Ch. 8

Breakdown and Knockout walked through the Nemesis halls together. It wasn't odd to see the two do this once in a while; they were close. Some said that they had fought in battles for centuries. That Knockout was the only one who could patch up Breakdown in the blink of an optic. And that Breakdown was the only one who could defend Knockout without getting his paint scratched. Their teamwork was nearly unbeatable.

That's probably why they thought they could do this easily. Neither of them liked Starscream's false answers to this little Breakdown kidnapping. Both of them wanted to know what was going on. And when both of them wanted the same thing, it was hard keeping it from them.

"So," Knockout purred, playing with his claws as they walked down the hall, "how hard should we knock?"

Breakdown smirked, "I don't think we should be subtle."

"Breakdown, we are hardly ever subtle, in looks and in points," Knockout chuckled, stopping at a door, "Ah, our journey has ended."

Breakdown frowned and moved to bang on the door loudly with his hammer, but the red medic beside him stopped him, "Easy, easy, Breakdown. We can still be civil about this before playing the Knock-'Down game."

The blue mech scowled, transforming his hammer away, "But I like the Knock-'Down game."

"I know, and we'll get our chance, I'm sure," Knockout pulled away to tap loudly at the door, "Knock, knock, guess who~?"

No answer came, so the medic typed in an operating code into a side panel, frowning, "Odd. Screamer has the door on lock down mode. He's not allowed to do that, Big M said so."

Breakdown growled, pounding on the door with his fist, "Starscream, open up! Let us in or we'll take the door down!"

The soft sound of pedfalls slowly came to the door but it only parted a bit, the glow of Starscream's optics shining through, "... What...?"

He sounded tired, his voice somewhat staticky, and this gave Knockout some pause.

It didn't for Breakdown, "Let us in. We're going to have a conversation."

The seeker grumbled, "I'm really not prepared for company right now."

"Too bad!" the blue mech wrenched a servo into the door and forced the rest of it open, Starscream scuttling back into the room as Breakdown waltzed in, "What the frag? Why are all the lights off?"

Knockout followed suit and shut the door behind him, "Starscream, you're not usually one for a dim feel to the room," he flicked the lights on and struggled hard to keep a gasp from escaping passed his lip components.

Breakdown found himself in a similar state of shock.

The room was trashed, datapads covering everything; some cracked, some on, some beyond repair. Starscream shielded his optics from the light, his wings low, and continued to back away from the pair but Breakdown grabbed him, pulling his arm down.

The seeker winced, his optics blinking dimly as he stared at them in annoyance, "You have no right to be in here..."

Knockout growled as he led Breakdown to push Starscream onto his berth, looking him over with a snarl, "Dented helm structure, gashes in your chest plate, faceplate, arm and leg plates, wings-" he took deep intakes, pointing angrily, "That wing is bent the WRONG way. That is the WRONG way!"

Starscream winced again, grumbling, "Really? I was completely unaware."

Breakdown frowned and scratched his helm, "These aren't... you know, from the look of this room..."

The seeker shook his helm lightly and Knockout scoffed, "No, these are all Megatron sized. What the frag happened?"

Starscream glared, looking at Breakdown, "You. That's what happened."

Breakdown blinked, "Me?!"

Knockout stared, "Him?!"

Starscream snarled, "Yes! After you delivered your report, Megatron called me to the command deck. He said, clearly, that this was my fault for not giving you adequate backup to handle the original situation at hand and that NEXT TIME, I might remember to provide you with some for your next excursion!"

The seeker kicked at a pile of datapads angrily, letting them scatter, "So fragging thank you! Me saving your aft has pretty much summed up every decision I will be making after this moment! Thank you, SO much!"

Starscream buried his faceplates in his servos, struggling to keep steady intakes. He was in pain. He was frustrated. He was angry. He knew so much but knew nothing of what would happen if he changed things. Above all he was tired. Tired of knowing. Tired of seeing something that he had done, something that was actually good, punished when he had done nothing wrong.

He heard Knockout climb up on the berth behind him and gently began to angle his bent wing, testing the metal with his servos first, "Starscream, what is all this? What's going on?"

The seeker shook his helm, "I can't tell you... I can't tell anyone."

Breakdown shrugged, "You know, talking to the doc is always a good idea. Helps me out."

Starscream scoffed, "You and the good doctor are friends."

Knockout laughed as he readjusted the wing, "Whoa, whoa, now. Careful with that f-word, Screamer. That's a little steep."

Breakdown chuckled at the joke but it subsided when he saw it wasn't helping the seeker; he frowned and knelt in front of the mech, trying to get a good look at him, "So... why can't you tell anyone then?"

"... Because some things go beyond believing, even if they could be proven."

Knockout tugged on Starscream's wing a bit to test it, "Now that IS a bit steep. If it can be proven, then it is believable. So says science, mathematics, and all that smart stuff."

Breakdown smiled, "See?"

Starscream whined a little as he looked up, "Well it also goes against allegiances towards the Decepticons in favor of... other... alliances..."

Knockout paused in repairs, "You leaving us for the 'Bots?!"

"No!" Starscream scoffed, "No, I'm just saying things aren't going to get better for us in the long run!" he sighed, "And even so, you wouldn't believe anything I say."

Breakdown sat on the floor and grabbed the nearest datapad. He didn't bother to read what was on the screen; instead, he held it out to the seeker.

"So then explain it. Starting with these," he gestured around the room, "All of these."

Starscream grumbled and took the datapad from the blue mech, sighing again, "These are just to help me keep everything in order."

"Ooo, what things?" Knockout asked gently, tending to the dent in Starscream's helm, "Secretly fabulous things?"

The seeker shrugged, "Some are... fabulous, I suppose. Others, not so much..."

"Well then you better start talking, Screamer," the red medic hissed in effort as he finally popped the dent out, surprising his patient a little, "Cause you better say something of value before I'm done repairing you or I'm going to feel jilted."

Starscream grumbled quietly, fiddling with his digits as Knockout looked over the gashes on his upper arm, "What if I told you that... I know what's going to happen?"

Breakdown snorted, "What, like 'ooo, tomorrow Megatron will find a super weapon that will destroy the Autobots'?"

Knockout laughed, but the seeker didn't react, "Almost. Almost something like that..." he looked Breakdown in the optics, frowning, "What if it told you... I never got to you in time? In fact, no one knew where you were until they removed your optic."

The red mech stopped laughing. Breakdown's smile was wiped off his face.

"I wasn't the one who actually rescued you, either. The Autobots looked for you, tried to find you, but it was Bulkhead who saved you. You were laying on the slab, your chest plate cracked open, your pain receptors turned off, and their little handheld machines being used to break you into smaller pieces. MECH learned a lot. Enough, I suppose. I came in with a troop of Eradicons that mopped the stragglers up and then ordered you to finish Bulkhead off. The Autobots came to his aide, and we retreated," Starscream grumbled, "We reconvened before we made it back to the Nemesis. I warned you that when the time came, you would have to pick a side; I suggested you pick mine, in return for me having come to save you from an early expiration..."

Breakdown started to tremble and Knockout glared, pushing Starscream back so he could look at him, "Is this a joke?! What the frag?!"

The seeker shook his helm, frowning, "No, it isn't..." he turned on the datapad he had been given, "This one is coming up. In two days time, Airachnid will seek assistance from MECH in helping her catch and kill Arcee. They use a ploy on Arcee and her human friend, Jack, by kidnapping the boy's mother and using her as a hostage. Airachnid intends to turn the arrangement into a double cross. She gets her vehicle mode; a helicopter..."

Breakdown took the datapad from Starscream, still shaking, "Is this real...? Is it?!"

Starscream stared back at him, his voice attempting to be firm but it came out as a wavering whimper, "I was never going to let them harm you! ... But you would never have believed me if I had tried to warn you."

The blue mech stood quickly, clearly upset, and paced the room, "Well, this... a-and this other..." he growled and threw the datapad, watching it break into pieces against a wall, "How far?!"

The seeker flinched, and Breakdown grabbed him by the shoulders, snarling, "How far do you know?!"

Starscream glared, but slowly lifted a servo and pointed to a datapad he had left leaning on the far wall. The blue mech let him go and went to it, picking it up to read.

"What? What is this?!" Breakdown growled, "'DEAD'? That's all it says; 'DEAD'?!"

Knockout glared down at the seeker, "What does that mean?"

Starscream huffed, "Nothing to the pair of you. Not in the grand scheme of it all," he stood and took the datapad from Breakdown, "This is the one labeled with the date of my death. Almost two years from now," he set it back against the wall, "The rest of these were in order of every major event that was to occur in between my death and when you found me attacked by the Autobots a few days ago. That's when this all... started..."

Knockout crossed his arms, "... You asked me if you could change things."

"Yes," the seeker snarled, "and I did. Breakdown was my test subject. If I could save him from losing his optic and allowing MECH to run their tests on him, then maybe I could change things so that the final outcome of 'DEAD' doesn't happen in almost two years time!"

Breakdown rumbled, "You saved me as a test?"

"Well I tried! And it worked for only a little bit," Starscream hissed, "because instead of you going to the med bay to get repairs and a cover for your empty optical socket, Megatron became enraged that you had been captured at all and took it out on me! So no, don't worry!" he slumped to the floor, tired and defeated, "I won't be doing this again..."

He huffed, hardly registering when Knockout knelt beside him, "So... ultimately, you die."

"... Yes."

Knockout frowned, "... And Breakdown?"

"... Airachnid kills him..."

Breakdown flinched, but the red medic continued, "And me...?"

Starscream smirked a little, then laughed, "You? You betray me and join the Autobots at the last possible moment..." he tapped his claws against the floor in annoyance, "They accept you."

Knockout took a moment to process the information, then sat next to the seeker.

Breakdown fidgeted, grumbling, "Doc."

The red mech waved him off, smiling at Starscream, "Alright then. What do we need to do to make sure no one gets betrayed and no one dies?"