DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TRANSFORMERS THE SONGS THAT I SOMETIMES USE IN THE STORY NOR KEKOA. THAT IS THE PROPERTY OF TAKARA/HASBRO, LENDARAS AND WHAT EVER ARTIST SINGS THE BLOODY MUSIC. I ONLY OWN THE CHILDREN AND THE PLOT.
A/n: At last I finished my boss's project! Don't worry I have not abandoned the story it is just that things have been happening at work that I had to take care of before finishing the story chapter. Those take priority, that and the fact that my grandfather passed away this past weekend. Now that I finally sketched out what I (hopefully) have of Crooked's Iris as a transformer I can concentrate on my other projects as well. Oh and I am coloring Goliath just to let you know so you know what he looks like. Hopefully I can get him up on my deviant page this weekend. If not then oh well.
THE LOST CHILDREN OF CYBERTRON
Chapter 24: Starscream
"Find my most precious gift to you my Starscream my angel from the stars. May your wings fill the wind with them and soar as the birds of this planet do,"
Those were the words that left the mouth parts of his beloved Moonshadow as the Seeker gazed up at her fading form.
"How will I know who they are?" Starscream asked to the heavens above him.
"Dance their dance and sing to them with your spark. They will respond the serpent and the bird will fly with you till you find them." Moonshadow said to him and Starscream had lubricants leaking from his optics. His hand reached out to the fading form of the femme before him. She was but a memory of his optics.
Far, far above the clouds soaring with the wind
A falcon flies alone silent as the sky
I hear his lonely cry never can he rest
Those words seem to penetrate his CPU and his spark as Starscream listened to the song of a young voice. That voice sounded like that of a child. That child sounded so innocent and sad at the same time.
No wait two voices
Starscream can clearly hear the second voice from everywhere and yet nowhere.
I walk with you along an empty winding road
We're far from the ones we love
And never can return
Never can we see again
The Countries of our birth
Starscream searched for the source of the voices and yet the song continues to penetrate his CPU. He knew the song was not Cybertronian it was of Earth origin but the words were spoken in Cybertronian.
When will I ever find a place to call my home?
Sadness circling like a falcon in the sky
When will I ever find a way to speak my heart?
To someone who knows what it means to be alone.
What is it like to see Cybertron again? He asked himself as he listened to the voices. Looking up into the sky he once again saw the strange red bird circling him from up above. It was then followed by the same strange serpent as it too circled above.
Am I like that falcon? Starscream asked himself remembering the song as it kept on singing and he realized that it came from the two figures singing in the sky.
Far, far above the clouds against the setting sun
A falcon flies alone silent as the sky
I hear his lonely cry
Never can he rest
Am I really like that bird they are mentioning…lonely? I guess I am considering my sparkmate or the one I was planning on sparking with is gone, he thought as he listened and looked at his wings.
I've heard that falcons are the fastest fliers alive on Earth fasters then humans when they drop. What was their top speed again…oh yeah 200 miles per hour that is nearly the speed of sound during a stoop, with that Starscream began to think about himself and the fact that he is the fastest flier in the universe.
I long to spread my wings and fly into the night
Open this lonely heart to one who understands
When will I ever find
A way to speak my heart
When will I ever find a place to call my home
Sadness and loneness a falcon in the sky
When will I ever find a way to speak my heart
To someone who knows what it means to be alone.
I guess finding Cybertron again would be a waste of energy he thought as he looked down at himself. He saw his shadow and the shadows of the beings but they were not creatures that he saw with his optics.
They took the forms of Cybertronians as they circled overhead. Starscream looked up to see the forms of those beings and then their shadows are those of individual Cybertronians.
"Find my most precious gift among those that call themselves the Deceptibots," Starscream repeated the message again in his processor and he finally understood he had to find the Deceptibots and find this gift that Moonshadow gave him.
---REALITY---
Radon checked the energon feed into this mech that Barricade called Starscream and turned to leave when said mech walked into the room.
"Wassup Uncle 'Cade?" Radon asked
"Nothing much I wanted to be here when Starscream wakes just so he knows that someone familiar is here." He said knowing the air commander he would open fire on anyone if he is on unfamiliar ground unless someone he trusts is nearby.
That is how much war has torn through his world.
Radon merely nodded before going outside for some well needed fun. The Police cruiser sighed, "Sparklings," he muttered
"Come on 'Cade you know you love 'um," said Frenzy as he popped out of Barricade's chassis and crawled up to his shoulder.
"I know they are just sparklings after all," he said nearly laughing when a crash was heard and some cursing from the room next to the med bay.
"Yep sparklings will be sparklings," Frenzy replied.
---STARSCREAM---
Darkness began to set on Starscream as the call to reality began to set in Starscream knew what was going to happen he was going to find himself back in his cell and back in the arena again. But now he has a new mission and a new determination. Slowly he allowed the darkness of reality to creep up to him as he allowed it to consume him. Knowing in his spark that when the time comes he would make his escape.
SYSTEM REBOOT…………
REBOOT COMPLETE……………
INTALLING UPGRADES…………
INSTALATION COMPLETE…………
SYSTEM SCANNING DISK…………
SCAN COMPLETE…………
ANTIVIURS SCAN…………
SCAN COMPLETE NO VIRUSES FOUND……………
SYSTEM CHECK…………
CHECK COMPLETE SYSTEMS ARE AT OPTIMUM LEVEL…………
BEGINNING ACTIVATION IN…………
10………
9………
8………
7………
6………
5………
4…………
3………
2………
1………
Slowly optics came online as a prone form suddenly began to awaken. The images of the room were far different then the dark prison that was his home for quite some time. Slowly Starscream turned to observe the room he was in and found to his astonishment that it was a medbay.
"Welcome back my friend," a deep voice said and Starscream turned to find a very familiar mech sitting next to his berth.
"Barricade?" he whispered hoarsely in Cybertronian.
"How are you feeling old friend?" Barricade asked
"Like I have been scrapped in the pit and put back together again in a whole new body," was the reply
"Ah you'll get used to it after all Alex and the others did not spend nearly a week repairing you and giving you a complete overhaul just so you can die here and now," Barricade chuckled at the sight Starscream gave him.
"Alex? Is that a human? From the looks of it this does not look like the prison I was in, in fact I can see again! Who repaired me?" Starscream asked
"A human named Alex she and her family repaired you out of their good will. The kids especially were exhausted after hauling your aft all the way here from the Nemesis," Barricade replied
"Kids? How can human kids haul my big aft away from the Nemesis? And what was I doing on that ship anyways?" Starscream asked
"From what I've heard from that Autobot Scout Bumblebee (Yes he and I became allies after our agreement) the other Seekers along with Shockwave and Soundwave bailed you out of the arena prison along with other prisoners and went straight to earth.
I was stuck here so when I found out that my fellow Decepticons landed here I thought we would begin the battle anew, but I found out that they barely escaped with their lives from Lord Galvatron. They and the remaining Femmes survive and are now here on earth recovering at the Autobot base."
Starscream was silent as Barricade relayed the news of recent events to the seeker and Starscream was stunned beyond belief.
"So I am here on a human farm with a Cybertronian base buried beneath it with a family of humans and adopted sparklings?" Starscream asked
"Yes, and since everyone probably think I am dead I have become a surrogate guardian to these sparklings." Barricade replied.
It was just then that the door to the medbay opened and Kekoa stepped in.
"Oh I see our patient is awake how are you?" he asked as he climbed up the ladder to the recharge berth and Starscream stared at the strange human with the funny accent.
He was more used to the humans on this continent and from what Barricade explained they did not come from the continent they came from a group of islands far across the ocean.
Kekoa felt a buzzing in his pocket and pulled out a cell phone. That cell phone transformed into one of the tiniest Cybertronians Starscream had ever seen. About the size of a cyberflea and it looked up at him with tiny red optics.
"Wow you are huge!" it said with its tiny voice.
"Be nice Scrappy," the boy Kekoa said and the little minibot climbed up to Kekoa's head and looked at the larger jet.
Starscream had to zoom in with his optics to see the tiny Transformer but when he did he was quite surprised. Little Scrappy was unafraid of him at all instead he was curious as to why another mech as tall as the twins was right in the medbay.
"Oh sorry where are my manners Scrappy this is um…?" Kekoa stated
"Starscream," Starscream replied
"Right…Starscream this is Scrappy the youngest of our bunch," he said and Scrappy cocked his head and gave a friendly, 'Hello,' back.
Starscream did not know what to say he was stuttering for words.
"I bet you must be still feeling like shit so I will let you rest for now," Kekoa said and climbed down the ladder to the floor and walked out with Scrappy.
Barricade just shrugged his shoulders and turned back to Starscream.
"So you were saying?" he said
---LATER THAT DAY---
Practice was in session by the time Starscream was able to leave the medbay. Barricade and Frenzy being that only two mechs that he knows led him to his quarters in one of the guest rooms. Starscream was surprised to the warmness of the room even though he was used to the cold bunk of his prison. Then again he was blind at the time and could not see where he was going.
"If you need anything just call," Barricade said in English as he walked out leaving Starscream to stare at his room.
The room had a recharge birth for him as well as a transformer size desk complete with up to date Cybertronian computer system and a monitor for the television sessions. There was a holographic projector on the wall for anything personal he wanted to put up there.
There was some data pads on the walls with various subjects about Earth and some about Cybertron including a datapad on the myths and legends of ancient Cybertron. Smirking to himself Starscream grabbed that datapad and began to look up Unicron and the Unicronians.
He started to read when he heard some unusual noises coming from outside his room.
Getting curious he walked to the door and looked outside only to see to his shock the Autobot Bumblebee and his human companions. Starscream curious and yet cautious (Because it is obvious his weapons are still offline for now) walked towards where the scout came from.
What he did not expect however was Barricade talking to the scout.
After speaking Bumblebee transformed and rolled away just as Starscream arrived walking slowly to get used to his new body. What was strange however was that he did not feel any pain at all. In fact he was felling as if he was born again with all sorts of upgrades. Barricade had seen him and approached Frenzy was nowhere to be seen.
"How are you liking your new quarters?" he asked casually.
"It is rather roomy and home-like, but my question is what was he doing here?" was the reply
"Bumblebee and I had come to an agreement not to fight in the presence of the humans and the sparklings. The reason being is that they are neutral even if they bare the emblems of either faction. The Deceptibots do not like fighting whatsoever." Was the reply back.
"The Deceptibots?" Starscream asked
"Why don't you meet them yourself," Barricade said and led Starscream out to the open field.
Starscream was skeptical at first and highly suspicious due to being in prison and at war for so long. As Barricade led him out of the base to the upper area and into the fields he was shocked by what he saw.
There were ten of them total as they performed moves that made the seeker envious. Graceful and sleek they moved as one.
"What are they doing?" he asked Barricade
"It is the humans fighting style that they had learned while living here. These styles hail from the eastern part of the planet. I found it intriguing that they have more skill then the best Decepticon warriors combined and they are only sparklings." Barricade said to Starscream.
The seeker was stunned to see mostly smaller Cybertronian children but also some as big if not bigger then him. There was one of them he recognized as a space shuttled which turns out to bare the Autobot insignias as if born with them in fact all of them bore different insignias.
"They are natural borns!" he hissed and Barricade smiled showing off his fangs.
"Now you've figured it out," he said
"I thought they were all killed by Megatron!" Starscream replied
"No there was one ship that escaped and crashed here millions of years ago. They are the only sparks that have survived the only one that is Allspark born you've already met."
"The one they call Scrappy," Starscream stated,
"Yes he is the one the Allspark born. The others are natural born with the exception of the twins who are born from a forbidden union." Barricade said
"A forbidden union!" Starscream stated
"Not much is known about their creators because all records have been erased and damaged beyond repair," Barricade replied.
"Really? The only twins I've known were those Autobot numbskulls Sideswipe and Sunstreaker," Starscream said back.
"Well these two are better well behaved then those two slag heads. Radon and Rodan are both Autobot and Decepticon, Rodan being the Autobot and Radon the Decepticon." Barricade said just as the practice session ended and the kids went their various ways.
Most of them went to do their chores which included feeding the animals and tending the fields. When they were done they all went their separate ways and Starscream watched as the three fliers took to the skies and began to play aerial games with each other. He did not know when was the last time he played any games for the hell of it during the war.
"Hey Barricade how's the new upgrades coming along," the human girl that was with the sparklings said and Barricade knelt down and picked her up.
"They are working better then ever I am off tonight so I can help Starscream here get used to his new improvements and help him recover," Barricade replied.
"Nice to meet you Starscream I am Alexandria Pakele but everyone calls me Alex." She said offering her hand out to the seeker.
Starscream slowly offered one of his claws and she gently shook it.
"So Alex are you the one who repaired me?" Starscream asked
"We all had a part in repairing you and added a few upgrades. In fact it was Barricade here who stayed by your side the whole time till you woke up," she said smiling.
Barricade had he been human would have blushed in embarrassment but Starscream put a large hand on his shoulder and saw him give a smirk. The understanding between teacher and student was all that the younger 'con could do not to start laughing.
And laugh they did when Titan and Stitch started to fight over who was the better racer on a videogame that they were currently playing.
Starscream walked towards them and all the laughter stopped as Barricade went first.
"Everyone I would like you to meet someone," he said and they all stood at attention.
"This is Starscream the new lord of the Decepticons." He said and they all bowed low to the ground before Titan spoke up.
"Um I've got a question if we treated royalty shouldn't we give him a bigger room?" he asked his fellows.
They all started laughing including Starscream, "That would not be necessary I have more luxury in that room you've made for me then any I've had on Cybertron,"
The others looked at him, "Damn then we must have given you the royal treatment for the first time then," said another who was introduced as Goliath being the biggest of the bunch. He strongly reminded Starscream of Jetfire the Autobot Aerial Commander. Though he don't recall him having a sparkmate but he remembered overhearing a conversation with Skyfire about his brother sparking with numerous femmes. But that was a long time ago and Starscream don't dwell on the past too much.
"Well you've given me enough royal treatment as it was," he said and this was the first time he had seen such a carefree atmosphere among the Deceptibots.
These were after all children, "The only question I have for you is why are you in your adult forms now?" he asked
"That is easy our original sparkling forms have been malfunctioning due to excessive water damage from the sea water back home. They were not made to be waterproof and the ocean is a hazard when it comes to the metal that made up the sparkling bodies. So we designed specialized bodies that are immune to the saltwater and allows the sparklings to go into the ocean. So even the fliers can go into the ocean and have fun without worry of rusting or corroding." Alex replied
Starscream was stunned, "So you did this to protect the children from rusting?" he said
"And to protect them from harm for the climate there is tough, tougher then anything we have dealt with. Your armor would be useless in our harsh climate for it would fall to rusting so when we made the upgrades to you and to Barricade and Frenzy we placed that special armor on you to protect you from the sea water since that is all we have." Alex said and Starscream was stunned by this.
"You did all this without knowing who I am?" he said
"Well we figured that since you are injured whether you are 'Bot or 'Con we would help no matter what," she said and again the seeker found this to be intriguing.
"And you do not care of the Decepticons attack and kill you all?" he asked
"Um we can pretty much take care of ourselves," Alex replied.
"From what I've heard from that scout the Autobots and the Decepticons have formed some sort of an alliance after Goliath and Rodan killed six Unicronians," Barricade said.
"Six without any weapons at all?" Starscream asked
"Yes the style they are learning is an ancient earth fighting style none of which we have seen before. It in a way is beautiful and I have learned some techniques from the one called Kekoa. But they said that if we really want to train then we need to seek the Matriarch of this family who resides in the Hawaiian Islands." Barricade replied.
"It is true that time is running out for us as it is and I fear that what I have to tell the others will not go easily with them." Starscream said sadly
"Why is that?" Barricade asked
"The Unicronians are coming and you know it; after all that Autobot just reported it didn't he?" Starscream asked
"Yes he did," Barricade said sadly.
He personally did not want any of them coming to earth and destroying this planet with its beautiful multicolored sky. He also loved the way his wheels rolled on the different textured landscapes and roadways that are mostly clear of traffic. He loved to speed and even race with some of his cop buddies in the off time but right now after hearing news of the Unicronians things were not looking very well.
"I really wanted this war to end," Barricade said
"So do I too many have died because of Galvatron and I sure as pit don't want to see another femme or sparkling suffer from that ill fate again," Starscream replied to him.
It was then that Barricade saw the sorry in Starscream's optics as if something happened to him long ago that he would rather forget. It was times like this that he wondered what had happened to the seeker before he met him that day on the battle field.
Starscream's thoughts however were interrupted by a series of shouts that came when Zenith decided to be funny and tripped Artemis on the ground. The enraged Autobot Femme got up and began to chase Zenith around stringing all sorts of curses at him. The Ford Focus laughed as he transformed and sped off down the dirt road with the Honda Blackbird at its tail.
Starscream watched this and something began to creep its way up his intake valve. He watched as the other kids cheered Zenith on while Rodan and Radon whom he had known as the twins began to give out play by play stats.
That creepy feeling came up faster when Artemis caught up to Zenith and transformed tackling the larger focus to the ground. The two tumbled as the twins gave even more stats as to what is going on. It was then that Barricade had heard something that he thought he would never hear from the seeker ever.
Starscream began to laugh.
It was not the maniac laugh that he was used to on the Nemesis when they first came to Earth. No it was warm and filled with life not cold are cruel like how it used to be.
At times like this the police car loved to just stand there and watch what miracles the Deceptibots do to other bots including Starscream. He knew that the seeker had seen even more horrors then he had seen during the war even the slaughter of all the femmes and sparklings of natural birth.
Maybe Starscream had a sparkmate that was killed during the massacre. If so then Starscream would have been dead as well or maybe he had a lover but before they could spark bond she was killed. That made Barricade sad to think so.
Even so he watched the seeker from the corner of his optics and smiled when Starscream started to laugh at Artemis holding Zenith by the head and giving him a nuggie.
"Hey Uncle 'Cade wanna play with us?" said one of the smaller mechs Stitch.
"What are you playing?" he asked
"Basketball!" he said leaping into the air and doing a back flip.
"Hey I am game!" shouted Frenzy as he came out with Kekoa. Barricade did not know that he went into the house to get some Energon for the kids.
"Hey Uncle 'Cade can the new guy play with us too?" asked Titan as he observed the newcomer with interest.
"I don't think he knows how to play," Barricade replied.
Starscream after hearing this looked up the game of basketball on the World Wide Web and found all the rules and regulations to it. After studying it for a bit he walked over.
"Only if you go easy on this old crone," he said amused.
"Sure!" they said and Barricade smirked as he shook his head.
Now being the smallest Skeeter and Scrappy couldn't play but kept scores instead which to them was just as fun. Starscream found that the human game was indeed fun and even the smaller sparklings gave him a run for his money. He also found that his new enhancements have also made him faster and a bit better then the others.
The ball was made especially for them by a man that Marie knew as a thank you for helping him out some time ago. He makes sports items for a living and decided to give Marie a large basketball and in doing so she gave it to the kids. It was about the size of a large beach-ball and so the kids had their fun with it.
Who knew that Barricade could play the game like a pro. It was similar to a game he used to play back on Cybertron with a bunch of other Younglings when he was growing up and so took the game to spark. Careful to sheath his claws he dribbled the ball down the makeshift basketball court which they used an old no longer used Telephone pole as the basket.
Starscream was clumsy at first but caught on as he stole the ball from Barricade and traveled down towards the basket. The ball however was stolen yet again by Radon who dribbled it and did a back-flip before slamming it into the basket. A look of victory on her face as she gave a victory holler.
Starscream then stole the ball back and scored for his team much to the shock of Radon. Smirking he then took the ball again and passed to Sonic who passed to Titan who passed it back to Starscream and the jet made another score.
At the end of the game it turns out that Barricade's team had won the game by barely a point when dinner was called. Marie smiled as she finished off her plate and the kids stood around in a circle enjoying their energon drinks. Starscream had never tasted Energon like this before. Barricade explained that the hologram of Nanobite was the one who came up with it. She experimented with human foods and decided to give the energon more flavor to it then what they were used to.
Starscream was currently eating one that tasted like fried fish which to him was a totally different feel to it then some of the others he quickly gulped it down.
"Hey Uncle Starscream do you know of any stories from back on Cybertron?" asked Rodan and Starscream looked at them oddly.
They were all giving him a look and Starscream had to look into his processors before one came to mind. This one he remembered when he was still a troublemaker.
"Well there was that one time my brother Skywarp gotten this guy named Soundwave pretty good," he said and Frenzy's head picked up.
"Soundwave?" he said
"Yes this was before you were created Frenzy and I don't think he told you this because it was too embarrassing," he said.
Frenzy snickered through his mandibles, oh he wanted to hear this
"Well it was a long time ago and I was still a recruit back then just joined the ranks of the warriors. I was still thinking of my self as a Scientist (I will tell you that story later) I did not feel much at home except with my two brothers Skywarp and Thundercracker. Well we were bunked together since there were only so many dorms for seekers. So far only myself and my brothers dorm together me being the youngest. Skywarp was the prankster and Thundercracker the levelheaded one.
Now my brother Skywarp wanted to prank a few of the mechs that have been picking on me since I came here as payback. I being the geek that I was totally disagreed with him. You see I was a different color at the time then my brothers and do you want to know what colors I was that made me such a bully magnet?" he asked the kids.
"What?" they asked
Starscream let his optics glow as he projected a hologram of himself back in his younger years and Barricade was stunned. Right before him was a mech that was red around the chassis with blue hands and feet and a black face. (Yes his G1 colors) he was beyond stunned and began to laugh at the image being produced.
"Yes Barricade I looked more like a femme then a mech even with my bigger chassis I was what you would call a pretty boy," he said laughing to himself.
Starscream by far was twenty millennium older then Barricade so in human years that was nearly twenty years apart.
But still the look that he had on back in the days was funny enough for the black and white mech.
"Anyways this is what I had looked like back then and I was constantly picked on by others at the war academy. My brothers decided it would be fun to paint themselves in different colors too to make me feel better. Thundercracker painted himself blue while Skywarp black and purple. Now Skywarp had a reputation for causing trouble and out of all his victims only Soundwave and the Stunticons ever got him back.
Now the prank my brother pulled on Soundwave was a well planned one since Soundwave at the time was another geek like me." The image projected of Soundwave got Frenzy laughing so much he nearly broke a few circuits trying to get the image out of his head.
"Soundwave was paranoid as the time because his room was the one that was always broken into and so set up a few nasty booby traps to get anyone who tried to break in. Now Skywarp watched how he did it and managed to break all his traps and replace them with his own. Then he got into the room and placed turbo-rat attractant around the room and redid Soundwave's bed. The reason he was pulling those pranks on Soundwave was because Soundwave pranked him on the first day of basic training and Skywarp wanted to get him back.
What 'Warp also did was mix and match all of Soundwave's assignments and put them in the wrong sections then placed some rather nasty images that he made himself of Soundwave and some ugly femme having a little fun which the femme was a fake." At this the kids shuddered at the image.
Oh they know what kind of image that he was referring to.
"Skywarp also painted the room to glow in the dark with images of 'I love Megatron's interface cable' across the roof so when he turned off the lights that would play."
At this the kids laughed at how much detail Skywarp went into to get back at Soundwave.
"Now when 'Warp was finished he teleported back to our room laughing with glee and had set up his cameras to capture every moment. So when Soundwave got home he became the victim of his own traps along with being glued to his bed. Turbo-rats crawling all over his room and him screaming at the images on the wall and on his desk.
When the drill sergeant came to inspect his room he was put on cleaning duty for a while Earth month!" he said and the kids were laughing so hard as Starscream showed the actual video feed from Skywarp.
Frenzy loved it the most as it was dirt against his creator.
"Did he get Skywarp back?" asked Goliath
"He did not know it was Skywarp he blamed the Stunticons for doing this to him and got them back by rewiring their transformation cogs. In other words he took it out so they were stuck in their vehicle mode," Starscream said and they all started to laugh.
The atmosphere was light and soon the seeker found himself wanting to live like this more but he knew deep down in his spark that it was not going to happen.
Why?
Because the Unicronians were on their way to Earth and there was nothing anyone could do the stop them. They are going to destroy Earth and time was running out. He just hope that there would be time to prepare.
He hopped
TBC
I wanted to make the atmosphere a little lighter here before it gets even darker don't worry action will be coming up soon. And more training of Starscream, Frenzy, Barricade and Bumblebee when they meet Obun.