The Good, the Bad and Starscream

by StoryTimeWithZora

What if Starscream hadn't revealed himself as Cliffjumper's killer and did join the Autobots after all? And how do you tame a wild, unpredictable and traitorous Seeker, who even Megatron couldn't control? The Autobots test their patience and determination in taming the former Decepticon. Arcee ends up befriending their new comrade. Starscream laments his past, Jetfire and Megatron.

27. Rebellion

CHAPTER 27

Rebellion

---

Starscream stood restlessly and stared at the monitor. The monitor which hadn't detected any signals of any kind for the entire day. He had been standing and staring at the screen for over eight hours now, and he was incredibly bored. Had he still had his puzzles from the Autobot base, such a demeaning job would have been easier to deal with. Heck, had he still been a First Lieutenant, perhaps he would have been allowed to do as he pleased and leave Soundwave for monitor duty.

But no, he was but a mere captain with orders from Dreadwing to stand there and do nothing. All day. It was beginning to drive him crazy.

Having nothing to do, Starscream often ended up zoning out and fall into deep thoughts, barely even paying attention to the screen anymore. His thoughts fell to back when he was still a prisoner of the Autobots. In the first month of his stay with them, he had also had nothing to do all day but pace around his cell with stasis cuffs on his wrists, the first week even with a wing clamp on, which had been completely unnecessary and painful for him.

Starscream wasn't a patient bot, even when he tried to be. If he absolutely had to wait a long time for something, he wanted to at least pace around, allow his body to do something instead of just standing still all day. In this case, however, he wasn't sure if he would be allowed to pace around, what with Soundwave keeping an optic on him, as well as the occasional visit in the command center from Megatron, Shockwave and Dreadwing. He didn't want to give himself unnecessary attention.

"Starscream!" Megatron's voice suddenly sounded.

Starscream jolted and looked from side to side and behind him. Megatron was currently absent in the command center. He looked back to his right and saw Soundwave staring intently at the Seeker. The intelligence officer had apparently replayed a recording of one of Megatron's shoutings at Starscream, seeing the Seeker had been about to doze off.

"My apologies," Starscream said embarrassed and returned his gaze to the screen and cursed inwardly. Soundwave didn't necessarily hate Starscream like everyone else did, but he took his jobs seriously, including keeping Starscream awake and alert and on task, as well as making sure he didn't go against Megatron's orders.

What a teacher's pet, Starscream thought annoyed to himself.

A beeping sounded from the monitor, perking Starscream alert. It was from Onslaught.

"Lord Megatron, do you read?" Onslaught's voice sounded from the monitor, a voice Starscream hadn't heard in eons.

"Lord Megatron is currently occupied," Starscream replied with a bored tone.

"Starscream? Is that you?" sounded Swindle's voice on the same comm. "You're back on the winning team! Nice!"

"What do you want?" Starscream grumpily asked.

"We have located Vortex and rescued him," Onslaught replied. "We would like to request a GroundBridge at our current location so we can return with him."

Starscream held back a gulp. The Combaticons were coming back. Great. More bots to hate him. He sighed and turned to Soundwave.

"Open a GroundBridge to the flight deck," Starscream said to the silent mech.

Soundwave nodded and took note of the Combaticons' position, then proceeded to open a GroundBridge on the flight deck, currently unseeable by those in the command center. A few seconds later, the Combaticons' signals disappeared from their location on the monitor in the north, instead appearing on the warship.

The Combaticons were back.

---

Swindle, Onslaught and Brawl put in all their strength to carry the white helicopter through the portal and onto the flight deck. It had taken all afternoon for Onslaught and Brawl to join Swindle way up in Canada, both having scattered across the United States. Swindle, in the meantime, had had to be quick and stealthy to follow after the military helicopter until it landed, and then wait all day for his comrades to arrive.

Once regrouped, the three Combaticons had invaded the army base the helicopter had landed in, destroying the humans' other military vehicles and aircrafts, as well as the facility itself. Even some of the humans ended up perishing in the process. Only the white helicopter remained unscathed. Afterwards, it was only a simple call to the warship to request a GroundBridge back, so they could revive Vortex, get some Energon, maybe an oil bath, and then a good long night's recharge.

But upon entering the flight deck, the Combaticons were shocked to be met by the face of a Predacon.

"What in the name of the fifth moon of Pz-Zazz?!" Swindle exclaimed. "When did we get a Predacon?!"

The Predacon was crouched in a corner, seemingly resting, but rose its head upon noticing the newcomers. It rattled calmly, studying the three bots carrying a dusty, worn white helicopter. Swindle didn't feel all too comfortable about its interest in them.

"At ease, Swindle," Onslaught said calmly, noticing the smaller bot's concern. "It must be part of some new project of Lord Megatron's. Let us just put down Vortex and get an Energon cube for him."

They put down the helicopter but didn't leave right away. They looked from the helicopter to the Predacon, still staring at them in interest while emitting a low rattle.

"Maybe one of us should stay behind," Swindle suggested, "just in case that Predacon decides it wants helicopter for dinner."

"Good idea," Brawl said and walked ahead with Onslaught.

"See you in a moment," Onslaught said.

Swindle stiffened. "Wait, I didn't mean me!" he exclaimed, but they had already passed the Predacon and entered the warship. The Predacon glanced briefly at the two bigger bots before returning its gaze to the smaller one. Its rattle sounded as if it was getting louder.

Swindle gulped and forced a smile on his face. "H-hello there, big guy," he said in a painfully sweet, almost condescending tone. "Don't pay me any mind, I'm just a harmless little Combaticon, just stay over there and let me get behind here..."

Swindle walked slowly backwards until he had hidden himself behind the white helicopter. Unfortunately this only seemed to pique the Predacon's interest, as it lifted its head from the ground and moved one of its large talons, seemingly ready to stand up. Swindle cringed.

"No, no! No need to get up!" Swindle exclaimed and tried to stay out of the beast's sight, but it only rose to another talon, moving its head from side to side, following Swindle's movements.

Scrap, scrap, scrap, Swindle thought anxiously. I leave the warship for one week, and suddenly we have a giant fortress and a PREDACON?! What else have we missed?

Fortunately it didn't take too long before Onslaught and Brawl returned with five cubes, Brawl carrying three and Onslaught carrying two. As the two Combaticons exited the hangar, the Predacon gazed at them and the cubes with renewed interest. It didn't get all the way up, but didn't get back down either. It stood on its front legs while still sitting on its hind legs, its tail curled around itself and its wings folded.

"Oh, good, you're back," Swindle said with relief and got out from his cover to welcome his comrades. "What took you so long?"

"We met Lord Megatron and Shockwave on the way," Onslaught said and placed his two cubes on the floor. "Apparently it is a clone Shockwave created on Cybertron from fossilized remains. He says it's completely under his control, so we have no reason to worry about it."

Swindle glanced concerned at the Predacon, tilting its head and rattling. "Easy for him to say," Swindle said quietly.

Brawl put down two of his cubes on the floor but kept the third one in his servos. "Enough talk, let's wake up Vortex," Brawl said impatiently.

Onslaught nodded. "Indeed," he said and accepted the cube from Brawl. "Now we finally have a Flier to help us."

Before Onslaught could give the helicopter Energon, however, Swindle blocked his path.

"Wait, wait, wait," Swindle said and waved his servos. "Maybe we should get the rubsign off him first, before we wake him up?"

Onslaught and Brawl shared glances before looking back at the small bot. "Alright, do you know where his insignia is at the moment?" Onslaught asked calmly.

Swindle paused and turned to the helicopter. He gulped and chuckled nervously while scratching his head.

"Uh... no," he said embarrassed. "I suppose... it will be easier when he's in robot mode..."

"You're afraid he will berate you because of the fact that your rubsigns put us all into dormancy, aren't you?" Onslaught asked, though not really a question.

Swindle huffed and loosened his smile but didn't answer. He just stepped out of the way to let Onslaught pass.

"Any crevices will accept the Energon, as I've learned," Swindle informed his leader. "You can just pour the whole thing onto him."

"Noted," Onslaught replied.

Onslaught found a good place and started pouring the Energon cube's contents onto the helicopter. Behind them, the Predacon tilted its head in confusion and curiosity, watching intently what the bots were doing. Soon, the cube was empty and placed on the floor beside the full ones. The Combaticons stepped back, watched and waited.

"How long does it take before he wakes up?" Onslaught asked.

"Beats me," Swindle said with a shrug. "You and Brawl took several minutes to wake up. I myself, not really sure, but probably about the same length. Shouldn't be too long."

They stood for several minutes and waited. The Predacon watched for about a minute or two, waiting for something to happen, before losing interest and laying back down completely. Swindle briefly gazed at it as it lazily watched them but seemed to be about to fall asleep.

"There, look," Brawl said and pointed, drawing their attention.

They watched as the white helicopter's scratches began fading away, as well as changing its color scheme. To their surprise, the white helicopter began turning into a sandy beige and salmon color scheme, different from the others' formerly grayish tones. Swindle hummed.

"Maybe he's so underfueled that he was whitening instead of graying?" Swindle muttered lowly.

"You mean he might have taken too much damage?" Onslaught said in disbelief.

"Maybe," Swindle said and shrugged.

The next moment, the sandy helicopter began splitting up and rearranging itself until a grayish-brown bot with a pinkish torso stood before them. His face was covered by a yellow visor and a rose mouth mask, the same color as the rest of his reddish helm. Four narrow pink rotor-blades peeked up from behind his back like wings, two pointing up and two pointing down. The Predacon looked up by the strange sound and gazed at the scene in renewed interest. The rotor-bot held a servo on his head and groaned.

"Ow, my aching motherboard," he complained. "What happened?"

"Vortex!" Swindle said cheerfully with spread arms. "You're awake! Thank the AllSpark!"

Vortex looked around at his comrades. "Did you fix the Harbinger?" he asked confused. "We up and runnin' again?"

"No, Vortex," Onslaught replied. "This is not the Harbinger. This is the Nemesis. Lord Megatron returned to Earth decades ago. You have been dormant since before his return."

Vortex' facial expression couldn't be seen, but the rotors on his back twitched at the notion. "Dormant? But how? What happened?"

"You still have your insignia on your chest, right?" Swindle asked and approached Vortex. Before the copter-bot could answer, Swindle grabbed something invisible on his chest and ripped off a rubsign, revealing his purple Decepticon insignia underneath. Vortex yelped in surprise.

"Hey, gimme a warnin' next time!" Vortex exclaimed. "Wait, that rubsign... you gave me that, Swindle! Is this whole thing your fault?!"

Swindle put on a wide, toothy smirk and hid the rubsign behind his back. "For your information, I too was duped," he protested. "I have been dormant as long as all of you. Give or take a few months, perhaps. But I swear, I didn't know the rubsigns were-"

"Enough talk," Brawl repeated. "Let's fuel!"

Vortex and Swindle sighed and decided to let the subject go. Swindle threw the rubsign on the floor and accepted an Energon cube, as did Vortex and Onslaught, and Brawl picked up one for himself. The Predacon rattled calmly behind them, observing the scene. The four Combaticons held up their cubes in the air.

"To the Combaticons," Onslaught toasted. "And to the imminent return of Bruticus!"

---

Throughout the afternoon, the Autobots at the Harbinger were gearing up for battle. They brought the ammunition from Ultra Magnus' ship, the Iron Will, into the lab of the Decepticon ship. They had been surprised about finding five intact Protoforms in the lab, and some were eager to get them online.

"Autobots," Ultra Magnus announced. "We remain vastly outnumbered, and despite ammunitions, do not currently possess the firepower necessary to compromise the Decepticon citadel."

"Then why not activate the Protoforms?" Bulkhead asked and pointed at the white forms in the pods. "Sir," he added.

"Yeah, more bots to kick Decepticon tailpipe!" Miko said enthusiastically.

Ratchet sighed of annoyance. "As I have already explained to Bumblebee and Rafael," he said, "the Protoforms will not be combat-ready upon immediate activation. Even with whatever basic information they have installed in their processors, they will be as useful in battle as the Vehicons are. They would simply end up as cannon fodder, and considering the fact that we are, as Ultra Magnus said, vastly outnumbered, we cannot afford to lose this chance."

"The doctor is correct," Ultra Magnus said in agreement. "When this battle is over, and if we win and survive it, we shall find a time to awaken them, when there is enough time for us to train them properly."

The bots nodded in agreement. "I guess that makes sense," Wheeljack replied. "So what? We're just gonna have to be on low firepower?"

"Not necessarily," Agent Fowler said from below. "Uncle Sam's military has enough firepower to take down that fortress. I just can't let them make a move as long as Megatron's ray guns are pointed at Washington."

"Then we must infiltrate Darkmount," Ultra Magnus decided, "in order to nullify its fusion cannons."

"Unfortunately it seems the fortress is heavily shielded against unauthorized GroundBridges," Ratchet informed and pointed at the images of Darkmount and the Nemesis, "even those originating from Decepticon technology."

"Guess we'll have to sneak past enemy lines," Wheeljack said with flicking winglets and punched his fists together, "Wrecker-style."

"I couldn't deal with 'Wrecker-style' back on Cybertron," Ultra Magnus said sternly, "and I refuse to deal with it here."

Wheeljack hummed in disappointment.

"Now, we require a means of thinning the Decepticon ranks to even the odds," Ultra Magnus continued, "if we're to have any hope of completing this mission. Or of surviving it."

They went silent for a while to think about Ultra Magnus' words. They didn't have a big chance of success here. With Optimus and Smokescreen gone, not to mention Starscream, there were only five Autobots available for participating in the upcoming battle. And with Starscream's information that the Decepticons had just gained three of the five Combaticons back on their team, as well as their new Predacon and four Seekers, they knew they were indeed vastly outnumbered and outpowered. But it was all they had, and they had to make use of it.

"I have an idea," Ratchet announced, gaining the others' attention. "But it comes with certain risks. Such as the possibility that the Decepticons will discover our current hideout."

"Well, I didn't expect us to make this our permanent base anyway," Arcee commented.

"Where else could we go though?" Bumblebee bleeped concerned.

"We don't really have a base B anywhere," Bulkhead pointed out.

"I can take care of that," Agent Fowler informed. "I've already got people clearing out one of the hangars back at the military base so you bots can have a place to stay."

The Autobots looked surprised at the human, then smiled at each other.

"Agent Fowler," Ratchet said.

"No need to thank me," Agent Fowler replied. "You bots have done so much for our planet. This is the least we can do to pay you back."

Ultra Magnus turned his attention back to Ratchet. "Tell us about your idea, doctor," he requested.

---

Eight more hours passed. Still nothing of interest, perhaps other than the fact that the Combaticons had returned, Vortex having been revived and the four of them sharing Energon cubes and an oil bath together, before heading off to their new quarters for a good long night's worth of recharge. After reporting in to Megatron first, of course, so the warlord could welcome them back and welcome Vortex to the team.

Onslaught had requested of Megatron that his team be allowed at least three days' rest and recovery, so they could form a plan on how to locate Blast Off, as this one would no doubt be the hardest one to find. Megatron granted the Combaticons permission and dismissed them.

Starscream did not have as much fun as Swindle and the others though. He had on more than one occasion been about to doze off, only awoken by Soundwave's recording of Megatron's angry voice yelling the Seeker's name.

Now, it wasn't that Soundwave wasn't doing anything himself during all this time. He did have his own monitor to watch over, but he kept a close optic on Starscream to make sure this one didn't slack off.

Dreadwing had decided to return to the warship, apparently having patrolled the area for a while, and was now watching over another monitor in the other side of the command center by the entrance. Megatron and Shockwave had entered just a little while ago and were standing by the main monitor across the catwalk, silently conversing together, out of Starscream's hearing range. No doubt talking about him behind his back.

Starscream let out a sigh of boredom. Please, let there be an attack somewhere so I can get out of this place, he thought irritated, getting just about enough of the silence and nothingness. Though even if something did happen, he couldn't fly at the moment, but that information had slipped his mind at the time.

Suddenly, a beeping appeared on the monitor Starscream was standing by. He flinched by the sound and stared at the screen. It was a headshot of Jack, the signal coming from somewhere in the middle of the country. Starscream moped for a few seconds before letting out a chuckle. Finally, something interesting was happening!

"I knew the humans couldn't resist using their telecommunications," Starscream snickered. "That is all they seem to do."

Turning around, a group of Vehicons stood, ready for something to do. Dreadwing ignored them, apparently busy with his own monitor.

"Seek and destroy," Starscream said to the Vehicon Fliers, who immediately left. Truthfully, he did not actually want them to destroy Jack, but given that he was a Decepticon again, and with Soundwave watching him from the right, as well as Megatron's punishment the previous day, he had to make himself useful and reliable.

Barely five minutes later, another signal popped up on his monitor, this time being Miko, located all the way up in the northeastern-most corner of the country. Starscream gaped for a moment before chuckling merrily.

"Humans," he snickered and turned to a group of Vehicon Grounders, also ready for action. "Stand by to GroundBridge."

Soundwave placed a servo on Starscream's left shoulder, drawing his attention. The silent mech pointed at the screen, at the two signals of humans being so far apart from each other and having appeared within minutes of each other. It did seem rather suspicious, but Starscream wasn't deterred. He was just glad something was actually happening.

"Soundwave, why can't you accept a little good fortune?" Starscream sighed. "The Autobots couldn't possibly stay hidden forever."

Despite the suspicion, Soundwave opened a GroundBridge to the new location, letting the Vehicon troopers out. Dreadwing still didn't engage, but he did turn his head slightly, as if listening to what was happening on Starscream's end.

Nothing happened the next five minutes, until suddenly a Decepticon distress signal popped up on Starscream's monitor.

"Decepticon command, do you read?" sounded the voice of a Vehicon, laced with static. "We are under Autobot attack!"

"It's one of our Energon mines," Starscream gasped, not realizing the light voice actually belonged to the human Jack. He opened a comm. to the Insecticon hive. "Insecticons! Prepare for battle!"

Now Dreadwing turned his head over to look at Starscream and Soundwave. Something seemed to be wrong here. How could Starscream suddenly get three different signals, two from enemy signatures and one of an Autobot attack, all within barely ten minutes?

A few minutes after the Insecticons had been dispatched via GroundBridge, to get to the attacked mine immediately, another transmission from the same mine opened on the monitor.

"There must be some mistake, Captain Starscream," a Vehicon with a deeper voice said on the comm. "The mine is not under attack."

Starscream moped dumbfounded at the screen in confusion, not even finding it in himself to cringe at the captain title.

"What?" Starscream exclaimed. "How can that-"

"Starscream!" Megatron's real voice growled from across the catwalk, making Starscream flinch and yelp in surprise. "Explain why my forces are scattering across this globe!"

Starscream slowly approached the catwalk, as Dreadwing finally turned all the way around and glared at the smaller Seeker.

"Renegade Autobot mischief, Lord Megatron," Starscream defended. "I am in the process of deducing how they are infiltrating our communications systems without a base of-"

Soundwave announced he had found out where the strange signals had come from. On his visor appeared the location of a half-broken Decepticon ship Starscream had not seen for several months.

"The Harbinger?" Starscream gasped.

Megatron slowly turned and glared at Starscream. "You left abandoned Decepticon technology fully operational and unsecured?!" Megatron yelled.

Starscream let out a lot of illegible noises, not knowing what to say. I was captured! he thought but could not get it out. And I wasn't the only one there, Airachnid was there too! SHE was the one inside the ship, not ME! But of course, Airachnid was currently trapped in a stasis pod, making Starscream the only one for Megatron to yell at. Just like always.

"Allow me to handle this, Master," Dreadwing said from behind the smaller Seeker, pushing this one aside before turning back to his own monitor and turning on a comm. "All troops to the flight deck! Your target is the Decepticon ship, the Harbinger! You are to obliterate it at once!"

Starscream glared at Dreadwing. All this time, the big Seeker had kept quiet, letting Starscream make a fool out of himself, just so the First Lieutenant could step up and prove himself more reliable and competent than Starscream? Thick-headed moron, Starscream thought annoyed.

"The troops are in position," Dreadwing announced and turned to Soundwave. "Open a GroundBridge to the Harbinger."

Suddenly, blasts were heard and the ship began trembling. The main monitor in front of them showed the image of Darkmount and two areas where the fortress had been damaged. They were under attack!

"Since it would seem that Darkmount is presently under attack," Megatron growled at the two Seekers, "kindly redirect all efforts toward ensuring that our invaders are eradicated!"

"At once, my liege," Dreadwing replied and went back on the comm. "Correction: attack the Autobot invaders immediately!"

"Starscream," Megatron growled at the smaller Seeker, gaining his attention. "Call Thundercracker and Skywarp back immediately!"

"Right away, Lord Megatron!" Starscream squeaked and stepped away from the large, dark mechs and opened a comm. to his Trinemates. "Thundercracker, Skywarp, do you read me?"

"Hey, Scream, what's up?" Skywarp's joyful voice greeted on the comm. It sounded like he was having fun.

"Something wrong?" Thundercracker's more serious voice sounded on the comm., knowing Starscream wasn't just calling to say hi.

"Return to Darkmount immediately," Starscream ordered. "We are under Autobot attack!"

"What? The 'Bots are there?" Skywarp sounded shocked. "No way am I gonna let you have all the fun!"

"We'll be right there," Thundercracker replied. "Just hang on!"

The comm. ended and Starscream turned back to the others as another big blast shook the ship.

"They are on their way, should I-" Starscream stopped as he saw Megatron's furious expression.

Megatron didn't say anything. He just growled at Starscream, as if everything was his fault - which, in a sense, it actually was, but still. The warlord was so angry he couldn't find any words to express his anger with, so he just growled, like the Predacon. And like the Predacon, it didn't make him any less scary, making Starscream wince back.

"Lord Megatron," Shockwave said and took a step forward. "I accept that military considerations are outside of my domain. But perhaps it is once again time to release the Predacon."

Megatron nodded, still frowning. "Do it," he said. "I will be on Darkmount." Afterwards, he left the command center to enter the citadel.

Dreadwing put a digit to his audio receptor as Megatron left. "Troops, fall back," he ordered. "And give the Predacon some space."

Shockwave opened a comm. and ordered the Vehicons at the hangar to release the Predacon. They watched together on the screen as the Predacon emerged from the flight deck and set off to attack the Autobots. Behind them, the door to the command center opened, and in stepped the four Combaticons.

"What's going on?" Onslaught asked.

"Are we under attack?" Vortex asked eagerly. "Can we be part of the fun?"

"Quiet," Dreadwing said without looking at them, keeping his gaze on the monitor showing the Predacon on the move.

Starscream glanced back and made optic contact with Swindle, who immediately noticed his presence and smiled and waved at him, though without saying anything. Starscream snorted and turned his gaze back to the monitor.

On the monitor, they saw an Autobot ship they hadn't seen before, appear out of nowhere and shoot the Predacon to the ground. The Predacon soon got up again and chased after the strange ship. But just as the beast was about to catch up with the ship, a GroundBridge portal suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The ship turned upwards and avoided the portal, but the Predacon didn't react in time and went through it, disappearing from the battle.

Starscream couldn't help but smirk at the sight as the portal closed, leaving the Predacon who-knows-where. "Oh well," he commented silently and looked at Shockwave.

Shockwave, though having an emotionless face, perked his audio receptors and turned promptly to leave the command center, his EM field radiating fury.

"That's right, go off and sulk, why don't you," Starscream snickered at the fuming Cyclops.

Dreadwing turned to the Combaticons. "Don't just stand there," he snarled. "Go out there and fight back the Autobots!"

The Combaticons looked stumped for a moment, but then nodded. "Yessir!" they said in choir before leaving the command center promptly.

Dreadwing looked at Starscream, the two of them now alone, Soundwave having gone off somewhere. Starscream gulped at the bigger Seeker's gaze. How long would it take for Skywarp and Thundercracker to arrive? How long had it been since he called them back? How far away were they? Would Dreadwing make an attempt on Starscream's life now that they were alone in an enclosed space and Starscream being unable to fly because of his injured wings?

"Starscream," Dreadwing snarled.

Starscream perked. "Yes?" he said, barely in a whisper.

"Go out there and make yourself useful."

Dreadwing turned and left the command center, Starscream now alone. He moped for a moment before deciding to follow suit.

It was time to engage in battle.

---

As Starscream reached the flight deck, Dreadwing had already taken off to the sky to face the Autobots. Starscream scouted over the battlefield. He could spot the beige and pink colors of Vortex in helicopter mode, shooting after the Autobots on the ground by the foot of Darkmount. Dreadwing too was firing at the bots below. Starscream could see the white glow of a large energy whip from his position, as well as the blue shots from a laser gun. He sharpened his optical sensors to see who were below them.

"Two of them," he muttered to himself. "Seems to be Bulkhead and Wheeljack. Where could the others be? Inside the fortress, maybe?"

He gazed to the fortress, seeing just a glimpse of olive, gray and blue disappearing into the interior. The other Combaticons seemed to have decided to take on the intruders in the citadel, however many that might be.

Starscream gazed up at the sound of jet engines approaching and spotted Thundercracker and Skywarp appearing from two different directions. Instead of meeting up with Starscream, they simply joined Dreadwing and Vortex in fighting back the two Wreckers on the ground. Four Fliers, three of them Seekers, against two Autobots. The odds were not in the Autobots' favor. Even as they used the energy whip and laser gun to counter the enemy fire.

Starscream looked back at the fortress. If two of the Autobots were on the ground and there weren't anyone else around, that must mean at least two, maybe even five or six Autobots - assuming the strange ship they saw before belonged to a new arrival - were inside the fortress. But these six Autobots would be faced with three Combaticons, possibly even Shockwave and Megatron. Then again, would the majority of the intruders go into the fortress and let only two distract the Decepticons from the outside?

If the intruders in the fortress were any less than five - assuming Ratchet would stay behind on the Harbinger to assist the others - then the Autobots stood no chance against the Decepticon forces. Even without the Vehicon troopers or Insecticons, there were eight elites to face them, not including Megatron or Starscream himself - and especially not including that pesky Predacon which was now out of the picture. Last time Starscream checked, the Autobots only had seven members, and that was including Ratchet and the seemingly missing Optimus Prime.

"Without Prime, the Autobots stand no chance against Lord Megatron," Starscream muttered to himself. "It's over for them. I don't even need to fight. Not that I would be of any use anyway..."

Indeed, barely an hour had passed since the siege began, and Starscream could already see Shockwave descending to the ground below, reverting to his Cybertronian tank mode and firing his fusion cannon at Wheeljack and Bulkhead. Having four Fliers and a fusion cannon blasting at them, they soon fell before their adversaries and was taken captive. Starscream sighed at the sight.

This battle was as good as over, and it had barely even started.

---

Inside the fortress, Arcee and Bumblebee were struggling forward to reach their goal: the power core which powered the fusion cannons. If they could just reach it before any of the stronger Decepticons arrived, they could disable the cannons and allow Agent Fowler and his Skystrikers to take out the fortress itself. But they were met by several Vehicons.

"Ultra Magnus to Stealth Team," Ultra Magnus' voice sounded from the comm. "Status report."

"Having a little trouble reaching the objective," Arcee replied as she hid behind one of the walls while shooting a long laser at another group of attacking Vehicons, while Bumblebee stood on the other side of the corridor, hiding behind both a wall and an energy shield. "Security is tighter than anticipated, sir."

"Keep them occupied," Ultra Magnus ordered and ended the comm.

After several minutes, Arcee decided to take a risk and left her cover to join Bumblebee on the other side. She did a somersault and dodged the Vehicons' lasers, landing safely behind Bumblebee's wall, waiting for the right moment to strike back as the Vehicons continued shooting at the wall.

Suddenly the Vehicons stopped firing. The Autobots dared peek forth from their cover, seeing the Vehicons standing by with their blasters but without firing them again. A sound came from in front of them and they turned their gazes forward.

Along with seven additional Vehicon troopers came three mechs they had not seen in a very long time. Two of them were large with cannons on their backs, one gray and the other blue and lime. The last one was smaller, about Bumblebee's height and stature, and olive green and purple. The small bot gave the Autobots a wide smirk like a certain Seeker they knew.

"Show's over, Autobots," Onslaught said, having Brawl on his right and Swindle on his left, with four Vehicons standing beside Swindle, and three Vehicons standing beside Brawl, all with their blasters out and pointed at the intruders. "Hands in the air."

"Scrap," Arcee swore as they were surrounded by Vehicons.

Arcee and Bumblebee stepped out from their cover and held their arms in the air. A pair of Vehicons went over and took the weapons and shield from them. Onslaught gestured with his own blaster.

"Follow us outside, please," he said, strangely polite for a Combaticon, for a Decepticon for that matter.

Arcee and Bumblebee cocked an optical ridge for a moment before Swindle clarified their situation.

"You better do as the boss says, Autobots," he said with a silky voice. "You don't want to annoy him."

The Autobots frowned but followed the Combaticons and Vehicons, heading through the corridors to arrive outside.

Their plan had failed. They had been captured.

Their chances of survival looked very bleak now.

---

By the time Starscream could see the Wreckers surrounded by the Seekers and Shockwave, and two other Autobots - Bumblebee and Arcee, it seemed - exiting the fortress, captured by the Combaticons, he knew the battle was truly over. He sighed.

"Looks like Optimus and Smokescreen didn't make it," he muttered to himself. "Unless Optimus is engaging Lord Megatron in battle in the fortress?"

Starscream saw Dreadwing transforming and taking off towards the peak of the citadel. Perhaps Megatron had called him there. Starscream had to check it out himself.

Starscream leapt off the warship and onto the nearest level of Darkmount. He calmly walked inside the fortress until he reached the elevator leading to the top. He went inside and waited, watching over the cloudy sky. It was dawn, and the sun had already begun rising. The battle itself hadn't taken very long, but nights in the desert seemed to be short, and he had spent almost the entire solar cycle staring at a monitor.

Soon he arrived at the top and stepped off the elevator, just in time to watch Megatron dragging a large blue and red Autobot, the size and build of Optimus Prime, along the floor. Starscream thought he looked familiar, and soon realized it was the one called Ultra Magnus, Optimus Prime's own second-in-command and a key lieutenant during the war for Cybertron. Starscream had not seen this mech since back on Cybertron, before he became a wanted fugitive by Megatron.

So he is the one who controls that new ship we saw, Starscream thought. But it seems even with the mighty Ultra Magnus on their side, the Autobots stand no chance against us. What a pity.

"All invaders have been taken captive, Master," Dreadwing said from the other side of the platform, with two Vehicon Grounders standing near him. "And there was no sign of Optimus Prime."

Megatron glanced from Dreadwing, briefly at Starscream, and gazed down at the fallen commander. "So tell me, Commander," Megatron growled at the Autobot. "Where might your leader be?"

Ultra Magnus didn't answer, simply grunted as he regained consciousness. Megatron growled and gave him a hard kick, throwing the Autobot a distance across the floor, dangerously close to the edge.

"I will not ask again," Megatron warned with a growl.

"If I knew..." Ultra Magnus groaned. "... I wouldn't tell you."

Megatron's frown changed into a vicious smile.

"Very well," he said calmly and drew forth his arm-blade on his right arm. He turned to Dreadwing to his right. "Execute our prisoners and fire each cannon at the nearest metropolis within its sights."

Starscream stood on Megatron's left and watched the scene with an empty feeling in his tanks. The Decepticons had won the battle, and the Autobots had no chance left of survival here.

Up until this point, Starscream had subconsciously hoped they would somehow make it out alive and in some way manage to take the Seeker back with them. That was why he had hesitated when finding the picture of Ratchet, or when he had allowed Wheeljack a chance to escape, or when he had contacted Miko twice to alert the Autobots about the new acquisitions of the Decepticons.

But now, standing here, watching the remains of Team Prime, captured and defeated, knowing Optimus Prime had likely perished and Smokescreen possibly still on the loose, as well as Ratchet being the only Autobot left to take care of Earth, Starscream now realized there was no chance the Autobots could win anymore. As soon as the intruders had been finished off, Dreadwing would order the troops to assault the Harbinger, and then Ratchet - and possibly the humans as well - would perish too, leaving the planet completely under the Decepticons' control. And even if Smokescreen was still alive, he alone could not possibly do anything to stop Megatron, even if he still had that Phase Shifter somehow.

Starscream sighed and put on a bitter expression. The Autobots were finished. The Decepticons had won. It was no use straying from Megatron's side anymore. Starscream was back where he started. And now he had to work even harder to rise in the ranks once again, until he could prove himself to be more worthy of the title of First Lieutenant than Dreadwing. It would be a long, hard and toilsome journey, but he had made it three times already. He could do it a fourth time.

"It is time to show the known universe that this planet belongs to Megatron," the warlord growled while holding the blade close to Ultra Magnus' neck cables.

Starscream looked up as he noticed something in front of the sun, having already risen a good distance into the sky. There seemed to be a black dot in the middle of the great light ball, and it seemed to be getting bigger.

"Master, something's coming," Starscream alerted, gaining Megatron and Dreadwing's attention.

Megatron removed the blade and watched the sky intently, as did Dreadwing. As the dot got closer, they could see a pair of thin wing-like protrusions pointing out from each side of the dot.

"The Predacon?" Megatron mused.

Starscream hummed with doubt. "Not beasty enough," he said and stepped back.

Megatron stepped forward to get a closer look. Ultra Magnus groaned below and slightly rose his upper body, also curious about the approaching object. Dreadwing took a few steps forward until he stood beside Ultra Magnus, while Starscream kept his distance. As the object got closer, they could see its coloration. Starscream felt a rush in his tanks. Despite the light from the sun behind it, the object approaching them seemed to be red and blue.

"I know that color-scheme," Starscream remarked, but doubted it was who he thought it was. It can't possibly be him, he thought with a racing Spark. Isn't he dead?

Megatron took a few more steps forward, almost all the way at the edge of the platform. He paused and stared wide-eyed with narrow pupils. He too recognized the color-scheme, as well as the build of the bot approaching them. He was now so close that they could make out the details, including his faceplate.

The bot approaching them was none other than Optimus Prime himself. He was alive. But something seemed to be off.

"Wait, he can't fly, can he?" Starscream asked in disbelief, noticing his body had also changed shape and size.

Before anyone could answer him, before anyone could even react, Optimus Prime landed on the edge of the platform and started his assault on Megatron. Megatron was too shocked to react in time, and was hit hard on the head, then got his right arm bashed away so he wouldn't fire his fusion cannon. Starscream stood and watched the two large bots moving across the floor, Megatron unable to retaliate against the newly upgraded Optimus Prime. Dreadwing stood on the other side and also watched with utter shock. The Vehicons present also just stood there and watched the scene unfolding before them without doing anything.

Optimus landed an uppercut on Megatron, pushing him back. He finished his assault by delivering a powerful punch to Megatron's abdomen, sending the warlord flying off towards his throne. The throne shattered as the warlord crashed into it, temporarily losing consciousness.

Finally getting over their shock by watching their master getting pushed around like a punching bag, the Vehicons drew their blasters and fired at Optimus. They were terrible marksmen and probably still shocked over the situation, so none of their red lasers hit even once on Optimus' armor. Optimus, in turn, drew forth a large, newly acquired machine gun from his back and started firing a cluster of blue lasers at the Vehicons, downing them all in seconds.

Dreadwing, also getting over his shock of Optimus' return, drew forth his own cannon and aimed it at Optimus. As he fired, though, Optimus swiftly dodged to the side. Starscream let out a scream as he just barely managed to jump out of the way to avoid the blast, shattering one of the walls adorning the platform.

"Starscream, you fool!" Dreadwing growled as Optimus prepared to retaliate. "Do something!"

Starscream whined as he rose to his pedes. In the next second, Optimus delivered a hard punch to Dreadwing's side. The Seeker didn't react in time and was thrown off the platform. He would probably be able to transform in time to save himself, but at least it saved them some time before he would return and assist his master.

Starscream stared wide-eyed in fear at the scene before him. He wanted to flee, but found himself frozen to the floor. He heard a noise behind him and turned, seeing Ultra Magnus having rosen to his own pedes. The Autobot lifted his arm and prepared to strike the small Seeker. Starscream let out a yelp and lowered his wings in fear.

"Ultra Magnus, stand down!" Optimus ordered and retracted his mouth mask. "He is with us."

Starscream stiffened and turned to look back at the robust Optimus, as did Ultra Magnus. Did Optimus just say what he thought he had said?

"... What...?" Starscream said quietly, not believing he had actually heard that.

Optimus turned all the way to the Seeker and the commander. "Go help the others, Starscream," Optimus said. "They need your help."

Starscream stood stiffly and watched in silence as Ultra Magnus stepped away from the Seeker and began speaking with Optimus.

"It is paramount that we disable the fusion cannons below," Ultra Magnus informed Optimus.

"Understood," Optimus said and put his battle mask back on. In the next second, he jumped off the platform, spread out his new silver wings, activated the thrusters on his jet pack and took off into the sky. He had only just become a Flier for the first time, yet he had already adapted and knew what to do. Optimus Prime sure learned new bodies fast.

"All units," Ultra Magnus said over the comm. "Optimus Prime has returned. I repeat: Prime is alive and quite well!"

Ultra Magnus turned and gazed at the frozen Starscream, who just stood with wide optics and a half-open mouth.

"You heard our leader, soldier," Ultra Magnus said, bringing the Seeker out of his empty thoughts. "Get to work!"

Before Starscream could answer, Ultra Magnus ran off to the edge and jumped off. He soon reappeared, standing on top of his ship, apparently set to auto-pilot, before disappearing inside of it.

Starscream gazed from the edge to Megatron, who was beginning to rise from the rubble of his throne. He saw the shadow of Dreadwing in jet mode, racing around the clouds, about to land on the platform again. His mind felt empty. What should he do? Stay with the Decepticons, who were still in the greater numbers and firepower and sure to win, or go back with the Autobots, now that Prime was back? Who should he choose?

As Dreadwing was about to land, and Megatron about to rise to his pedes, Starscream's own body made the decision for him.

He turned to the nearest edge and jumped out.

He let himself fall several hundred meters, until he was below the clouds and passed the Nemesis. Then, he reverted to jet mode, just a few dozen meters from hitting the ground, and blasted off into the sky again.

As he ascended back into the air, trying his best to keep his movements slow to spare his wings, he observed the situation below him. The Combaticons and Seekers, as well as Shockwave and the Vehicons present, stood and stared up at the flying Optimus Prime, perplexed over his return. The Autobots quickly took advantage of this, Wheeljack drawing forth his swords and slashing through a Vehicon guard beside him.

Before the Combaticons or Seekers could retaliate, Starscream made a decision and fired his lasers at the ground, aiming at his Decepticon brethren.

The Decepticons below jumped back at the presence of red lasers from above and looked up. They seemed to be absolutely shocked over Starscream turning on them. Starscream continued his assault, barely allowing the Decepticons a moment to get over the shock of Optimus' return and Starscream's betrayal. And the distraction allowed the Autobots to take out the Vehicon troopers and instead engage the elites in battle.

Shockwave seemed to be the first one to recover from the shock, aiming his fusion cannon at the sky and blasted after Starscream. Starscream quickly dodged to the side, spun around or dove to avoid the attacks. The Autobots fought the Combaticons while Shockwave was distracted by Starscream. The Seekers didn't fight anyone; they just stood and stared deeply between Shockwave and Starscream.

Suddenly, Megatron's thundering roar could be heard throughout the sky.

"OOOPTIMUUUUUUS!"

The warlord sounded very, very angry. The roar made Starscream cringe, knowing that anger could very easily be aimed at him any moment now. Fortunately it seemed Optimus was keeping Megatron distracted for now.

"STAAARSCREEAAAM!" another thundering roar was heard throughout the sky, making Starscream stiffen. It was Dreadwing. And he was furious.

Starscream was soon assaulted by Dreadwing's relentless laser attacks, having descended from the spire and seen what Starscream had done. Starscream had betrayed the Decepticons once again. And, as he promised, Dreadwing was now going to kill him.

Starscream found himself now having to avoid both Shockwave's plasma blasts and the continuous lasers from a mad Seeker, coming from two different directions. That was perhaps a bit more than what Starscream bargained for. Even with his skill, the chances of dodging these attacks forever with the current condition of his wings were very small and almost non-existing.

It didn't get much better when Thundercracker and Skywarp suddenly decided to transform and join Dreadwing in the sky. Starscream wanted to scream, avoiding more of the two powerful mechs' attacks. With three Seekers and a mad scientist firing at him from four different directions, there was no chance he would survive this battle.

Thundercracker and Skywarp flew right towards him, flanking him on either side. Starscream braced himself.

The two Seekers fired their lasers at him, but Starscream rose further in the sky just in time to dodge. The lasers ended up hitting Dreadwing instead, damaging his wings. The Seekers immediately ceased their firing, all three of them.

"Oops!" Skywarp exclaimed. "Sorry, Commander!"

"Didn't see you there," Thundercracker sent over the comm.

"You MORONS!" Dreadwing shouted and descended to the fortress and transformed, deciding it wasn't worth chasing Starscream anymore. "Go assist Lord Megatron! Optimus Prime must not be allowed to destroy the power core!"

"Yessir!" the two Seekers replied over their comm's. They immediately retreated and hovered along the edges of Darkmount.

Starscream stared after them, having now also Shockwave cease his attacks to focus on the Autobots below instead. What just happened? What was he doing? The Decepticons had the Autobots outnumbered, outpowered and outsmarted. They had just been about to execute everyone and take over this planet. How did things end up like this?

Why did Starscream choose to help the Autobots?

Because Optimus Prime was back. He had been like a beacon of hope for the Autobots, Starscream included. Optimus had survived the destruction of the base and come back stronger than before. With Prime back in the war, the Autobots finally stood a chance against the Decepticons.

Starscream cursed inwardly. He had traded the safety, army and luxuries of the Decepticon army for the slim chance that the Autobots could fight back and win this war. It made no sense, yet he had already made his decision.

He could no longer show himself to Megatron. He could no longer return to the Decepticons.

The first time he joined the Autobots, he had been a prisoner, abandoned by Airachnid and forced to go back with the Autobots. It was forgivable, for he had had no choice back then.

When he was abandoned on Cybertron by the Autobots, he had also been captured by the Decepticons and was forced to rejoin Megatron in order to survive. Even back at the beginning of the war, Starscream had been forced to join Megatron's forces to keep himself and his Seekers safe. Even then, he had had no choice.

This time, however, he had a choice.

He could have chosen to stay by Megatron's side and fight back the Autobot invaders. Doing so would have indefinitely trampled down the remaining Autobot forces, as they were still outnumbered and outpowered. Realistically, they had no chance of winning or survival.

But instead, he had chosen the Autobots. He had chosen to help the Autobots. Seeing Optimus Prime back in action had brought on a strange feeling in his tanks, in his very Spark.

He had finally been given a choice. And he chose the Autobots. He chose the ones with the lowest chances of winning. He chose the losing team.

Except now, with his air support and the renewed hope from Optimus' return, the Autobots seemed to be winning. In spite of all odds, Starscream's decision to help the Autobots might just allow them to win. Even Thundercracker and Skywarp seemed keen on helping Starscream without knowing.

They had deliberately shot down Dreadwing while staging it as poor marksmanship. For they were excellent shots.

They wanted Starscream to live. Even as an Autobot, they wanted him to succeed. It was the most surreal thing Starscream had experienced yet.

Suddenly, the fusion cannons began charging up green energy balls, snapping Starscream out of his thoughts. They were preparing to fire at the humans' capital cities!

A loud roar was heard shaking the sky. "Megatron... BEGONE!"

It was Optimus' voice. Starscream just barely caught a glimpse of the warlord getting thrown on the horizontal side in jet mode by Optimus, into the center of the fortress, crashing into the power core. A moment later, the power core seemed to explode, and the fusion cannons stopped charging, having been disrupted.

Starscream turned his attention ahead of him. A cluster of incoming jets the same size and shape as Dreadwing and Thundercracker was approaching.

"Humans," Starscream mused and flew out of the way. "They are preparing to attack the citadel."

Starscream flew off towards the horizon as the Autobots began driving off away from the citadel.

The Autobots were winning. The Decepticons were losing.

Darkmount was about to fall.

---

On the ground, the Autobots and Decepticons had been shocked to see Optimus return, flying and everything. Even as they saw the Autobot leader take off again, they continued to stare, giving their Autobot captives the opening they needed. Wheeljack slashed a Vehicon guard near him, and soon the bots engaged in battle.

The Vehicons were quickly taken care off by Bulkhead, Wheeljack, Bumblebee and Arcee, but the Combaticons, Seekers and Shockwave were a different story. They were still outnumbered, four Autobots against seven Decepticons.

But then, all of a sudden, a cluster of red lasers were shot on the ground from above. They weren't aiming for the Autobots, but instead the Decepticons, specifically Shockwave and the Combaticons. Everyone looked up. It was Starscream.

"Starscream?!" Thundercracker and Skywarp exclaimed in shock. They stood and stared at the sky for a long time without doing anything, too shocked over the whole event to act.

The other Decepticons jumped around, trying to dodge the annoying Seeker's attacks, while simultaneously trying to get a hit in on the Autobots, who dodged with ease. Shockwave broke away from the other combatants and aimed his fusion cannon at Starscream.

"Your choice to side with the enemy is most illogical," Shockwave said in his drone-like voice as he began firing plasma blasts at the silver jet.

Thundercracker and Skywarp remained where they were, not even dodging the lasers. In fact, it didn't even seem like the lasers were getting anywhere near them. Starscream was only shooting after the Combaticons and Shockwave, whilst trying to avoid Shockwave's own shots.

He didn't want to hurt his Trinemates. It was a bizarre thought, but it was the only thing that made sense here.

The Combaticons, in the meantime, were too busy keeping one Autobot each busy to fight back the traitor in the sky. With four Autobots fighting four Combaticons, Shockwave fighting Starscream, and Thundercracker and Skywarp just standing there doing nothing, the tables had turned.

Until Dreadwing arrived.

"STAAARSCREEAAAM!" the First Lieutenant's furious voice thundered throughout the sky. In the next moment, Dreadwing appeared and started firing his lasers at Starscream, who tried desperately to dodge.

Thundercracker and Skywarp glanced at each other.

"Didn't he say his wings were damaged and he had to refrain from flying?" Skywarp asked quietly, but loud enough for his partner to hear over the noise of battle.

"He can't fight like this," Thundercracker mused and turned his gaze back to the sky. "We have to help him."

Skywarp stared at Thundercracker in disbelief. "What? We can't help him, he's betrayed us again!"

"No he hasn't," Thundercracker protested. "Look around you. He's firing at everyone except us and the Autobots."

Skywarp looked around. Starscream's lasers were nowhere near the two of them. He gasped.

"He's protecting us," Skywarp keened. "Even though we're enemies again."

Thundercracker smiled. "Come on, Warp," he said and initiated jet mode. "Let's go help our leader."

Skywarp initiated jet mode and followed suit. "But make it look like an accident, right?" he snickered over the comm.

"You got it."

---

Dreadwing swore as he made his way up Darkmount. Starscream had betrayed the cause yet again. Even after he had threatened him on his life. There was no excuse this time. Starscream had to be terminated.

Unfortunately, Thundercracker and Skywarp had chosen that exact moment to try and 'help', which resulted in Dreadwing getting his wings hurt. He was certain that had been done on purpose. Those two morons spent so much time with that traitor, it was doubtful they had sincerely tried to shoot him down. He would have to reprimand them for it later. Or perhaps let Megatron do that. The warlord was the best to decide how to punish insubordination.

"Activate the fusion cannons," Dreadwing ordered on the comm. "And target the human capital cities!"

"Megatron... BEGONE!" a loud, thundering roar from Optimus Prime was heard through the sky.

Suddenly the citadel began shaking, and Dreadwing could see explosions coming from the power core chamber.

"The fusion cannons are down," Dreadwing muttered as he made his way up the stairs.

He arrived at the power core chamber to a shocking sight. Megatron was lying on the floor, heavily injured, the power core having been destroyed. Several Vehicons stumbled to get back onto their pedes. Megatron had been thrown into the power core, severely damaging him.

"Skywarp!" Dreadwing called on the comm. "Get to the power core chamber immediately! Lord Megatron is wounded!"

"On it!" Skywarp replied over the comm.

"Commander Dreadwing, the humans are on their way," Thundercracker reported over the comm. "They are preparing to strike!"

As Skywarp landed in the power core chamber, Dreadwing grumbled.

"Get Lord Megatron to the ship," Dreadwing ordered Skywarp. "We're falling back!"

With the help of a Vehicon, Skywarp lifted Megatron onto his pedes.

"What are you doing?" Megatron growled as Skywarp lifted his arm over his shoulder. "No! We will not retreat!"

"It is over, Master," Dreadwing announced darkly. "We must leave now if we are to have a chance at winning the war. Skywarp, bring him to safety."

Before Megatron could protest further, Skywarp activated his teleportation ability and disappeared with the warlord promptly. Dreadwing turned to the Vehicons.

"Decepticons!" Dreadwing called on the comm. "Retreat to the warship immediately! We're falling back!"

---

On the ground, the Combaticons were busy engaging the Autobots in battle. Onslaught was fighting against Bumblebee, Brawl was battling Wheeljack, Swindle was occupying Bulkhead, and Vortex was assaulting Arcee.

"Get shredded, Autobot scum!" Vortex cackled and drew forth two of his rotor-blades from his lower back to use them as swords. He swung the blades at the femme, but she dodged every attack with ease, whilst shooting her blasters at him.

Swindle moved around swiftly while firing his large black arm cannon at Bulkhead. Swindle wasn't much of a fighter himself, rather he acted more as a supporter, providing his fellow Combaticons and Decepticons with weapons which he often stored in a special large subspace of his. At the time, however, he had nothing in his subspace, having stored it all in a secret safe on the Nemesis. Perhaps he should begin stockpiling weapons in his special dimensional pocket again.

Nonetheless, while Swindle was more of a supporter than a fighter, he was very much capable of fighting himself, especially dodging attacks. His small and lithe form made him harder to hit and gave him more speed than his fellow Combaticons. Even with Bulkhead's unusual speed for his size and weight, Swindle was too small and fast for him to hit. In return, though, Bulkhead's armor was thick enough to withstand the few shots Swindle managed to land on the Wrecker.

Like Swindle, Bumblebee used his small size and light weight to dodge Onslaught's attacks. The Combaticon leader used the double-nozzled blaster from his back to shoot lasers after the Scout. Bumblebee was too quick and had reclaimed the energy shield from one of the Vehicons, shielding him from those shots that did make a hit, while the Scout himself tried to get a shot at Onslaught's thick armor.

Unlike his fellow Decepticons, Brawl shot solid projectiles from the cannon on his back, causing small craters in the ground where they missed Wheeljack. Wheeljack had no doubt that if even one of those shots landed a hit on him, he'd be half dead. Not to mention that Brawl's armor was about as thick as Onslaught's and Bulkhead's, barely even taking a scratch from Wheeljack's slashes with his blade or taking a dent from the occasional laser shots from his blaster.

At least with Shockwave occupied by Starscream and the two Seekers having set off into the air, it was easier to focus their attacks on only these four Decepticons.

"Autobots, clear the area!" Ultra Magnus' voice sounded over the comm.

As the fortress of Darkmount began trembling due to the destruction of the power core, the Decepticons were distracted long enough for the Autobots to revert to their alternate modes and take off in the opposite direction. Shockwave seemed to have finally lost interest in Starscream, instead trying to block the Autobots' path.

Wheeljack jumped onto Shockwave's back, and while the Cyclops struggled to shake the Wrecker off, the other three Autobots reverted to their alternate modes and moved away from the fortress. Shockwave pried Wheeljack off his back and slammed him onto the ground, but before he could do anything else, Bumblebee rammed into the Cyclops' head, knocking him over. Shockwave turned and looked after the escaping Autobots. The distraction allowed Wheeljack to jump onto the Decepticon's back and switch to car mode, setting off towards his comrades.

Shockwave shot his fusion cannon after Wheeljack, but upon watching a parade of human jets launch their missiles at the citadel, he knew the battle was lost. Darkmount was collapsing, and the Autobots were retreating.

"Decepticons!" Dreadwing's voice sounded over the comm. "Retreat to the warship immediately! We're falling back!"

Shockwave looked up at the collapsing tower before opening his own comm. "Soundwave, I require a GroundBridge."

He turned and walked slowly and calmly into the GroundBridge portal that opened. As soon as it closed, rubble crashed into the spot he had just been standing in.

The Combaticons were met by Skywarp, who had begun evacuating the Grounders.

"Hold onto me," Skywarp said as he grabbed hold of Onslaught and Brawl, and Swindle grabbed onto his back. "I'll get you to the ship!"

"You coming, Vortex?" Swindle asked as Skywarp prepared to teleport.

Vortex looked at the sky, specifically at the jet taking off in the same direction as the Autobots went.

"You go on ahead," he said and initiated helicopter mode. "I can make it on my own."

With that, Skywarp warped out of the collapsing tower with the Combaticons. Vortex ascended to the air, but he wasn't heading toward the Nemesis.

He had something to take care of first.

---

Starscream briefly looked back as the Skystrikers fired off their missiles at the top of the citadel. He watched as the tower shattered and began collapsing like glass.

"Those Earth jets certainly are a force to be reckoned with," he said to himself. "No wonder Dreadwing and Thundercracker chose them as alternate modes..."

Starscream set his radar to below him, flying in a slow pace, following the path the Autobots were taking. He took a deep vent and opened his comm.

"Hey guys, missed-"

He was interrupted when something grabbed his left wing. He stiffened.

"Starscream?" sounded Arcee's voice from the comm. "What-"

The comm. shut down on its own as Starscream let out a scream in pain. Something had grabbed onto his left wing and was stopping his flight path, pulling him back.

"Wh-what's happening?!" he shrieked concerned. "Who's there?!"

"Well, well, well," a strange yet familiar voice sounded behind him, loud enough for him to hear without the comm. "If it isn't the traitor."

Starscream switched his radar to behind him and saw to his terror Vortex, having deployed his grappling hook and latched onto his left wing. He felt panic rising in him, his Spark racing faster.

"No..." Starscream keened.

"Take this!" Vortex shouted and began spinning. "See you in the Well of All Sparks!"

Starscream let out a piercing scream as he was pulled back by the wing and spun around. He screamed in pain, feeling the wound on his wing tearing up.

Once Vortex had spun a whole round, he released his grip on Starscream's wing and retracted his grappling hook.

Starscream wailed in pain as the wing broke off.

He spun out of control on the horizontal side, just as Optimus had thrown Megatron into the power core.

Starscream screamed in fear as he found himself unable to stop spinning or even getting a chance to transform.

Unable to stop, Starscream crashed into a cliff wall and lost consciousness.

---

"Starscream!" Arcee shouted.

They had just retreated with Starscream following close behind up in the sky. He had only just opened his comm. to them when he fell silent immediately. Next, they noticed in the air that he had been caught in the wing by Vortex, the copter-bot with a grappling hook and a mean reputation for tormenting his enemies before finishing them off. They saw Vortex spin once before letting go of Starscream, who spun out of control on the horizontal side at a fast pace. They could even see one of his wings breaking off.

They boosted up in speed and headed for the direction Starscream was going, whilst keeping an optic on Vortex. But the Decepticon didn't pursue them further; as soon as he had dealt his attack on Starscream, the helicopter turned around and headed back towards the warship, heading off in the opposite direction. They were retreating, and didn't seem keen on pursuing the Autobots.

Suddenly, they watched as Starscream, unable to transform or regain control of the spinning, crash into a cliff wall. A large dust cloud, not an explosion, could be seen where he crashed. Everyone's Sparks skipped a beat. The next moment, they saw what seemed to be Starcream's bot mode, falling towards the ground, facing downwards.

"Hurry, maybe he's still alive!" Bumblebee bleeped.

The Autobots sped up and conveyed to a small quarry which they believed Starscream had fallen into. Upon reaching the quarry, they transformed and observed Starscream's still form, lying on his front with an arm under his body and another stretched out before him. The right wing seemed to have a large tear in it, but the left wing had almost entirely broken off. It only just hung by a couple of cables and nerve wirings.

"Starscream?" Arcee called as the Autobots entered the quarry and approached the fallen Seeker. Above them, Ultra Magnus' ship had found their position and began landing. Optimus arrived soon after and descended to the ground, landing beside the other Autobots.

Before they got up close to him, Starscream groaned and shook, moving his arms away from his torso and planted the servos on the ground. He coughed and huffed in pain before reactivating his optical sensors. He looked up and opened his optics wide at the sight of the entire Autobot team, minus Ratchet and Smokescreen, gathering around him.

"Wh-what..." he said and rose to his knees but crouched and shrieked in pain as the left wing began dangling by his side. At the sensation he looked down at it and gasped in horror at the wing that was barely attached to his body. "My wing! No! My wing!"

"Starscream," Optimus' calm yet powerful voice sounded.

Starscream pulled his attention away from his wing and instead stared around at the Autobot faces. The hum of a car engine met their audio receptors, and soon, a white race car with a blue stripe approached them. The car transformed and before them stood Smokescreen, alive and quite well.

"Smokescreen!" Bulkhead exclaimed. "You're here!"

"I can't believe I missed the action!" Smokescreen complained. His gaze fell on Starscream on the ground with a loose wing. "Oh, hey Scream. Ouch, that looks like that hurts."

Despite his predicament, Starscream gave the Autobot a very unamused, frowning expression. "Oh really?" he said sarcastically. "This looks like it hurts? Why I oughta..."

"Save it, 'Con," Wheeljack snarled at the Seeker, shutting him up.

Starscream's expression fell and he turned so he was facing the Autobots, though still kneeling and with one torn wing downcast, as the other was unable to do anything in its current state.

"Take me back," Starscream begged quietly. "Please."

The Autobots shared glances before looking back at the wounded Seeker.

"So you can stab us in the back again?" Arcee accused.

"Like we'd ever trust you again," Bulkhead growled.

"You've already betrayed us once, who's to say you won't do it again?" Wheeljack snarled.

Starscream stiffened and felt panic rising in him. "No, I won't betray you again," he protested. "I promise! Please, don't leave me here. Don't... don't kill me, please..."

Arcee took a few, ominous steps forward. "Like how you killed Cliffjumper?" she snarled.

Starscream felt a rush in his tanks. "No... you don't understand..." he whispered. "I... I didn't mean to kill him..."

"You didn't mean to?!" Arcee exclaimed, making Starscream yelp.

Starscream threw himself flat onto the ground with his arms under his torso, wings downcast as far down as they could, making himself look as little threatening as possible, while whimpering.

"It was a long time ago," he wailed. "I hate myself for what I did, and I wish I could bring him back, but..."

That made both of them stiffen and Arcee shake with anger, as they just remembered something.

"Uh... that was bad phrasing," Starscream chuckled nervously. "I mean I-"

"Be quiet," Bulkhead rumbled from behind Arcee. "You're only making things worse for yourself by talking."

Starscream keened while looking anxiously around at their faces.

"It's not just Cliff," Arcee said and stepped back to the others. "You betrayed us. You rejoined Megatron when the opportunity showed itself."

"I didn't, I was forced-"

"Quiet!" Bulkhead growled again.

Starscream silenced and just stared at the Autobots with large, frightened optics. He shuddered in fear, crouched like a cyber-cat and heavily damaged. He began hyperventilating, stress building up in him, not knowing what the Autobots were planning to do with him.

The Autobots shared glances and seemed to be talking quietly amongst themselves. Starscream didn't pick up on anything they were saying, caught in his own anxious thoughts. Maybe they were going to kill him after all. He had betrayed them, killed their comrade, tortured another and now he was incapable of flight and unable to escape. They could easily finish him off, even if he tried to run.

The only chance he had of survival right now was if he could prove himself to the Autobots.

Starscream closed his optics and took in a deep vent. He exhaled in a shaky sigh, trying to stiffle his shuddering.

"... I'm sorry..." he said quietly.

The Autobots snapped out of their conversation and gazed down at the Seeker.

"Come again?" Arcee said, not sure if she had heard right.

Starscream began shuddering again, but not out of fear. "I'm sorry," he repeated, louder this time. "I'm sorry I killed Cliffjumper. I'm sorry I betrayed you. I'm sorry I joined the Decepticons. I'm sorry I couldn't stand against Megatron from the beginning."

"Starscream," Arcee said, but Optimus placed a servo on her shoulder. The Prime shook his head, silently telling them to let Starscream speak.

Starscream lifted his head to look at them, as they didn't continue to interrupt him.

"My whole life, I have had to make hard choices in order to keep myself alive," he said quietly, remininscing his past. "I have had to follow the rules and laws that stroke down harder on my kind than yours. I saw hope for a better and more equal future in Megatron, the revolutionary who would tear down the caste system. I thought I could handle him, I thought I could take over his leading position just like I had taken over any other leading position before, as Air Commander of the Seekers and as Winglord of Vos."

Starscream looked down at the ground, unsure of why he was suddenly speaking about this. "But I couldn't," he continued. "I tried to fight him, but I failed. I couldn't take him down. I had no choice but to do what he told me. I kept trying to take over his position, but every time he just threw me back down and hit me harder than I had him. This... what just happened to my wings, that wasn't from the crash..."

Starscream looked back at his broken wing and cringed at the sight. "He... I let Wheeljack go," he admitted. "Dreadwing was going to execute him, but I convinced him to let me do it. And I let Wheeljack have a chance to escape, and he took it. Megatron punished me hard for it. He... he almost tore off my wings... again..."

Starscream keened as he looked back at the ground, not wanting to look at the Autobots right now.

"I didn't want to stay with him," Starscream whimpered. "I wanted you to be okay, I wanted to find you, so you could... so you could save me..."

The Autobots shared concerned glances with each other as they listened to Starscream pouring his Spark out to them.

"When I was with you, I didn't really like it there," Starscream admitted while taking deep vents. "I just wanted to return to the warship and resume the life I knew. But when you... when you left me behind on Cybertron... I felt... I felt so abandoned, so betrayed. You told me you don't leave a comrade behind. Was I never one of you? Was this whole Autobot thing just a charade?"

Starscream gathered enough courage to lift his upper body up enough so he was once again sitting on his knees. He lifted a servo and placed it on his chestplate, right where his Decepticon insignia was situated on.

"Was I... never a true Autobot?" he asked quietly.

With a swift movement, Starscream tore off the Decepticon insignia on his chest. Everyone stiffened and stared. On his chest, the Autobot insignia protruded, just as shiny and bright as ever. The Decepticon insignia had been a fake one, drawn on top of a rubsign!

Everyone stared at the Seeker in disbelief.

"You... never left our side?" Arcee remarked.

"I couldn't," Starscream replied and threw the torn rubsign away. "I kept trying to, I kept pretending I wanted to stay with him, that I was always meant to be a Decepticon. But... I couldn't."

Seeing as the aggressive atmosphere from the Autobots had disappeared, Starscream's shuddering decreased and his venting slowed just a bit.

"I tried to help you, the best I could," he admitted. "But I couldn't while I was being watched by Megatron. He seems to have a strong grip on me. No matter what I do, no matter where I go, he's always there, watching, listening, judging. Even in my dreams he is haunting me. I can't stay on that warship anymore. They will kill me. Please, don't send me back. Don't leave me behind. I beg of you!"

Starscream threw himself back on the ground and wailed in distress, partly in pain, partly in anxiety.

As the Seeker went silent, the Autobots shared glances again, silently contemplating what to do with him.

"How do we know you won't just turn on us when things are looking bleak?" Bulkhead asked, trying not to growl.

Starscream rose back onto his servos and knees and looked up. "You don't," he admitted.

"Then how are we supposed to trust you?" Wheeljack asked skeptically.

Starscream's venting fastened a bit, while he looked back on the ground, thinking about what to say.

"Show me," Starscream said and took a deep vent. "Show me what it's like to be the last one standing."

The Autobots gazed at him intently.

"Teach me wrong from right, and I'll show you what I can be," Starscream continued and looked intently at them. "Say it to me, and I'll leave this life behind me."

Starscream swallowed a lump in his throat and struggled to keep the pressure behind his optics in check.

"Say it... if it's worth saving me..." Starscream broke off, unable to keep himself from sobbing. "... help me..."

Starscream crouched back down, burying his face in his servos. Tears of oil began trickling down his faceplate and onto the ground below him. He didn't want them to see him crying, but he couldn't hold back his emotions anymore. Everything was simply too overwhelming for him, and he had little hope for his life if the Autobots didn't want him back. He refrained from making noises louder than small sobs though.

The Autobots were silent while watching Starscream crying. After about half a minute of silence, Optimus stepped forward, catching everyone's attention. The expression he wore was unreadable.

As the Autobot leader approached Starscream, the Seeker ceased his sobbing and wiped his face with the back of his servos before looking up at Optimus. He kept himself in his crouched position, unsure what Optimus was going to say or do.

Optimus stopped just a couple of meters from Starscream. He knelt down before the Seeker and looked intently into the Flier's optics.

Then... he held out an open servo.

"Welcome back, Starscream," Optimus said calmly.

Starscream stiffened. Everyone behind Optimus stiffened. Some were about to protest, but Ultra Magnus made a gesture to silence them.

Starscream stared at the servo Optimus held out in uncertainy.

"Really...?" Starscream whispered in disbelief. "Even... even after everything I've done...?"

"None of us can change what happened in the past," Optimus said with his deep, calm, soothing voice. "How ever much we want to change it. The only thing we can change is the future. I believe yours can still be changed for the better."

Starscream's mouth wavered, unable to grasp what Optimus was meaning.

"You are one of us," Optimus clarified. "If you still wish to be that. You have the Spark of an Autobot within you. I can feel it. And I believe you can feel it as well."

Starscream rose to his servos and glanced between Prime's face and his servo, hesitating. "I might betray you again," he warned, without knowing why.

"Then we shall deal with it if the time comes," Optimus replied. "But now, it is time for you to come home."

"Home..." Starscream repeated.

He lifted his right servo and lingered just above Prime's huge, clawless servo. After several seconds, Starscream's servo fell into Optimus' and the Autobot rose to his pedes, helping the Seeker up.

Starscream huffed and shut his optics as he got onto his pedes, keening in pain over his dangling wing. He kept the other wings downcast, as he was still in shock. He opened his optics again and glanced around at the faces surrounding him. The others didn't seem as welcoming as Optimus apparently was, but their visible aggression and disgust had disappeared. Only disappointment adorned some of their faces, here among Bulkhead and Arcee.

Starscream let out a sigh. "I will do my best," he said, "to help Team Prime. I will never again return to Megatron. I am your Seeker from now on. And I intend to stay that way."

The others let out sighs and assumed calmer expressions, some trying to smile. Ultra Magnus put a digit to his audio receptor.

"Ratchet, open a GroundBridge," Ultra Magnus said over the comm. "We have accomplished our mission, and we are all coming back. All of us."

---

On the Nemesis, the Decepticons all stood in the command center, watching the fall of Darkmount.

"All that power... all that success... now gone," Skywarp remarked in a sad tone.

"It was a magnificent citadel," Shockwave said. "And it served the Decepticon cause well."

"I guess we're back to flying around aimlessly now, huh?" Knock Out sighed.

"Lord Megatron," one of the Vehicons entering the command center said. "We don't have a lot of Energon cubes left.

Megatron turned and looked around at his subordinates, including the messenger Vehicon. He let out a sigh.

"We must have spent too much of it during the battle," he said. "We'll have to conserve our energy until we can get fresh supplies from the mines." He looked around at all the attending Decepticons, assuming a more determined and stronger position. "Decepticons. Though Darkmount has fallen, we are not finished yet. We will keep a low profile for now until we are back at full strength. Then, when the Autobots least expect it, we'll strike. At full force."

Megatron turned back to the window and dismissed his subordinates. The Combaticons left for their quarters so they could get some rest. Dreadwing led some of the Vehicon troopers outside the command center to assign them new posts. Shockwave and Knock Out retreated to each their labs, Knock Out getting ready to tend to the injured. Soundwave remained in the command center with Megatron, so he could proceed with his surveillance duty.

Thundercracker and Skywarp left the command center and strode down the hallways, making their way toward their own quarters, exhausted from the last few days' events.

"I'm worried about Starscream," Skywarp uttered.

"It's alright, Skywarp," Thundercracker said and placed a servo on the other's shoulder. "Even if he's not a Decepticon anymore, he's still a Seeker. And he hasn't forgotten that. He's still one of us."

Skywarp smiled by his partner's notion. "Maybe, if we survive this war, maybe we could get back together again," Skywarp suggested. "Even without that Omega Lock thing, there must still be a way to restore Cybertron, and to rebuild Vos."

"We'll find a way," Thundercracker ensured and let his servo fall to his side. "One day."

---

After the battle had finished, Ratchet had GroundBridged everyone except Ultra Magnus back to the Harbinger. There was much surprise to see Starscream returning with the Autobots, laced with horror at the sight of the condition of his wings, especially the left one which was barely hanging on.

The kids were happy to see Starscream was still alive and back with them. Starscream just smiled back at them, not really in the mood to talk to them yet. Despite his doubts, Ratchet was also relieved to see Starscream had decided to return to their side. He promised Starscream that as soon as they had moved the Harbinger's equipment to their new home in the army base, that he would fix his wings. Starscream was looking forward to it.

Having received the coordinates to Hangar E, the facility they were going to stay in, Ratchet opened a GroundBridge portal to it, and the Autobots began working together to carry the equipment through the portal and out to the other side. Some carried monitors while others carried medical equipment and an operating table. Starscream helped carry a few Energon cubes, not really having the strength to do much else.

Starscream was surprised to see how big and roomy the hangar was. There was certainly enough space here to house all the Autobots as well as Ultra Magnus' ship and more without a problem. And good thing, because after he had put down the Energon cubes somewhere, he noticed some of the Autobots were carefully carrying pods containing Protoforms in them, much to his surprise. He hadn't noticed them back in the ship, having focused too much on his own pain and fatigue.

Having contributed to the team, even if just a little bit, Starscream decided to lean against one of the railings to rest, exhausted from the last few days' events. Nobody scolded him for it. They just let him be and continued moving things themselves.

It took a little over an hour before they got everything from the Harbinger and put in a corner to be set up later. All that was left now was transferring the GroundBridge itself. After closing the portal, Ratchet stayed behind with Ultra Magnus back in the Harbinger to carefully take apart the GroundBridge and carry it into the Iron Will. The two of them then transported the remains of what was left useful in the Harbinger by the ship.

Still having the coordinates of the hangar, they arrived back with the others within half an hour and landed near the hangar. They would bring out the GroundBridge later, but first they had to reunite with the others inside their new base.

"On behalf of the President and the joined chiefs," Agent Fowler announced, as all the Autobots had gathered around one of the railings for a speech from the human - including Starscream who remained leaning against the railing with his left wing lying on top of it, "I thank you all for your selflesss heroism in defense of this planet. I'm only sorry that the world can't yet know of your undying dedication. Because I for one owe you my life, my liberty and my future."

Agent Fowler stood straight and saluted the Autobots. Optimus Prime nodded in acknowledgment.

"Sir," Ultra Magnus said, gaining Optimus' attention. "I am honored to relinquish command of the Autobots to you."

"Welcome to Earth, Ultra Magnus," Optimus said and gave the other a small smile. "And to Team Prime."

They both looked forward, gazing at the various faces before them: Ratchet, Bulkhead, Wheeljack, Bumblebee, Smokescreen, Arcee and Starscream, as well as the humans Jack Darby, his mother June Darby, Rafael Esquivel and Miko Nakadai, and of course Agent Fowler on the railings. Everyone nodded or smiled at Ultra Magnus in silent welcome, including Starscream who didn't seem like he wanted to converse with anyone at the moment. A simple small nod was all he gave.

Miko ran over to the two mighty mechs with enthusiasm. "Okay, someone's gotta say it," she said and paused to make gestures with her hands. "Optimus 2.0 is rad! Imagine what the Forge could do for your bot," she added to Ratchet beside her.

"Pfft, well..." Ratchet huffed. Their gazes went to the Forge standing behind them, now turned off and shut down for good. "Is it true that the Forge has been drained of its power?"

Smokescreen, standing beside Ratchet, looked sullenly at the Forge in silence.

"Then any hope of rebuilding the Omega Lock has truly been lost," Ratchet said quietly.

"I... did what I felt was right," Smokescreen replied quietly.

"Then your instincts have again proven to be quite sound," Ratchet replied.

Smokescreen looked back at Ratchet and smiled. Ratchet smiled back.

Everyone gathered around in a circle, looking around at each other, nodding and welcoming each other, glad to be back together. Starscream decided to lift himself from the railings, carefully lifting his left wing down until it dangled beside him, careful enough that it didn't snap right off. He walked over to the circle to join the others, not wanting to be left alone.

As he approached them, he hesitated as he saw their gazes looking at him. But they gave him reassuring smiles, and he smiled back, feeling encouraged to go join them.

"Yeah!" Miko cheered, happy Team Prime was all back together. Bulkhead chuckled at the girl's enthusiasm.

Starscream chuckled as well, ignoring the pain in his wings for now.

He had been with the Autobots against his will for three months, been recognized as an actual Autobot during the last two weeks before the destruction of the Omega Lock, and then he had returned to the Decepticons for a week.

Having gone through all that, he now knew where he stood as a bot. As a Cybertronian.

Now, he was truly an official Autobot. He looked around at his comrades and smiled.

I'm back where I belong, Starscream thought content. I've come home.