Author's note. Not so long a wait this time, hope you all like.

Suggestions are welcome.

Enjoy and please review.

"Starscream," Elita repeated in wonder as the Sparkling continue struggling and snapping.

"Seekers always put their creations glyphs on the back of their neck," Megatron explained. "That why you always seen them flying around each other, their reading their name glyphs."

"Oh," she said, that did explain a few things. She always wondered about the strange greeting displays the Seekers had but she didn't know any personally so hadn't been able to ask.

"He can't have been down here long," Megatron now said, examining the Sparkling carefully. "He doesn't have the madness yet, I'd say only a few cycles at most."

"How on Primus's name did an innocent Sparkling end up down here," Elita asked, her optics full of empathy for the poor Seeker child.

"Who knows, if we find his Creators, maybe we'll find out," Megatron said softly as the Sparkling stopped struggling and just started hissing threateningly.

"Stop that," Megatron suddenly barked at the Sparkling who jumped but continued hissing at an even louder tone.

"Damn Cannibals," Megatron now growled, giving Starscream a small shake as he started searching the room.

"Don't hurt him," Elita said in reflex, the poor thing had surely suffered enough.

"He can't behave like this, Elita," Megatron replied firmly. "If we're going to take him, he has to learn to obey and keep silent."

Elita bit her lip as Megatron made his way over to Cannibal body which had a long length of covered wire trailing from it. He grabbed it and yanked it off before marching back over to Elita, thrusting the wire at her.

"Tie this around his waist, we can't have him running all over the place," he ordered, still holding tightly onto Starscream.

Elita was a bit hesitant but didn't want to be difficult so she stepped forward. Starscream squealed, hissed and started struggling again, snapping his little denta together. Elita didn't want him to be like this, she wanted him to trust them. So she very carefully reached out a hand, keeping it out of reach of his snapping jaws and clawing hands to pat his head.

"It's alright little one, we're not going to hurt you," Elita cooed softly, not making any sudden moves in case he was frightened.

Starscream just growled suspiciously at her. But Elita carried on regardless, knowing it would take time before he trusted them. She now said softly.

"I know you're scared but we're going to take care of you now, we'll get out of this place and find your Creators."

She kept stroking his little head and his growls subsided a little but he still had a wild look in his optics. So very slowly, she lifted her hand away and tied the end of the wire around Starscream's middle so that he wouldn't be able to run away.

Megatron grunted when she had done so and lowered the Sparkling to the ground. The Sparkling shot them a angry look before trying to scurry away but was yanked by the makeshift leash. He snarled, twisting around and tugging at it, trying to break it but was unable to.

"Let's go," Megatron said quietly to Elita, bringing her attention back to him. "Their all dead, there's no point remaining here any longer."

She nodded, before taking his arm as they started to walk away, Megatron giving the leash a sharp tug. As much as she wanted to hold the little Sparkling, he wasn't likely to cooperate. He was making a lot of sounds of protest, although was thankfully following them. Something told her he didn't want to be left alone, not in a tunnel filled with the remains of the Cannibals.

They had only been walking for a short while when Elita remembered Meko and quickly looked around for him. To both her surprise and delight, he was there, running after them, little whiskers twitching merrily. He didn't seem to care when Starscream hissed at him but scurried past until he was ahead of the trio.

"Primus," Megatron muttered. "How many more strays am I going to pick up?"

"Am I a stray?" Elita teased, trying to keep her mind of the here and now, rather than back at that death filled tunnel.

"Hmm," Megatron said with a light smile. "Perhaps but a very pretty one."

She laughed, for such a powerful killing machine, he could be quite sweet. She knew she'd be reliving that awful scene in her dreams when they settled down to sleep but for the moment, forced it aside. She just couldn't bear to deal with what had happened, all those lives wasted. It didn't matter they were beyond help, she still felt bad about killing them.

"How far do we need to go?" she asked softly as Megatron turned to look at her. "I think we could do with a short break and consume some Energon."

Megatron grunted, he appeared to be thinking it over. Finally, he said.

"Give it a few more joors Elita and then we'll stop. It would probably be a good idea to feed that little monster anyway."

"He's not a little monster," Elita said sternly, she wanted Starscream to be treated like a normal Sparkling.

"Hmm," Megatron said, glaring at the Sparkling who'd tried to sneak up and attack the back of his legs.

The Sparkling back off with a glare, giving the grey Mech the feeling they weren't going to get on well. He didn't know why, there was just something in the Sparking's red optics almost like a challenge. And Megatron was never one to back down from a challenge, even if it came from a Sparkling.

They carried on for a bit more until Megatron finally decided they could rest. Elita sunk to the ground gratefully as Megatron handed her the leash end so that he could make sure they were safe. Starscream also collapsed, he was exhausted. But he'd been forced to follow, partly because of the leash but mostly because as a Sparkling, his programming demanded that he remain with adults.

"Starscream," Elita said softly to the Sparkling, who briefly glanced at her before going back to trying to break the leash.

She sighed and brought forth a small Energon ration from sub space and offered it to him. The smell of Energon caught his attention and he looked up, his optics focusing intently on the ration. They then darted to Elita before focusing again on the goody. He started to inch forward, even as Elita held it out for him.

"It's okay, you can take it," she said encouragingly as he came closer.

He eyed her, obviously suspecting some sort of a trick before suddenly darting forward and snatching it out of her hand. He scooted back several paces, glaring in a way that just dared her to try and take it from him. She just smiled, she wanted him to know that he'd done the right thing taking it.

She watched as he sank his teeth into it, quickly sucking up all the life giving Energon inside. He then crunched up the remains before spitting them out, licking his fingers and lips. Elita chuckled, leaning over to grab the scraps and toss them over to Meko who delightedly set upon them.

She glanced over at Megatron to see him sipping some Energon, he really looked worn out. But she knew he wasn't going to stop for long, soon they'd be on the move again. She wondered if they could find another safe house, she wanted to experience the previous night's feeling of security.

A safe house would provide little Starscream with a nice place to sleep, instead of the hard rocky ground. Would he willingly sleep with them or would they have to leash him up a few feet away? Elita didn't want that to happen, he needed to be taught how to be a proper Sparkling again, not a Cannibal mascot.

As she started to consume her own Energon ration, she saw that Starscream was watching her. She couldn't discern what he was thinking, he had a strange look in his optics. He started to edge towards her, making strange whimpering sounds. She cocked her head, frowning, was he ill?

"Starscream, what is it sweet spark?" she asked softly as he moved closely, keeping crouched down as he did so.

He made a small hesitant chirp in her direction, his little wing nubs almost quivering. In return, she gave him a small smile, hoping he was trying to be friendly. It was hard to tell, Cyber rats could act odd before trying to attack on the surface.

Starscream gave another hopefully sounding chirp as she held out a hand to him, hoping it wasn't about to be bitten. He still had that strange, crouching gait as he suddenly rushed over and threw himself into her lap. She started but he merely curled up, chirping plaintively.

"That's strange," she said to herself as she hesitantly started stroking him. "He was so hostile before."

"It's because you've fed him," Megatron suddenly spoke up. "His Sparkling protocol is recognising you as a care giver, he'll probably behave better for you from now on."

"Oh," she said softly in wonder as Starscream clung to her armour tightly. She never thought any Sparkling but her own would do something like that with her.

But it did give her a warm glow in her Spark, as she gently stroked the young Sparkling who didn't want to let go of her. His face was hidden, buried against her armour as his tanks processed the delicious Energon he'd just consumed.

After a while, Elita remembered she hadn't finished her Energon ration and started drinking it again. Starscream shifted in her lap and looked up, watching her eat. His optics grew wide and sad, and he made a soft whimpering noise. As she looked down at him, he sat up in her lap, resting his face against her chassis and giving a hopeful whimper.

"What is it, sweetness?" she asked softly as he reached up a hand to paw at her chest.

"Uh...uh...chirp," Starscream moaned as he started to run his lips over her chest, and she gasped as she felt him try to suck.

"Megatron," she gasped, he turned, his optics widening at the sight.

"He wants to be fed," he said gently, as Starscream continued scrabbling at her. "He's trying to get at your fuel line, he's obviously still used to feeding that way."

"Oh," she gasped softly. Many did fed their young that way but Seekers were especially famous for it. It broke her Spark to think that his Creators weren't here to do the same for him.

"I'm sorry, I can't feed you," she told Starscream sorrowfully as he tearfully tried to fine a tube to suck on. "My protocols aren't activated yet, I'm sorry little one."

"Actually," Megatron said very slowly. "There is a way. I've heard that a Femme's systems can be activated for a surrogate creation."

"How?" Elita asked as she tried to soothe the distressed Sparkling.

"You need to open your chest plates and try to find where your fuel line is, then pull it out. Hopefully, when Starscream takes it, it will activate and you can feed him," he explained matter-of-factly as she blushed.

"I...," she began but Starscream started to wail as he didn't get the Energon and comfort that he wanted.

"I'll try it," Elita said, her voice a bit more firm as she started to unlocked her chest plates.

Megatron looked away but she could see he was still eying her out of the corner of his optic. She mentally rolled hers, Mechs were all the same. But now wasn't the time to be embarrassed, Starscream was becoming more and more distressed.

"Let's try this," she said soothingly, her fingers searching her chest until she found what she was looking for.

Her face heated up even more as she tugged the fuel line out, feeling Megatron's sneaky gaze on her. But she didn't have time to focus on this as Starscream started grabbing for her inactivated fuel line, pulling on it before stuffing the end in his mouth.

Elita had no idea how to make it clear to her systems that she was Starscream's carer, so she just focused on holding him close and letting her natural affection for him grow. But to her surprised, Starscream suddenly gave a delighted squeal and started sucking harder and as she winced, she felt protocols activate and fuel start to flow from the line.

Starscream purred as the lovely processed fuel flowed into his mouth and he started suckling with gusto. As Elita watched in awe, she felt a pat on her arm and looked at Meatron who was smiling gently.

"You must be a natural care giver, that doesn't work for everyone," he said softly, his words causing her Spark to glow with happiness.

"I'm glad I could help him," she said softly as the Sparkling settled down for a good feed. "I don't suppose he got anything like this when he was with...those Cannibals."

"It's not likely," Megatron said gravely as he too watched the Sparkling.

"But they did at least reframe from hurting him, which is something," he added and she nodded, sending a note of thanks to Primus.

"It is indeed," she smiled as Starscream purred louder than ever.

A few joors later, they were walking again, only this time Starscream was clinging onto Elita's back. Apparently, he had decided that she was a safe being that he could trust, which meant she could now carry him without fear of being bitten. However, the same bond could not be said of Megatron and Starscream.

Whenever the grey Mech was too close, Starscream would hiss and bare his fangs in a defensive manner. It was clear he didn't like the older Mech and had no interest in forming any sort of relationship with him. Elita sadly noted that Megatron didn't seem to want to have much to do with the Sparkling either and knew this was going to cause problems.

"Be nice, Starscream," she abolished as he once again snapped at Megatron who growled in response.

"Adorable," Megatron said grumpily as the Sparkling ducked down before peering over with evil red optics, at least in his view.

"He just needs to get used to you," Elita soothed, feeling Starscream snuggle into her shoulder. "You'll see, by the end of this journey, I'm sure you'll both be very fond of each other."

Megatron glanced at the little monster, as he had dubbed him, as he bared his fangs at the grey Mech. He snorted before saying sarcastically.

"Yes, I'm sure we will."

"Megatron," she sighed as Starscream nuzzled her some more. "Be nice, he's just a Sparkling."

"I'm aware of that," he said through gritted teeth as they came to another junction.

They stopped and examined the two options. Megatron's optics darted between them, he was trying to decide which one they'd go down. But suddenly, Starscream darted forward, Elita had allowed him down on his feet so he could get a little excise while they decided which way to go. He tried to go down the right tunnel but Megatron grabbed his scruff bar and held him back.

Starscream snarled and cursed in Sparkling speak, trying to fight back against Megatron but unable with the way he was being held. Megatron narrowed his optics at the youngster before giving him a shake.

"Where do you think you're going?" he demanded, shaking Starscream again.

"Megatron," Elita cried, holding her hands out for Starscream but Megatron kept him out of her reach.

"I'm not having him behave like a brat," Megatron snapped as Starscream reached for the right tunnel, grasping with little hands.

Elita watched this action curiously before saying.

"Megatron, I think Starscream senses something down that tunnel."

Megatron glanced down it before growling.

"Fine, we'll go down that one but if it turns out to be a wild cyber rat chase..."

He gave Starscream a dark look which promised punishment before dumping the Sparkling onto the ground. Starscream rubbed his little aft, all the while glaring up at Megatron who scowled at him. But after a nudge from Megatron's foot, Starscream scrambled to his feet before scurrying forward.

He snapped at Meko who had darted past and headed down the same tunnel he was heading for. This made Elita think she was right, there was something down here which inspired the youngster forward. So after taking Megatron's arm to calm him down a little, they followed.

They soon realised just what had got Starscream's attention, the air was a lot cooler. In this crowded, humid environment, the Seeker child sought out the cooler temperature in the hope they would lead to open air.

"Oh," Elita gasped, as they emerged into a vast cavern and to her delight, they could actually feel a slight breeze.

The source quickly became clear, as they looked up and saw high above them, a speck of light. They had finally found a way out of this horrible place, they could almost taste freedom. Elita's face lit up and she hugged Megatron's arm in delight as even he looked pleased.

Starscream was running around, jumping up and down, trying to access the sky but his wings were too small for him to fly. Elita rushed forward and scooped him up, crying out.

"Oh Starscream, my darling, you found the way out, you clever Sparkling."

Starscream shrieked with delight as he was tossed into the air before Elita hugged him. As she turned back to Megatron, she saw he looked a little pensive. She gave him a questioning look, he sighed and said.

"We're not out of here yet, Elita."

He looked up where the speck of light glowed brightly. He then looked back at her and said gravely.

"We still have to find a way to climb up there and it won't be easy, especially with a Sparkling in tow."

"Oh," she said, slightly disappointed, but still hopeful.

"But we're still closer than we have been the whole time we've been down here," she said softly, stroking Starscream's head.

"That we are," Megatron nodded. "But I suggest we recharge for now, I don't know if we'll be able to rest once we start climbing."

Elita nodded as she and Megatron headed for a sheltered corner. Megatron sat down first and opened his arms for her and she gratefully leaned back against him. But as he tried to wrap his arms around her, Starscream growled and tried to bite Megatron's hand.

With a snarl, Megatron grabbed hold of the angry Sparkling and spinning him around, landing several hard smacks to his little aft before letting him go. Starscream burst into noisy tears, flinging his arms around Elita who cuddled him to her.

"Megatron," she scolded and he could have sworn Starscream shot him a smirk as he continued to wail.

"Fine," Megatron growled, promising he'd get even with the young Sparking, as he lowered his arms so they just supported Elita.

She sighed as she rocked the unhappy Sparkling, just what was she going to do with the two of them?

To be continued.

Author's note. Hope you all enjoyed that, in the next chapter, they head for the surface but it won't be easy. Find out what happens next time, until then.