Chapter 22: Heidenr slein
Sah ein Knab ein R slein stehn, Saw a boy a little rose,
R slein auf der Heiden, little red rose on the heath,
War so jung und morgensch n, young and lovely like the morning.
Lief er schnell es nah zu sehn, So he ran to have a close
Sah s mit vielen Freuden. look at it, and gladly did.
R slein, R slein, R slein rot, Little rose, little rose,
R slein auf der Heiden. little red rose on the heath.
Knabe sprach: Ich breche dich, Said the boy: I will pick
R slein auf der Heiden. you, my red rose on the heath!
R slein sprach: Ich steche dich,Said the rose: I will prick
Dass du ewig denkst an mich,you and I won't stand it,
Und ich will s nicht leiden. and you won't forget me.
R slein, R slein, R slein rot, Little rose, little rose
R slein auf der litte red rose on the heath
Und der wilde Knabe brach And the rough boy picked the rose,
s R slein auf der red rose on the heath
R slein wehrte sich und stach, and the red rose fought and pricked,
Half ihm doch kein Weh und Ach, yet she cried and sighed in vain,
Musst es eben and had to let it happen
R slein, R slein, R slein rot,Little rose, little rose
R slein auf der red rose on the heath.
There was a human saying that went: You don't know what you have until it's gone. This was the saying that's been playing through Blitzwing's processor from the time Cyclonus almost killed him. He rubbed his optic, wiping off a stray tear. What he had with Starscream was beautiful, to say the least. It was a feeling he hadn't had even with his first marriage. He loved her, but not as much as he loved the seeker. He always thought the relationship wouldn't work because sooner or later, he'd probably wind up turning the seeker, or kill him if Starscream ended it. Once, he even thought that Megatron might steal him away, and he wouldn't really care that much if that happened. His ex-master gave and took as he pleased, so he wasn't one to get possessive. It probably wasn't until the night that they bonded that he stopped and thought to himself that this was the mech he wanted to spend the rest of his immortal life with, even though he'd live long after the seeker would offline. He stood up from his berth and made his way to the window, which had a magnificent view of the city. If Starscream were here with him, the view would probably be that much more gorgeous. He looked over at the religious tower a few miles away, and sighed.
"Primus, you know I'm not a religious mech, nor haf I ever believed in you. But now... I don't know vhat to zhink, ozher zhan vanting mein Starscream safe." He got onto his knees, folding his arms and hands into a prayer position.
"You know I never ask anyzhing from you, Primus. But if you do exist and have mercy for a sparkless, murderous beast like me... Keep Starscream safe... Please..." The room seemed to have grown warmer, and a sweet-smelling scent flooded the room. It smelled like Starscream's blood, yet had some sort of citrusy zing to it. Seeing a light from the corner of his optic, Blitzwing turned around quicky, only to find a small, white feather float towards his berth. He got up from the window, making his way back to the berth. Blitzwing took the feather off his berth, inspecting it. It didn't look like it belonged to any of Red Alert's animals. He placed on the nightstand and crawled back onto his lonely, empty berth that lacked a certain seeker.
On the roof of the building by Blitzwing's window, a translucent, glowing figure smirked before flying up into the sky.
For the whole day, Hotshot was given the privilege of exploring the base, as long as he was accompanied by Rodimus. Not wanting to stay locked in the closet forever(he was getting hungry), he grudgingly walked alongside his leader as they explored another hallway. They had bumped into Megatron's harem, which had been a little awkward, and then made sure to ignore the med bay. Apparently, Cyclonus and Oil Slick had a fight last night, leaving the latter in serious need of repair. They suddenly stopped as they heard voices ahead.
"A-are you sure?" One quiet voice asked.
"Of course!" Replied the other. " We'll get back to the room, drink all this energon, then get Hook to weld this stupid wound shut... It'll be easy. I always snuck around like this back when I was a Decepticon..." A sweet smell invaded Hotshot's olfactory sensors, the same scent that he had smelled on Megatron.
"You smell that too, Hotty?" Rodimus asked. He nodded silently; He still wasn't talking to him other than answering important questions. They walked slowly down the hallway, in case the voices heard them and ran away. Both were surprised to find two more seekers quietly sneaking into a bedroom, with Starscream's arms full of energon cubes. The black seeker looked extremely nervous, while the other was snickering.
"You worry WAY too much, Sky... Now help me set these on the dresser..." As shaky as the black seeker was, he helped the other set the cubes down on the dresser. The magenta seeker, the one giving off the scent, let out an innocent laugh and leaned on the doorframe.
"Skywarp, we'll be fine..." Starscream's laughter fell silent as he saw Skywarp's gaze look over his shoulder. He raised an optic ridge.
"... Sky? Sky, what's-" The seeker suddenly grabbed Skywarp's collar as the vampire hissed and bared his fangs at something behind them. At the same time, Rodimus held back Hotshot with all his might, who was, in turn, writhing like a pissed-off dog. Skywarp was acting like a territorial cat, and Starscream was reminded of the time that Lockdown and Blitzwing had that snarling contest. Rodimus and Starscream locked optics and smiled sheepishly before introducing themselves.
"H-hey there... Hehe... I'm Rodimus..."
"I'm Starscream... But I think you already know that... Hehe..." It was practically a meeting at the dog park, with a little less fluff and a lot more danger. As Rodimus held his 'creation' and spoke with the ex-Decepticon, he couldn't help but wonder why he was a Decepticon in the first place.
"Are you sure about this?" Blitzwing's optic twitched. Being alone in a room with Blaster, or any other siren, always made him feel uncomfortable. The red mech just smiled sheepishly, like he was a virgin... Which he was, but that's beside the point. Blitzwing just glared back at him, which was awkward for Blaster since the triple-changer was currently in his Icy persona... and it was a rare occurrence that Icy glared at someone other than Bumblebee or Lockdown.
"Ja, I am quite positive zhat ve vill need your... assisstance... in zhe upcoming mission..." Blaster bit his lower lip. He could tell Blitzwing didn't want him in the mission or on the same planet as he was, for that matter. Vampires and sirens did not get along so well, unless they were bonded. Both had similar origins, yet always fought about which race was the original. While Blaster and Blitzwing did not give a rat's ass about it, there were still some tensions, to say the least. Blaster slid off the shelf he was sitting on, giving Blitzwing a nice, friendly smile.
"I'll do it. Count me in!" His smile faltered a bit when Blitzwing didn't return the smile. "Hehe... Well, I guess Red Alert put you up to this..." He groaned.
"She FORCED me to do zhis, but she has a point. Ve do need you und your powers..." Blaster's smile disappeared, and his optics became serious.
"I'll help you get him back, Blitzwing. If it's the last thing I do..." They turned and went to the door. Blaster caught a ghost of a smile on the vampires face as they went to Red Alert's office to meet up with the rest of the team. Blaster whistled as he saw Blurr, Lockdown, and Jazz in the room among the group.
"Oh wow, Blitzwing... Seems like you have help from weres..." Lockdown smirked.
"He should consider himself lucky," Lockdown stated, "Us weres won't just help ANY vampire..." Bumblebee looked up from one of the blueprints on the desk.
"I sure hope this works, Blitz... I really miss Starscream..." Blitzwing let out a sad sigh, catching everyone's attention.
"Me too, Bumblebee... Me, too..."
Starscream had no idea where Cyclonus and Oil Slick were taking him to. All he knew was that he had gotten a change in outfits, which really was not much of an improvement. The cloth itself was practically transparent, and the fact that it was white made it more so. The small beads on his hips were replaced with thin, silver chains. The cloth was long, trailing behind him almost like a wedding dress, which made him feel uncomfortable as well as a little depressed. They finally made it to a large, dark room that seemed almost cave-like. As he walked in, the doors behind him closed, being careful of the cloth. As his optics adjusted to the darkness, he could make out what was inside the room, asides from some hooded figures, one of them being Megatron himself. There were only a few candles piled into the corners of the room that gave off a dim, amber lighting that did not help in the least. Megatron gave a signal, which seemed to have made the other vampires leave. Only he and Megatron were left in the room. Starscream shivered.
"Don't be frightened, my little seeker..." He purred, suddenly sounding closer to him. He jumped as he felt a hand on his wing.
"I am not going to hurt you, Starscream. I just wish to explain something to you..." As venomous as that sounded, the seeker bit his lip and swallowed nervously as he followed Megatron move in the darkness. The vampire opened one of the incense burners, fanning out the smoke emitting from the rocks. A few moments later, all the incense burners were uncovered, filling the air with smoke and a strange smell. It began to get to Starscream's processor.
"Many centuries ago, Starscream, the ancient empires believed that, in order to predict the future, you needed to go through spiritual journeys... Many also believed that only a select few could see the future in general, like seers..." Starscream moaned as the shutters of his optics began to feel heavy and loose. His intakes began to get heavy. Megatron continued, his voice sounding a lot more soothing.
"Most believed that burning incense would help the oracles and seers see the future clearer, helping them make better predictions..." Starscream's mind flashed, giving him a glimpse of his neck bleeding profusely. He fell onto his knees from the sudden dizziness that hit him. Megatron chuckled darkly. Starscream shivered as he dug his talons into the sandy ground. He knew this would not end well for him, but his processor felt so heavy...
"In later cultures, they found that some of these could be used as what the humans call aphrodisiacs... The wealthy would use them in their harems..." The seeker felt a horrible wave of dizziness, and leaned on the nearest thing to stop himself from flopping down on the ground. Megatron smirked as he felt the seeker grab on to his leg. Starscream tried to move his legs, but they felt so heavy and watery, he only succeeded in making them twitch. The vampire's smirk grew wider.
"Are you okay, my dear little seeker?" He asked sweetly. Starscream realized what he was grabbing on to and pushed himself off, only resulting in him rolling onto the floor. He groaned, the contact giving his front a dull pain. He stared at the tattoo on his upper arm; it was a strangely soothing distraction of his strange perception of the world. Megatron's fangs grew as he saw the seeker splayed out on the floor. He bent down and took the seeker into his arms, holding him like a bride. Starscream tried struggling, but only succeeded in grabbing Megatron's arm.
"Patience, my dear Starscream... We'll get to enjoy ourselves soon..." He purred darkly.
Blaster's singing had been extremely helpful in letting the team be able to infiltrate the large fort. Most the vampires that were patrolling the area had been lulled into a deep slumber, with the rest being in a strange daze. Blitzwing couldn't help but shudder when he saw the siren's optics, which were glowing a strange blue-green that seemed so eerily empty. As they entered the building, the group separated into groups, each with a were. Blitzwing was (un)lucky enough to have gotten Optimus and Lockdown. They ran down the maze of hallways, on a lookout for Starscream or somebot who would know. Turning a corner, the triple-changer almost ran into a black seeker.
"Vhat zhe-"
"A-are you B-Blitzwing!?"
"How do you know who I am?" The black seeker shook his head.
"P-please help m-me! T-they t-took him away-" The triple-changer grabbed Skywarp by the shoulders and pulled him closer.
"Who?! Are you talking about Starscream!?" The seeker nodded.
"Y-yes! Please, y-you have to h-help him!" Lockdown let out a low growl, making Blitzwing put him down. Skywarp shivered in fear as the hunter-now-turned jaguar approached him and sniffed him. He looked into the seeker's optics, flicking his tail in suspicion.
"You know where they took him?" Skywarp nodded.
"Y-yes! T-they took him to t-the room.... But I-I doubt h-he's still t-there..." Lockdown's ears perked up before he began running down the hallway, Blitzwing following close behind. Optimus grabbed Skywarp's wrist and pulled him along.
"Come on! We're not leaving you in his Primus-forsaken place!" Skywarp yelped as Optimus pulled him as he ran. They found their way towards a larger hallway with lavishly decorated doors. Lockdown stopped in front of the biggest door in the hallway, growling darkly.
"He's in here.... I can smell him and that bastard..." Without a second thought, Blitzwing kicked the door open, finding his seeker pinned down on Megatron's berth by the vampire. Megatron lifted his head up slowly, only to find his lips pressed to Optimus's. The Autobot's optics glowed green again, and Blitzwing went and took the seeker into his arms. Lockdown nipped at Skywarp's hand.
"Come on, let's go! Optimus can handle this..." The group made their way down the hallway again, passing through all the hallways and careful of sleeping vampires. As they exited the fortress, no one noticed two figures following them to the ship.
After Optimus had returned from his... Mission, Blaster had stopped his singing and hurried inside the ship to return to Cybertron. Everybody was exhausted, but they were all grateful that Starscream had been returned. But no one was as relieved as Blitzwing, who was finally happy to have the seeker back. Making his way to the seeker's room, he was stopped by a pissed off jaguar.
"And who said you could come in?" Blitzwing glared down at the cat, baring his fangs.
"He ist mein bondmate, Lockdown. I believe I haf a right to see him." The jaguar scoffed.
"Last time I checked, Blitzwing, Starscream's a virgin and yer bond's been cut like a thread... So go away... He doesn't want to see anyone." Blitzwing changed to Hothead and grabbed Lockdown by the collar.
"Listen, you stupid, ill-tempered furball, you vill let me in or so help me Primus I vill-!"
"Put him down, Blitzwing." The two stopped snarling at each other and looked at the now-opened door. Starscream glared at the triple-changer, who switched back to Icy and released Lockdown. The jaguar trotted back to the seeker's side and licked his paw. Skywarp peeked from behind Starscream.
"A-are you okay, Starscream?" The magenta seeker gently nudged the seeker back.
"I'll be fine, Sky... Just let me talk to him..." Skywarp bi this lip nervously before doing as he was told and went back inside. Blitzwing caught a glimpse of a familiar-looking cheetah and wolf and looked back at Starscream.
"Vhat are zhey doing in zhere?"
"They're protecting me, Blitz... That's what weres do to seers..." Blizwing looked down.
"Starscream..."
"I need to be alone, Blitzwing... Just for a day or two... Then we can talk..." The triple-changer looked at the seeker with sad optics.
"But Starscream, vhat... vhy?" The seeker shook his head.
"Just... Just give me some time, Blitzwing... I'm not really ready to be with anyone right now-"
"Zhen vhy ist zhat ozher vampire in zhere!? Vhy are zhe veres in zhere?! Vhat is wrong vith you!?"
"Blitzwing, leave..." Lockdown pressed his ears against his head, growling dangerously.
"Starscream, please! Vhy don't you vant to be vith me? Is it because of vhen I hit you? I'm sorry, okay!? I didn't mean to do zhat to you! Please, Starscream!" The seeker looked away, rubbing away the tears from his optics.
"It's not that, Blitzwing... I just... I just need to be alone..."
"But zhere are ozhers zhere..." Starscream let out a frustrated sigh.
"Oh Primus... Don't you understand!? They're just here to protect me! That's their job!"
"It's mein job, too!"
"You know what? I don't want to fight with you right now."
"Vhat happened to you, Starscream?"
"Nothing!"
"Zhen vhy are you acting like zhat?! Vhy are you acting like zhe arrogant, close-minded second-in-command zhat everyvone hated?!" Everything went eerily silent after Blitzwing's comment. The weres inside the room pressed themselves to the wall, with Skywarp sitting next to them. Lockdown stepped out into the hallway, wagging his tail in silent anger.
"... Fuck you, Blitzwing... Fuck you and your stupid kind..." Starscream slammed the door so hard the walls around it rattled violently. The triple-changer was about to knock on the door until the jaguar stepped in front of him and growled.
"I think you've done enough for today... I'll personally tell you when he's ready to talk to your sorry aft... Now get the frag out of my sight before I maim you..." Lockdown could hear the seeker crying inside his room and Jazz trying to calm him down. He knew that Blitzwing could hear it, too, so he made sure the vampire could hear it clearly. As he saw the triple-changer walk away slowly, he remembered a little saying that the seeker's mother always said.
Love is a blessing... And a curse...