Ch. 168
Starscream's optics quickly came online. It had to have been the stress, that was the only thing that could have put him into recharge in the same vicinity as that beast. He certainly hadn't given his chassis authorization for power down.
The seeker gasped quietly and scrambled to sit up from the floor, frantically looking about. Predaking was still on the other side of the deck, the Predacon intaking deeply to indicate he was in recharge. Starscream's optics wandered slowly from Predaking to the sky above him. If the Nemesis was stationary, hovering where they had settled during the night, then the dawn encroaching upon them now meant he had been in recharge for at least a few hours... and that Megatron had left him outside for a few hours.
The settled droplets of cloud condensation against his frame was proof enough. Starscream scowled and began to shiver as he shook the water off. That gasbag warlord had left him outside as punishment. He wouldn't have forgotten, he was too obsessed with him for that. The seeker struggled to stand, the early morning cold debilitating his movements, and glared at the hangar door.
"Fine," he grumbled quietly to himself as he trembled along the side of the deck's barrier, "l-leave me out here, will you? Y-you've... signed my release, then... I'm finding my way off this ship..."
Starscream took heavy intakes to help warm his systems, holding them for short moments to allow them time to heat up before releasing them again. His long, panted intakes misted into the air and he begged quietly to himself for the sun to rise on the deck sooner rather than later. He was a lot colder than he thought he was.
The seeker stepped out further to see if he could peek over the edge of the deck. He easily spotted the barrier columns that would stop him on either side of the open ledge and grimaced. It was cruel, to be so close and yet so far from freedom. He was reminded just how so when he shuttered his optics and heard slow but heavy pedfalls come up behind him and large arms encircle around the front of his frame to warm him.
"My, you are freezing, my dear Starscream."
Starscream felt sour energon climbing up his throat as claws gently trapped him on either side of his arms.
"Come back inside," Megatron's whispering voice purred, "You don't want to fall back into recharge out here."
The seeker growled, "You speak as though I was the one who made this choice. I told you to stop lying to me and I meant it."
The warlord chuckled, "You made this choice based upon your defiance, but as refreshing as your attitude has been... it is still a hinderance to all that I have planned. So, why don't you apologize," he murmured, "and I will treat you accordingly. You do not have to be what no longer exists."
"I am an Autobot," Starscream growled, flicking his wings to push Megatron's hold off him, "You're the one who doesn't want to accept- no, refuses to accept that. Do yourself a favor," the seeker walked away from the warlord, his optics dimming as the sun finally graced his form with its presence, "and keep your distance from me. It'll be better for both of us."
Megatron watched the new day's light shine across the tired chassis of his treasure, making him glow brightly in prisms and silver as the dew upon him sparkled to life. A sneer grew on his faceplates and he chuckled darkly as he stared at his prey further.
"My. Dear. Starscream."
It wasn't what he said that made the sour taste return to his mouth and his spark feel like it was falling. It was the tone. A tone that couldn't quite be placed in the realm of the sane and thus made it an unknown horror. It was a promise and a lie and a taunt and so many things more than just those three words. My. Dear. Starscream.
The seeker's frame shook and even in the warmth of the sun he still felt cold, "Stop, please."
Megatron shook his helm and stomped forward, cackling, "Come here, my dear Starscream."
The smaller mech nearly tripped over his own peds as he backed away from the ledge, the sun at the warlord's back turning him into a dark, red-optic monster, "M-Megatron, please, I'm telling you to stop."
"And yet, I do not wish to stop. So, come here, my second. Allow me to clarify a few things for you."
Starscream saw a dark servo lurch forward and he shrieked, scrambling back to the hangar and the lift doors. He wouldn't be able to open them, but he had no where else to run to. Maybe Hardshell or C.Y.L.A.S. would hear him and think the torment was wrong. Maybe Shockwave would finally feel pity. Maybe one of the Vehicons would help him. He didn't know what would happen but in the end it hardly mattered as he slipped, barely dodging out of the way of a pounce from Megatron and slammed himself up against the barrier wall again.
The warlord's optics, alight with that horribly primal, basic need for whatever this was, never left his form as the seeker cried out in pain and slid back along the floor, a small static from the barrier making him writhe.
Megatron chuckled as he followed along, grabbing his treasure by a delicate ped, "For one who prides himself on his grace, you flutter too frantically, my second," he pulled Starscream back and pinned him to the floor, purring at the sound of a choked whine hitching in his prey's throat as he leaned over him, "You should learn to fly closer to me. I'll protect you from the storms to come, my dear Starscream..."
"S... stop," the seeker finally managed, tears flowing from his optics, "I-I'm telling you to stop."
Megatron smiled, "Come back with me and this all stops now."
Starscream slowly shook his helm, "No... I won't... Let me go, save what's left of yourself and-"
A heavy, hissing sigh left the warlord's mouth and the seeker stopped cold, his servos trembling from the sound. The glow from the larger mech's optics was visible but his optics themselves became hidden by the angle of Megatron's helm. Starscream couldn't watch and tell what they would convey, what his captor was thinking. After a moment, he didn't have to guess.
"I still believe in your loyalty, my dear Starscream," came Megatron's heavy words, "but your rebelliousness... it does your potential no justice," large claws slithered themselves around the seeker's small neck, holding but not clenching, "So, allow me to make myself completely and utterly transparent..." the hold around Starscream's throat became more evident in threat than in pain and the seeker began to cry quietly as the warlord leaned down against him to whisper into his audial, "You cannot say 'no' forever. You are so close to the end you don't even realize it. I will admit, you charm me with your quick wit and strength but when I am ready to finally act you will have no say in the matter. Make peace with yourself now. When the time has come, when all has come into alignment and I have used your power to bring about the domination and chaos I could only have dreamt of, your reward will come," a soft stroke on the cheekplate from a sharp claw made Starscream whimper and Megatron purred, "If you think I have treated you unfairly now, then you have not truly seen what I intend for you. Right now you have your freedom, but your power will bind you to me like light into the void and you will never escape..."
The seeker held his intake for a moment before allowing himself to cry softly, terror gripping him; Megatron smiled and leaned back, letting his neck go, "Now, come inside, my second. I have many duties to attend to. It will be far easier and more entertaining to have you by my side while I do so."
Starscream shivered and shook his helm, his voice betraying him as he shrieked loudly, "NO!"
Megatron's optics widened, but before he could snarl the seeker sobbed loudly, "I keep saying it and no one listens! No, no, no, NO, NO, NO! I've said it when you attacked me! When you've tortured and humiliated me! I've said it to every demand you made, even after you took everything! I won't stop fighting, I won't stop resisting you! I won't stop saying it until my last intake! I said 'NO' and I meant it! Now get AWAY FROM ME!"
The warlord's faceplates darkened and he was upon the smaller mech once more, his servos grabbing at the struggling treasure's arms as he flailed and screamed. Megatron managed to snag a bound wrist and wrench Starscream from the floor, his other arm catching around his lower back. The smaller mech wailed loudly and flapped his wings violently to create a current but a quick tug against him reminded him what had happened to his wings the last time. Starscream sobbed, settling for digging his peds into the metal beneath him as Megatron dragged him towards the hangar doors and to Primus only knew where.
He tripped, forcing the larger mech to stop but when the warlord's claws threatened to snatch him up again, a loud 'CLANG' and holler made Starscream curl in tightly. Claws like giant drill blades caught around the seeker's form carefully and pulled him back under a looming shadow. A shadow that created a glow within its chest plate that translated into a great breath of fire and a roar towards the sky. Predaking slammed a sharp set of claws into the floor and flapped his wings wide, snarling at Megatron.
Starscream didn't know how to feel or think. He watched from beneath the Predacon's form as Megatron rose from the hit he had received. Anger was a gentle word to use in description of the warlord, his optics darting from Predaking to his treasure, his prize stolen from him by the creature he had put in charge of protecting it.
The seeker couldn't take his optics off the larger mech as he paced at a distance, watching, waiting for an opening. The sick feeling of dread began to overwhelm him as realization of the situation unfolded in his mind. The Predacon he considered to be the cause of all his suffering stood between him and his greatest tormentor. All he could feel was a torn distortion of fear and comfort and neither felt recognizable. The beast that loomed over him instilled a terror... but it was pale in comparison to the horror he felt towards the monster that leered at him with an unidentifiable hunger.
After a moment, Megatron stopped pacing. His pause made Predaking growl lowly and the warlord smirked, chuckling.
"Fine. For now," he mused, his 'all's well' demeanor returning, "But I shall be back for you soon, my second. Don't think for a moment that I'm giving up. You are mine, chassis and spark," he activated the lift doors, which opened, "Don't ever forget that, my dear Starscream."
The doors closed with a hiss and then he was gone. The fear lingered. Not even Predaking moved from his spot over the small mech beneath him. His intakes were in ragged, aggressive pants and his optics were trained on the hangar. When a few moments had passed the Predacon finally grumbled and craned his helm down to look upon the seeker that still had yet to move or make a sound. Predaking wasn't sure what he expected to see or be rewarded with but he parted slowly from above the seeker to sit in front of the lift doors. The shrieking Starscream had said 'no', the scared seeker had said 'stop'. He knew what these words meant. And he had been ordered to protect the silver mech. He hadn't been entirely sure from who or what, but he was starting to form an idea...