Warning: Just...blood. And violence. And a few swear words.

A Captured Beast Within a Human Skin

By Uniasus

Chapter 14 – The Consequences of Insulting a Seeker

Beachbreak had gotten used to Samuel occasionally calling him Jonnie, who ever that was. He even responded to it. Grammy too sometimes. He wondered who the human was seeing.

"Grammy, when can we go home? I miss my bed."

"Soon."

The instabilities in his biorhythms had returned later that same day, and while he laid curled up in a corner half asleep, he had failed to close his eyes the entire night. Beachbreak had to wonder if Samuel could sleep, with the way his thought process and attention switched so quickly. Not to mention the constant trembling. That might pose a problem too. He'd ask Ratchet, but he had never memorized the medic's comm ID, just Bumblebee's because they had been friends for such a long time. He had lost everyone else's IDs when he fell over the waterfall.

There was always at least one sparkling near Samuel, though typically they all sat in a group, Cade and Scorponok included. Though he had only been there a day, Samuel fit right into the workings of the unit.

"Can you give me another problem for her?"

Her, meaning Sally. Samuel's invisible friend. Or hallucination as Beachbreak was wont to call her. Samuel said he had to distract her, and complicated problems or issues to solve were the only way to do it. What was scary was that Samuel seemed able to answer them correctly.

"A ship is traveling from Pannak to Cybertron, but doesn't have the amount of fuel needed for a direct route. Try to calculate a path to Cybertron where the ship's momentum is mostly provided by sling-shooting around stars."

The human went quite for a breem, and then stiffened as his muscles started spasming. Beachbreak quickly shifted positions to hold Samuel down. The sparklings stopped playing to watch, optics wide with fright as Scorponok started chittering anxiously. Cade looked up to watch in silence.

The seizure passed, as had the one the previous evening.

Dundee came over and extended his hands, silently asking for Samuel. Beachbreak gently laid the human in them, and Dundee drew his hands to his chassis. Weakly, Samuel peered between the splayed fingers.

"The answer depends on how much fuel the ship has. How much does it have, Grammy?"

"24 kons."

"Kay."

"You should get to sleep Samuel, you haven't in days."

"I tried Grammy, but I can't. My mind's so busy."

"Maybe you should stop trying to answer so many questions."

"No!" Samuel shot up into a sitting position, only to wobble and then fall back into Dundee's hand. Beachbreak saw him wince when he hit the metal plates of the palm.

"I don't know what she'd do if I'm not in control."

Beachbreak shared a look with Cade, but didn't respond. He had asked about the issue before and had not gotten a response that made sense.

::He needs to be in a hospital:: Beachbreak sent to Cade.

::I know, but you also know it's too risky, too dangerous for him. Plus, didn't you say your old Autobot friend would be here tomorrow?::

::At the earliest, but most likely the day after, or the one after that. Less than a week, for sure. Unless I had memorized his comm ID wrong::

::In that case, I should take off tonight. I don't think the Autobots would take kindly to me or Scorponok. Do you need anything?::

Beachbreak looked towards Samuel. Dagger had crawled up Dundee to perch on a fingertip after delivering a few cans of nuts to the human. ::More food I suspect. He eats more than Olympic athletes do. I don't think we have enough to get us through a week. Just to be safe:: He turned his attention back to the Ford.

Cade stood up. ::I'll go off now then::

"Human, what do you want to eat?"

"Cake. And a steak. And Nutella. Nutella is good. Sally wants popcorn and some of the lemon flavored water."

The cop gave Samuel a bland look and then turned around to exit the shed. Scorponok scuttled along after him and then leaped, taking his spot along the Mustang's back. Cade transformed into his alt form and the two of them took off down the docks.

A minute later, the sound of pulsar fire sent Beachbreak to the shed door. "Transform, all of you!" he shouted towards the sparklings. Dundee placed Samuel on the floor and then shrunk into his Navigator form. Dagger jumped into the front and Fizz climbed into Dundee's trunk to transform into a Mountain Dew machine lying on its side. Samuel pushed himself up into a sitting position and looked around in confusion.

"Samuel, get inside of Dundee!" Beachbreak ordered before he returned to watching the door.

Samuel staggered unsteadily to his feet and Dagger darted out to help him along. Beachbreak continued to look out the door, tense and ready to run, but there wasn't any more sounds of shots. But he knew something was wrong by the way Cade came into view. He was going to send an inquiry comm message when the answer rolled in behind the Mustang. An F-22. Covered in dark markings in Cybertronian that spoke of the superiority of seekers.

Starscream.

Beachbreak rapidly backed up and put himself in a battle stance between the door and the sparklings. What ever the seeker wanted, it wasn't for the benefit of the young ones. Cade walked in and transformed. Scorponok disengaged from his partner. Beachbreak could see the singe marks on the Ford's plating.

What does he want? Beachbreak silently asked with a head tilt in the seeker's direction. Starscream would be able to notice any messages sent through the air. Cade shook his head; he didn't know.

"Where is the All Spark?" Starscream ordered, scanning the shed. "I know where it was in Switzerland, and that you took it from there, Barricade. Why didn't you bring him to me like any loyal Decepticon should do? Are you in fact, not loyal to the cause and Mighty Megatron?"

Starscream powered up a rifle and pointed it Cade, but then changed his mind and switched targets to Scorponok, keeping his optics on the Ford.

"I simply did not know how to reach you. And it took me a while to recover from the battle in Mission City."

"Eight years?" the seeker sneered.

"Yes. I am regretful I could not play a part in the resurrection of Megatron."

Starscream scoffed and turned his attention towards Beachbreak and the sparklings behind him. "How good of you Barricade to offer me not only the All Spark, but four Autobot prisoners."

"We're not Autobots," Beachbreak blurted out, trying to appear as tall as possible. "We're...neutrals."

"And Barricade hasn't fragged you yet? Barricade, you're slacking. You've been out of the battlefield for far too long."

Cade shifted his weight to the outside of his feet, something Beachbreak had learned to mean he was on edge and worried. "I was trying to convince them to join our side, they could be useful."

"Grammy," Beachbreak whirled around to find that Samuel had opened Dundee's door and was trying to get out. Dagger was pulling on his pants leg in an effort to get him back inside. "I want something else to eat, and I need another problem."

Starscream honed in on the human immediately and a sly smile appeared on his face. "Ah, there you are."

He reached for Samuel, but Dagger gave a sharp tug and he fell back into Dundee, who shut the door and very obviously locked it. There was a moment of stillness, then Starscream charged his weapon and pointed it at Dundee over Beachbreak's head. "Give me the All Spark."

"No," Cade and Beachbreak said, though Beachbreak's was more of high-pitched cry and made Cade sound like a voice of reason. Starscream ignored the ex-Autobot's small cannon pointed at his lower thorax and turned his attention towards Cade.

"Are you disobeying an order form a superior Barricade?"

"No Commander, just wanting to give you some information. The human is quite found of those four, and I'm sure will be very unwilling to aide you if you harm them. He can also deal quite a lot of damage if upset."

Starscream gave Cade a level look, peered through Dundee's window, and then put away his weapon. Beachbreak just pointed his at the floor. He was glad Starscream didn't know that Cade wasn't being truthful and didn't know that the sparklings were exactly that. The seeker would be able to beat himself, Cade, and Scorponok in a fight despite the odds, but six (seven if you include Samuel) against one was not something even Starscream could win for sure. That, and the unknown extent of the All Spark's powers were probably the only things staying the jet's hand.

Dundee rocked on his wheels, as if shocked, and Samuel spilled out. "Grammy, I'm still hungry. And I need another problem."

"Here's a question for you," Starscream hissed, "What do you do to things that no longer work?"

Samuel looked at the seeker, but didn't seem to understand the threat he posed. "Go away wekaika," the last word was spoken in as close to Cybertronian as a human could speak, and referred to a failed attempt at creating a flying creature to be released into the wild. It was large, gangly, wobbled when it walked, and was so bad at flying most of the population killed themselves by crashing into things. Starscream bristled, but Samuel seemed unaware of it. "Grammy."

"Sa-"

"You didn't answer my question human," Starscream ground out between clenched dental plates.

Samuel looked up, tugging his coat around him more as a particularly violent shudder when though him. "You throw it away."

"Exactly. And your arm doesn't seem to be working, does it?"

Before anyone could process what Starscream meant, the jet had cut off Samuel's broken arm off at the shoulder with a laser.

To the human's credit, he didn't scream. Didn't cry. Didn't shout expletives at Starscream. He just stood there, staring at his shoulder; loose down feathers from the coat scattered in air and settled in Samuel's hair, the floor, and stuck to the ever increasing supply of blood. Beachbreak wasn't entirely sure the human knew what just happened.

"No Sally," Samuel said. "I can't grow a new one."

Something shifted in his eyes, and as soon as Beachbreak realized that Samuel was not off in his own world seeing and talking to things the mechs couldn't see he unsubspaced a cleaning rags and used it to stanch the blood flow.

"Shit, fuck, frag, and bloody hell! That was healing Starscream! You had no reason to do that." Samuel slashed his left hand through the air in anger, ignoring Beachbreak who had gone down on one knee next to him.

"Samuel!" Beachbreak called, but he was ignored.

"Well, it looked broken to me. You can't say I'm knowledgeable in human medicine. Nor expect that of me." Starscream crossed his arms and looked down at Samuel.

"At this point, the only thing you're knowledgeable about is how to be a fragger! And since you're an xenobiologist explorer, or were, yes, I expect you to know that a cast is a healing tool!"

"Samuel!" Beachbreak interjected, louder this time, and succeeded in getting the human's attention. "I need to stop the bleeding, and the only thing I can do is cauterize it." Cybertronian's had a limit to how much fuel they could lose, certainly humans did too.

"What?"

"Burn your flesh closed."

Samuel shied from the through, but then gave a grim nod. "What's another scar? Do what you need to."

Beachbreak nodded and looked up to Cade planning to ask for help, but thought better of it. It was better not let Starscream learn the fact that they were actually friends instead of a neutral and guard. He passed his gaze over to Scorponok, but the mech couldn't be used either for similar purposes. Which meant a sparkling unfortunately.

He looked behind him; Dagger was too small, and Dundee looked appalled at the sight of blood, so Fizz it was. Beachbreak indicated the vending machine to join him.

"Samuel, lie down." The human complied, already unsteady on his feet.

"Fizz, I need you to hold him down, keep him still while I work. Samuel, this is going to hurt." Beachbreak tore off a clean corner of a polishing cloth and gave it to Samuel to place it between his teeth. The rest of the cloth was used to swipe at the wound, removing feathers. He then activated his laser, pressed his other hand against the wound really tightly for a few seconds, and then pulled it away to start working.

The scent of burned flesh filled the shed and Sam arched upward, screaming around clenched teeth. Beachbreak worked as quickly as he could, starting at the top of the wound and moving down. Out of the corner of his optic he could see Starscream, arms still crossed, but obviously enjoying the horrific display of field medicine. Beachbreak had to stop halfway through to mop up more blood, but was still done much quicker than a human medic would have been. Samuel lay gasping for air, Fizz's arms lying diagonally across his body. Beachbreak nodded at Fizz, and the vending machine released his restraint.

Dagger slowly crept closer, most likely to comfort Samuel, but Starscream quickly moved and placed his foot in the way, just missing the X-Box's head.

"Now, HCH 01," the seeker loomed over Samuel, ignoring Beachbreak's protective position at his side, "I know what you can do, and you're going to do it. Otherwise, I'm sure there are other parts of your body you can live without. And the neutral here has proven quite effective in healing humans. So, what do you say to doing what I want?"

Samuel didn't say anything, just glared up at the seeker while taking in deep lungfuls of air.

"Right, we'll commence tomorrow."

"What...exactly...do you want me...to do?" The human asked between breaths.

"Build me an army, of course."

A/N: I had to make up for that short chapter somehow right? I figured a quick update would be the way to go ^_~