Title: Keep It Together
Author: DeviousGypsy
Summary: Unbeknown to anyone else, Starscream is a young Seeker. So when he hits his first heat cycle, he has no idea how to handle it. His trine tries to help but the plan falls apart and brings Megatron and Starscream together in a strange way...only to have Starscream ripped from Megatron's servos.
Warnings: Slash, mech-preg, the like :P
Pairings: Megatron/Starscream, Thundercracker/Skywarp
Chapter: VIII
Notes: Oh, in case anyone was curious as to Stillenight's name, Stille is silent is German and he wasn't supposed to make it the night, so; Stillenight. Anyway, I apologize, I could have posted yesterday but I felt like leaving the suspense for a little while before posting the next chapter.
Orn = Roughly 4.7 Earth days, Vorn = 83 Earth years, Breem = 1 Earth minute, Stellercycle = 1 Earth month, Megacycle = 1 Earth hour
An incisive and pressing com broke him from whatever darkness he had slipped into. As soon as he came back online, he was reminded of how much pain he was in, his frame shuddering a few times before he turned his pain sensors down to where the least of it was a dull ache. Onlining his optics, Starscream realized that he was alone in the med bay, there was no Wheeljack, no Ratchet, no one. Sitting up with a snarl, Starscream turned his audio senors up, listening intently for any sounds nearby. What he came up with shocked him.
Down by the entrance of the base, Starscream could hear fighting, the sounds of guns firing and mechs hollering back and forth. He couldn't believe that Thundercracker had managed to convince Megatron of his idea. Looking across the room, his optics landed on the two mechlings recharging soundly in the incubator. Bracing himself for pain he knew was ahead, Starscream slid off the berth. He yelped slightly when he put his weight on his thrusters, and at first his knees buckled and he pitched forward.
Catching himself on the edge of one of the medic's counters, he propped himself up, whole frame tense at the pain. Looking back towards his sparklings and reminding himself that he needed to get those to back with the Decepticons, back with Thundercracker and Skywarp, Pits, he'd even give the sparklings to Megatron if it meant they were out of Autobot servos. Finding new strength in the thoughts of his sparklings, he pushed himself away from the counter, clenching his fangs through the pain as he limped his way to his sparklings.
Feeling their carrier close, they onlined their optics and immediately reached out for the mech they had wanted to be with but hadn't been able to. Starscream offered a weak smile towards the sparklings he had created, smile slightly faltering when he saw how dim Stillenight's optics were. Knowing that he had to hurry, he scooped them out of the incubator, attaching the both of them to his own energon lines before tucking them safely away in his armor.
Each step he took seemed harder and more painful than the last, but the thought of his sparklings dying kept him doing, forcing one thruster in front of the other. Knowing that there was an underground tunnel that would lead outside the Autobot base, he set about going through there, knowing that if he attempted to walk out the Ark entrance then he'd be caught and brought to medical bay as soon as possible, perhaps even the brig, which would make this entire attack a waste.
It took him seven breems to find the damn door, hidden away out of sight, much to his displeasure. He didn't know how long the Decepticons could keep the attack going before being forced to call a retreat. The wounds on his thrusters had broken open from walking on them, leaving trails of energon that he couldn't afford to waste behind him. Opening the hidden door, he slid himself down the hole, landing heavily on his thrusters and sending him to his knees with searing hot pain. Venom chirped from between his armor plates, sensing his carriers distress. Stillenight silent but still alive within his armor.
Starscream chirped in Vosian back, reassuring him as he tried to gather himself again. Standing, he reached up and pulled the door shut before continuing down the path. Running so that his weight was put on the front of his peds instead of his thrusters, Starscream made it to the end of the tunnel heaving air through his vents, his energon slowly leaving him and bringing him past the point of exhaustion.
He made it to the forest beyond the Ark before he allowed himself to fall, propping himself into a sitting position where he then remembered the com that had awoken him in the first place. Seeing that it had been Thundercracker trying to contact him, he allowed a frown, the blue Seeker probably thought that he had deactivated like Starscream told him he would. Pinging Thundercracker with his coordinates, Starscream couldn't help but fall back into the darkness knowing that his sparklings were safe for now.
Thundercracker was disrupted during his battle with Wheeljack when he was sent Starscream's locations. Immediately forwarding them to Megatron, he knocked the Autobot scientist away with a hard backhand. Megatron's call for retreat erupted across the battlefield where instead of heading back towards the Nemesis, the silver tyrant beelined towards where Starscream was. Thundercracker and the others following to make sure it wasn't a trap set by the Autobots.
The first thing Thundercracker noticed was the energon trails, making it easy to find the Seeker leaning against a rock. From what Thundercracker could tell, Starscream had fallen into stasis shortly after escaping and sending him his coordinates. What he couldn't locate was the sparklings, they didn't seem to be anywhere at all. However, as soon as Megatron knelt beside the offline Seeker, a chirp came from within Starscream.
Megatron looked Starscream over thoroughly, eventually finding the source of the chirps within the Seeker's armor. The young sparkling clearly understood that the mech close by was his creator, chirping to be noticed. Surprise crossed his faceplates for a brief moment when he noticed the second silent sparkling tucked behind the chirping one. Deciding they were safe there for the moment, Megatron lifted Starscream into his arms, not saying a word as he took to the air again and headed back to the Nemesis.
When they arrived, Megatron dismissed them and headed towards the med bay where Hook was prepped and ready for the Seeker. Laying Starscream on the berth, Megatron took a seat beside him, his optics never leaving the wounded Seeker and unnerving Hook slightly.
"My lord, where is the sparkling?" Hook asked, Megatron still not speaking as he simply pointed to the pocket in Starscream's armor where the Air Commander hid the sparklings. Pulling out the largest one, Hook went to walk away before Megatron stood. Optics still locked on the area where the other sparkling was still nestled, Megatron reached in and pulled out the silent one, handing him to the surprised medic.
Hook laid the two sparklings on the adjacent berth, the two immediately curling up around each other in the presence of this unknown mech. Leaving the room for a moment, Hook moved to his supply room, grabbing the necessary tools to repair Starscream's wing and thrusters, both simple repairs if one had the tools to repair them. The only thing Hook really was worried about was the Seeker's lack of energon, but after they gave him small amounts at a time so as not to send his systems into shock, the Seeker should be fine.
Standing next to Starscream, still slightly rattled by Megatron's presence, Hook worked on repairing the Seeker's wings and thrusters. He'd turn to the sparklings when he was finished, sensing no real threat in the larger one, but slightly worried about the silent Seeker. He'd never tell Megatron that though, Megatron seemed very much over protective and possessive about this family he'd unintentionally created. A trait that Hook found comforting and very awkward at the same time.
The first thing Starscream noticed was that he was not in the same area he was in before, nor was he in the Autobot med bay, the Decepticon med bay, or even his own quarters. Panicked that the Autobots had found him and locked him in the brig, Starscream immediately reached in his armor for the sparklings, feeling nothing but his own protoform beneath. Shooting up from the rather comfortable berth that he had failed to notice, Starscream was relieved slightly to see the large Decepticon insignia painted on the bulkhead in front of him.
Noticing that, Starscream began to take in the room scrutiny than before. The berth below him was large, more than large enough to fit two of him, wing span and all. There was also a cube of energon place on the desk, assumingly for him as he was the only mech in the room. Still curious as to where he was, Starscream sat up, heading for the cube that was practically crying out to him. When he stood, he was felt a wave of phantom pain that lasted only an astrosecond before disappearing entirely. Flexing his wings, he found that they too had been repaired.
Suddenly in a much better mood than he had been before, Starscream walked to the cube, taking it in his servo and sipping cautiously from it. It was a low grade of energon, since his tanks had been so low, a stronger grade would have caused him to purge and waste the energon. Taking another sip, Starscream noticed the pile of data pads on the desk as well. He picked one up, curious to see if they would tell him where he was, he examined the data pad. Chocking on the energon he had just taken in, he quickly set the data pad down, optics never leaving the name that was on the pad.
Megatron.
He was in Megatron's quarters.
Hearing movement to his left, he turned to see the very mech who's quarters her occupied. Megatron had moved the chair of the desk to the corner, practically hidden in the shadows. Starscream set the cube back down on the desk and as soon as his digits left the object, Megatron moved across the room in a speed that rivaled his own, grabbing Starscream by the throat and pinning him against the wall. Unsheathing his claws, Starscream grasped at Megatron's hand, to shocked by the action itself to even realize that Megatron wasn't actually hurting him.
Growling, Megatron leaned him close, locking optics with his Second In Command. "What made you think you could keep this from me?" His voice was full of complete rage, but his hold on the weaker mech before him was strong enough to hold him there but held none of the rage he spoke. "Hiding a part of my own spark from me," he continued, "Then throwing your life and theirs away so recklessly." Megatron's hand twitched for a moment, "I should deactivate you myself just for that."
Starscream stopped struggling for a moment, optics glinting brighter at the mention of their sparklings. "How," Starscream started, optics moving to their feet. "How are they?"
"Thundercracker has been watching them in your absence," Megatron replied, releasing the Seeker and moving to leave. "I will have him bring them to you, have duties to attend to." Looking back over his shoulder, Megatron sent a glare towards Starscream. "You are to stay here, in my quarters where I can watch you all. I will not have you making the same mistakes again."
Starscream watched as Megatron left the room, a servo going to his undamaged throat. His spark was racing, Megatron had said 'them', both sparklings were still functioning. Brushing off the strange encounter with Megatron, Starscream picked the cube back up, downing the remainder before setting it back down and sitting on the edge of the berth.
He didn't have to wait long for Thundercracker, followed by Skywarp, buzzed to be let into the room, not having the override codes. Starscream stood, opening the door to find that each trine mate held a sparkling, both functioning. Immediately handing the sparklings over to the distressed carrier, Starscream cradled the sparklings to his chassis before stepping aside to let his trine mates in.
Skywarp wrapped his arms around his trine leader, lose enough to not squish the sparklings, but tight enough to show Starscream how much he had missed him. Surprisingly, Starscream gave a slight one armed hug back, the other holding the sparklings. Taking a step back, Skywarp smiled at him, "We've missed you, Screamer."
Ignoring the hated nickname for a moment, Starscream offered a small smile back, Venom obsessively chirping how much he apparently missed him as well. Stillenight was still silent and small as ever, but seemed to hold on to his chest plates with a strong grip. "How long have I been here?"
"Almost exactly an orn," Thundercracker responded, "You were so low on energon that Hook wanted to let your systems adjust on their own. He was going to have you put in your own quarters but Megatron insisted that you stay in his."
Starscream's smile wavered at that, "Thank you," he said, changing the subject. "For watching the sparklings while I was in stasis."
Skywarp flung his servo out in a dismissive manner, "Please, we only watch them when Megsy's busy. When he's not fulfilling his job as our leader, he's been in here waiting for you to wake up and taking care of the sparklings." Skywarp's face dropped, "We almost lost the little guy," he explained, pointing to Stillenight. "He dropped into stasis a few times after we got you guys here, but while Hook tended to you Megatron kept him online."
Unconsciously, Starscream held the little ones closer, his systems almost stalling in shock. He had always thought that Megatron hated tiny and weak things, so it was only natural that he thought Megatron would offline the sparklings right off. If Megatron kept Venom that'd be one thing, the little guy already proved to be a strong and healthy sparkling, but Stillenight was weak and glitched. For Megatron to fight to keep Stillenight alive, it went against everything Starscream had believed in.
Pulling on Skywarp's hand, Thundercracker waved to Starscream. "We've gotta get going," he told Starscream, "Hook found out about Skywarp stealing his sparkling monitor and took it back on the basis that Skywarp and I have check ups after every heat cycle and 'Warp just finished his."
Skywarp waved to Starscream as well, "See ya later, Screamer!" He called before digging his thrusters into the ground. "Wait! We forgot to ask; what are their names? You've been out for so long we've been calling them 'big guy' and 'little guy'."
"Venom," Starscream answered, pointing to the large silver and red sparkling. "Stillenight," he added, pointing to the silver and yellow Seekerling.
Skywarp made an excited little chirp at the sparklings, "Well, see ya around Venom and Stillenight!" He cried before being dragged out of the room by Thundercracker who offered a smile towards the sparklings but clearly understood that Starscream needed time with his own sparklings.
Starscream took the two sparklings over to the berth with him, flicking his wings behind him so that he could lay on his side with the sparklings in front of him. As soon as Venom was on the berth, his optics began slowly shuttering, almost immediately falling into recharge. Stillenight however, looked up at his carrier, red optics bright as he laid there completely silent, not even his systems hummed to show they were all functioning, silent.
Running his digits down the Seekerling's back, he felt the small nubs that would become wings when he grew into them. What perhaps shocked Starscream the most about the silent sparkling, was not how quiet he was, but the mechling's coloring. Looking at Stillenight he saw what perhaps most mechs had forgotten, Starscream hadn't though. The horns that came from the top of his helm and stood out straight, yellow markings decorating their length. It was like he was there all over again.
Before Megatron was Megatron, before the Lord Protector and Leader of the Decepticons even had a name. When he was a newbie within the Gladiatorial battles, Starscream had been there, for his first fight, when he first killed as a Gladiator. After his victory, Megatron had removed his warrior helm, and let the light shine on his true appearance.
Stillenight's markings were the exact same, only sleeker because of his Seeker frame. It made Starscream's spark clench, seeing the mech Megatron once was, the mech Starscream had admired and would have done anything for. Before Megatron had gone crazed with this never ending war, before he had changed and gone cold.
Venom seemed to be a perfect blend between the two of them, the silver color from Megatron, the red from Starscream. His shape was more Megatron's, not sleek like a Seeker, perhaps a gun-former like Megatron. Definitely what would grow to be Starscream's attitude, which-Starscream would never admit-was slightly discouraging as Starscream could irritate himself sometimes. Seeing that Stillenight's optics had offlined and the Seekerling seemed to be in recharge, hard to tell with his silent systems but his spark told him that his sparkling was still alive and well, Starscream offlined his own optics, relaxing into the berth as he let himself fall into recharge as well, systems gaining their strength and comforted by the presence of his sparklings.
It was sometime later that night, Starscream was woken to small servos gripping his chest plate a quiet and yet determined chirping close to his audio receivers. Onlining his optics, Starscream looked down to find Venom very close to his faceplates, chirping at him. Offlining his optics again, he reached into his abdomen and pulled out an energon line, holding it out for the hungry sparkling to take. Feeling the energon taken as Venom stuck it in his mouth, Starscream felt around him for Stillenight, knowing that he was probably hungry as well.
Optics coming online quickly and brightly, he bathed he berth in their red glow, searching for the silent sparkling. His spark almost stopped at the sight before him. Megatron lay in front of him, turned on his side like Starscream himself, facing the Seeker while deep in recharge. Stillenight lay curled into Megatron's side, one of Megatron's own energon lines laying in the Seekerling's limp hand.
For some reason, Starscream smiled lightly at that, seeing the sparkling he'd had unintentionally with Megatron curled against his creator, while Megatron had obvious been woken sometime before him for a feeding. Another thing that confused Starscream, was that for some reason he felt safe; laying with his sparklings and the mech that sired them.
Brushing it off as a side effect of being held prisoner by the Autobots, Starscream allowed himself to slip back into recharge.
Note: I hope you guys didn't really think I'd kill of Starscream! He's my favorite! Anyway, this is not the end yet, I just wanted to add; if you wanted to know where I got the design of Stillenight, it's from the comic Megatron Origin, one of my favorite Transformers comic. Volume 2 is where you see Megatron take his helm off and personally...I like him with helm off. Pretty cool guys. Thank you all for the reviews and I'll see y'all next chapter!