CHAPTER 26
Prey
Starscream couldn't believe his own optics. Yet right in front of him, and all the other Decepticons present on the peak of Darkmount, stood one of the largest and most fearsome of Cybertronian races, a large black draconic beast with silver and golden details, its head adorned with black, silver and red horns, and enormous red webbed wings protruding from its spiky back. It opened its mouth, revealing a bifurcated lower jaw, countless sharp teeth and three pairs of mandibles covering the jaws. Its optics were large and solid glistering yellow, gleaming viciously as it let out a shrill roar, sending chills up Starscream's spinal strut and all the way to the tips of his wings.
"A... a Predacon," Starscream stuttered while still trying to hide behind Thundercracker and Skywarp, though couldn't help but peek out from between them out of curiosity for the giant creature's existence. "They... they've been extinct since the beginning of Cybertronian history."
"Indeed," Shockwave replied from the side and wandered calmly over to the mighty beast, which didn't react to the Cyclops' approach. "But the specimen you see before you was bred in a laboratory." Shockwave stroke the Predacon gently along its long, plated neck. "Cloned from fossilized remains which I discovered on Cybertron."
"Shockwave," Megatron uttered and descended from the stairs, heading for the Predacon, "it does my Spark good to see you once again... tampering with creation."
Starscream gazed concerned between Megatron and the Predacon, as the former was approaching the latter. Despite his resentment for the warlord, the thought of anyone getting attacked and torn apart by a Predacon was horrifying.
"Master, please!" Starscream exclaimed and burst out from between his Trinemates, who briefly glanced surprised at the smaller Seeker before returning their gazes to the Predacon. "Keep your distance!"
But Megatron ignored Starscream and kept going. Starscream gazed worried around him. The fact that no one seemed as worried about the Predacon as they should have been baffled Starscream. Apparently they didn't know just how dangerous Predacons were. Starscream did. He had read about them and seen pictures of the beasts and knew they did not fuel on raw or processed Energon like Cybertronians did.
They consumed Energon and metal from other bots. They were hunters, and the Cybertronians were their prey. And now, Shockwave had just bred and brought one of these monsters onto Darkmount, full of its prey! And it was possibly powerful enough to even devour Megatron without effort, not to mention the Seekers! Despite his fear, Starscream could not find the strength to run away. As fast and agile as he was, the Predacon could possibly be faster. Not to mention that Starscream was currently injured and his wings weak, which would make him the ideal target of the Predacon. If he tried to flee, the Predacon would easily hunt him down. So he just stood there and watched with anxiety as Megatron approached the Predacon, which seemed oddly calm despite being surrounded by over a dozen Decepticons.
"No need for alarm," Shockwave said calmly as Megatron stopped just a few meters from the Predacon. "The beast is completely under my control."
The Predacon leaned in close and stared deeply into Megatron's red optics with its own large yellow ones. It rattled and moaned calmly, looking at Megatron with interest. Starscream looked baffled at the scene. What vicious thoughts could be in such a beast's processor? He hoped it would keep its attention on Megatron and ignore Starscream's injuries, as he was sure some of the wounds were still leaking Energon.
"Such primal magnificence," Megatron sighed in awe of the beast.
"A sample of Energon from Wheeljack," Shockwave said and pulled forth a small jar of blue Energon from his subspace, "spilled during the Autobot's failed interrogation."
Starscream cringed, knowing Shockwave was mocking Starscream once again, but he stayed silent, not wanting to draw attention to himself, least of all from the Predacon. Shockwave held up the jar of Energon in front of one of the Predacon's optics. It stared deeply at the jar. Its optic began glowing as it scanned the Energon, imprinting Wheeljack's CNA into its processor.
"Let the hunt begin," Megatron declared maliciously.
Starscream winced back and hid behind his Trinemtes as the Predacon spread out its wings and began throwing its large head from side to side, apparently agitated by the spilled Energon. Starscream was worried for a moment it might ignore the mission and instead go for the injured Seeker before it, but to his relief it simply leapt off the edge of the spire and spread its gigantic wings, setting off towards the setting sun over the floor of clouds. It let out a shrill roar as it disappeared from the Decepticons' sight, to search for the Autobots.
Starscream heaved a sigh of relief and emerged from between his Trinemates. He cringed as he put weight on his left leg and felt a stinging pain in it. He had forgotten how injured he still was from Megatron's punishment earlier. He let out an involuntary whimper which didn't go unnoticed by Megatron. The warlord glanced at the Seeker, first now paying attention to the condition of his former second-in-command. He snarled lowly at the sight.
"Get back to the warship," Megatron growled at Starscream. "And don't show yourself to me until you can be useful. Hm?"
Megatron turned fully to Starscream and approached him with loud, ominous pedesteps. Starscream lowered his wings in concern and took a step back with his right leg, staring up at Megatron. Was he going to punish him again? But for what? Simply for being here? Had he done something to anger Megatron without knowing it?
Megatron stopped a few meters before Starscream and stared intently at the concerned Seeker. Thundercracker and Skywarp stepped away from their Trine Commander, not wanting to get involved in whatever Megatron had planned. Nobot else made any comments.
After a few, tense seconds, Megatron's frown turned into a more neutral line on his face. "So you have finally replaced your insignia, I see," Megatron grumbled. "Good."
Starscream's gaze went down to his chestplate. Instead of the shiny red Autobot insignia, Starscream's chest now displayed his former, still red Decepticon insignia instead. Having confirmation of the warlord's sudden interest, Starscream let out a sigh of relief and relaxed his frame, his wings rising slowly again to their default position.
Megatron stepped away from the Seeker and returned to his throne. "Return to your posts!" he commanded as he sat down and waved Dreadwing over, apparently wanting to talk to him. Starscream couldn't care less. Knock Out passed him and his Trinemates.
"Well, better get going then," Knock Out said to Starscream. "Wait for me in sickbay and I'll get you patched up in no time, big guy."
Knock Out stepped onto the elevator in the center of the platform, along with the six Vehicon Grounders, and they descended to the lower levels. Starscream let out a sigh and limped over to the nearest edge before reverting to jet mode. Thundercracker and Skywarp transformed closely behind him and flew on each side of the smaller Seeker, to make sure he didn't fly out of control.
"When did you replace your insignia?" Thundercracker asked curiously. "We didn't see it when we picked you up just now."
"Well, then you must have missed it," Starscream replied as they landed on the flight deck of the Nemesis and transformed. "I replaced it myself just before the Predacon arrived."
"By yourself?" Skywarp repeated impressed as they entered the warship. "Isn't that, like, hard or hurts or something?"
"My insignia is on my chest, so it really wasn't all that hard," Starscream replied as they wandered through the hallways, trying to make his limp as subtle as possible. "What was hard, however, was not running away when that Predacon showed up. It was so..." Starscream shuddered and let out a distressed whine.
"You're afraid of Predacons?" Skywarp asked stumped. "Why?"
"Why?!" Starscream repeated in disbelief. "I'll tell you why. Predacons are monsters. They ate bots during their existence! It could have eaten us all up there without even putting an effort into it!"
"Oh come on, Starscream," Thundercracker replied as they rounded a corner. "You're overreacting."
"I'm sorry, overreacting?" Starscream replied and made gestures with his arms. "Easy for you to say, Thundercracker! You're not the one who has just sustained heavy injuries because of a little failure. That beast could just as easily have ignored the Energon in the jar and just gone for me! I don't know how that didn't happen, but I'm glad it didn't. I can't believe Shockwave had something like this up his sleeve though. Did you see the look in his eye as he presented that vile beast to Lord Megatron?"
"Well, he is kind of creepy..." Skywarp replied but was cut off when Starscream suddenly stopped and spread out his arms, blocking their path.
"Quiet," Starscream said and looked from side to side. "Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Thundercracker asked and looked around, sharpening his audio receptors.
"I could have sworn I just heard something," Starscream said quietly and kept listening. "Like a yell."
The Seekers listened for a few seconds but heard nothing.
"I don't hear anything," Skywarp said. "Maybe you imagined it."
"Maybe it was Dreadwing," Starscream uttered and pulled in his arms. "Maybe he's following us. Maybe he's planning another attack."
"Again, you're overreacting," Thundercracker said and gave Starscream a light push in the back, causing the latter to flinch. "Let's just go to sickbay so Knock Out can get you fixed up. Can't have your wings break off by accident all of a sudden."
Starscream flicked his wings at the reminder and moved on, his Trinemates following close behind him.
Only, a few minutes after they left the hallway, as the corridor was empty, Smokescreen emerged from the room where they kept Airachnid's stasis pod, the Star Saber and the Forge of Solus Prime... except now the Autobot recruit was dragging that very Forge behind him. He gazed after the direction in which the Seekers had gone before making his way to the exit.
"Starscream..."
The sun was beginning to set in the canyon where the Harbinger was situated in. With Ratchet's help, Rafael had managed to get a few systems online, though still not enough for the ship to be a completely functional base yet.
"Mainframe's up and running," Raf announced and turned to Ratchet. "But I'll need help hacking the operating codes."
"Even if the GroundBridge proves functional," Ratchet informed, "it will be next to worthless without a means of pinpointing the current locations of our compatriots."
"Can't we track them?" Bumblebee asked surprised.
"Use your head, Bumblebee," Ratchet snapped at the Scout. "If the Decepticons had the ability to track Autobot signals, we'd have all been at Megatron's mercy here on Earth a long time ago."
Raf let out a sigh. "Back where we started," he complained.
Ratchet looked intently at the monitor, an idea popping into his head. "But not if I can reconfigure these Decepticon frequencies," he said and switched the monitor to another page and began working. "At the very least we may be able to access their comm. link."
"Would we be able to contact Starscream?" Raf asked.
"Not a good idea," Ratchet replied and continued his work. "Even if he should in some miraculous way still be on our side, he will most likely be closely monitored by his fellow Decepticons. Trying to reach contact with him, even from a Decepticon ship, is too risky."
Silence fell for a few minutes while Ratchet worked on the reconfiguration. Bumblebee gazed at the Protoforms in the pods.
"I wish we could use those Protoforms," Bumblebee bleeped. "It would be nice with some more allies."
"Why don't we just wake them up then?" Raf asked. "We have plenty of Energon, don't we?"
Ratchet paused in his work. "As useful as additional warriors would be at the moment," Ratchet replied, "and considering we do have enough Energon for it, we don't have the time for it right now."
"What do you mean?" Raf asked confused.
"These Protoforms will need combat training when they come online," Ratchet explained. "Otherwise they will be as useless as the Vehicons that are created from them. It's simply not the right time to activate them."
Raf and Bumblebee both looked intently at the white forms floating inside the lit up pods. Hopefully the time to awaken and train them would come soon.
Hopefully before the Decepticons discovered their location.
The sun was about to disappear below the horizon when Arcee and Jack found themselves followed by a huge ship, which turned and landed right in front of them. Jack got off Arcee while the femme readied her blaster, in case it was an enemy. After an escalator descended from the ship's underside, a thick cloud of dust emerged, shrouding the approaching bot's identity. But when the bot stepped out from the cloud, Arcee immediately reverted her blaster back into a servo, ensuring Jack that they had nothing to worry about with this mech.
Before them stood the second-in-command of the Autobots, a large, Optimus-sized and -shaped blue and red mech with tall shoulder-pads. It was none other than Ultra Magnus.
"No one's seen or heard from you since Cybertron went dark," Arcee said to Ultra Magnus after introducing Jack to him. "How did you find your way to Earth?"
"Soldier, we may not be on Cybertron," Ultra Magnus said stiffly with a stern expression, "but military protocol remains."
Arcee seemed to stiffen and then stood straight with her arms pressed against her sides. "My apologies," she said and added, "sir."
"Sir?" Jack repeated with confusion.
"Advise the native life form to watch its tone as well," Ultra Magnus said sternly with his servos on his hips.
"What?" Jack exclaimed in disbelief. "Who is this guy?"
Arcee knelt down and held her left servo in front of them and lowered her voice. "Ultra Magnus was Optimus' key lieutenant during the war back on Cybertron," she said quietly, not wanting to speak out loud about the mech, "very by the book. Just go with it."
"As for your broader question," Ultra Magnus replied and gained the two's attention. "My story is that of all Autobots since the exodus. I wandered the space ways in search of others, reuniting with some, often only to see them fall at the hands of the Decepticons."
"Until you detected the Omega beam and followed it here," Arcee concluded.
"If you're referring to the massive energy burst originating from Cybertron, that would be affirmative," Ultra Magnus replied and let his arms fall to his sides. "Upon my arrival it became evident that this planet had been invaded. My scanners also detected Autobot life signals, yours being in closest proximity to my position."
"Signals, as in plural?" Jack asked hopeful. As he looked up at Magnus' stern expression, he quickly added: "Sir."
"Five total," Magnus replied.
"Out of eight," Jack sighed and closed his eyes in worry.
"Jack, that doesn't necessarily mean what you're thinking," Arcee said with a soft smile. "Autobot signals can't be detected when they're shielded." After a moment of thinking about the number Jack said, her smile faltered. "As for Starscream, he's back with the 'Cons. His signal is either shielded by the fortress or he's switched back to the 'Con signal."
"I hope you're right," Jack said quietly.
Ultra Magnus took a step forward, gaining their attention. "What is this I hear about Starscream?" he asked confused. "Explain."
Arcee stood up straight again. "It's a long story, sir," she said. "We captured Starscream some months ago and tried to turn him to our side."
"But it didn't work?" Ultra Magnus replied, not really a question.
"No, sir," Arcee replied with a sullen look. "He betrayed us barely a week ago and returned to the 'Cons, then helped Megatron destroy our base. Now we're trying to find the others."
Ultra Magnus nodded and stepped to the side, gesturing his ship. "I believe we will have greater success in locating the others from the air," he said. "Let's go."
Starscream had to wait on the operating table in the medbay for almost half an hour before Knock Out showed up, and by that time the sun had already set outside. Thundercracker and Skywarp were guarding the entrance from the outside, not wanting to leave his side in case Dreadwing did decide to seek out Starscream again.
While lying on the table, all Starscream could think about was the pain in his leg, chest, face, arms and especially wings. When the door to the medbay opened, Starscream looked up and relaxed as it was only Knock Out entering.
"Doctor in the house," Knock Out announced with a smirk as he approached the silver Seeker. "And what seems to be the problem today?"
"Very funny, Knock Out," Starscream grumbled. "You can see I am hurt."
Knock Out hummed and drew forth a scanner. "Anything other than what I can see?" he asked and ran the scanner over the cracks on Starscream's chest.
"My left leg hurts and my arms are sore," Starscream listed. "And my wings are torn near the base. I can't fly properly with them like that."
"Got it," Knock Out replied and ran the scanner over Starscream's legs. "Looks like a cable got loose here. The arms seem strained but nothing an oil bath and a good night's rest won't fix. Roll over so I can look at your wings."
As Knock Out stepped back to give him some space, Starscream turned on the table so he was lying on his front, wings spread out in the air. Knock Out took a look at the wings and hummed.
"Dang, those are pretty bad tears," he commented. "You're lucky they haven't torn off from your flight up and down the spire earlier."
Starscream cringed at the information and turned as much as he could to gaze at the doctor. "It's that bad?" he exclaimed.
"Yeah. I mean, I can fix them, but even so you'll have to stay on the ground for at least a week before they fully heal. You really ticked off Lord Megatron this time, didn't you?"
Starscream huffed and laid back down again. "Just get on with it, doctor," he said.
Knock Out shrugged and put forth his tools for repairing wings. "I will induce stasis then," he announced and attached a cable to Starscream, still lying on his front. Starscream didn't protest. Wings were very sensitive, and being as delicate a procedure as this one, he didn't want to accidentally cause Knock Out to damage them more than they already were.
And at least he would get some rest and be without pain for a while. Starscream hadn't slept for two days, having had to deal with Wheeljack's execution, waiting for the Vehicons' report that never came, as well as getting punished by Megatron for hours before Shockwave arrived with the Predacon.
Starscream dreaded how the beast would affect his future, moments before he lost consciousness, going into stasis so Knock Out could work.
It was late night by the time the Predacon found Wheeljack, as well as his fellow Wreckers Bulkhead and the human Miko. Wheeljack and Bulkhead had planted dozens of explosives inside an Energon mine, hoping the explosion would be massive enough for all Autobots within five hundred kliks to notice and convey to their position.
Only, before Wheeljack could trigger the detonator, a shrill roar had sounded throughout the night sky. Moments later, the Predacon, referred to Miko as a 'dragon', appeared and engaged them in battle, spitting fire from an organ residing in its throat.
Bulkhead and Wheeljack had a tough time fighting the Predacon. Wheeljack's grenade had no effect on the beast, even when exploding right underneath its massive body. In return it dealt powerful fire attacks, slashes and swings with its tail, playing with the Autobots like toys.
Then, Wheeljack decided to lure the beast into the Energon mine, as it seemed it was most interested in him, due to having imprinted on his CNA. A few minutes later, Wheeljack had then driven out of the mine again in vehicle mode, then proceeded to detonate the explosives.
It was indeed a massive explosion, sending off huge blue Energon clouds into the air, and the sound of the explosion was equally loud, certain to attract attention from any Autobots that might be near them. But it had not had the effect on the Predacon as they had wanted. It simply emerged from the rubble of the mine and spread out its gigantic red wings and roared at the full moon behind it.
But just as they thought they were going to be Predacon chow, a large navy blue ship appeared from behind them and shot two lasers at the beast before turning around. Bulkhead and Wheeljack shared glances, uncertain about the ship.
"One of ours?" Bulkhead commented.
"Does it matter?" Wheeljack pointed out.
The Wreckers were quick to turn around and run along the gorge away from the roaring Predacon, following the strange ship's flight path. The ship soon descended and slowed down before an escalator appeared from its underside, sliding across the ground, encouraging the Wreckers to hop on.
Behind them, the Predacon was catching up and blasting fireballs on the ground, which only just barely missed them. Bulkhead and Wheeljack jumped onto the escalator as they got close enough, and Wheeljack started firing his blaster at the Predacon while they were taken up into the ship.
As they got inside the ship, Wheeljack turned and pointed his blaster at the crew while Bulkhead shielded Miko with both his massive arms. It didn't take more than two seconds before they relaxed and Wheeljack turned his blaster back into a servo, upon seeing that they had been rescued by allies.
"Hey," Jack greeted with a wave, standing next to a smiling Arcee.
"Jack!" Miko exclaimed and stood up on Bulkhead's servo.
"Arcee!" Bulkhead exclaimed and let Miko get onto the floor, so she could run over to Jack.
Bulkhead approached Arcee and grabbed her, lifting her up in a tight hug. The femme let out a surprised yelp at the force of the hug. Below them, Miko had likewise embraced Jack in a tight hug, surprising the boy with her incredible strength.
"Miko-" Jack said and huffed. "Can't breathe..."
Miko got off him and punched Jack lightly in the belly. Though even her light punch made Jack grip his belly.
"Weakling," Miko teased, as Jack was a whole head taller than her.
Bulkhead let Arcee back on the floor as well, much to the femme's relief.
"Thanks for the save," Wheeljack said with a smile.
"Thank the commander," Arcee replied and pointed to the cockpit, where none other than Ultra Magnus sat and steered the ship.
"Soldiers," Magnus greeted stiffly.
"You?" Wheeljack said with quiet surprise.
"Ultra Magnus?" Bulkhead gasped with astonishment and placed a servo on his chest. "It's an honor."
"It's an honor, sir," Ultra Magnus corrected.
They went silent for a moment, perhaps baffled by the correction of the compliment. Wheeljack was the first to break the ice.
"Guess blowing that mine made us pretty easy to spot," Wheeljack remarked.
"Ultra Magnus already had a beat on your signals, and ours," Arcee informed. "Care to tell us what exactly is nipping at our tailpipes?"
They turned to a monitor showing a thermal image of the Predacon chasing after the ship.
"We think it's a robot dragon," Miko announced.
"Or a Cybertronian reptile," Jack suggested.
A moment later, the ship went sideways. "Brace yourselves," Magnus warned as the Predacon shot a fireball at the ship's rear, making the ship tremble and the humans about to fall down. Bulkhead grabbed them both and held them close to protect them.
Now they were flying through the thick clouds with a giant Cybertronian reptile chasing after them while letting out shrill roars and shooting fireballs after them. Magnus did his best to dodge the Predacon's attacks and steer the ship behind it, turning in the air so the crew had a hard time keeping themselves standing up. Ultra Magnus shot lasers after the Predacon, but soon they lost sight of it as they entered a very thick layer of clouds.
After several seconds of silence, the Predacon reappeared right in front of them and shot a fireball at them. This time Ultra Magnus wasn't fast enough to avoid having one of the ship's thrusters hit and emitting smoke behind it. The ship was still intact enough to fly, but they had to land before it got more damaged. First though, they had to escape the Predacon.
The ship suddenly collided with something, causing a big tremor. "It's right on top of us," Jack stated.
A few seconds later, the Predacon appeared at the front and looked through the cockpit and roared at Ultra Magnus. The humans screamed in surprise, but Magnus had a plan. He descended the ship toward the ground, into a canyon. It was hard to fly the ship in this, but that was the idea. Ultra Magnus rammed the ship into a cliffside, trying to shake off the Predacon, though without success. He rammed into another rock, but the Predacon still held on. Jack struggled to keep himself in Bulkhead's servos, while Miko struggled not to heave from the turbulence.
Soon they reached a dead end, and Magnus pulled the ship up. Making a decision, he turned the ship around so the roof faced against the cliff, the Predacon still hanging tightly onto the ship. As they reached the top of the cliff, an elevated rock appeared and they rammed into it. The ship made it off unscathed, but the Predacon was finally beat off the ship, allowing the Autobots to escape into the night. The Predacon fell down the cliff and got buried under the rubble, but it was soon to emerge and rage, until it decided it couldn't fight anymore and returned to Darkmount.
On the ship, everyone cheered as they had shaken off the Predacon and it didn't return. As the ship was turned back on its right side, Bulkhead let the humans back onto the floor, so they could all sigh of relief.
Before they could talk about what had just happened though, Miko's phone began ringing. She pulled it out and opened it to see who was calling.
"Miko, don't take it," Jack warned, having already experienced what would happen if they used their cell phones.
"It's Starscream again," Miko said quietly. "He's calling again."
This got the attention of everyone in the ship, including Ultra Magnus who was looking for the remaining Autobot signals.
"Starscream?" Arcee said in disbelief and offense. "What does he-"
The phone went to voicemail and beeped. Everyone silenced. A few seconds later, Starscream started speaking.
"Hello again, Miko, this is Starscream again," Starscream's raspy voice sounded from the phone, which was on speaker. "It would seem that Wheeljack has escaped. And just when he was going to get executed as well. Lord Megatron did NOT like that, I tell you."
At the mention of Wheeljack's escape and failed execution, they gazed briefly at him before returning their silent attention to the phone in Miko's hands.
"Anyway, you should know that we have just acquired a weapon greater than anything you have seen before. As you may know, if Wheeljack has found you, Shockwave has returned, but that's not all. He brought a Predacon with him, and it's looking for you."
Everyone had to hold back gasps and surprised exclamations from the information, glancing concerned at each other.
"We also have three of the Combaticons with us," Starscream continued, his voice sounding strangely low. "And it's just a matter of time before all five are gathered. With a Predacon and Bruticus on our side, there is nothing you Autobots can do to stop us. Not while you're all scattered like bugs."
The Autobots looked once again worried at each other and had to restrain themselves from saying anything. Starscream's next words were very quiet, and it sounded like he was speaking in a fast pace, so they paid close attention to what he said.
"With the four fusion cannons of our mighty fortress, we can eradicate any major city in the nation. The fortress is heavily guarded by Vehicons and Insecticons, especially the power core in the center. If the humans attack, we will immediately destroy their cities. Even if you have found a hiding place somewhere, it will not be long before we find you. No matter where you are, no matter where you're hiding, we will find you soon. And then it's over for you. I'd say you have approximately twenty-four hours before we find you and destroy you for good. Don't even think about launching an attack on the fortress before then. There are too many Vehicon guards spread out in the surrounding area, and they all stand attentively all day long, ready to act."
The Autobots glanced at each other, reading confusion and disbelief on each others' faces.
"As for me... do not concern yourselves with me, Autobots," Starscream said softly, sounding as if he was about to wrap up the call. "I'm doing... quite well here. I don't know how you all feel about our last encounter, but please know that I am looking for you. Just like everyone else is looking for you. I-"
Starscream silenced all of a sudden, and the Autobots waited for him to continue or end the call. After several seconds, his voice returned.
"I... I need to end this call now," Starscream's voice sounded, very quiet and slightly stuttering. "Thank you for listening, Miko."
There was a beep and the call ended. The Autobots and humans looked around at each other, trying to process what they had just heard.
"Did he just..." Arcee drawled out.
"I think he did," Bulkhead replied.
Wheeljack barked a laugh. The kids looked confused at the bots.
"What do you mean?" Jack asked.
Arcee looked down at the kids and smiled.
"I think Starscream's still with us," she said.
"Rise and shine," Knock Out sang as Starscream got out of stasis. "Good as new. Well, almost."
Starscream opened his optics, now lying on his back with his wings flattened out beneath him. He looked down at himself and saw that the cracks and scratches from Megatron's beatings had healed more or less. His arms were still sore, but the pain in his leg seemed to have vanished. He was handed a small mirror by Knock Out and he looked at his face. The bruise on his left cheekplate was gone, as were any other damage to his face. Including the scar that he had gained on Cybertron. He huffed.
"You removed the scar," Starscream remarked though strangely calm. "Why?"
"I figured it was part of your punishment," Knock Out replied. "Had you wanted to keep it?"
Starscream sighed at the sight of his face. "No, it's alright," he replied quietly. "I suppose it's better this way. I'm not an Autobot anymore, I don't know why I kept denying that. But I understand now. I am fully committing myself to the Decepticon cause now. I will not desert you ever again."
Knock Out let out a chuckle. "Well, I'm sure Lord Megatron would love to hear that," he remarked. "But you should go get some rest now. I may have patched up your wings, but if you strain them too much before they're completely healed, you may end up opening the wounds again. And then your wings could tear off."
"I know, doctor," Starscream said and rose from the operating table, putting the mirror back on the tool table. "It will be nice with some rest after the last few days' events. If I can be allowed to rest, that is."
"Still having those nightmares?"
Starscream glanced at Knock Out with disbelief. "How do you know if I have nightmares?" he accused.
"I've passed by your door every now and then in the morning and I hear you waking up screaming," Knock Out relayed. "And I've heard from those two that you were cornered by Dreadwing recently. I can't imagine what you must be going through."
Starscream's frown fell and instead looked at Knock Out with thought. He gazed at the floor, uncertain of what to say.
"Just go rest," Knock Out said and waved a servo. "You don't have to explain yourself to me. I'm just the doctor. But I'll always be here in case you need to let something off you can't tell your fellow Seekers."
Starscream hummed and went for the door, gaze avoiding Knock Out's. "Thank you, doctor," Starscream said quietly as he reached the door. "I will keep that in mind."
As he exited the medbay and wandered into the hallways, Thundercracker and Skywarp leaned away from the walls and followed behind the silver Seeker.
"Wanna get an oil bath?" Skywarp asked. "You know, considering all that's happened today."
"No, that's quite alright," Starscream replied quietly without looking at them. "I'm tired, I think I will just turn in for the night, try to get some sleep in."
"Good luck with that," Thundercracker replied. "We'll be in the oil bath in case you need us."
"Okay."
Soon they reached Starscream's quarters, and after Starscream unlocked the door and made sure the room was empty, Thundercracker and Skywarp parted from him as he entered his room, again locking the door, isolating himself in his own little world.
Starscream sat down on the berth, lights still on, and stared at the floor in thought. Now that he had switched back to a Decepticon insignia, signal and comm. link, would he be able to contact the Autobots anymore? Would he still be able to contact Miko? He doubted the Autobots had found a base of operations yet, so that was out of the question. But with a Decepticon signal, it was unlikely Megatron or Soundwave would be listening in on his conversation this time.
And considering the fact that Miko's phone wasn't connected to any base of operations and that he had her number, he could probably call her without a problem. As long as she didn't pick up, the Decepticons wouldn't track her signal, and because he was now a Decepticon once again, they wouldn't likely listen in on him. Still, one could never be sure, especially on the warship where Soundwave resided, listening to every conversation on the ship. He would have to be subtle and very quiet.
Making a decision, Starscream placed two digits on his audio receptor and dialed Miko's number once again. Like last time, he let it beep until the voicemail message sounded and the beep was heard. He took a few seconds to consider how to start the conversation. Like last time, he decided to go with his instinct.
"Hello again, Miko, this is Starscream again," he began. "It would seem that Wheeljack has escaped. And just when he was going to get executed as well. Lord Megatron did not like that, I tell you."
He wanted very badly to tell them how Megatron had punished him, but knew it wouldn't make a difference here. Instead, he focused on what he wanted to tell them.
"Anyway, you should know that we have just acquired a weapon greater than anything you have seen before. As you may know, if Wheeljack has found you, Shockwave has returned, but that's not all. He brought a Predacon with him, and it's looking for you."
Granted, it could very well have found them just now or even caught them, but it wouldn't hurt to give them a little heads-up, right? And even if they knew it was coming, they wouldn't be able to do anything about it, so he was technically not doing anything wrong, right?
"We also have three of the Combaticons with us," Starscream continued, wanting to let them know of their current forces. "And it's just a matter of time before all five are gathered. With a Predacon and Bruticus on our side, there is nothing you Autobots can do to stop us. Not while you're all scattered like bugs."
Starscream silenced for a moment, contemplating on the next thing he wanted to tell them. This was the most dangerous part. He'd have to be quick, quiet and subtle about it.
"With the four fusion cannons of our mighty fortress, we can eradicate any major city in the nation," he began quietly. "The fortress is heavily guarded by Vehicons and Insecticons, especially the power core in the center. If the humans attack, we will immediately destroy their cities. Even if you have found a hiding place somewhere, it will not be long before we find you. No matter where you are, no matter where you're hiding, we will find you soon. And then it's over for you."
After a moment of consideration, he continued: "I'd say you have approximately twenty-four hours before we find you and destroy you for good. Don't even think about launching an attack on the fortress before then. There are too many Vehicon guards spread out in the surrounding area, and they all stand attentively all day long, ready to act."
Starscream's Spark started beating faster. He was revealing a great deal of information to the enemy, but tried his best not to make it sound that way. He went silent for a moment, thinking about how to end the call. He felt a rush in his tanks and made a decision.
"As for me... do not concern yourselves with me, Autobots," he said quietly, struggling to keep his voice even. "I'm doing... quite well here. I don't know how you all feel about our last encounter, but please know that I am looking for you. Just like everyone else is looking for you. I-"
Someone knocked on his door and he silenced, looking at the door.
"Starscream, you asleep yet?" sounded Skywarp's voice from outside.
Starscream gazed nervously at the door for a second, then swallowed a lump in his throat before whispering: "I... I need to end this call now. Thank you for listening, Miko."
Starscream removed his digits from his audio receptor and ended the call. Skywarp knocked on the door again.
"I'm coming!" Starscream called, got off the berth and went for the door. He found Skywarp standing behind it, though unaccompanied by Thundercracker for once. Starscream raised an optical ridge. "What is it, Skywarp? Where's Thundercracker?"
"Still in the oil bath," Skywarp replied, and now that Starscream looked, he looked kind of wet and was dripping oil on the floor. "Come on, Scream, join us. It's not the same without you."
"I'm tired," Starscream complained.
"You can sleep in the pool if you want," Skywarp pointed out. "We're right there to keep a lookout. You don't have to worry about Dreadwing or anything, really!"
Starscream looked intently at Skywarp and contemplated. It had been a while since he last had a bath, and he did feel safer with him and Thundercracker around. He doubted he would get any sleep that night anyway, considering the whole Predacon ordeal and everything. He might never be able to sleep again with that thing lurking around, even if it only stayed in the fortress. Simply the fact that there was a Predacon with them...
Starscream let out a sigh. "Fine, I'll go with you," he said and exited his room and locked the door. "But no more than half an hour."
"If you say so," Skywarp snickered and laid a servo on Starscream's shoulder.
The next second, they both vanished, teleporting to the oil baths instead of walking. Skywarp assumed Starscream would want that, as tired as he said he was. Starscream decided to go with it and went into the pool with the black Seeker, meeting with Thundercracker. Rather than talking, they just sat there with closed optics and felt the warm oil soak their frames. Starscream let the oil go to his shoulders.
After a few minutes of silence, Starscream decided to ask a question anyway. "Why are you two being so nice to me lately?" he asked, optics still closed, too tired to keep them open.
Thundercracker and Skywarp opened their own optics into slits and gazed at Starscream. "What do you mean?" Thundercracker asked.
"Before we got to Earth, we didn't spend much time doing things like this together. You didn't even really want to spend time with me. At least that's the feeling I got. So why now? Now that I've been with the Autobots and returned, I mean. What changed?"
Thundercracker and Skywarp shared glances in silence for a moment, as if reading each other's minds. Starscream kept his optics closed, barely even paying attention to what he had just said.
"I dunno," Skywarp replied. "I mean, it's been forever since we last saw each other, since the two of us have been dormant and everything."
"We could very well be the last Seekers in the galaxy," Thundercracker replied. "Maybe even the last Vosians. We have to stick together, you know? We're still Trinemates, and Trinemates stick together no matter what. Even if we're not friends. And... you seem like you could need some help. You've changed, Starscream, I can see that. You're not the bot you've been for the last three million years. The Autobots changed you, we can both see that."
"What TC is trying to say is," Skywarp continued, "we decided to give you chance. You know, if you'll give us a chance too. You don't seem to be doing well lately. You're always scared of going anywhere, even when we're with you. You can never seem to relax, not even here in the oil baths. You don't speak much anymore, and you love to talk! We're starting to get worried about you. And that's saying something, cause, you know, we normally don't care much about how you are..."
Starscream didn't answer. They waited a little while, gazing at him, waiting for an answer. After about half a minute, they heard a soft snore coming from him. They sighed.
Starscream had fallen asleep. Thundercracker and Skywarp decided to let him be. He needed all the rest he could get.
The next morning, Ratchet had managed to establish a communications link, though still not complete yet. It was good enough that he could call Agent Fowler at the humans' military base.
"What is it now, 'Lord' Megatron?" Fowler's sarcastic, irritated voice sounded from the monitor.
"Agent Fowler, it's Ratchet," Ratchet said quickly.
"Ratchet? Where's Jack?" sounded June's voice from the comm. "Is he with you?"
"No, he is not," Ratchet replied. "Listen, we don't have much time. I have taken a tremendous yet calculated risk in contacting you. Hopefully the Decepticons are not monitoring their own frequencies as closely as they no doubt are those of the humans. I am transmitting our current coordinates."
Just as he finished transmitting the coordinates, Bumblebee came rushing in.
"Ratchet, come quick!" Bumblebee bleeped agitated. "There's a ship on its way here!"
"What?" Ratchet replied surprised.
"Ratchet, have you heard from anyone else?" Agent Fowler's voice sounded from the comm. "What about Prime-"
Ratchet turned off the comm. and went with Bumblebee out of the Harbinger, Rafael following close behind them, to the outside. As they got outside, they could indeed see a ship approaching them, a mere black dot on the rising sun, but getting bigger and more of a horizontal line as it got closer. Rafael ran with all his might, but Bumblebee stopped him promptly by blocking his path with a servo.
"Stay here," Bumblebee warned. "It could be dangerous."
So Rafael remained behind them as the strange ship descended to the ground before them. Bumblebee had his blaster out and kept a focused gaze on the ship. Ratchet didn't draw out any weapons, because he knew they didn't need to.
"It's one of ours," Ratchet remarked, noticing a large black Autobot insignia on the side of one of the thrusters of the ship.
Both bots covered their optics, and Raf his eyes, as the ship landed and spread a great deal of dust around them. As the legs of the ship was placed firmly on the ground, an escalator emerged from the underside of the ship, with a bunch of bots standing on it. It took almost no time at all to recognize the bots, as well as the two humans standing below them.
"Raf!" Miko shouted and got off the escalator, running over to Raf.
Realizing they were the others, Raf ran towards them as well, stopping shortly before Miko grabbed him and lifted him into the air in a tight hug. Raf huffed and chuckled at the strong grip. She soon let the boy down, and Jack joined them.
"Girl's got a grip, doesn't she?" Jack joked. The two boys clasped each other's hands and embraced in another hug before turning their attention back to the bots.
Ratchet and Bumblebee both gazed at Arcee, Bulkhead and Wheeljack at the escalator. "You're alive," Ratchet said quietly in relief.
The three bots stepped off the escalator and revealed Ultra Magnus behind them. Ratchet looked astounded at him.
"Ultra Magnus?" he gasped in surprise.
"Doctor," Ultra Magnus greeted.
The three Seekers ended up staying in the oil bath for the remainder of the night and a good portion of the morning. Thundercracker and Skywarp weren't as tired as Starscream, so they kept awake for the duration of Starscream's recharge. They didn't try to wake him until they got a comm. from Dreadwing. Skywarp decided to just lazily bat Starscream's pede with his own.
"Scream, wake up," Skywarp said.
Starscream jolted awake by the touch and the sound and opened his optics wide, blinking a few times while looking from side to side before setting on his Trinemates.
"How long was I out?" he asked and stretched out.
"Few hours maybe?" Thundercracker replied and rose up. "Come on, Dreadwing just comm'ed."
Skywarp rose as well. "Looks like the Predacon's returned," he said. "Gotta check this out."
Starscream slowly got onto his pedes as well. As the three Seekers emerged from the pool, they shook off most of the oil and went to wipe themselves dry though without buffing this time. As they got onto the flight deck, Starscream paused.
"Knock Out said I shouldn't fly for a week," Starscream informed them. "Maybe I should just stay behind..."
"Nope," Skywarp said and grabbed him.
Before Starscream could protest, the two of them were on the top of the spire. A few seconds later, Thundercracker arrived, transformed and joined them. Starscream wrist himself out of Skywarp's grip and snarled at him. His frown disappeared as he saw the Predacon crouched before them with Shockwave examining it, apparently injured and without any bits of Autobot on it. Megatron stood in front of his throne with his arms crossed, seemingly disappointed. Starscream smirked gleefully.
"So, it seems the beast was unsuccessful, I suppose?" Starscream commented with glee.
Megatron only briefly side-glanced at Starscream before returning his gaze to the Predacon before him. Shockwave silently stroke the beast's neck to calm it. Dreadwing stood by Megatron's side and watched in silence as well. Having no one to stop him, Starscream decided to continue talking.
"What a grave disappointment this must be for you, Master," Starscream said with his Trinemates standing on either side of him, just by the foot of the stairs to the throne. "And to make matters worse, because it cannot speak, we have no way of knowing why the Predacon failed so miserably."
The Predacon was mostly paying attention to Shockwave's care, but as it heard Starscream talking about it, it turned its head to him, listening to his hurtful words.
"Poor mute, mindless creature," Starscream mocked with a silky voice. It was really meant to mock Shockwave, as it was his creation and thus his failure, but the Predacon snarled lowly in anger and hatred at his words. Starscream did not know it understood what he was saying and was hurt by his mockery of it.
Dreadwing, getting tired of Starscream's comments, left Megatron's side and approached the Trine. Starscream cringed internally but kept his stand confident with raised wings and servos behind his back.
"Starscream, you are on monitor duty from now on and until we locate the Autobots," Dreadwing informed the smaller Seeker. He turned to Thundercracker and Skywarp. "You two will be patrolling in the north and west respectively."
The Seekers looked surprised at Dreadwing. He's splitting us up? Starscream thought anxiously. Why? So he can get me without their interference?
"Soundwave will keep an eye on you," Dreadwing added to Starscream. "Lord Megatron said so. Get to it."
Starscream held back a gulp and let his arms fall to his sides. "V-very well," he said and tried not to stutter. "Skywarp."
Without another word, Skywarp held on Starscream's shoulder, and in the next second they both disappeared, having teleported back to the flight deck on the Nemesis. Skywarp let go of Starscream's shoulder as the latter began heading indoors.
"Take care, Screamer," Skywarp said and reverted to jet mode. "See ya later."
With that, Skywarp took off to the west. Starscream looked up and saw Thundercracker taking off in jet mode towards the north. He was alone now. Again.
"Monitor duty," Starscream grumbled and entered the warship, heading for the command center. "At least this will let my wings recover for the time being."
As he reached the command center, he greeted Soundwave briefly with his name before positioning himself in front of a monitor and watched it.
And did that for the next sixteen hours.
Back at the Harbinger, around noon, the bots and kids were chatting and checking out Bumblebee's new black repaint.
"Whaddya think?" Bumblebee asked and posed. "Cool, huh?"
"New paintjob looks good, Bee," Bulkhead said with admiration.
"At least you had something to work with," Arcee said. "If I reversed my colors, I'd be pink."
"Aw, that's not so bad," Bumblebee assured her.
While they were chatting, Ratchet was talking to Ultra Magnus about the equipment of the Harbinger.
"The communications link needs further calibration to be compatible with Autobot frequencies," Ratchet informed. "The GroundBridge, however, is fully operational."
"That would have come in handy when robo-dragon was trying to eat us for breakfast," Miko commented, despite Jack's hand gestures trying to keep her quiet.
Ratchet and Ultra Magnus stared at her in bewilderment. "The indigenous population of this planet," Ultra Magnus commented, "do they all display the same disregard for authority?"
"No," Ratchet replied. "Mostly just Miko."
They heard the rattle of helicopter approaching and looked behind them. A well-known helicopter was slowly but steadily coming their way. Ultra Magnus, not knowing if it was a Decepticon or not, reverted his servos into blasters similar to Optimus' ion cannons. He leapt a few steps forward and charged up his blasters, but the other Autobots stepped in front of him.
"No!" Ratchet exclaimed.
"Don't shoot!" Arcee proclaimed.
"It's Fowler," Bulkhead said. "He's with us!"
The helicopter soon landed, spreading dust around it, and the kids ran over to it. From the helicopter emerged June Darby and Agent Fowler. June ran over and embraced Jack while sobbing of relief that her son was okay. She pulled back and held her hands on his cheeks.
"It's okay, mom," Jack said with a smile. "I'm fine."
Afterwards, Miko and Raf also received a hug from June before she said: "Your families are safe. Agent Fowler saw to it that Jasper was evacuated in time."
In the meantime, Agent Fowler joined with the Autobots. "Sorry it took so long," he said. "My jet's been missing for over two weeks, and it's the only one I can ride in without a flight suit. So I'm using my chopper for now, it's almost as good."
"If we get the time, I shall gladly modify another jet for you, Agent Fowler," Ratchet replied. "It would be no trouble at all."
"I appreciate the thought, doc," Agent Fowler replied and looked around. "Prime's not here?"
"The only signals Ultra Magnus was able to isolate are standing right here," Arcee replied.
"Maybe his scanner's faulty," Wheeljack accused.
"So the kids unaccounted for..." Bulkhead drawled out.
"Smokescreen bridged out unaccompanied," Ratchet said. "Only Optimus knows where." Which actually wasn't true, as it had been Ratchet who bridged him out, but perhaps he forgot because of the whole situation. "And Optimus... remained behind," he continued with a sad tone. "To destroy the GroundBridge, to... ensure that everyone else made it to safety."
"I... watched the base go down," Agent Fowler informed solemnly. "No one or thing walked out of there."
"Not that we could see," June protested.
"Even if Prime survived, I'm not sure we can afford to wait for him to show up," Agent Fowler pointed out. "Not with Megatron holding our planet hostage from his high and mighty perch of Darkmount."
"I would be inclined to agree with the native life form," Ultra Magnus said and stepped forward, drawing everyone's attention. "We must stop Megatron, with or without Optimus Prime."
Everyone gathered around to listen to Magnus' speech, including the humans.
"We must do everything in our power to ensure Megatron's downfall," Magnus continued. "But we will need to be smart about it."
"Wow," Wheeljack said offended. "Who put Shoulder-Pads in command?"
"Temporary command," Jack ensured, though without being completely sure himself.
"Ultra Magnus is the only logical choice," Ratchet said. "He was trained by Optimus and served as his commanding officer throughout the war for Cybertron."
"Now," Ultra Magnus continued, "unless there is any further objection, soldier," he added to Wheeljack and turned back to his ship, "please follow me."
The other bots followed behind Ultra Magnus, back into his ship. "Aye-aye, Cap'n," Wheeljack said sarcastically as he followed behind.
As they all got inside the ship, Ultra Magnus went and opened a wall, revealing a secret cache of weapons of various caliper. There were large guns, small guns, bombs, melee weapons, energy weapons and more.
"Autobots," Ultra Magnus announced and stepped aside to let the others take in the sight of the weapons. "Take your pick."
"Now you're speaking my language," Wheeljack said with a smirk, "sir."
With that, the Autobots began gearing up for battle.
At noon, all the way up north in the cold regions of Canada, Swindle was struggling forward on the roads, even though there wasn't a lot of traffic at the moment. He and his fellow Combaticons had been searching for over a week now and still hadn't found any signs of either Vortex or Blast-Off. They had only occasionally stopped to rest for a few hours before moving on, and they hadn't refueled even once since being sent off by Megatron. In all that time, they had only rarely assumed bot mode to stretch their limbs, otherwise they had just stayed in vehicle mode all nine days.
"It just had to be the Fliers who are the hardest to find, didn't it, James?" Swindle complained to his holographic driver. "I can't take this much longer! I'm tired, I'm hungry, I'm sore, I'm dirty and I haven't found as much as a clue as to where Vortex and Blast-Off are! It's driving me crazy, I tell you, crazy!"
James remained silent, as he was but a mere hologram. But he was the only one Swindle had to talk to.
"And to make matters worse, Brawl and Onslaught haven't reported in since we took off either," Swindle muttered. "I mean, I haven't reported either, but there's not much point in making a report when you haven't found anything. If we don't find either of them soon, I'll have to risk Megatron's wrath and steal Energon from one of the mines. I hope he'll understand, I can't-"
Suddenly, an energy signal popped up on Swindle's radar, and he silenced. He pulled to a stop in the middle of the road, as there was no traffic at the moment, and stared at the radar.
"It can't be..." he whispered in disbelief. "Is it really...?"
He heard the rattle from a helicopter and moved his side-mirrors up to look above him. What seemed to be a white helicopter hovered several hundred meters above him, heading east. The sudden energy signal moved in the same direction as the helicopter. Swindle wanted to scream.
"Heureka!" Swindle exclaimed and made a U-turn to head off in the same direction as the helicopter was going. "Finally! I found him!"
Following the helicopter close behind, driving as fast as he could to keep up and predict in which direction it was going, Swindle opened his comm. link to report in to Onslaught and Brawl.
"Swindle reporting in," Swindle said, barely able to control his ecstacy. "Do you read me, Captain?"
"I hear you, Swindle," Onslaught's voice sounded from the comm. "Have you found anyone?"
"Yes! You bet I found someone! You and Brawl convey to my position immediately! I've found Vortex! I'm pursuing him right now! We're going home, guys! We're going home!"