Quick Notes: There are too many views of Alexis and hardly any of Starscream. Here is a chapter all on Starscream. This chapter is more like a filler but the title is about 'Starscream' and Alexis. Soon there will be involvement with the Decepticons and...it was going to remain a surprise but there is a better surprise so I'll let you in. I'll give one word and you should get the drift...Unicron. However, there is no Starscream death. But it's what happens just before, during and the end that's left in the dark.
Starscream stood outside the doors to the training room and he felt a little disappointed that he wasn't going to train Alexis. He was only helping her to use the sword. But he knew she was in good hands with Scavenger. Scavenger would take good care of her. Of course this would give him a perfect time to have some time to himself. He hadn't had much of that lately. And when he did, his mind was always on the girl.
He moved away from the doors and decided to sneak away before anyone noticed him to ask him to do something. That was the one thing he wasn't use to and wasn't sure if he'd ever. When he was a Decepticon, no one asked him to do something unless it was to find a Mini-Con. He mostly kept to himself when the Decepticons were on down time.
Unlike the Autobots, they were always busy. Their idea of down time was spending time with the humans and or watching TV. Doing either one of those wasn't too bad. It gave Starscream better knowledge of how the humans live. But he wasn't use to being around everyone.
Starscream stopped at the hidden entrance to his hideaway. He quickly looked around to make sure no one was around and then snuck down to where he knew there would be peace and quiet. The only ones who knew about it were Alexis and Swindle. Swindle was with some of the other Mini-Cons and Alexis...she was training. So there was no one to bug Starscream.
When get got to his spot, something was out of place. The door was opened. Starscream quickly brought out his sword, ready to strike at whoever or whatever was in the room. He quickly and quietly walked in. He stopped abruptly at the intruder who found his hideout. Over by a cave, which there was a few, Optimus Prime stood with his back to Starscream.
"What brings you down here?" Starscream asked a little too rudely, placing his sword back.
Optimus turned. "I had wondered where you would hide. I came down here to see if there is an underground lake."
"Not to my knowledge there isn't. Mind you I never searched the caves."
"Alexis is with Scavenger?"
"Yes. I just left her. I came here to get some peace and quiet."
Behind his faceplate, Optimus smiled. "It's amazing how peaceful it is down here."
Starscream nodded, a little confused why the leader of the Autobots would start a conversation like that.
Optimus chuckled. "I have known about this hidden cavern, since we landed here. I just never told anyone."
Starscream was taken aback. "You knew about this?"
In the distance, through his audio receptors, Optimus could hear dripping. He held up his hand to silence Starscream. "Do you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"Dripping. And it's coming from down this tunnel." Optimus turned back and went down the tunnel.
Starscream shrugged and decided to follow. "Maybe there is an underground water source down here after all."
"Let's hope so. I've been wondering where we'll place the sample when it gets here."
"When is it coming?"
"Ironhide, Powerglide and Seaspray are on their way. They should be here in a day or two."
"Alexis will be grateful of that."
"Yes she will."
As the two bots walked further down the tunnel, the dripping was getting louder and there was also another sound. It sounded a lot like a waterfall. But how could that be? They were underground. Water didn't flow underground did it?"
"It sounds like we're going to find more than water drips," Starscream said. "That almost sounds like a waterfall."
Optimus remained silent as he led the way. Finally the tunnel had an opening. When Optimus came up to the opening, he was stunned at what they just discovered. Starscream looked up and was also stunned.
Right in front of their surprising optics was an underground waterfall, which flowed into a lake. Optimus looked up to see how far the water went up. Near the top of the waterfall, Optimus could barely make out a stream, leading away from the waterfall.
Getting over the surprise, Optimus turned to Starscream. "See if you can get up to the top and see where the water leads out."
"Sure, I guess." Starscream quickly transformed and slowly went up to the top of the waterfall. The tunnel was too small for him to transform but he was able to go through it in vehicle mode.
Keeping an eye on his scanners, he kept on flying until he reached the end where the water flowed in from an opening. He exited the tunnel to find himself in front of another waterfall.
"Optimus," he said through his comlink. "The water flows in from another waterfall."
"Where are you?"
"Five miles. I believe on the other side of the mountain, away from the city. I'm on my way back."
Starscream turned about ready to head back when another jet came souring from the sky. Starscream recognized the jet immediately even before he transformed.
"Thrust!" Starscream growled.
"I see you are wearing Autobot symbols," Thrust said. He watched as Starscream transformed, his wing turned into a sword. "I'm not here to fight. I'm here to give a message."
"That doesn't sound like you. Megatron must be using you as his floozy."
Thrust clenched his fists at Starscream's remark. He so wanted to rip Starscream's head off but he was under strict orders not to fire a shot. Not even if he was attacked. "Megatron wanted you to know that your girlfriend will become a distant memory."
"Talking about Alexis," Starscream started. "Is what you came down here for?"
"No but she is part of what I have to say."
Thrust looked smug and Starscream knew behind the faceplate, Thrust was smiling. What the heck were the Decepticons up to?
"Megatron will get his revenge on her for humiliating him and on you for betraying us and becoming a floozy Autobot."
"Why don't you tell me something I don't know?"
"Fine." Thrust was loosing his patience. "Surrender the girl and Megatron will leave Earth and you alone. He wants the girl." Thrust saw that Starscream was about to snap back about not having the girl. "If you care enough about this miserable planet, I'd think about it if I were you."
"Well you are not me and I'm not you."
"Yes that is true. The Decepticons will win." Thrust laughed and disappeared.
When Starscream knew Thrust was gone. He transformed back to jet mode and seared off towards the base. He didn't want to go back through the tunnel, in case Thrust was watching. He couldn't trust the viper. The water flowing in the tunnel was Alexis's only source to keep her humanity and as much as he wished she wouldn't go back to being a human once in a while, he did want her to be happy.
When he got back to the base, he quickly walked inside to find Optimus. He first checked to see if he was in the command center. Sure enough, Optimus stood at the main viewer, waiting. He knew Optimus heard every word that was between Thrust and him.
"They will not get Alexis," Optimus said trying to remain calm.
"I agree," Starscream said, coming up beside his leader. "And even if we did, I know they would go back on their word. They want you, me and Alexis."
"You for betraying, Alexis for humiliating Megatron and myself for the being the leader of the Autobots. Luckily Alexis's change is now complete."
"Yes. But they will wonder why she did it the first place."
Optimus turned to Starscream. "I'm going to my quarters to relay a message to the shuttle. In few more hours, Alexis will be done for the day."
"If you need me, I'll be by the lake." Now that the lake was discovered, he wanted to check out a few things about it. Starscream turned and headed towards the hidden cavern. When he entered, we walked down the tunnel to the lake and sat on a nearby rock to think.
He needed and would protect Alexis at all cost even if it would cost him his life. He had let Kiaudica down and allowed her to be killed and he would be damned if he allowed that to happen again with Alexis. She was too special to him. He was in love with her and now he needed to tell her. It was time to tell her but how? He was never good at talking about his feelings.
He looked at the waterfall and noticed that the sound was calming his nerves. He had heard from Rad that a lot of humans found the sounds of a waterfall or river or even waves on the ocean were quite soothing and now he understood why.
He looked down at the lake. There was hardly any light for him to see how large the lake was or even how deep. Even with his optics brightened, it didn't help much. Staring at the water, he lost track of time.
Suddenly his quiet thoughts were interrupted as he heard a Transformer approach. His sensors reached out and were able to identify the intruder.
"Your back," he said.
"The shuttle will be here in a day. They will soon reach the warp coordinates that will send them to here. They should be here about nightfall tomorrow."
"Good. For Alexis to see when she's human, I would suggest in having some light down here for her. Though I don't like the idea of it since everyone will know where I like to hide out."
Optimus chuckled. "I'll send Red Alert down here to put something in. If you want this to remain as your hideaway, I'd suggest not to be down here when he comes."
Starscream turned to the Autobot leader. "Why do you act like this towards me? I have tried to kill you and if it weren't for Alexis I don't think you would try to be this nice."
"Where Alexis has placed her trust in you, I don't see why the rest of us should keep a close watch on you. From experience, I know what it's like in wanting to be alone. Why do you think I go to my quarters?"
"To get some filing done."
"That and to get away from everyone."
"You don't seem to be the type in wanting to be alone."
"That is part of the reason why I'm such a good leader."
"That and you treat your men with respect and dignity. Unlike Megatron who will insult the nearest bot that's closest to him."
"I'm also a very understanding bot," Optimus said. "If it weren't for all those qualities, I don't think the last leader would have handed me the matrix of leadership."
"I suppose. An Autobot leader must be understanding and have respect towards his men and more."
"Are you regretting your decision from joining the Autobots?"
Starscream seemed a little taken aback. "No. Why would you ask something like that?"
"You seem a little distant."
"I just can't stop thinking about Alexis and how far she has come since I've met her that day in the desert when we first arrived."
"Yes she has come a long way. I admire her strength to continue on without her mother."
Starscream looked towards the lake. "I wonder how far the lake goes down."
"There's one way to find out. Go and take a look. I'm going to head back up before I'm missed. Red Alert wants me to inspect the ship."
"I don't know why but I have the feeling, building the ship is going to end up being a waste of time."
Optimus sighed. "I'm tending to agree with you. From Thrust showing up is just the beginning." He placed a hand on Starscream's shoulder. "Oh and Alexis has decided that she isn't going to copy your design. She wants to be a jet but not completely like you."
"That's understandable. She'd probably get tired of the look, if she were to know about my brothers back on Cybertron. Now that I think about them. I wonder if they know that I've switched sides."
"Oh I believe Thundercracker and Skywarp know. In the Decepticon ranks there are always snitches."
"Yeah and I believe Thrust is one of them. Well I'm going to go and check out how deep the lake is." Starscream stood and walked towards the water. He slowly stepped in and to his surprise the lake had a gradual grade. Through his sensors, he could tell that Optimus left.
He was quite amazed how deep the lake was. When it was over his head, he still had a ways to go. He calculated about a hundred feet, to a Transformer, to the surface when he reached the bottom. Deciding on how deep the lake was, he walked straight about a hundred feet and then started his climb back up.
"Well," he said to himself out loud when his head was above the surface. "I'd have to say this lake was made from a meteor that crashed here either before or close to the time the Mini-Cons landed. But the question is how did a waterfall make its way down here?"
He got out of the water and decided to head up to the main part of the base to speak to Optimus about his little discovery.
"Optimus," Starscream said as he entered Optimus's quarters. "I'm guessing the lake was made from a meteor that crashed before or close to when the Mini-Cons arrived."
"How large is it?" Optimus was intrigued.
"Hundred feet down with a gradual grade and hundred feet across."
"If it was a meteor that was a pretty large meteor. And probably around the time when the Earth shifted off its axis the meteor was destroyed."
"Wouldn't Alexis know more about it? She likes to study up on ancient Earth."
"More so since the Mini-Cons were discovered. Alexis's training should be almost done, why don't you go check on her."
Starscream nodded. "But first I should get some energon." He left for his quarters. He knew Alexis probably would be overheating from training and would need to know how to cool herself down.
The discovery under the base was defiantly relaxing after his run in with Thrust. Just the thought of his name boiled his circuits. It also fumed him at the thought of the Decepticons wanting Alexis. He had a feeling though, killing her wasn't what they wanted from her. He knew one of the Decepticons had a liking towards her and would give a lot to brainwash her to the Decepticons. But as long as Starscream was alive, Alexis would remain unharmed by the Decepticons influence.