Important Information

"Blah" Speaking

::Blah:: comm. link

'Blah' bonded speech

'Blah' thinking

Astrosecond- 2.5 earth Seconds

Klik- 150 earth seconds/ 2.5 earth Minutes

Orn- 150 earth minutes/ 2.5 earth Hours

Joor- 60 earth hours/2.5 earth Days

Metacycle- 17.5 earth days/2.5 earth Weeks

Vorn- 10 earth weeks/2.5 earth months

Stellercycle-30 earth months/2.5 years

Breem-slang for a moment/minute.

Night Cycle: star down to star up

Day Cycle: Star up to star down

Authors Note: Thank you to everyone who reviewed and read. This chapter is not beta'd.

As another reminder to please read the warnings in the tags. Things will be getting dark soon, and especially head the rape/non-con tags.

Also, for my FanFic . net readers, please be reminded that the full story will be posted over on Archive of Our Own under the same pen name.

Disclaimer: I own only my OC's, nothing else.

Starscream suppressed a vent of irritation, crimson optics narrowed as his wing twitched behind him. His hands balled into tight fists, before relaxing next to his hips; his lethal claws shifting in and out of his fingers as he fought to keep his growing annoyance to a minimum.

The source of all his annoyance was at his pedes; curly red hair falling around her shoulders softly, green eyes focused on her note pad, the tip of her pink tongue sticking out and caught in her white, gleaming teeth as she wrote in it.

She took another read, little pink tongue flashing out to lick her plumb lip before being caught in her teeth again.

Starscream felt his irritation grow. They hadn't spoken about what happened the day before, just as they had not spoken about when Megatron nearly killed Mia. He didn't want to be seen as her 'hero', because, he wasn't. He just happened to be the one nearby when she had done something stupid and nearly ended up dead. The stunt with the river had done nothing but prove that Mia was not fit for the field. At all.

In any way shape or form. Even something as simple as a training mission, something that should have had very little to no danger, she nearly ended up getting killed.

It wasn't that he disliked Mia, to be fair he didn't really know her, but he disliked her vulnerability. Her helplessness. She was human, she had that going against her, but unlike Callie she didn't have a sharp mind and unlike Danny she didn't have a sharp tongue. That didn't mean that Mia was dumb, she was just so inexperienced and lacked the survival skills of a warrior, and that was nothing but irritating.

It had been so very long since he had, had to deal with someone truly green. At least even the Arealbots had been given some kind of instincts and basic battle protocols.

Green eyes tipped up to his annoyed face before Starscream could mask his irritation, the little half smile falling from her face, the shame of failure quickly returning. Starscream didn't have to tell her he thought she was weak, she already knew.

She dropped her face, nervously tugging at the pages of her note book with a frown. Head tipping back, mouth open to say something, when their small radio came to life, voices full of static and far away.

"Units in the field, this is your first and last check in. Report." It was Prowl's cool voice, and Mia's shoulders lowered as she relaxed at the sound of his voice.

"All's good out here Prowlier." Came Jazz's musical voice, happy and excited. "All's good in the land of 'Con's."

Thundercracker's voice, smooth and calm came next, and Starscream found himself relaxing to hear his trine mate's voice. "All is well out here Sir. No problems."

Thundercracker was the epitome of professional, especially when it comes to running missions. Even silly training missions such as this.

Mia perked up as other N.E.S.T teams came in with their all clears, waiting for her turn to let Prowl know they were safe.

Her small hand wrapped around the receiver, her smile growing as her turn came up. "All is clear Sir." Her voice was smooth and professional and Starscream's optics rolled with a huff. Mia was fit for comm's and nothing more.

"Well done teams. We will be going back into radio silence until the end of your mission. We will see you all soon."

Just as quickly, Prowl's voice cut out and again Mia and Starscream were alone.

She tipped her head up with a bright, beaming smile, but it didn't quite meet her eyes. , Starscream had already turned away, missing her near sad look. "Come on." He groused. "Let's get onto the next camp ground and get the next sensor into the ground."

Mia's smile fell again, and she heaved a sad sigh.

She tried to offer a small smile to the Seeker. "Hey, maybe we can find another river or a lake to make camp next to." She brightened a little more. "I can teach you how to fish! It's pretty hard, it's the waiting that drives most people away. They find it boring."

Starscream paused, turning to glower at the human over his shoulder and Mia continued, undaunted. "I've never actually cleaned a fish before though. But Callie walked me through how to do it. It shouldn't be too hard."

The hopeful look she gave him, reminded Starscream of Skywarp when they were young and naïve. It was the youthful hope that twisted his spark painfully before it was walled behind a barrier of sarcasm and hate.

It had been so long, too long really, since they were younglings innocent from war.

"No." he said flatly. "You'll only end up nearly drowning again." He spat at her. "And I have no need to learn to fish."

Smile slipping again, Mia sighed. "Well. It was more so that we could, you know. Hang out."

"And what?" Starscream spat. "You think we will become friends? Like the twins and their little monster? Or Thundercracker and Callie? Did you actually think that we would have a moment out here?"

Mia's face paled, her frown deepening. "Well…I had been…hoping…we could talk at least."

Starscream sneered at her. "Come one. We have to go."

Still frowning, Mia shouldered her heavy pack, and prepared to move camp."Don't have to be so moody." She muttered darkly under her breath, her own anger at Starscream starting to ignite.

Prowl clicked his comm's off, door wings lowering in relief. He had not doubted that the teams in the field would be fine, this was after all just a training mission and the break in radio silence solely for learning purposes. Yet, training mission or not, Jazz was in the field with the twins, and that always had Prowl worried, and there was always a sense of great relief to hear they were alive and well.

"Everyone is fine?" Danny asked from the spot she liked to sit on his desk; she was leaning against his lamp, her finished breakfast pushed to the side so she could read her book.

"Everyone is fine." He confirmed as he tilted his head back towards his computer so he could send out a message to Optimus and Epps, the human who was in charge in Lennox's stead.

Danny gave a nod, brown eyes flicking across the paper of her book. Assuming that their conversation was over, Prowl went back to his message and a comfortable silence settling between them.

"Prowl, can I ask you a question?" came the unexpected words.

Still typing, Prowl nodded. "Of course."

"Where do babies come from?"

Prowl gave pause to that, a small frown pulling at his lips as icy blue optics tipped down to her. "Well," he said calmly, despite how flustered he suddenly felt. "I had always assumed that you had, at this age of course, understood how you species procreate. I suppose it begins,"

"I was talking about Cybertrionions." She said suddenly, face red despite her grin. "I know where human babies come from, but how do…you know. You guys do the do?"

Prowl's door wings flickered in embarrassment as Danny's head tipped up. "I mean, you must have to be able to create…right? Otherwise as a species you'd…"

"We would die off, yes." He said calmly at seeing there was nothing mocking in Danny's eyes, just pure curiosity, and he was never one to shame another for wanting to know more. To learn.

"We cannot create frames within our own frames like your species can, but there are two ways a spark can be created." She had closed her book and set it down as she twisted to give Prowl her full attention.

"The more common way in the past has been to spark merge. Two sparks are pressed together and if the two sparks can reach the appropriate heat, they go super nova. If, during the time they are going surper nova, the two Cybertronions are also interfacing with their spike and valve, the individual utilizing their spike will ejaculate into their partner, and that transfluid is used as a source of ignition to create a new spark."

Wide brown eyes blinked up at Prowl as she took in what he had just said. "Wait…spike and valve? So that's like our…" she gestured to herself.

Prowl gave a small nod, his hands clasped lightly on the table in front of her, slightly uncomfortable. "Correct, we have three forms of interfacing, and our spike and valve components are very similar to your human genitalia."

Danny's face flushed bright red that went all the way up to her hair line at the mention of human anatomy, but she allowed Prowl to continue. "Both spark merging and interfacing with components are used for pleasure," her face got impossibly redder. "But both are necessary to create a new spark."

Nodding, face still bright red, Danny's voice was oddly quiet. "So…it must be kind of hard to spark then. If you have to like….have your sparks joined, have to reach a certain temperature and have one partner cum inside the other."

"It is rather difficult. But many enjoy attempting it." Prowl agreed, his own face heating at her comment.

Danny barked a laugh and she began to relax a little. "Do…. Do you need to be bonded?"

Prowl's head tilted and a ghost of a smile graced his lips. "No. But many find it difficult not to fall into a bond while their sparks go super nova, but it is not impossible."

Danny nodded again, chewing on her cheek. "What about the third way?" and Prowl could see the cogs running in her head. "And does everyone have the same parts? Do you have genders?"

"The third way is, easily translated for you, is 'plug and play'. Meaning, you would jack into your partners net and systems and they would do the same to you. With that, you are able to manipulate your partners EM and sensor net. This method had no reproductive value, and is solely used for pleasure."

Leaning back in his chair, Prowl tilted his head, cheeks heating. "No, we do not have genders. All of our people have the exact same parts, regardless if they are large, small, a combiner, more masculine or feminine. We just happen to use male pronouns as it unsettled certain members of N.E.S.T high command when we used nothing at all. Most on base use the 'he', 'him', 'his' pronouns, so it just made it easy to fall into those patterns."

Danny made a 'huh' noise and settled back against the lamp. "You said there was two ways of creating. What was the second?"

"Ah, that would be Vector Sigma and the use of a key. It would create a slightly more mature spark that could be placed into a fully mature frame. Although the mech's that are created from Vector Sigma are a little more immature, they are more functional then sparkling born from a spark merge." Sadness filled Prowl's optics. "Often, mechs born from Vector Sigma were born in a batch, and often were used as fodder for war. Occasionally there would be a spark born of unusual power or intelligence, but most never had the chance to develop it."

"Oh." She said with a nod and sadness in her eyes, and after a moment of thinking, she shrugged and went back to her book. "Thank you Prowl. For, answering my questions."

Prowl nodded, going back to his key board, pausing before he touched it. "Danny, why the sudden questions? You could have gone to Callie to find out your answers, why ask me?"

The women lifted her eyes from her book to look back to Prowl. "Well, I thought you would be the only one who would answer me truthfully and not….ridicule me." She gave another shrug when Prowl frowned.

"You think others would have mocked you?" he knew his words were true the moment when they left his mouth, before she frowned up at him and tilted her head. Prowl signed and nodded. "Alright, yes, that was a dumb question." He admitted. "But why all these sudden questions?"

Danny's mouth pulled into a hard line and her eyes dropped again. They suddenly became cold and hard as she stared at her clasped hands. Her voice was small and brittle and angry. "Shockwave." Was all she said.

Prowl froze at that name, his own icy optics hardening into chips of ice. "And what did Shockwave have to say?"

Danny didn't say anything for a long moment, just continued to play with the edges of her book. "It's…not really my story to tell." She said quietly, almost defensively.

"Did he tell you what happened to the twins?"

Licking her teeth, Danny nodded.

"I found the twins when they were rescued Danny. I know what happened, what Shockwave and Megatron did to them."

There was another long moment of silence. "He used it to hurt Sunstreaker. To mock him. I figured out enough to know it was not right. That Shockwave and Megatron had…" she couldn't say the word. The thought of the big strong twins, her friends, being treated like that hurt and enraged her, knowing there was nothing she could do to stop it from happening to others.

Prowl vented a sigh, door wings lowering. "Megatron, and others raped the twins in an effort to force them to spark. Sparking is already a very difficult process, even before the stress of being assaulted. Add to the mix they are twins, and it was impossible for them to spark under those conditions."

Danny nodded, dark eyes hard with rage. "Shockwave knew."

Prowl looked up in surprised at her cold words. "Excuse me?"

"Shockwave. He said that…he said that you need to breed twins together, but he didn't tell Megatron."

Prowl sat stone still, optics going emotionless and hard, chewing on that. "He said that?"

Danny nodded, lips puckered in anger. "Why would he do that?" Dark, furious brown eyes lifted. "Shockwave said something about perfecting a gestalt programing. Or something."

Prowl sucked on his denta, optics narrowing in anger. "He would do that." He said coldly, voice full of his anger. Rage flared hot through his chest, and he clenched his fists tightly. He had never known that, never known that Shockwave had been as cruel as to debase two fine mech's like this. Two fine mechs that he had come to care for as his own younglings.

"So," she said slowly. "I was just curious as to how baby Cybertronians were made. I didn't trust everything that ass hole was saying." She shrugged.

Burying his rage, he would use it later, Prowl took a deep vent and released it slowly. "Curiosity is fine Danny, it is how one learns." He paused, still trying to put all that rage he felt into its box. What had been done to the twins….his twins hurt him in ways he didn't dare to try and explain. It was his family that had been brutalized. "But, perhaps this knowledge be left between us. There are some on this base who do not understand nor do they care to understand anything outside of what they view as 'normal'."

Danny nodded, and started to chew on her cheeks again. "Prowl? Are…the twins okay? Like…are they okay?"

Prowl paused and eyed the human. "You are their friend, and if they feel as though you are trust worthy to talk to, they will. I would not press the issue though." Danny nodded, trying to understand, wanting to help. "They are however, as okay as one can be in their position."

Danny nodded and grinned. "Thank you Prowl." She chirped, striving for happiness but not quite hitting the mark.

"You are welcome Danny." He said calmly, despite the anger he buried. "I worry about them as well." Danny flashed a grin up at Prowl, feeling the some kind of kinship with him. "But they are stronger then you think, and a friend is what they need."

Danny nodded, and the bad feelings began to dissipate ever so slowly. "I hope so."

She went back to her book and the comfortable silence returned. "I have asked Perceptor to train with Aleyah. He is not as good a shot as Bluestreak, but I feel as though his calmer demeanor will benefit her."

The conversation turned to something a little more normal, something they both could speak easily about without enraging each other.

Danny grinned. "Someone needs to have the patience to deal with her. If you think I have a temper, I have nothing on Aleyah."

There was now someone else who shared the twins secret, someone who could be relied on to help them, if need be. Someone to look out for the twins should he ever fall in battle.

Prowl snorted as he went back to his report. "Perceptor is full of patience. It is why I choose him over Bluestreak."

"Huh. I thought he was a scientist."

"He is. But he spent some time with the wreckers and after nearly being killed, he taught himself how to shoot. He felt he needed to be more useful to the army then with just science. However, acting as a sniper is nothing but science and math. Things Perceptor is highly accomplished at."

Danny looked up, almost surprised. "No kidding?"

Confused, Prowl looked back down at her. "No, I am not kidding. Why would I kid about that?"

Danny smiled and gave a small, exasperated sigh. "Prowl, I think you need to borrow Thundercracker's data pad on slang and sarcasm."

Prowl nodded. "Between speaking with you and Sideswipe, I may have to."

Danny snorted, and went back to her book, that oh so comfortable silence falling between them again, and Prowl could see why the twins liked Danny. When she wasn't being a pain, and that was rather often, she was bright and kind, but most importantly she was loyal.

That was something the twins needed in their lives.

Perhaps, Danny and her family needed that too and that was something Prowl could help provide.

Hound frowned down at his little human friend; he had heard about the blow out between Red Alert and Liz from Danny, but the bony little human was taking it far harder then any of them would have thought.

Liz looked as though she would cry again, sitting on the table between himself and Mirage, staring off into space, her closed lap top clutched to her chest.

Mirage had, as he often was when it came to delicate emotions in people like Liz, been a little too harsh when he told Liz she should not have been so surprised. Red Alert was protective of his systems because he was protective of his team and he only saw Liz's attempts as being a nuisance.

Mirage had tried to cheer her up, in his own Nobel way, but it had fallen flat with someone as sensitive as Liz. Hound wondered how someone like Liz had ended up as sensitive as she had with the upbringing she had. Even little Lucy had a thicker skin then Liz.

Blue optics slipped around the mess hall, in his mind ticking off who was coming off shift and who was going to shift. It was harder now to keep track of who was coming and going with the hall a little less full with so many mechs and humans in a training mission, and everyone else picking up extra shifts.

A flash of blue caught his optic, and Hound grinned when he saw Blurr come into the Rec room. Blurr who was practically bouncing with energy even coming off a shift, and had that permanent grin on his face. Blurr was cheerful and friendly, and if Hound had to leave his little friend in anyone's company, it would be Blurr.

"I'll be right back." Hound chirped, drawing Mirage and Liz's attention. With one last beaming grin, the green mech gave Mirage's shoulder a squeeze before getting up to catch up with Blurr.

"Blurr! Hey Blurr!" the green mech called, his smile wide and optics sparkling.

The light blue mech turned, helm fins catching the light as Hound called his name, frowning. He and Hound did not often associate, and Hound never came to him for anything.

"Blurr, I need some help with something."

Confusion turned to suspicion and Blurr leaned back as he crossed his arms. "Depends." He said smoothly, his words naturally quick and he had to slow them down for non-racers. "What's in it for me?"

Hound's smile faltered a little, but he managed to push it back up. "I heard you were looking for someone to swap your com duty shift next week," Blurr's helm tilted in interest and Hound took it as a sign to keep going. "I guess some kind of human race is going on next weekend?"

Interest perking, Blurr gave a little nod. "Danny said it was some kind of secret race that's posted on the internet. All the young race car drivers compete to get a slot in this race so they can be scouted by pros!"

"Well," Hound continue, gaining confidence, "If you help me, I will take your com's shift!"

Blurr paused, his smirk was brief as he gave a sharp nod. "Okay! What do you need from me?"

Hound beamed. "My friend Liz,"

"The bony little human?" Blurr made a face, one that may have been disgust, glancing around Hound to look at the little blonde.

Hound gave him a disappointed look. "Yes, her name is Liz. And she's been down since she had a falling out with Red."

Blurr snorted and shook his head. "I heard." He gave a little chuckle. "I think the whole base heard."

Hound's frown deepened as he stared at Blurr. "This was a mistake." He said suddenly, not willing to put Liz through any more pain at the hands of another Autobot.

Blurr's face fell, suddenly realizing that he may lose his chance to see the race Danny had told him about if he couldn't change his com shift.

"Wait, wait, wait!" he said quickly, his lean frame moving even faster to grasp Hound's shoulder. "No need for that!" he said brightly. "Let me guess, your little friend is down in the dumps and you need someone to cheer her up?" his grin turned sly. "Right?"

Hound gave him another frown, light blue optics narrowing a little in suspicion. "Only while I'm on shift." The tracker's face softened a little. "She's pretty upset over the blow out with Red Alert."

Blurr nodded. "Mhmm! Sure!"

"I'm serious Blurr. He really hurt her feelings. I need someone to try and help cheer her up. Can you do that?"

Blurr's easy grin slid into place with practice ease. The one that would have had media and race reps eating out of his hands. "Hound, of course I can." He placed a hand over his chest. "I promise, I will cheer your little friend up."

Hound gave a small sigh, not entirely sure if he believed him. "Alright, I'll introduce you two."

Blurr beamed, one step closer to getting to see this race. He draped an arm over Hound's shoulders as he eased the tracker around. "I'll take care of your little human! I'll even have her laughing by the time your off your next shift."

Hound gave Blurr a doubtful look as he lead the former racer to where Mirage and Liz sat, the Noble giving the racer a suspicious look as they neared.

"Hey Liz," sad blue eyes lifted to look at Hound, glancing to Mirage for reassurance, before looking back to Hound when she found none. "This is Blurr. He's a former racer, and he's going to hang out with you today."

Those sad blue eyes flickered to Blurr and she offered him a small shrug. "Sure."

Blurr's wide smirk began to slip as he glanced at Hound, who met his optics with a worried look. "So…ummm. Mirage and I have to go to our shift…" the green mech glanced between Liz and Blurr. "But I'll see you after!" he assured.

Liz glanced to Hound and offered a watery smile. "Okay, thanks Hound." Then instantly her smile fell and she glanced back at her knobby knees.

Hound hesitated a moment longer, glancing once more to Liz. "Have a good day." He said weakly with a small wave.

Liz waved good bye, but didn't look up.

Blurr huffed a sigh, and plopped down in the seat Hound left empty, crossing his arms.

"So." The former racer started, helm tilting. "You're off today?"

Thin shoulders shrugged and the blonde head bobbed in a nod. Blurr sighed, and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest.

Frowning, Blurr thought about ditching the human. He'd tell Hound that he had hung out with her during his shift, but when Hound found out he skipped out on their deal, he would look at him with those big blue optics and make him feel guilty.

So he stayed where he was, pouting at the small human.

"Soooo…" he tried again. "I heard you ticked off Red Alert."

Not the smoothest approach, but the most direct.

The little blonde head tilted up, large watery eyes looking up at him sadly, her voice so very small. "I upset him." She said very quietly.

Despite himself, Blurr felt his spark squeeze. He gave a nervous chuckle, and offered her a grin. "Yeah, but its Red Alert. Everything upsets him. Like. Literally everything."

"But this is something I did. I was the one who upset him." She sunk into herself, shoulders hunching as she tried to make herself smaller.

Blurr frowned. "You know. I once knocked out one of his sensors when I was racing around the perimeter of our base back on Cybertron." He gave her his best smirk. "You know, racers gotta race right? It's in us to run hot and hard. Instinct."

She didn't say anything, just gave him a sad look, large blue eyes were wide and watery.

"So, yeah, things happen. Shouldn't let it get to ya too much. Besides, he'll get over it." He paused, his head tilting as he thought.

"Hey! I know what might cheer you up! Let's go for a drive! I'll help you forget about Red Alert being…Red Alert."

"I-I don't know Blurr. Racing is kind of Danny's thing…"

"It'll be fun! Promise! You've never driven with me before, it's a whole new experience." He beamed at her, his voice dropping to a mock whisper. "No other human has ever driven with me. You'll be the first. And that's sort of a big thing!"

Liz blinked up at him, and although her eyes were still watery, her smile lost its sad edge. She giggled a little and she final scrubbed at her eyes with her sleeve.

"Alright Blurr. But only because it's sort of a big thing."

Blurr smirked at her, it was after all a win/win; he got to go racing, even if it was just against the clock, and he helped keep Hound's little friend happy.

Offering his hand, Liz only hesitated for a moment before she slowly stood, awkward and small, before stepping onto his offered palm. Blurr grinned down at her, blue optics sparkling with amusement. "This'll be a lot of fun." He assured her.

Liz brightened a little, her smile becoming a little more genuine.

From the corner of the room, a security camera's little red light blinked and Red Alert felt the first wave of jealousy hit his spark when he watched Blurr interacting with Liz so easily.

Starscream huffed an annoyed sigh, optics off line as he took a deep, calming vent. Mia, her small nose now in her training manual, brows drawn together in concentration.

It was not that he did not like Mia, more that he was impatient with her. The Ariels had reason to be as immature as they were. They were but children forced into adult frames, they were still learning. Mia was an adult by her species standards. She survived a dangerous childhood, and was family to the likes of Callie and Danny, and sure those two had their own issues, but they had survival instincts.

It was those survival instincts that had saved Thundercracker and Sunstreaker's lives. Callie's wit and Danny's tenacity were to be respected. Something Starscream had not expected to come from humans.

Mia on the other hand, was weak. Small and soft. She didn't have Callie's razor tongue or Danny's stubborn ability to see her through stressful situations.

Mia was the bait; something soft and juicy to lead predators into a trap and bait did not belong out on the field. Mia did not belong in the field, she was a liability and would get someone hurt at best. Killed at worse, and it would not matter how hard she was trying. That was the simple fact of it all.

He took a deep vent, calming himself and soothing his annoyance, again blaming Prime for the stupid plan of having Mia train with him. It should have been Jazz, or perhaps his trine that trained with Mia, not he. He took another deep vent, needing to be calm when dealing with Mia.

If he yelled at her, he would hurt her feelings and put them a day behind with trying to sooth her emotions. They didn't have time to deal with an emotionally hindered human.

"Mia," he began, wanting to move onto the next part of their training, thinking how he was going to bring this issue up with Prime and Lennox when the sound of jet engines reached his audials. Starscream froze, every piston and strut stilling as he strained to listen.

There it was again, not far but very distinctive. Jet engines, but moving faster and hitting pitches that human air crafts could never accomplish. His spark felt like someone was crushing it, and his optics went wide in fear for the briefest of moments.

"What is it?" the soft human voice asked from below.

The bright ruby optics blinked at the crystal clear, blue sky, spotting three small dark shapes in the distance.

"We need to go, now." He said coldly, calmly.

Mia's head tilted and her face was filled with confusion. "What?"

"Mia, get your bag now!" he suddenly screeched at her, his irritation flaring, edging into panic. "We're leaving."

She blinked up at him again before she moved, quickly shoving her equipment into her sac with no concern with how everything was shoved into it. Rope and food stuck in awkward angles and she struggled to zip the bag closed.

"Enough!" he hissed as he suddenly scooped her up before she had a chance to fully get her bag closed; he cupped her tiny frame in his much larger hand, kicking off from the ground, thrusters activating to get them into the sky. Panic and anxiety filled the red and white seeker, knowing he could not allow himself or Mia to be captured.

Mia made a small weak noise, curling around her bag, trying to hide from the winds that nearly blew her off Starscream's hand. Just as quickly, Starscream transformed around Mia, her hitting his seat hard as a seat belt strapped around her.

His thrusters flared and burned hard, Mia's bag falling to the floor, food and rope spilling out as her tiny finger nails dug into the seat. "W-what's chasing us?"

He pushed himself harder, going faster, his sensor net searching for the three incoming mechs he had spotted in the distance.

Cursing when he could not find them, Starscream shot upward, Mia pressing in harder into his chair with a surprised scream. When he hit cloud cover, laser fire peppered the belly of his alt mode, puncturing his armor to crack his energon tank and clipping a wing; he had barley gotten into the sky when gravity was already dragging him out of it.

Starscream cursed while Mia shrieked again, her voice high and afraid. Energon began leaking from the wound, thick and heavy. Desperately he tried to get his failing thrusts to fire, but he began to spin out of control, plummeting. Behind him, the cone-heads set up formation before opening fire. One flash of light caught the top of his canopy, the glass shattering in an array of tinted yellow. Mia's screech was cut off with a gasp as she struggled to breath, and light reflected off the shards that once made up his canopy.

More laser fire caught his wings full on, one of them tearing nearly off at the impact. Warning lights flashed and sirens echoed in his head as he lost all sense of altitude, where the ground was, the fact he had Mia screaming in his cockpit and panicked.

The fact he had been taken down by the bloody cone heads was not lost on the Decepticon, and Starscream cursed again. If they lived through this, they would never let him live this down.

Starscream had a brief moment of clarity, and felt Mia shake in his cockpit, could hear her gasp for breath as he lost altitude and knew the only thing Starscream could do for her was to get her out and have a gentle landing. He activated the seats ejection mechanism, wincing when he felt a shot of pain as she and the seat popped from his cockpit.

The red head managed to take a full gasp of air and let loose another shriek as the seat ejected, the parachute blooming open wide above her.

Transforming before he became disoriented again, Starscream's thrusters sputtered as they fought for life, yet he still managed to turn towards to the approaching seekers, mechs who were once under his command, mechs he had won and lost with, grieved with, shared victories with and opened fire.

As Starscream continued to fall, he couldn't find it in him to care about any of that. He thought about the tiny little fleshling and hoped she made it to the ground safely. He thought about the Prime and his kind optics, and of a time alone in his wash wrack.

He caught one wing of one of the cone heads, black smoke pluming up as he spiralled back into the earth. Starscream instantly aiming for the next cone head, not caring which one he hit when laser fire tore through his shoulder.

It sent him spiralling, tumbling from the sky, head over heels, the ground rushing up to him and he no longer had any sense of anything. His thrusters misfired as sky and ground swirled in his vision before pain exploded through his whole body. Dirt filled his mouth as his helm ricochet off the ground, his whole body tumbling helplessly along the ground. Dirt creating plumbs of dark color as he skidded to a halt.

For a long moment, Starscream didn't move, didn't dare as his systems tried to make sense of what had just happened. Warning after warning popped into his HUD, informing him which systems were damaged or destroyed, that he was losing energon rapidly from the crack in his tank.

He needed to move, that much he knew. The Cone Heads would be on him in seconds, and if he didn't get up, he was a dead mech. A captured mech, and the things Megatron would do to him would not be pleasant.

Groaning deeply, Starscream pushed himself up, feeling the energon pool from the wound in his side as he got his hands under his shoulders. His frame felt weak as he got his knees under him as well, and once he was up on all fours it was surprisingly easy to get his feet under him.

Still, he swayed and felt sick, feeling warm, sticky energon leak down his side. A shaking hand came up to press into the wound at his side and he looked desperately for Mia.

"Starscream." Came a familiar, angry voice at Starscream's back.

Crimson optics narrowed angrily and Starscream sneered. "Ramjet."

He turned to glower at his former subordinate, crying out in pain as heat blistered the paint from his chest plating. He fell back as the blaster's fire knocked him backwards and his chest plate cracked and the inside of his cock pit melted. His wings shuttered as he fell flat onto his back with a cry of pain.

Starscream saw stars and cursed under his breath. Taking a moment to gather his wits before Starscream managed scrambled to his pedes with a deep, rattling snarl, yanking his own blaster from subspace. Twisting around, blaster humming with power, Starscream was ready to open fire and mow down his former team mates when he froze.

His tank clenched with guilt and every piston froze, making his joints ache and his spark writhe. Mia had her hands clamped over her mouth, big green eyes wide with fear and sparkled with tears. She was still strapped to his seat, the cables that attached the parachute to the back were now tangled in Dirge's fingers so that Mia dangled like a spider at the end of her thread. Next to Dirge, Thrust, face blistered and broken from crashing into the earth, had his blaster pointed at Mia, the muzzle warm and far too close to her tiny body.

His dark optics flickered from Mia's terrified face to the smug ones of the Coneheads.

"Let her go." Starscream rasped angrily, blaster held surprisingly steady despite the fact that he was beginning to feel dizzy from the loss of energon.

Ramjet's smirk grew. "You don't get to order us around anymore Starscream." Behind him Dirge and Thrust chuckled, and the blaster heated up with energy.

Mia's green eyes squeezed shut and the first traitorous tear slipped down her cheek.

"You're not our commander anymore." Ramjet was smug. "I'm the aerial commander now."

It took everything in him not to snort, and he so badly wanted to. Out of any of the fliers that he had left behind, Ramjet was not the one Starscream would have picked to replace him as aerial commander. The Coneheads were not the brightest.

There is cruel intent in Ramjet's optics, the crimson light bright and almost crazed. "I can't believe you left us, left Megatron, for this little brat!"

As if on cue Dirge lifted Mia higher, her small body bouncing with the force. She cried out, and Starscream moved as if to catch her, but stopped himself when Ramjet lifted his blaster a little higher.

"Ah, ah traitor! Not playing hero today, don't want anything to happen to your bag of meat do we?" Ramjet said, his tone light and happy. Like he looked forward to taking the human and seeing how far he could fling her. It was enough of a threat to keep Starscream rooted.

"Listen. Ramjet?"

"Hmmm?"

"Don't do this." He was too hurt to fight back, not against three, fully operational Seekers. "Megatron is losing his mind, it's only a matter of time before he turns on you too. Don't be fooled."

They all leered at him with matching smirks, Dirge even bouncing Mia again just to hear her small cry of panic. Starscream snarled, he had promised Prime he would keep the little human safe. Bait or not, no human would survive tangling with a Seeker.

"We thought you would say something like that Screamer." Dirge mocked as Mia bounced, her small body curling into as much a ball as possible. Her small body shook hard, the first small sob bubbling from her chest.

"You're going to pay Starscream, for everything you have done!" Thrust this time, offered the vague threat.

Anger flickered, his Starscream's spark burned with a sudden rage. He had paid enough, eons of being Megatron's punching bag. He deserved his happy ending!

His mouth opened, an angry retort on his lips when someone else landed behind him. Claws flared, Starscream spun around and his gyros revolted at the sudden movement. Still, he was ready to sink his claws into the new mechs belly.

The massive grey hand wrapped around his throat lifted him easily off his pedes so he was dangling midair. Bright, insane blood red optics stared up at him, a dark smirk directed up to the injured seeker.

From behind him, Mia gave another soft sob and Starscream gripped Megatron's wrist tightly. Dread filled his tank, mingling with his panic as Starscream kicked weakly at the solid grey plating.

"Hello Starscream." The titans smirk turned predatory. "I've been waiting for you to venture out of your orange castle and away from your Prime. Tell me Starscream, are you his favorite little whore now?"

The retort stung, but Starscream managed to smirk, his optics sparkling. "I am!" he affirmed brightly, happily. "And you could only wish to be so well endowed as Prime!"

The smirk fell, and with a snarl, Megatron buried a fist into Starscream's belly, making the Seeker gasp and crumple when the warlord let him fall. Energon gushing from the crack in his side faster and thicker.

Crimson optics fell to Mia, and the delight returned. Bending down, one large hand wrapping around Starscream's head, Megatron hauled the seeker to his knees. Energon leaked down from one side of his mouth, and Starscream gasped for air. The wounds to his frame taking their toll and sucking away any energy Starscream once had.

"You're going to die screaming Starscream." Megatron smirked. "And your little friend is going to watch you break. Break and spill all the Ark's secrets before you die. Then I will send her broken, little body back to the Prime. Just so they all know, you failed to save her. Like you fail at everything."

Just like that, Starscream was back to being Megatron's punching bag. Nothing but a failure, a thing to be bent to Megatron's will.

"Everything that I have done to you before now? Will be nothing compared to the horrors I have waiting for you back at home." Megatron sing-songed, squeezing Starscream's helm hard enough to crack the armour.

His tank dropped, and curdled. No one was coming for them, and it would be days before anyone would realise he and Mia would be missing.

Starscream's own crimson met Mia's terrified green and Starscream cursed.

"Your little friend will soon know the truth." Megatron whispered, his voice suddenly throaty and it made Starscream shiver in disgust. "Know that you are nothing but a little failure. My little failure."

The Seeker tried to pull away, but Megatron held him firm. "Your little fleshling will learn that, and you will be reminded."

For the first time in months, for the first time since his trine had turned traitor and joined the Prime, Starscream was afraid, and he prayed for help.

But nobody came.