Ch. 210

Starscream yelped as he and Predaking were jostled by an explosion. Alarms were blaring loudly just outside their door and the Predacon heard the smaller beasts outside cry out in surprise. Their squeals grew louder then ebbed; they had left their post.

Starscream panted, setting his servos against his chestplate as he tried to calm himself down, "Predaking," he asked softly, watching the Predacon move towards the door, "Predaking, what was that?"

A worried sounding chuff answered him and the larger mech growled as he slammed into the door, causing the seeker to yelp again.

"W-wait, you wouldn't open it before, why should we open it now?!"

Predaking slammed his frame into the door again and then dug his claws into the metal to hoist it up. The gears inside creaked in distress before breaking and allowing the door to screech open, offering an exit. Despite the obvious yet unknown problem regarding the ship, the area around them was clear of soldiers. Starscream peeked out into the hallway slowly filling with smoke and grimaced.

"Something has definitely gone wrong," he assessed; he looked up at his warden cautiously, "Perhaps... we can use this to our advantage?"

Predaking didn't need convincing now. With a quick dip and flick of his helm, he tossed the silver mech over onto his shoulder and began to run, seeking the smell of fresh air under the smoke as he felt Starscream's servos clench onto him. They needed to move quickly; there was no telling when the Vehicons or even C.Y.L.A.S. and his bugs would show up.

Another explosion rattled the ship and forced Predaking to pause. This new damage sounded more internal, an inner fire perhaps causing a secondary explosion. Whatever the cause the ship was starting to move again now, leaning and groaning as it began to descend. The tilt of the vessel made Predaking growl out, his claws scraping the floor as they slid down the hall slowly.

"What the frag is going on out there?!"

Predaking didn't know and he certainly didn't like it. Someone must have been diligently correcting the ship's trajectory because it suddenly balanced out and allowed some relief to the pair if only for a moment. The Predacon rumbled a sigh before continuing. He tried to keep his steps light and quick. Even in all the chaos, he was hardly unnoticeable.

Predaking paused again when he heard a growl under the sound of the alarms and roared when he felt claws grab at him from out of the smoke. Three Insecticons slammed into him as C.Y.L.A.S. snarled and directed them.

"Get that thing back under control! Grab Starscream; we're doing this now!"

Predaking snarled and wrenched his helm back to grab Starscream's wing in his maw, tossing him ahead of him down the hall. Now that the seeker was out of range of the close combat, the Predacon roared again and expelled fire from behind his mandibles, incinerating two of the three Insecticons that plagued him. More were coming from the cover of the smoke but the beast lunged forward to engage them, snapping and slashing with his wings spread wide in intimidation.

C.Y.L.A.S. sneered as he slid passed the fight to catch up with Predaking's charge, his spider legs clacking excitedly, "Seems your beast is busy, my dear Starscream."

The seeker spat a small amount of energon from his mouth, a cut somewhere on the inside, and glared angrily at his aggressor, "C.Y.L.A.S., even like this you know I could kick your aft all the way back to the scum you evolved from."

"I'd like to see you try!"

The black mech ran forward and slammed his spider legs down in an attempt to skewer Starscream. The silver mech was faster and jumped back. He didn't need to risk too much, just wear the disfigured mech down until he could get away. Predaking was still too far back, snarling and gnashing at the Insecticons that continued to appear from the smoke. One thing was evident the longer he fought and decimated the bugs: not all of the Insecticons were here and limited numbers meant that there wouldn't be much to worry about soon.

Predaking heard a loud roar emanate from behind him, from back where he tossed Starscream, and began to side step in that direction as he blew another hot incinerating breath of fire. C.Y.L.A.S. lunged again at Starscream from above with his spider legs when another explosion made them both tumble to the floor. The ship then started to lean again.

Starscream grumbled at first then cried out as he began to slide down the corridor. C.Y.L.A.S. followed, using his extra limbs to guide him more carefully than the seeker could, and snarled as he concentrated. The ship started to level out again and he scowled, growling to himself loudly.

"If you can't keep the right side of this ship balanced, we lose the Nemesis!" he hissed, "Pattern yourselves better and work with the control room to get this thing to a proper landing site! I want this ship!"

Starscream overheard the command and grimaced when he realized the situation. Most of the hive must have been outside keeping the Nemesis airborne. If the damage was as bad as that, then what had happened to cause it? Could... it have been...?

C.Y.L.A.S. was upon the silver mech again, this time landing a firm punch into the seeker's shoulder and sending him chassis first into a broken beam that lay at a broken angle down in the hall. The air was forced from Starscream's frame and he nearly collapsed at the sudden pain. He wheezed and rolled just out of the way before the black mech could pounce on him. With a scrambling struggle, the seeker got to his peds and snarled, angry that the disfigured mech was still fighting with an advantage. C.Y.L.A.S. was lucky his servos weren't free so he could kill him right here...

Predaking roared loudly from just behind them somewhere and the black mech continued to give chase to force the pair from coming back together. C.Y.L.A.S. gave himself a quick burst from his turbine to shoot forward and he tackled into Starscream's back, finally pinning him to the floor. The silver mech thrashed wildly when he felt black, clawed servos pin his down and he twisted quickly so he could face his attacker. C.Y.L.A.S. sneered as he punched up into Starscream's side and the seeker choked back a gasp as his internal sensors registered a rupture. He started to kick in protest and one of the disfigured mech's spider legs came down hard on his right leg, crushing the knee joint. The silver mech shrieked in agony. He couldn't tell if the act was to immobilize him or as revenge. C.Y.L.A.S.'s sneer told him it was most likely the latter.

The black mech continued to deliver quick, hard punches into Starscream's frame. He was hoping to beat him unconscious at this point, to establish now more than ever who was truly in charge. C.Y.L.A.S. lifted the silver mech's helm and slammed it back into the floor, watching bright blue optics widen then glaze over as they lazily rolled around in their sockets. He was dazed. He would be much easier to handle and transport now...

Something large, sharp and hot bit into the side of C.Y.L.A.S.'s wing and he hollered as Predaking wrenched him off Starscream's chassis, tossing him away. The black mech landed painfully against the hallway wall and groaned... and the ship started to lean again.

Predaking clamped large claws over the black mech's chassis and whined loudly when Starscream's frame slipped down the corridor again and out of his reach. The Predacon followed as quickly as he dared, C.Y.L.A.S. still trapped in his clutch and squealed when he saw the silver mech sliding down towards an enormous tear in the side and floor of the ship. The noise must have given C.Y.L.A.S. something to help him refocus on because just as Starscream fell out of the hole, the ship regained balance, the Insecticons back in synchronization. Predaking wailed as he came to the gash and chuffed excitedly when he saw the seeker had been caught by a large piece of shrapnel in between his still bound cuffs. He hadn't fallen too far just yet.

Predaking glared with determination and tossed C.Y.L.A.S. away from himself, slowly and carefully leaning down to try and reach the silver mech. Starscream grumbled and shook his helm gently to stop the pounding at the back of his processor. The rush of panicked wind on his wings and frame made him gasp. Predaking chuffed firmly. The beast didn't want the smaller mech to look down. He had to focus on him, not the ground simply too far below them. The Predacon tried to grab at Starscream with his maw, but there was just too much distance between them. Predaking turned and reached out with his tail but almost slipped out into the air. There wasn't enough room for him to grab the seeker while in flight and he needed his tail to balance him better. Predaking grumbled gently, unsure of how to proceed.

Starscream gulped as he watched the Predacon try to figure out how to get to him. On the other side of this large gash, Vehicons were starting to crowd together. Their leader's treasure was in a dangerous position with few options to get him out safely. A couple of the drones pressed themselves against the wall and dug their claws in, trying to slide in close enough to the long tear of shrapnel holding the seeker up. Predaking watched and snarled as he tried to do the same. But as his claws dug in, the stability of the wall buckled dangerously and the shrapnel dipped, swinging wide as it lowered.

Starscream screamed loudly and flared his wings in surprise. The limbs caught a surge of wind that bent the trajectory of the shrapnel back towards the Nemesis and closer to Predaking. The beast immediately tried to reach down, his helm not quite close enough to grab the seeker yet. But at least he was farther away from the Vehicons...

A pair of shrieks from the other side of the gash erupted through the air and Predaking looked up. Darksteel and Skylynx barreled through the crowd of Vehicons and jumped over the hole, slamming into the larger mech's chassis. Starscream watched in horror and in anger that he could do nothing to help, listening to the painful screeches and snarls as Predaking fought back against the smaller intrusions. The beast threw the pair away only to have them return more vicious and energized. Predaking could hear the seeker's noises of frustration from below and whipped his tail wildly at the smaller Predacons to keep them back.

"Predaking!" Starscream called out, "Take them out, I know you can! Don't let them get the better of you!"

The larger mech glared and the seeker heard a loud exhale of fire before the clattering of sequences echoed out into the air. The Vehicons on the other side of the gash yelled out and ran, and the squeals of Darksteel and Skylynx mixed with an array of hesitant hisses. Starscream hummed in worried confusion and he jumped when he heard and felt a large 'thud' above him. And when he looked up, he felt his energon run cold.

Wide yellow optics stared back at him against a pale faceplate, a great crown atop his helm. His long arm was outstretched to him, dagger-like claws offering their assistance. It didn't matter what he had told himself before, the seeker couldn't move.

"Starscream," the gruff voice addressed him, the gruff voice who had never once spoken his name in such worry or concern or with such a sense of care in it, "Starscream!"

The silver mech couldn't look away and couldn't move. He didn't care that things were different, all he knew was he was not as prepared for this as he thought. Predaking slumped himself down further, the claws on the joints of his wings holding him in place so he wouldn't fall out. His servo almost had a grasp on Starscream's arm. The seeker was trembling but against the shakes of the wind and the slight movements of the ship it was hard to see it. Predaking began to smile gently when he suddenly cried out in pain, startling the silver mech. The Predacon's claws desperately tried to reach out and save the smaller bot but instead snagged between the cuff. And severed the connection.

"STARSCREAM!"

The seeker shrieked as he began to fall, watching as Predaking began to grapple and fight with Darksteel and Skylynx once more. The silver mech tumbled and twisted in the air as he plummeted. And his optics widened when he saw a great form in the distance emerging from a cluster of clouds. One with a hull of orange and bearing the same red emblem he thought had been made to be his alone.