-1The first thing Sarah noticed was that the ceiling was different, and the second thing she noticed was that she was back in her human form. This was a strange place, somewhere she hadn't been before, and that probably wasn't a good thing. How bad it really was became evident the moment she sat up, for that was when she saw… "Starscream!" His response was to cackle evilly and take a step closer to the cage she now found herself in. "Yes indeed, my little tool," he gloated. The look of hatred on her face elicited another laugh. "I initially planned to finish what I started when we last met and kill you for humiliating me the way you did. But then I came up with something better. You're going to help me destroy the Autobots, girl… And that traitor Megatron as well!" Hiding her fear, Sarah did her level best to sneer right back at him. "Starscream, I wouldn't even fix a pocket watch for you." He smirked at her. "Oh really? You'll find that I can be very… persuasive when I want to be." There was a long moment of silence between them, captor and defiant captive. "I'll give you some time to think on the matter. When I come back, we'll see if I can get you to see things my way." Her glare didn't waver for a moment as she watched him leave. Once the door had closed behind him, however, her composure broke and she wept like a lost child.
"Girl… Girl!" She must have fallen asleep, because a familiar voice awakened her. Looking up, she saw none other than Barricade beside her cage, crouched down low so as to be on her level. "You!" Knowing the bars protected her, she took a step closer. "What do you want?" Motioning for her to keep her voice down, he took a quick look around to make sure no one was watching before turning back to her. "They say Lord Megatron has turned traitor… that he has forsaken the Decepticons. Is it true?" She nodded. "Yes, it is. He's with the Autobots… and his brother." Straightening for a moment, Barricade took another look around, making sure the coast was clear. Satisfied that it was indeed clear, he opened the cage door. "Come on! We don't have much time." Sarah promptly did a double take. "What?" He beckoned to her. "I'm getting you out of here." Seeing no choice but to trust him, she slowly approached him. Being ridiculously gentle for a Decepticon, he picked her up and held her close, then exited the room.
Sarah had a lot of questions, but she wasn't nearly stupid enough to voice them at that moment, as Barricade quietly snuck down the halls of what had to be the Decepticon base. She hadn't thought it possible for something as big as he was to be as stealthy as he was being, but he managed. Still, those few minutes were extraordinarily tense for the both of them, seeming to stretch into a breathless, uncertain infinity. The hallways were totally deserted, and she found out why the minute they stepped outside. It was the middle of the night. The moon wasn't out so she could barely see anything, so she had no clue just where the base was. Taking a quick look around, he quietly transformed and opened his passenger-side door. "Get in! Hurry!" The oddness of the situation hit her in that moment. The cop car that had chased her so long ago and led to the birth of Rumble, that familiar cop car stood before her once more, this time not as a threat but as a beacon of hope? All that remained was to take the final plunge, to make that last gamble and wager everything on the sincerity of a Decepticon. Taking a look behind her, at the base she had just left, she decided to take that chance. And so she got into the cop car that was Barricade.
"Why are you betraying the other Decepticons?" That was the question that plagued her most, had plagued her from the moment he made his intentions clear. The resolute tone in his voice startled her. "Betraying them? Ha! If anyone has done any betraying, it's them and not me, for they have turned their backs on the true leader of the Decepticons. I serve Lord Megatron and no other." There was a short pause, and his voice held a note of disgust as he continued. "Besides, I heard Starscream bragging about what he did to Lord Megatron when they last fought. I would never serve someone who would stoop so low as to do that sort of thing, much less someone who would do that and then brag about it. Starscream is a glitch-ridden rattletrap who needs to do the universe a favor and just die already. Either way, he's no leader of mine." He was sincere. Somehow, she could just tell. It didn't make much sense, but she could sort of feel it.
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Sometimes Decepticons don't lie.