Hey guys, I'm not sure what happened with the story switch-up but this is the second chapter - not Jazz and Prowl involved hahaha
Starscream's processor was aching terribly as he came online. The boot up was slow and it felt like there was a vice wrapped around his helm, tightened to just over bearable levels.
He waited until his head eased a little before requesting a report from his central data store, Star needed to know what had happened to him. This wasn't how he usually onlined and his memory core was resisting his attempts to access it.
He attempted to online his optics as he waited, expecting some damage as was usual when he booted up irregularly. They came on without delay or static, a good sign yet he was puzzled as to why he was looking up at the medbay ceiling. He hadn't been involved in the assault on the power station and couldn't have received any injury from the mechs left behind, they wouldn't dare. Starscream knew Megatron had beaten him for some imagined slight, slagger, but he could remember leaving the tender care of Hook and Scrapper. What had happened after that?
Starscream's impatience got the better of him and rather than wait for his CPU report, he struggled up to see what the damage was. His body protested every minute movement of line and cable. Star gasped as his body was filled with pain, the majority of it centred around his spark.
Star forced himself up into a sitting position as the pain receded to coalesce in one spot; his spark.
He rubbed a hand over the glass of his cockpit, running through his sluggish memory banks to find out what had happened. The most recent entries were corrupted; he frowned and began a recovery cycle. The time stamps informed him that eight joors had passed since the last untainted memory file.
That was a large stretch of time to lose.
The sound of footsteps caught Starscream's attention and he turned to see who was approaching. The green plating was enough to answer his query and Star returned to his internal investigation. He rubbed at his chest again as the ache in his spark refused to dissipate.
His memory core was still refusing to let him open the file, he left them to the recovery program; maybe he could get some answers elsewhere. He reached out through the trine-link for his Wings. He was met with a void that stirred up the beginnings of panic. He was never out of contact with his trine, not so completely. Even if he was pissed with them he could feel their presence and they his.
Starscream's optics locked onto Scrapper as he came closer, he swung his legs off the berth and slowly lowered himself to the ground. His motor cables groaned as they took on the full weight of his frame, Star had to brace his hands on the berth for support until he felt confident of his legs ability to hold him up.
"Scrapper, why am I here?"
"Bonecrusher brought you in, you were hysterical."
Starscream sneered. "I do not become hysterical."
Scrapper shrugged. "Well whoever he brought in looked remarkably like you and they were hysterical, flailing around and screaming."
Starscream would have liked to punch the slagger in the faceplate, he was enjoying Star's predicament far too much, but he didn't think he could maintain an upright stance after doing so. His fingers tightened in the berth as his equilibrium coding glitched, Star fanned his wings to help bring the program back online and stop the world spinning.
Starscream's glare darkened. "What happened?"
"You don't recall?"
"If I could remember I wouldn't be asking!" Star seethed. Why was it that he always seemed to be surrounded by idiots?
His neural cortex attacked his memory banks with a vengeance, forcing it to pull up any viable files after the noted timestamps. Static filled most of the memory but he could recall a sharp pain in his chest and the feeling of his spark straining.
Starscream pressed a hand to his chest and turned burning optics on Scrapper. He probed the trinelink again and came back empty, panic setting in a little deeper.
"Which of my trinemates was injured?"
The Constructicon didn't cower at Star's glare. "Both. Skywarp's damage was worse than Thundercracker's but not by much."
Starscream stared at the lying mech. That was impossible. If both of his wingmates were injured that badly there was no way Starscream's spark could support them. If it was true they all should have deactivated once Starscream had passed out.
"You're lying. Why?" He was pleased that his voice didn't shake.
Scrapper shook his head. "I'm not, Starscream. You collapsed in the hallway when they were shot down. Bonecrusher brought you in hysterical."
Starscream snarled. There was that word again.
Hook appeared from a back room. His visor lighting up upon seeing Starscream, his more cultured tones picking up Scrapper's story. "We restrained you until Lord Megatron returned with the others."
He probed the recovered memory files for more information but the majority were still corrupted, allowing him only brief flashes.
He eyed the medic suspiciously. "How am I alive if that is the truth? Their damaged sparks should have drained mine."
"Lord Megatron bonde–"
"Stop!" Star's processor completed the Constructicon's sentence without his help. "No more lies. That is twice as preposterous as my trine being in regen!"
"You don't remember any of it?" Hook's voice held the slightest hint of surprise.
He did, Star realized. Terror filled his spark as he brought up the only accessible files. Megatron over him, his heavy chassis pinning Starscream's lighter one down with ease and ordering his chest plates open. All he had after that was the feeling of supreme pressure and pleasure as they became one.
That couldn't be real. It was a dream, a fantasy. Megatron would never risk his own spark for Starscream. He'd tried to kill the tyrant far too many times for Megatron to want to do anything other than slag him. Star focused on his spark and found it feeling slightly different than normal.
"No. I don't believe it. It's ridiculous!"
The medbay doors opened and Starscream spun around, certain that the prankster who had masterminded this would be coming to gloat over Starscream's fear. Instead he gasped and staggered into the berth next to him.
Megatron stood in the doorway, his ever impressive form filling the entry as his presence filled the room. But it wasn't these things that had Starscream's knees buckling. It was the strong pulsing of his spark, the happy electric jolts of recognition he usually felt after being separated from his trine for a time.
"No. No! NO! What have you done?"
A dark look from their leader had the room empty in seconds.
"I could have left you to die." Megatron's voice rumbled across his sensory network like gravel.
"Why didn't you?" Starscream sneered.
"I had my reasons."
The enigmatic reply didn't calm Starscream's nerves. His spark was pounding with a mixture of fear and shock. He needed the stability of his trine to ground him since the world no longer made any sense.
He staggered back, wanting to get away from Megatron. His bondmate.
The thought sent a multitude of emotions spinning in his spark, not all of which were helping him keep his strained composure.
"Where are Thundercracker and Skywarp?"
Megatron's gaze flicked to the doorway Hook had appeared through. Starscream turned and lunged through the door. He knew what was in here but his processor didn't seem to make the connection until he was standing in front of the chambers.
His vents hitched and he fell to his knees as he stared at his wingmates floating in the Cryogenic Regeneration tubes. How could this have happened?
They looked so serene even with so much visible damage, he almost expected Skywarp to wink and teleport out of the chamber complaining about staying still for so long.
But he didn't and Starscream knelt there in the quiet, aware that Megatron was behind him somewhere.
00—00—00—00—00
He looked down at the mech who was now bound to him for life. He could feel the confusion and grief radiating from Starscream, it was suffocating.
He had felt it when Starscream had onlined; the disruption had dragged him away from briefing Soundwave on his duties. His third was capable of handling the army while they settled whatever issues arose from the bond.
Starscream's agitation grated against Megatron's spark, almost to the point of pain. He hoped that it wouldn't continue to be this intense. He had no experience with bonds and would have to trust Starscream to navigate the way; as distasteful and worrisome as that was. Hopefully he would be able to block the link.
"Starscream."
His Seeker flinched, wings twitching. "What?"
Megatron felt his trepidation. "You need to control your emotions."
Surprise and anger battered at him before the bond was diminished. Through his relief Megatron noticed that he could still feel Starscream but not to the degree he could before.
"What do you want?"
"I want this bond settled so that I can go back to running this army."
Sullen optics turned to him, no trace of the tumultuous emotions in his gaze. "Why?"
Megatron knew his Seeker wasn't asking about the army.
"Would you have preferred to deactivate?" He growled.
"I wasn't given the option." Came a soft mutter.
"There was little choice." He replied. "Your abilities and experience are not easily replaced."
Starscream continued to stare at him, disbelief and confusion leaking through the bond. "That explains why you saved my life." His optics narrowed. "There has to be a reason why you decided to do this yourself. Why not someone else?"
Megatron's patience waivered, he did not want trouble from Starscream now; he wanted the Bond to be settled and not feel the need to touch the sleek frame. He had to plan a follow up attack on another power station; the complete failure of the first one hadn't been anticipated.
Keen to bring this conversation to as swift a conclusion as possible, Megatron replied. "Any other spark would have been corrupted by you. Even Soundwave would have become suspect."
Indignation sparked in Starscream's optics and Megatron was mildly relieved not to have to deal with the pouting sulk anymore.
"How selfless of you, giving your spark to keep your treacherous Second alive."
Megatron ignored the snark in the Seeker's voice; he could feel Starscream's unease and vulnerability under the rebellious nature.
"Perhaps you'll keep that in mind when you plan your next assassination attempt."
Starscream's face fell momentarily before closing down. "Maybe I will."
Megatron searched what he could of their bond, not yet certain of how it worked. He could feel unease, loneliness, fear and defeat coming from the other end. The sensation of intense vulnerability was there as well, another feeling Megatron wasn't familiar with.
He took a moment to properly study his bondmate. The word left him feeling uncomfortable. Starscream was as polished as he ever was when leaving the medbay, however this time he looked as beaten as his trinemates. His wings sat low and his whole body radiated exhaustion, the fluctuating emotions continued to play across the bond even though it was dampened.
Megatron was sure Starscream could feel his own uncertainty, considering how much of the Seeker was coming through to him. If he did, the Seeker wasn't acknowledging it. Instead he appeared to be focused on his grief and fear, the desperate longing to have his trinemates with him was annoyingly strong.
He shoved away the anger away; it didn't make sense to want Starscream's attention. Under normal circumstances having the Seeker's attention usually involved a weapon pointed in his direction. He certainly didn't care that his Seeker wanted the comfort of his trine rather than his bondmate. Megatron was loathe to identify the emotion as jealousy.
This strategic bonding was going to be more frustrating than he'd initially thought. After he'd regained consciousness Hook had warned him about the need to be close with his new bondmate, that he'd be possessive of both Starscream's time and attention. Megatron had dismissed the comments as irrelevant, he wasn't coded with such traits...apparently the bond had other ideas.
"Why are you still here?" Starscream's question drew him away from his thoughts.
"I need to know how to settle this bond as soon as possible."
His Seeker leapt to his feet, his wings flaring wide as incredulous anger swept through the bond. Megatron was pleased that the mech was no longer wallowing in his pain. The familiar expression of anger was etched on his faceplates, this he knew how to deal with.
"You initiated a bond without knowing anything? How much of a fool can you be!? First you try to take a power station without me in command of the aerials and then you tie my life to yours without understanding the consequences. Fool!"
Megatron growled, anger pulsing in his chest. He strode forward until he loomed over Starscream, the urge to strike him rising. His bondmate's head was tilted back to allow him to keep optic-contact and, as normal, he did not give any ground. They stood nose-to-nose, chests mere feet from touching.
The situation was so familiar he almost didn't notice the heat flaring in his spark. Under normal circumstances he would let Starscream say one more ill-advised thing before beating him into the floor. This time however he could feel Starscream's excitement, the prickle of awareness that came with arousal.
Is this what Starscream usually felt in these tense moments before the violence began?
The thought didn't temper Megatron's anger at Starscream's insolent words, although it did add an element of sadistic pleasure to the burn in his chest. The cords in his arms tightened in preparation of teaching his vicious little bondmate a lesson he'd obviously not learned properly yet.
The calculating gleam in those crimson optics stopped him. There was something wrong here. What would happen if he hit the wayward Seeker now?
"Do it. You said this bond would stop me trying to kill you, perhaps it will stop you from abusing me as well." Starscream was practically gloating; his wings were fluttering and Megatron could feel the triumphant anticipation in his spark. "Hit me, Megatron, and find out just what you've done to us."
Megatron unclenched his fist. There had to be a way for him to gain an advantage over Starscream now that physical punishments were apparently no longer useful.
The frustrating Seeker had more experience with bonds, his trine link was one of the strongest amongst the Seekers. Megatron's processor brought forth the memories of the Bonding, ones that Starscream couldn't recover and the slow heat of anticipation in his circuits solidified his idea. Yes, maybe he did have a trump card to play.
He dropped his voice to a dark purr. "You may have familiarity with the bond process, Starscream, but it goes both ways. Your weaknesses are open to me in a way they weren't before."
Megatron brought his hand up to touch Starscream's cheek, a move that would mean violence any other time. His thumb traced the line of Starscream's jaw and felt rewarded when the Seeker's optics flickered momentarily.
Barely a moment later Starscream jerked away from him, his optics flaring wide and Megatron suspected his bonded knew what the bond had revealed.
His Seeker stumbled back until his wings hit the CR chamber Thundercracker was suspended in. His optics shone with fear but the bond had arousal filtering through to him.
Megatron controlled the grin that threatened. Now was not the time to show all of his hand. Starscream might not realise yet that Megatron desired him in return; the bond was ensuring the appeal was mutual.
"I will expect your presence for planning the next mission... or earlier."
He growled the last two words and left his Seeker shaking against the glass of the CR chamber.
TC and Skywarp will make a reappearance in the next chapter. How will they react to what Megatron has done?
Please let me know what you think, I live for your reviews, follows and favourites.
TammyCat xx
