A/N- Ta-daa! This has been aaages in the making, hope you like it, gosh I wish I had more time to devote to this. As always please review, let me know your thoughts! Hugs to you all x

Chapter 20

Jamie stifled yet another yawn as he shuffled down the vast halls, his bare feet making no sound on the cool metal floor. He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck, wanting nothing more than to go back to his nap in the dormitories. Yet he couldn't help but feel a twinge of curiosity every time someone new arrived. Jamie was easy going and friendly, and as such was often asked to go and greet new refugees to the base, who more often than not were exhausted, frightened and mistrustful.

And the curiosity this time was certainly strong, tugging at his brain and waking him up. A young woman on her own, Gears had explained to him. She had come in with Hot Shot, an autobot he had heard about but everyone had presumed dead. Plucked out of the decepticon's lair and whisked up here, after weeks on her own… already amongst the humans, rumours had begun to circulate. She was a spy for the decepticons, turned traitor against her own species… no, she was a slave to none other than Starscream, second in command to Megatron, no, she was a pretender, a terrible creature that looks and moves just like us…

But Gears had shushed the clamour of fearful voices and bent down on one knee, leaning in towards Jamie. "She was in the base, Hot Shot tells me, and somehow helped him to escape. We don't know much more than that. You can make her feel at home here, can't you? Show her where everything is and introduce her to people. I'm sure she will fit right in, in no time…"

Jamie snapped back to the present as he realized he had wandered straight past the vast doorway leading to the main control room, where Gears had said the young woman was waiting. He retraced his steps, blushing in case anyone had spotted his absent mindedness. The control room was draughty, the ceiling towering high above, and Jamie shivered, pulling his shabby hooded sweater around him. To his left and right reared huge consoles twice his height, the soft beeping and humming filling the room. Down one end Gears and Huffer stood deep in conversation at one of the screens. Then he caught sight of a small figure, sitting with legs dangling on a large chest against the wall…

Skywarp strode into the hall, coming to a sharp halt and saluting his commander. "All done, Starscream," he boomed cheerfully. "I've secured the organic in the holding cell. I even plugged the grille so it doesn't climb out." He beamed proudly at this display of initiative.

Starscream grunted and gave the briefest nod. Beside him Thundercracker stood, frowning.

"So… you think Alexis will return to get this other organic? How can you be sure?"

"I'm sure," replied the other jet with a cursory flick of his hand. "In the past I have seen her exhibit a strong emotional response to this one. It is the same one I encountered with her that night many earth months back. And again, as Frenzy reported, the same one Alexis spoke to in Station 12 with the autobot." This last word was spat with such venom Thundercracker took a small step back.

"I still don't understand why you went to all this bother, jeapordising all we've worked for, for the sake of one–"

"Be quiet!" Starscream screeched. "What it is to you? Do you think I am fool enough to allow this insect to interfere with all my plans? I am a decepticon! I do not tolerate sedition or betrayal, not from ANYONE! She thinks she can slip through the net, but she came too far with us for that! Now she has a reason to return! She has questions to answer!"

"So, you're going to kill her then?" asked Thundercracker, un-phased by the violent burst of temper.

Starscream did not answer straight away. Skywarp had teleported away moments earlier, and just at that moment he returned, leaning nonchalantly against a huge pillar.

"The organic is making those squeaky noises again," he reported, fascinated, as if he were observing an animal behaving strangely in a zoo. "My grasp of the language isn't as good as yours, boss, but I think she is calling to be let out."

"Very well," said Starscream briskly, sitting up straight and gesturing with a finger. "Release her and bring her here."

Thundercracker tilted his head, mystified. Skywarp stood up straight at the issue of the bizarre order. "Uh… what was that?"

"Are you having trouble with your audio receptors, Skywarp?" inquired Starscream sweetly. "I said: Bring. Her. Here."

At that tone the purple jet saluted hastily and whirled out of sight as he teleported away once more. Starscream leaned back, meeting the quizzical gaze of Thundercracker.

"Is the machine ready, Thundercracker?"

A look of realisation crossed the other jet's face and he raised his eyebrows. "Of course, I built it to your exact specifications," he replied. "It's working and ready. Do you really mean to try it now?"

"Yes." Starscream replied simply, his optics burning a dull red.

"We don't know the outcome…"

"True. But then…" Starscream raised his eyebrows. "I think it only fair Sari makes herself useful whilst she is here."

A deep metallic chuckle echoed all around her as she gripped the iron bar a little tighter, standing with feet wide apart, glaring up at the monstrous jet. Sari shifted her grip on the heavy pole and brandished it, more in a gesture of defiance than anything else. The purple decepticon had materialized in the huge cell right in front of her, a thoroughly unnerving experience. "Starscream wants me to bring you to him. You can take that with you…" he gestured to the iron bar. "… if you want."

"Starscream can go fuck himself," Sari spat, with much more bravado than she felt. At this the purple monster roared with laughter, shaking and stamping his foot, slapping one metal hand on his knee.

"You're funny!" he chuckled. "Much more entertaining than Starscream's pet. Why couldn't he take to you?"

Sari narrowed her eyes as the fingers encircled her and then tightened, raising her higher and higher off the ground as the jet straightened up. "What pet?"

Jamie bit his lip for what felt like the hundredth time, swallowing a sigh of exasperation as he shepherded the girl in between two towering crates, they had almost finished the tour of the human living quarters. The young woman was infuriatingly quiet, answering him only with slight nods or shakes of her head, unsmiling, distant. He wanted to take her by the shoulders and shake her. What the hell was going on here? All the while he struggled to remind himself that she must have been through a hell of a lot, etc, etc, but hadn't they all? She would find few friends here if she decided to remain so aloof. He led her into a dingy room piled high with boxes, a few shabby chests of drawers leaning against the walls.

"Uh… so this is just a store really. Er… "

She had wandered over to an old cabinet as he spoke, and was pulling drawers open listlessly, one by one, peering inside.

"Um… you don't seem to have much stuff, but if you need storage space, let me know…"

She ignored him, staring intently into a drawer, silent. Jamie discreetly tried to crane his neck to see the contents, but at that moment she snapped the drawer shut, stirring from her reverie. Jamie let out a small sigh and turned to leave her, he had spent enough time in the company of this strange girl. But as he reached the door, she spoke.

"Wait…"

He stopped, pausing on the threshold, and turned back to face her. She met his gaze briefly then looked away, nibbling on her nails, her face a mask of anxiety. For one dreadful moment he thought she was going to cry. But then she took a deep breath, and composed her face into a small smile.

"Look. I know… I must seem a bit… unfriendly, and I'm sorry, I really am. Thank you for showing me around." She inhaled deeply again, and Jamie felt a sudden rush of sympathy for her. "Truth is… I'm scared, I'm just so scared, and tired… Do you think… Well, do you think… you could carry on showing me more? Just walk, and talk with me? I can't stay still. I can't. I'll go mad. I need to be distracted. I promise to try and be better company. What do you say?"

She looked so wretched that Jamie relented at once. "Sure," he agreed, giving her a warm smile back. "I didn't want to overwhelm you, but if you want to see more, I can show you. I can even introduce you to some of the autobots, if you like. You even want to see the boring bits?"

She smiled properly then, and Jamie was struck by the instant change it wrought in her.

"Especially the boring bits. The more tedious the better. I could do with some boredom, frankly, it would make a change!"

Sari was dumped rudely onto a high surface, rolling over and fighting the instinct to curl into a ball. She shifted her legs out from under her and leant back, observing the three beings towering over her. The purple one who had fetched her watched her with detached interest, until Starscream barked an order and he wandered off. Thundercracker disappeared from her sights for a second, then returned, bearing a transparent box in his hands, about the size of a double-decker bus to her. He set it down, the impact sending a gentle tremor through her body, and began sorting a pile of long wires with terrifying metal clamps at either end.. All the while Starscream stood, arms folded, his crimson optics wandering between the box and the small young woman on the worktop. Sari couldn't help but swallow in fear when she saw the way the jet looked at her. Like she was an object to be studied, to be taken apart to see how it worked.

Like a lab rat.

Meanwhile, Thundercracker had fetched a control panel, a slim rectangle covered in dials and buttons. He busied himself adjusting the settings, frowning in concentration. Finally he looked up at Starscream.

"It's ready. Are you sure about this?"

"What's to be unsure about?"

Thundercracker shrugged. "You're the scientist, not me." He turned to the small human on the worktop. Sari felt sure she saw the briefest flicker of reluctance flash across the blue giant's face, before he opened his hand, reaching towards her. Immediately she scrambled backwards, but it really was no use. The huge fingers closed around her, gently, as if he were picking up spun glass. Despite the gentle touch she couldn't escape. As the limb holding her swung towards the transparent box, the lid open and waiting, she lost all control, and thrashed desperately.

"No! NO! Don't put me in there! STOP! PUT ME DOWN!"

To her shock the hand halted, and the fingers opened. But then he brought his thumb down, like the restraints lowering on a rollercoaster, pinning her firmly. "Hold still," he rumbled above her, the voice couldn't have be more different to Starscream's raspy one. "This won't hurt if you don't struggle."

She struggled anyway, her eyes wide as she saw his other hand approach, holding the slim wires which he attempted to attach to her limbs. She kicked and wriggled, squirming her legs and arms away every time he tried. This carried on for a couple of minutes, the blue jet patiently trying again, and again, until a shadow fell across her, and the head of Starscream loomed overhead, the red optics illuminating her in a soft glow.

"Human. Thundercracker here is being kind, because he is an idiot. If you continue to resist, I will handle you myself. If I have to carry out this experiment with a subject whose bones have been broken, I will."

And he reached down, and took her flailing forearm between thumb and finger. The pressure was slight, but Sari felt it, and stared at the huge fingers, poised to snap her arm like a toothpick. She went very still, her face paling visibly.

The seconds ticked by, Sari's fearful brown eyes staring into his. Until finally, he released her arm, and stepped back. "Good. Continue."

Jamie and Alexis laughed as they strolled down the huge corridor together. "You should have seen their faces the first time it snowed here. They honestly did not know what to do! They just stood there staring, like this…" and he pulled an exaggerated expression of amazement, mimicking the autobots. Alexis let out another giggle, covering her mouth. Jamie snuck a sideways glance at her as she laughed. She's really opened up, he thought to himself. I was wrong about her. He cast a glance at his watch. "Oh, shit," he muttered. "If we don't hurry we'll miss dinner. It's like watching piranas swarm when they bring the food out. Come on…"

They quickened pace, moving down the halls back towards the living quarters. Jamie found himself looking at her again, wondering just what had gone on inside the decepticon base. He was itching to ask her, but didn't want her to retreat into herself again… just then she looked up, catching his eye. He blushed and looked away, as if she could see into his thoughts through his eyes. And perhaps she could, for she spoke again.

"You wondering what my story is, aren't you?"

"You don't have to say," he stammered hastily. "I mean… I was wondering. Is it true you lived alongside them? Obviously it can't be," he added hurriedly, afraid of sounding accusing. "It's just, well, there have been some rumours, which I don't pay attention to, you understand, it's just, um…"

Shut up, he said inside his head. Just shut up right now, you idiot.

She stayed silent for a while, whilst internally he cursed himself for blowing it and being nosy. Finally she let out a breath, closing her eyes for a brief moment. Then she stopped, turning to face him.

"Have you heard of Megatron?" she asked him, simply.

"Have I heard of him…" he replied bitterly, balling his fists. "Yeah. He's the leader of the decepticons."

"And you hate him?"

"I hate all the decepticons, and what they've done to us, to Earth. But especially him, yeah."

She seemed satisfied, and relieved, as though she and him had both passed some sort of test. "I hate him too," she whispered. "Remember that. Just…." She gave a smile, and started walking again, slipping her arms inside the sleeves of her sweater. "Just remember that."

Sari shivered in a half crouch inside the box, wire trailing across the floor. Above her the lid was shut and sealed, but there were vents on the side, she could breathe. Outside, the two jets loomed, their optics lingering on the screen and console beside the container.

"Conditions are normal," said Starscream. "Internal systems are functioning well, under the circumstances."

Thundercracker stared at the figures and graphs on the glowing screen, utterly enthralled. "What is that number?" he rumbled, pointing with a huge digit.

"The spark of a human, essentially a pump, is located just there." He gestured towards Sari's breastbone. "It pushes their life-fluid round the body, and pulses a certain number of times per Earth minute. Here are her blood-stream levels." He gestured again at the screen, and Thundercracker leant in closer, squinting. "Incredible, he muttered."

"If you say so," Starscream sneered. He continued to study the figures, and Sari wandered over to the glass in spite of herself, pressing her palms against the cool surface and peering at her statistics on screen. But all the figures were in weird cybertronian characters, and she could make no sense of it.

Starscream looked up, and saw that she had moved. "Stand in the middle," he ordered. "I want you to stay still until you are told to move." Then to Thundercracker: "The chamber is ready. Initiate the converter."

"W…what? What converter? What are you doing?"

Sari fought the bile rising in her throat, panic causing her voice to waver and tremble, though she fought to stay brave, clenching her fists and keeping her head up.

"Move into the middle, human." Starscream's voice was low and dangerous. "Don't make me tell you again!"

She backed into the middle. Starscream flicked a switch.

Nothing seemed to happen. No noises, no lights. Sari had squeezed her eyes shut and waited for something dreadful to occur: a flash of light, or the appearance of some fearful machinery designed to cut her to ribbons. But nothing. She blinked, and looked around. The two jets seemed to be waiting for something, watching her intently.

"So… you went to all that trouble for this human, Alexis' friend?" Thundercracker asked. "You could have grabbed any organic to try this on."

"She's just a hostage," Starscream replied disdainfully. "But then I realized she is similar in build and age to Alexis, and of course I was originally going to test this on her. But one human is very like another. Sari will give us a good indication. He grinned unpleasantly.

"What about Alexis? Where is she? What have you done to her?"
Sari stayed where she was, the memory of her slender arm pinched between two huge metal fingers kept her stock still, but she was determined to get answers.

"So? Come on, tell me! She's my best friend! If you've hurt her…"

Starscream laughed mirthlessly, and leant down in front of the chamber, Sari instinctively drew back. "I have a good idea of where she is, and so do you, meatbag, so stop pretending. I'm certain she'll be back soon, when our Bumbler breaks the news of our little skirmish. In the meantime, you are a tremendous little test subject. Now, shush… I have another task for you. I want you to run around the edge of this box, at a steady pace. When you feel you can go no further, you may stop and rest."

Sari stared at him. "Why?"

"Because I wish it," Starscream purred. He flicked another switch on the panel, and the wires on her limbs unclamped themselves and slithered like pale snakes through the vents, leaving her free to move. 'Run, human."

Sari began to run, feeling for all the world like the hamster she'd had as a child, running in it's cage. One lap, two... three… She felt her legs get heavy, and found herself wheezing, as if she was terribly unfit… but that was absurd… she was fitter than she'd ever been, after months of running and climbing, surviving on a basic diet… something was wrong…

She slowed to a walk, breathing in and out deeply, frowning. She half expected Starscream to scold her for slowing down, but he merely watched, a strange look on his face. Presently she gave up, and slumped down, leaning against the wall, her hands laying limply on the floor either side of her. She gasped for air and shut her eyes, exhausted.

"Interesting," Starscream remarked. He glanced at the screen. "Keep the levels as they are and observe her. If she goes offline, record it and note the time." He straightened up, and left, leaving the girl in the box, pale and drawn, whilst the remaining jet watched her heart rate and breathing on the screen, enthralled...

The large space was covered with lumps and outlines of people, laying close together, snuggled into blankets, the shapes softly rising and falling as they slept. Every now and then there would be movement as someone turned over, or muttered something in their sleep. But the whole place for the most part was quiet, and still.

Alexis tiptoed over bodies, being careful not to tread on out-flung limbs or make a sound, as she crept towards the door. On the way she passed Jamie, splayed out on his back, his mouth open as he slumbered deeply. She gave a small smile as she stepped over him delicately. She reached the door, and looked back once. An autobot had passed by an hour ago, almost comical in his efforts not to wake the humans as he patrolled, lifting his huge feet carefully. She had to hurry.

She strode into the store, and headed straight for the drawer she had stared into earlier. Opening it she fished out fistfuls of car keys, dozens of them, bundling them into her deep pockets. Then she set off down the huge halls, going over the route in her head.

Jamie had obliged beautifully, showing her the huge hangar-like spaces where spare vehicles were kept, should they ever be needed. There was a safe-room for the humans to bolt to in a crisis, kind of like in a film she had seen once. They could all hide in there and be safe from a decepticon attack, the autobots had stocked it with blankets, food and water. But she wasn't interested in that. No, what had interested her immensely was the tunnel, going deep through the heart of the hill, emerging onto the moors…

She arrived in the large space, cave like and eerie in the darkness. There, in rows, sat cars, in all shapes and sizes. After a few cautious prods to make sure it was, in fact, just a car and not a transformer, she located the key and slipped inside one. The engine when it started sounded impossibly loud in the huge space, and she cringed, expecting running footsteps. But none came. When was the last time she had driven? It felt like a lifetime ago.

Bumblebee sobbed brokenly, having roared into the base and collapsed, his energon levels all but depleted. He knelt on the floor, gabbling, whilst Ratchet and Gears tried their hardest to make sense of his words.

"He's...got… Sari… My fault… got to tell… Alexis… got to find… her… quick…"

Alexis slammed her foot on the accelerator and the car shot out into the open night sky, bouncing onto the road. No one had pursued her. Ahead was a sign, pointing to the main road leading south. She took the turning, not looking back, her face set in grim determination.

"Sorry Jamie," she whispered, as the tunnel exit was swallowed up in darkness in the rearview mirror. "I hope you understand, I have to get back…"

And she sighed and leant her head back against the head rest, speeding away from the autobots, away from the humans. Back towards where she needed to be. Back to Starscream.