"What exactly are you doing again?" Starscream asked as he walked behind Knockout. They were on their way to the queen's chamber.
"I found some basic translating devices while rummaging around. Megatron thought we could use a way to communicate with her majesty and some of her children," Knockout said as he handed him a small device. Starscream looked at it and simply nodded.
"You think this will work?" He asked.
"She's intelligent. It should work," Knockout said as they walked into the queen's chamber.
"Good evening, your majesty," Knockout crowed as he turned on the light. A few drones were in the room, carrying eggs out. They growled when they saw Knockout and Starscream, alerting the queen and her royal guard. The royal guard, one of the largest of the queen's children, stood and stalked toward them, teeth bared.
"We come in peace, kid. We just want to talk with your mother," Knockout crowed, smiling at the guard. The guard grew silent before turning to her mother. The queen looked up at them and growled softly. Her guard nodded and went to sit by her side, watching them closely. The drones walked out, leaving the four of them alone.
"I found something for you, your majesty. It's a translator. Since you're such an intelligent creature, I think it would be good if you could communicate with us," Knockout explained, holding up the device. The queen cocked her head in confusion as he approached, showing her the device. She then looked at Starscream as if questioning him.
"It's all his idea," he murmured.
"Shall I have the honor of putting it on for you, your majesty?" Knockout asked. The queen's lips curled up in an angry scowl, but she did nothing else.
"I'll take that as a yes. Head down, please," Knockout crowed as he got closer. The queen was reluctant at first before she slowly lowered her head enough for Knockout to reach. He pressed the device against her neck, making her hiss softly in pain. Starscream noticed the guard getting ready to strike, but he did nothing. This should be fun to watch.
"Don't worry. It'll only hurt for a moment. Just let me make a minor adjustment," Knockout said as he did a bit of tinkering. The guard calmed down, watching him closely. A moment passed and Knockout stepped back, admiring his work as the sound of static filled the air.
"What do you think, your majesty?" He asked.
The static stopped as the queen cocked her head in confusion.
"Blood….Metal….Sound…," a warped woman's voice murmured. The queen let out a surprised hiss at the sounds. Starscream watched everything in surprise. He didn't expect it to work.
"Sound….Sound!" She exclaimed. Her child looked from her to Knockout in confusion.
"That's all you, your majesty," Knockout crowed, looking absolutely overjoyed.
"Sound….Good. Blood…Metal….Good," the queen said. Starscream could have sworn she was smiling in her own way. The guard crawled over to her side and got a better look at the device, touching it with gentle fingers.
"Child…Curious…Wants…Talking….," the queen said while gently pushing her child away.
"I'll have some more made real soon, your majesty," Knockout replied, giving her a slight bow. The queen looked over at Starscream and cocked her head.
"Sharp…Metal…Good?" She said in a questioning manner. Starscream thought for a moment. He could gain her and her children's trust over time. The queen seemed like the type to be won over with charm in her situation. If they obeyed him and only him, he could use them to get rid of Megatron. This was perfect.
"Of course, my dear queen. I will be your most trusted ally in such a dreadful place," he purred, bowing in an exaggerated manner. The queen appeared pleased at this.
"Blood…Metal….Sharp….Metal…Good…,"the queen declared. A few of her children had come in and surrounded Knockout and Starscream. They purred and growled softly at them before taking turns to rub their heads against their chest, waist, and legs. Starscream held back the urge to gag when they left behind their disgusting residue and it looked like Knockout was disgusted as well.
"Ahh, your children are lovely, my queen. We…We need to go now. We need to let Megatron know that the translators were a success," Knockout said as he pushed a rather affectionate soldier away.
"Bad…Metal…,"the queen said before growling softly.
Megatron was looking over some reports when some screams and the sound of struggling filled the air. He liked the sound of that.
"It seems that those soldiers found those brats, Master," Starscream crowed.
"Good," Megatron chuckled as he turned around to face his guests. He frowned when the soldiers came in with their catches. They weren't the children who were friends with the Autobots. The children cried and struggled in the soldier's grip, but there was no way they could get away. The bigger of the two approached and presented the teenage boy to Megatron.
"He doesn't look familiar. None of these kids are the right ones," Starscream murmured.
"Who are you….people? What's going on?" The boy demanded, looking around in a panic. The other kid had grown silent when she looked at Megatron in terror. Megatron was silent as he went over to his computer screen and pulled up pictures of the targets.
"Do those kids look like the ones in the picture?" Megatron asked. The soldier got closer to the screen, taking in the picture before looking at Megatron in confusion. The boy appeared confused as well.
"That's…Jack Darby in the picture. We go to the same school. Are you looking for him? Is this all just a big misunderstanding?" The boy asked.
"This doesn't concern you, fleshling," Megatron growled as he stepped closer to the soldier.
"I showed you the pictures. You had the scent and you didn't even get me the right people," Megatron said. He quickly took the boy from the solider before punching it and sending it flying across the room. The other soldier and the girl both cried out in surprise as they watched. Starscream watched on silently, stepping back to avoid any stray punches.
"You both have one more chance to get the right targets. If you don't find the right targets, I will dispose of you both myself," Megatron growled as he stood over the solider. It hissed at him briefly before going silent.
"Take the girl to the egg chamber and go," Megatron ordered. The soldiers nodded and rushed off. The girl began to scream and cry as she was carried away.
"What about me? What's going to happen?" The boy asked, looking up at him cautiously.
"What will yo do with him, Master?" Starscream asked curiously.
"I have no use for an insignificant human," Megatron grumbled as he simply squeezed. The boy cried out in pain as he tried to struggle in his grip. Megatron smiled as he squeezed harder. He could hear bones start to break and shatter as the boy screamed.
"Let...Let me go! Have mercy!" The boy cried out before coughing up blood. Megatron laughed as he gave one more squeeze. Mercy was for the weak. The boy screamed weakly before he suddenly went limp in his grip.
"That felt wonderful. Humans are so easy to kill," Megatron chuckled darkly as he looked at the terror in the boy's bloodshot eyes.
"I should give that a try sometime," Starscream replied.
"Take this to the queen or to the egg chamber, Starscream," Megatron ordered as he handed him the body. Starscream looked at the body in disgust before he nodded and stepped out of the chamber. Megatron sighed as he went to sit down. Those soldiers would get it right this time.
Starscream shook his head as he walked down the hall. He was sure the queen already knew about the mistreatment of her child and would probably need some cheering up. He looked down at the terror frozen in the boy's eyes and smirked. He had a plan.
The queen's growls and hisses soon filled the air as he got to her chamber. He paused when he looked in. Some of her eggs had been destroyed.
"Children…Dead…Sweet….Children," the queen said, her head hung low as her guard did her best to comfort her. A sorry sight. Megatron probably ordered some grunts to destroy her eggs for punishment. This was the perfect opportunity to win her over some more.
The guard noticed Starscream and growled at him.
"Leave…Mother…Mourns…," she said. Knockout had made more translators and gave one to only a select few, including the guard.
"I brought some food for you two. You must be hungry," Starscream replied, showing her the corpse. The guard looked over at the queen and the queen only nodded.
"Good…Scream…Friend…," the queen said as the guard walked over to him. Starscream handed the corpse to her and watched on silently as the guard went back to her mother. Starscream looked around at the burned eggs and faked a sad sigh.
"What a tragedy. You don't deserve this treatment, my dear queen," Starscream said, taking a cautious step forward. The queen looked up at him as her daughter began to eat. Starscream held back the urge to grimace.
"No….Dead….Children…No more...," she said.
"None of your children should be slaughtered. My master has always been cruel, but this is simply unacceptable," Starscream replied.
"Revenge…," the queen said with a low growl.
"I was just thinking that, my queen. You shall have your revenge and I will help free you and your children," Starscream crowed. An obvious lie. With Megatron out of the way, he would find a way to dispose of the queen and her children.
"Yes…Lay…Egg…Kill…Bad…Metal…," the queen declared.
"Perfect! When do you think you'll create it?" Starscream asked. The queen was silent for a moment as she looked at her egg sac. She laid a normal sized egg before turning her attention back to him.
"Days….Soon," she said.
"Excellent," Starscream purred, smiling.
"Thank….You…Star…Scream…," the queen said. Starscream heard something and looked up. Some of her children were watching them from the ceiling, purring softly. One dropped down and rubbed its slimy head against his side. A few others joined as well.
"You're welcome, my queen," he said, bowing before her. He gently pushed away some soldiers and made his way out. The soldiers went to their mother as she let out a low purr. He had lots of planning to do when Megatron was finally gone. But first, he needed to wash off. He wasn't sure how much of the affection from the queen's soldiers he could handle.