A loud banging on the walls awoke Terra from her dreamless sleep. She sat up, looking around in a daze as the opening to the cage opened up. She shielded her eyes as light flooded into the small cage.
"Oh, you're still alive," Starscream's voice grumbled. Terra froze when she saw him glaring back at her in disgust.
"What...What are you doing?" Terra asked, her heart pounding at the idea of it being her time to die.
"Making sure you live since I failed to keep you locked up before. Eat," Starscream said while pushing a box into her cage. Terra looked at the box and then back at him with a questioning look.
"There's enough food and water in there to keep you alive for a week. I won't have to check in on you every few hours like my master wants," Starscream explained.
"I'm not hungry," Terra said, turning her back to him. Her stomach let out a deep growl, making her groan.
"You will eat sooner or later, girl. I don't want to force that disgusting mess down your throat," Starscream growled before closing the door. Terra listened to make sure she was alone and could hear him pacing back and forth outside. It sounded like he was mumbling to himself. Could he maybe help her escape? He did give her advice before even though it ended horribly.
"Hey, you can help me get out of here," she spoke up. There was a dark chuckle on the other side that filled her with dread.
"Now why should I help some insignificant insect? You're better off dead," Starscream's voice said.
"Because it...It's the right thing to do. I'm innocent-," she was cut short when Starscream laughed.
"You're not innocent! You managed to ruin perfectly good energon in our storage room. We work too hard to collect all of that," he said.
"I...I didn't know. I don't know anything about you and your...people. If I had known how precious those crystals were...I wouldn't have taken them," Terra replied. Maybe if she were to learn more about her captors, she'd get some sympathy. She looked at the box and felt her stomach growl again.
"Listen, I...I'll eat if you tell me more about why you're here. Tell me about yourself and...and your master," she said, hoping for the best.
"Hmm, I might as well tell you since you're destined to die. All this knowledge will die with you when the time comes. Sit and eat, girl," Starscream ordered.
"My name is Terra," Terra replied as she went to open the box.
"Sit and eat...Terra," Starscream grumbled, pulling up a seat.
Terra laid down, gazing into the dark. She had learned so much over the past few hours and that was only the start. She always knew aliens were out there somewhere, but here they were on her very own planet. If she ever made it out, she would tell everyone she came across and probably get tossed into the loony bin. The thought made her giggle. She wasn't getting out of here anytime soon.
She had asked for more history lessons, but Starscream was quickly growing annoyed with her and left her alone. She really hoped he would come back. She liked listening to him….
Over the past few hours, she had learned about the war that ruined her captor's home planet and why they had come to earth. Those crystals she found were pretty much the life force of these strange beings. No wonder Megatron was so angry when she tipped over those boxes.
Starscream had mentioned the Autobots and wondered what they were like. He said they adored and protected the humans and would do anything to protect Earth. She sighed and hoped they would protect humanity when she was gone. No one deserved to be treated like this...
Another day had passed and Megatron did not come to kill her. How long did she have left to live? Terra gazed at the box of food before her as she thought of something to keep her mind off of what was going to happen to her soon.
She thought back to her childhood and smiled when she thought of all the times she would just sing to herself when she was alone. Singing always made her feel better when she was younger. Perhaps singing now could make her feel at ease for a while.
She began to hum a tune to herself as she sat against one of the walls. She soon realized the box she was in had great acoustics. This was going to be perfect.
Starscream was just on his way to where the prisoner was being held. Why did he have to babysit a human out of all the Decepticons aboard the Nemesis? Was this some kind of cruel joke conducted by Megatron?
The human was an annoying one. Much more annoying than those human pets the Autobots had collected. She was curious about everything and he could recall a certain earth saying about being too curious. What was it?
"Ah, curiosity killed the cat," he said to himself. The human would die soon. He was sure of it. He could only imagine how painful it was going to be. He had seen the animated cartoon Knockout had shown him that inspired how the human would die. It was absolutely ghastly and Megatron loved it. It wouldn't be long before the machine was complete and he wouldn't be able to tell the human stories about himself and Cybertron. He really enjoyed talking about himself and the grand history of Cybertron and it appeared that she enjoyed listening to him as well. Sure he often stretched the truth and told straight up lies, but she took it all in with eyes full of wonder. It was actually kind of...cute.
He quickly shook the thought away. Humans weren't supposed to be cute. They were a nuisance that needed to be wiped out. Why was he thinking like that? Ugh, it had to be those big green eyes of hers. And that little smile...
A sound down the hall caught his attention. It sounded like the human. She was singing to herself. It had been too long since he heard singing that sounded so...wonderful.
"Starlight, starshine, please come back into my life.
You left me all alone, can't you see that my heart's your home," she sang. The human was tapping on the walls a bit as she continued her little song.
Starscream was silent as he slowly approached the chamber she was being held in. He went in and stood there, listening to her sing. She had such a lovely voice. He had to hear more of it.
"I am not in a dream and there's no reason to scream.
And this is not the end, or so it seems…," the human trailed off a bit there. She sounded...melancholic about the lyrics.
Starscream stepped a bit closer, making sure not to make any noise. He didn't want her to stop anytime soon.
"You were starlight, just like starshine
Casting down on me.
When the light would and the darkness was found
You would shine hope to me," she sang.
Starscream sat down, resting his head in his hand as he listened to her. He slowly tapped a few fingers against his chin, trying to be on beat with her. He went faster and realized he was making sound. There was a gasp from within the box and everything became quiet.
"Who...Who's there?" She called out. Starscream let out an exaggerated sigh as he went to the box and opened it. Terra had her back against the furthest wall, looking at him with wide fearful eyes.
"It's just me, girl," he grumbled. Terra relaxed a bit, but stayed where she was. The poor thing was probably on edge all the time.
"By the way, your singing is wonderful," he crowed, smirking when he saw her face turn red. He had read that humans would turn red if they were embarrassed and it was clear that Terra was very embarrassed. It was cute.
"Oh! Um….thank you," she replied while looking away from him. He could see the hint of a tiny smile on her lips. Frag, how can humans be so cute?!
"Sing some more, girl. I'd like to hear more from you," he said. He glanced behind cautiously, but heard nothing. They were alone for now. Good. He had time to listen.
Terra frowned, not daring to move from her spot as she gazed at him suspiciously.
"Is this some kind of trick of yours?" She questioned.
"No trick. You still have plenty of time left," Starscream replied. Terra was silent for a moment before she slowly stepped out of the box. She looked at the exit of the room and Starscream followed her gaze with a dark chuckle.
"No one is going to interrupt us anytime soon. I'll let you know if something happens so you can hide away in your little box," he said. Terra gave him any confused look.
"Why are you doing this?" She asked.
"Well, it's because I'd like to hear your lovely voice as much as possible before you're gone. Now, are you going to sing or are you going to waste my time with all your questions?" He grumbled, crossing his arms.
"If I sing, will you tell me some more stories? Maybe tell me about your greatest adventures out in the stars," Terra asked with a hopeful glint in her emerald green eyes.
"I suppose I shall," Starscream said, rolling his optics in annoyance. There was so much he could tell her, but their time was limited. He would tell her only the best moments of his time in this war.
Terra's smile was beaming like starlight as she sat down and proceeded to sing for him. Starscream felt an ache within his spark chamber as he listened to her. What was he feeling? He tried to ignore that odd sensation as he let out a sigh.
"What am I going to do with you, girl?" He thought to himself, resting his head in his hand as he watched her sing.