Ch. 56

The bots continued to walk down the beach, pausing briefly at a small estuary. Starscream glimpsed his reflection in the water and scowled, covering his faceplates.

"I look like a monster!"

Arcee walked through the water to the other side, "Why? Because Ratchet changed your optical color?"

"Yes!" the seeker whined, following after her, "What a horrid thing to do! Now I look passive and unassuming, not menacing! I've lost my menace!"

The femme laughed, "It does make you look more like a normal mech."

Starscream gasped in pain, "See?! This isn't right. I have to get it fixed before Breakdown wakes up, or Knockout-" he squealed, "What if Knockout sees?! Primus, he'll hound me over it for the rest of my function! I'd never find any peace!"

Optimus followed the two closely, "Do not worry, Starscream. Once we are done scouting, I will make sure Ratchet's mistake is corrected."

The seeker fluttered his wings as he mulled the thought over, "I suppose I can accept that... I'm actually very proficient in finding energon, you know."

Arcee started to move inland, the two mechs following her, "Really? Practice from the mines?"

Starscream smiled excitedly; he may have been curbing his overall malicious tendencies, but he would never pass up an opportunity to brag about his talents, "Oh no, far better than that. I was once in charge of a fleet of energon seekers. The best Cybertron had to offer. If there was energon hidden away, we were very good at finding it."

The femme blinked, "An energon seeker? Then why join up with the 'Cons?"

The seeker pouted a little, "There were... a multitude of reasons."

Optimus smiled gently, "Well, then we are lucky to have you, Starscream. If there is energon on this island, then I have little doubt that you will help us find it."

Starscream's wings fluttered again at the compliment. He walked standing up straighter and felt his chest plate puff out a bit. It felt good to have his talents, or rather his original talents, appreciated. The group made their way into a small clearing in the jungle and the seeker paused, looking around.

"I can search from the air from here. If I notice any geological abnormalities, you can investigate them from the ground."

Arcee crossed her arms, "Not going to fly away, are you?"

Starscream smirked, "And where would I go?"

"Nowhere you could hide from me."

The seeker stumbled dramatically further into the clearing to get some space and whined, "Oh, the pain! The lack of faith!"

The femme rolled her optics, "The drama," she waved him off, "Hurry up, Fly Boy, seek the energon."

Starscream transformed, his engine roaring loudly as he took off into the sky and started to circle the pair.

Optimus watched him as they continued on foot, "You and Starscream have a very odd way of communicating, Arcee."

The femme shrugged as she pulled herself over a large, fallen tree, "It's what we're both familiar with. Might as well stick to what works... Optimus? Can I ask you something?"

The Prime nodded, "You may."

Arcee looked above them at the silver jet who was beginning to dart across the sky in a grid scan pattern, "Why are we taking this chance? I know I'm supposed to try to forgive what happened to Cliff, but if he can do that then..."

Optimus smiled, "We have as much reason to help and trust Starscream as he does to help and trust us. He admits far more accidentally than he means to, which is not only a burden, but a blessing. In his apology to you, he said he was going about this course of action to save himself and others. I do not believe he is ready to be pressed for details, but when the time comes I know he will tell us what he means. His insecurity is evident and a great deal of that comes from what he believes others think of him. He harbors so many secrets and yet seems to see an enemy in anyone he thinks has any of their own. Being forward and at the same time undemanding will allow him the chance to tell us more. So, why are we taking this chance? Because he could have just as easily told Megatron everything. And he did not."

The femme hummed quietly then smiled slightly when she saw Starscream begin to twirl and loop back and forth, "I guess that's our signal to follow him..."

Arcee and Optimus transformed, their vehicle modes tearing through thick foliage to keep up with the jet above them. They didn't have to travel far. Within a few minutes, Starscream had transformed and landed on a large plain of rocks with few bits of vegetation growing in the area. It was clear within moments why.

"Heavy material saturation, low organic presence," he reached down to scrape at the rocks as Arcee and Optimus transformed behind him, "and the crust composition is correct. We have a prime, excuse the wording, location for an energon deposit."

Optimus smiled gently, setting a servo on Starscream's shoulder, "Good work, Starscream."

Arcee carefully used her servos to brush away a layer of hard soil and dirt, revealing a few large samples of energon.

She smirked up at the seeker, "Alright, I'm impressed. You did good."

Starscream sighed nonchalantly and picked at his claws, "Oh, I'm just earning my keep."

Optimus shook his helm, "You have no reason to do that, Starscream. You have already earned your place."

Arcee was the first to walk through the bridge, her arms full of raw energon. Starscream came through a few moments later with Optimus, large chunks of energon in both of their servos.

"We shouldn't hope to keep the location long," the seeker explained, "The Nemesis is always scanning for new deposits. They'll find this one now that it's exposed-"

"PRIME!"

The shout from Agent Fowler's mouth echoed loudly through the base. The man was standing at the catwalk, glaring first at Optimus, then at Starscream. Ratchet, Bumblebee and Bulkhead were watching the seeker carefully. The children looked confused.

"Where has he been?!" Fowler yelled, "Don't you know how dangerous he is?!"

Optimus carefully set his cargo of energon down next to Arcee's, "Agent Fowler, Starscream has done more than enough to warrant free range."

The man crossed his arms, "Oh, really? Because I just got a call from a base in the northern part of the state saying a bot with large WINGS just attacked them! Where has he been?!"

The seeker's wings flattened and he frowned, confused himself.

Arcee patted his arm, "Starscream has been with us for the past few hours. We settled disputes and mined for energon," her optics narrowed at Fowler, "I think myself and Optimus as witnesses should be proof enough."

Ratchet grumbled, "And I bridged them to the location myself. An island in the Pacific, Agent Fowler, nowhere near Nevada."

Starscream said nothing as he set his armful of energon down. He was deep in thought.

Fowler wasn't backing down, "What, he doesn't have a clone of himself?! Or maybe another friend with wings called 'Skysoar' or 'Airhead'?! Was he out of your sight for even a moment?!"

Optimus looked annoyed and stepped forward, "Agent Fowler-"

Starscream walked up quickly, "Wait, he's not wrong, but it wasn't me."

Fowler glared at Starscream, "How can I be right if it's NOT you?"

The seeker's blue optics darted back and forth in thought, "Things changed... because I forced them to change..."

Bulkhead grumbled, his servos twitching nervously, "What are you talking about?"

Starscream slowly began to tremble, his servos covering his faceplates, "MECH."