark, Starscream made his way to the medbay, trying to make his limp as subtle as possible, not wanting to attract attention from any passing Vehicons or Insecticons who might take advantage of his situation.

He made it to the medbay without further problems. Though as he entered the room, he found it empty. Knock Out must be with Shockwave, or Thundercracker, in the conference room or the command center, their other lab or even in Darkmount. Either way, it seemed Starscream would have to fix himself on his own.

His gaze fell to something on the table beside the operating table. A square-shaped sticker of some sort. A rubsign.

Starscream hummed. An idea sprung to mind.

Meanwhile, out in the desert where the Harbinger resided in a cliff, Raf and Bumblebee had made their way inside the ship by late afternoon. At first glance there was nothing of use in the ship. There wasn't even a single scrap of Energon, only a bunch of debris. But soon, they found the entrance to a secret lab, practically untouched and intact.

"Looks functional," Bumblebee remarked as they entered the lab and looked around.

In front of them, right behind the main monitor in the center of the lab, which they turned on, stood five pods with white, soft-looking robots inside of them, all with a blank face and no kibble or markings. Bumblebee gasped.

"Protoforms," the Scout remarked. "There have been Protoforms in this ship all this time? And five of them too..."

Raf looked between Bumblebee and the Protoforms. "Protoforms?" Raf repeated and remembered something Starscream had told them about. "As in the first stage of Cybertronian life?"

"Yep," Bumblebee replied. "These could help later."

Bumblebee helped Raf onto the monitor to try to get a communications grid to work, while Bumblebee searched around for what else there might be.

"There's a GroundBridge here," Bumblebee reported. "And it looks like it comes with a remote, too! Neat!"

"I think we'll need Energon to get this thing to work," Raf reported while jumping around on the big buttons. "Is there any in the lab?"

Bumblebee didn't search for long before he found a stash. "Yes! Energon! And looks like there's plenty here too!"

"Awesome! Let's do this!"

Bumblebee took a cube and poured its contents into some smaller jars, which began powering up the machines.

"There! All set!" Bumblebee said and gave Raf a thumbs-up.

"Hold it right there, Bee," Raf said and jumped around on the buttons. "And... powering up!"

For a moment, the lights seemed to turn on in the lab, only for it to go out again, leaving the pair again in darkness aside from the main monitor and Bumblebee's bio-lights. Bumblebee slumped in defeat.

"Keep trying," Raf said encouragingly and turned back to the monitor. "We'll figure it out."

"Ehp-yep-ehp!" a familiar voice sounded from outside the lab, stopping Raf from pushing any more buttons. Both youngsters turned and saw Ratchet entering from the hallway.

"What took you so long?" Bumblebee asked joyfully.

"You're miscalibrating the Energon transducer," Ratchet scolded lightly and entered the lab, heading for the monitor.

"Ratchet!" Raf exclaimed happily.

Ratchet pushed Bumblebee lightly aside with the back of his servo and approached the monitor.

"Now, step out of my way, so I can work," Ratchet said.

Raf jumped back, standing on a spot on the monitor without buttons, and looked up at Ratchet with big eyes and a big smile.

For a few seconds, Ratchet just pushed the buttons, his face in its normal stony expression. But as he looked down at Raf, looking up at him with a smile, he allowed himself to smile back at the boy.

The team was getting back together.

The sun was beginning to set when Starscream got out of the medbay again. He hadn't gotten his wounds fixed, but he had taken an Energon cube to deal with the worst, especially his fatigue and being low on fuel. He had looked in a mirror in the medbay, to see how bad his damages were. Other than his damaged left leg and wings, as well as a few cracks and dents on his chest and a big blue bruise on the left side of his face, the damage wasn't too terrible. Not like the last time when Megatron had beaten him half to death and he had to receive life-support just so his Spark wouldn't extinguish. At least this time Starscream was whole enough to still walk, if only barely able to.

As Starscream got out onto the flight deck, he was surprised to see Thundercracker and Skywarp standing out there, apparently waiting for him. They both cringed as they saw Starscream's damaged frame.

"Starscream," Thundercracker exclaimed. "Are you okay?"

"Never better," Starscream lied grumpily. "What are you two standing around out here for?"

"Everyone's been called to the spire," Skywarp explained. "Sounds like Shockwave's bringing something good back from Cybertron."

Starscream raised an optical ridge. "Something good?" Starscream repeated skeptically. "Shockwave? You must be joking."

"No, really, he showed us a picture of CNA and said he was growing something in a lab on Cybertron and that he was gonna bring it here," Skywarp continued. "Come on, we've been waiting forever for you to show up! I don't wanna miss this!"

Starscream let out a sigh and reverted to jet mode, followed by his Trinemates. He slowly ascended into the air, trying to be gentle with his wounds. Thundercracker and Skywarp were very much aware of his wounds.

"You sure you're alright?" Thundercracker asked concerned as they neared the top of the spire. "Your wings don't look so good."

"I said I'm fine, okay?" Starscream hissed back. "Just be quiet and let's get this over with."

They reached the top and reverted back to bot mode. Starscream was surprised to see how many bots were present. Megatron sat on his throne, only granting the Seekers a brief glance before staring ahead of him, his claw tapping impatiently against the arm of the throne. Knock Out stood close by the left side of the throne, while Dreadwing stood by the right side of the throne. Soundwave stood a distance away at the foot of the stairs in front of the throne, staring in the same direction as Megatron did. Six Vehicon Grounders stood further ahead, three to the left and three to the right, while leaving the middle open. The only ones unaccounted for were the Combaticons and Shockwave. The former were probably still out searching for their comrades, while the latter was on Cybertron, getting whatever it was he was fetching.

Starscream and his Trinemates passed by Dreadwing and Soundwave and positioned themselves near Knock Out, to the left of Megatron on the throne. Thundercracker and Skywarp stood on either side of Starscream, flanking him. Starscream looked to the side, refusing to make optic contact with any of them.

Suddenly, a Space Bridge portal appeared in front of them, right between the two rows of Vehicons. Megatron stopped his tapping claw and granted Shockwave his attention as the Cyclops stepped out from the portal.

"I present to you, my liege," Shockwave announced and stepped to the side, spreading out his right arm, gesturing the portal, "the ultimate Autobot hunter."

A few seconds later, a large foot stepped out from the portal, filled with long, sharp claws and spikes, followed by another spiky foot, as well as a large, likewise spiky and reptilian head attached to a long, spiky neck. The Vehicons stepped back anxiously as the beast passed by them.

Starscream winced back with his arms in front of him, hiding behind his Trinemates, who remained unfazed by the emerging creature.

No, it can't be, Starscream thought anxiously and peeked out from behind his Trinemates as the creature's enormous body continued to emerge. That's impossible...

The creature let out a growl as a pair of humongous red wings spread out, a long, spiky tail whipped around and four, spiky, clawed legs planted their talons onto the floor. A large shadow enveloped the entire platform and the Decepticons on it, including a stunned Megatron who slowly rose from his throne to get a better look at the roaring beast with wings the size of a small ship.

A Predacon.