The Complications of Life

By: Nightelfcrawler

Disclaimer: I do not own, merely covet adoringly.

Authors' note: Yes, once again I'm being slow. Apologies. You know how it gets, inspiration to write dies off though you have tons of ideas, you just don't feel like writing. Well out of that phase now (for the time being, who knows how long twill last)

Warnings: Contains a background of slash relationships.

Chapter Thirteen


Her life had never been so normal, but nor had it ever been so radically different.

The days following her return to her real life was filled with lots of briefings, explanations to angry family members and the desire to just tell them all to bugger off and leave her alone. Unfortunately, she had obligations now. She had given fifteen different briefings of the same content to a dozen federal agencies, from the Secretary of Defense who had wished to talk with her briefly about her views on their new allies, to even a phone call with the President of the United States, thanking her for volunteering to be the liaison for the Autobots. Alexis had been a bit worried that all this attention would go to her head, but every time she sat down in the quiet of her room, she felt overwhelmed. She noticed that the nanites in her bloodstream seemed to be dormant more as of late, and she couldn't be sure this was because she was a good twenty miles from the Ark, or whether Starscream had just shut down communications now that her translation was no longer needed. Either way, it left her still feeling a bit lost. Nonetheless, when she finally had a free part of her day to spare, she didn't waste it. She got into her jeep and drove straight to the Ark, though the last two miles over flat dirt and rocks were none too gentle on her shocks.

But she was in for a shock of her own as she drove up.

The Ark itself looked just as she'd left it. But as she pulled up, she noticed that there were loud explosions coming from somewhere off the ridge to the left. Gunning her engine and tearing off in that direction, it didn't take her long to crest the rise, and when she did she saw a peculiar scene. All the Autobots were lined up in a row, guns out, taking pot shots at boulders, shrubs and whatever else they were asked to target. She noted a few humans were gathered about, watching with interest, obviously taking notes. As she hopped out of her car, she caught Starscream's eye who was watching from behind the group, his arms folded over his chest as he leaned against the nearby cliff wall, looking sullen. "Hey, what's going on?"

"They're exchanging tactical information." He replied quietly, crouching down to her level.

"Target practice?"

"Pretty much."

She watched as one of the boulders exploded with a loud BOOM of blue light, and a cheer went up from a few humans standing near Ironhide. "I'll bet. And you're not interested in this little training exercise I take it?"

He smiled faintly. "Not in the slightest. Besides, I never was the best shot."

She chuckled quietly, listening in on some of what was going on. It seemed off to the side, Sideswipe was having an adamant discussion with some of the army men. "No, look it's easier than you think. It doesn't matter how big or bulky you are, it's just a matter of finding the weak points of your opponent."

"Yeah right man, there's no way we could take on one of you by grappling."

Sideswipe grinned. "Well no, I suppose not. But still…" He paused. "Here let me show you." His optics roamed around and he gestured wildly. "Hey, Skyfire! C'mere for a minute!"

"I'm a bit busy, Sideswipe." Called the large shuttle from the side where he was working on something with Perceptor and Wheeljack, altering what appeared to be some kind of weapon they were testing out on the poor rock wall adjacent to them. "Get Star to help you. He's not doing anything."

Starscream grimaced. "Fragger."

"Your welcome!"

Sideswipe's gaze slid over to the flier as he grinned. "C'mon, I just want to show them some holds. Trust me, I won't hurt you. I'll be gentle."

His gaze narrowed. "Find someone else."

"Everyone else is busy. Come on it'll only take a second. I won't do the full move if you want, Mr. Scientist. Sheesh, afraid to take a ding?" Alexis had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing at the angry glare Starscream threw the red mech's way. But finally, he sighed and walked over to the group, looking rather resigned. "Great! Ok stand here…" He positioned the larger mech in the proper place, moving his hands to shoo the army men backwards so they wouldn't accidentally be in the way. "Ok so, obviously this guy is bigger than me. But if you study his structure you can see there's differences in how we're built and also how we hold ourselves. He's overbalanced thanks to his wings, so he's always going to be top heavy. Now, he's used to that cause he's gotta be, but it's also to his detriment if I do this…" Sideswipe put a hand firmly on Starscream's shoulder, pushed his foot into the mechs' knees from behind. Starscream nearly pitched forward, but caught himself since Sideswipe hadn't really kicked him, only demonstrated by pushing his joints. "So if you put some force behind it, you knock him down, and bam, push him face-first into the dirt. Easy."

Alexis had to close her eyes, desperately holding her side to keep from exploding into laughter at the look on Starscream's face. Obviously Sideswipe was not 'in' on his past background. If he had been, he probably wouldn't have dared demonstrate basic self-defense tactics on the Air Commander and SIC of the Decepticons. The look Starscream wore on his face said that he was thinking just the same thing.

"Now, if you happen to catch a flier like him in the air, the best thing to do is go for the wings. Balance is everything, especially in flight. Now they're reallllly good about flying, most of them anyway, so you gotta be just as good at finding out how to take them down. So… for someone like this guy here, if I were to grab his wing here…." Sideswipe's fist wrapped around the tip of Starscream's wing. Alexis tensed, as she was the only one that caught the side-long look the silver seeker threw his 'teacher'. Oh dear… that was not a good sign. "And then give it a good yank…."

It happened so quickly, that Alexis knew she'd never be able to figure out how he did it. One minute Sideswipe was grinning, demonstrating how he was about to send Starscream off balance while supposedly in mid-air, the next the red mech had flown through the air, up and over his own head, and was laying flat on his back with Starscream's foot on his chest, leaning lightly on his chassis with a look of annoyance. "Do you plan on teaching them how to fight seekers, or how to take down a commercial aircraft?"

Alexis' breath caught, as suddenly she realized just how deathly quiet the entire practice field was. Everyone was frozen in place, everyone was staring in shock at the soft-spoken scientist. She guessed that the move he'd just pulled wasn't a beginner one.

Sideswipe was gaping up at him. "How did you do that?" He asked finally. "That was top-level combat training tactics!"

Starscream's face twisted into an expression of regret as he suddenly removed his foot and backed off, glancing around at everyone that was watching. "Forget it. I'm done here." He muttered to himself, his wings slumping slightly as he turned to shuffle off.

"Wait." Prowl was the one to speak up, rising from where he crouched by a nearby boulder with Bluestreak and Red Alert. His optics were keen, and knowing. "We could benefit from your knowledge. You're right, they don't know how to fight seekers." His gaze snapped briefly over to Skyfire, who was looking positively petrified. "But to be completely honest with you, I think we need to start being realistic. If Megatron is coming here, so are the rest of his forces. They all have advanced tactics that we haven't kept up on over the years of war, tactics we don't intimately know." His gaze bore into Starscream, silently pleading. She knew what he was asking the mech. He wanted him to teach them. "I know you have turned to science." Was the low voice, one that was meant only for Starscream to hear, only Alexis was close enough to listen in. "But that move you just did… none of them have been able to move like that ever. You may have put aside your desire to fight, but does that mean you cannot train and teach what you know? No one is asking you to fight with us, but your knowledge could be paramount to having the upper hand when Megatron does get here."

Starscream's jaw clenched. "I haven't been in on their latest tactics." He protested in a low voice. "You probably know more than I do about their maneuvers by now. I'm out of practice."

"No you're not." Prowl urged. "Your reflexes were perfect. You haven't forgotten a thing, and both of us know it. It's too deeply ingrained in you. Scientist you may wish to be, but you were still one of the most deadly fighters we ever faced in battle. Ever. No one took you down more than a glancing blow. You knew our tactics, we never knew yours. And we haven't fought the Decepticons as much as you think. You know them intimately. Please, share what you know with us. You want to put a stop to this, don't you? Optimus Prime asked you to help however you could, right? So help us."

He grimaced again, optics lowering with clear discomfort. "They will know who I am."

"I don't think they will care as much as you think they will. It's been a millennia, and you're working with us now. They know you well as you are, who you were is in the past, but it can still help us. And if anyone has a problem with it, they will have to go through me and Optimus, and probably a handful of other mechs who will vouch for you." Prowl's optics hardened. "Please, Starscream. The Decepticons were terrible at carrying out plans, but they were ruthless and deadly in battle for a reason. They knew how to fight, and they were good at it. All of us, we weren't the fighting types. We just learned what we had to, we never were trained for this sort of thing. You were, and you can teach them how to react, how to defend, how to think. You don't have to fight anyone anymore, but your experience is invaluable to us."

Alexis knew that within Starscream waged an ugly battle. To keep his identity secret and be selfish, or to reveal it to train the Autobots to become better fighters. She could feel the indecision weighing on him. On the one hand, she had the suspicion that he thought it would be inevitable anyway. Eventually they had to find out, especially if this Megatron did return he clearly was going to recognize him unless he chose to hide from the battle entirely. On the other hand, she knew he wanted to help them, this Allspark was clearly important to them all, and if keeping it out of Megatron's hands was key, then Prowl was right they needed all the help they could get. But his privacy was at stake here.

He ran a hand over his face, a long sigh escaping from his shoulder vents. "Fine." He said quietly. "I'll do it."

Prowl nodded, his optics shining. "Thank you." He said quietly. "I know what you're giving up for this. I know how much it means, and I respect that. But you have my word, anyone who has a problem with who you are can visit the brig until they change their mind. I don't care who it is." The seeker smiled fleetingly, and nodded lightly towards Prowl before he suddenly pulled himself upright, turned and strode purposely towards the gathered mechs. Prowl stepped forward, and gestured for everyone to gather around, which they did. "All right, all of you listen up. We're going to go about this in an organized way, no chaos." He briefly glanced at Starscream. "Who do you want to start with?"

The seeker's eyes swept the group, studying each of them carefully in turn. "You seem to have more gunners than physical fighters." He finally commented.

"Yes, we tend to be low on one-on-one tactic teams." Prowl agreed.

"Then we will work on that first, as it is clearly the area you need improvement on."

"Wait, you think you can best us in hand-to-hand?" Sunstreaker demanded. "The only reason you got the upper hand on Sides was because he wasn't expecting it!"

Starscream's gaze shifted to bear down on the yellow mech. "You think that is so?"

"Yes."

"Then you can be first."

The yellow mech smirked. "With pleasure." He stepped forward as the mechs all circled the pair. Starscream seemed at ease while he watched the yellow mech face him, optics quickly studying him as he began to circle him. "I don't want to hurt you, science geek." He taunted. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

Starscream actually smirked in response. "Show me what you have."

Sunstreaker wasted no time in doing just that. He crouched down and began to circle Starscream who just watched him, slowly turning to face him while keeping himself in the center of the circle, not permitting Sunstreaker to push him further backwards. Then, the yellow mech rushed him, shoulder first. Starscream stood calmly, letting him approach, then as he got close enough, he put a hand firmly on his shoulder, and pushed himself backwards using his own inertia to twist past the mech as he sped past. It was so little effort that the mechs around him murmured in surprise and respect. Sunstreaker just looked pissed, and whirled to face him again, then frowned and decided to try another tactic. He kicked out at the mech's legs while sweeping a fist towards his head. Starscream danced aside, ducking easily avoiding the hit, and straightened up, watching him yet again with a calm placid face. Sunstreaker didn't hesitate, and dropped to his knees, twisting and kicking a foot up towards Starscream's torso, expecting the seeker to be off balance from dodging, but his foot was abruptly caught by two hands, and twisted to the side. He let out a yelp of pain and had to collapse to avoid having his ankle twisted.

"I gotta hand it to him, he knows a thing or two." Jazz murmured respectfully.

Sunstreaker growled. "What are you playing at!? Fight me back!"

Starscream just eyed him calmly. "I was assessing your fighting style." He said simply, slowly pacing around him with calm even steps. "Brash, sharp movements, fast and strong, but not aiming for the right points, leaving yourself open." Without warning, he rushed the yellow mech. Sunstreaker blinked but reacted quickly, dropping into a defensive posture. Starscream's fist swung towards his face, which he avoided, and to his credit he saw the leg coming up for his gut, caught it, but stalled when the seeker used his grip to vault himself into the air, his other knee slamming into the side of his head as his free hand grabbed the other side, and with a twist and a burst of his thrusters, he had Sunstreaker on the ground with a loud clatter. "Sloppy." He said calmly, staring down at the stunned warrior who was pinned right between his knees. He abruptly let go, stood and backed up. "Again." Sunstreaker growled, rolling over and was on his feet, rushing at Starscream again. This time, he was faster, his optics watched his opponent closer, knowing he was faster than he'd judged. But still, every punch was avoided, ever kick used against him. At one point, he managed to slam a foot into Starscream's side, and grinned triumphantly, until he found that it had been a ruse allowing the seeker to grab the back of his helm and throw him over his shoulder.

As everyone watched, the cheering grew. Each time Starscream completed a move, they cheered. Each time Sunstreaker almost had him, they gasped, and each time they faced off advice was shouted to the yellow mech. But nothing seemed to work. It ended when Sunstreaker managed to grab Starscream's arm and hurled him forwards, but the seeker let him, used the maneuver to pull himself forward, twisting his body into a sudden pivot, and his leg snapped out whirling in the curve from the inertia, and slammed him upside the head with a loud sonorous clang of thruster against helmet. Sunstreaker went down, dazed and held a hand up. "Ok….frag you… I'm done…." He squinted up at Starscream, with grudging admiration. "You're a fragging flier. Where did you learn moves like THAT?"

Starscream regarded him calmly, then offered a hand, to which Sunstreaker took rather dazedly as he was lifted to his feet. "You need to work on your attitude." He said, without answering the question. "You are too hasty, too impatient. You can't just blindly rush at your opponent like some battering ram. You are stronger than I am." He said firmly, eyeing the mech. "I can't take the hits that you can, my build is lighter. But I beat you without much of an effort. Tell me why."

Sunstreaker scowled. "I hate riddles, smart-aft." Starscream's gaze did not waver. The mech grimaced. "Fine. Because you seemed to know where to take me every fragging time."

"Yes, because you leave yourself open far too easily. You charge in with passion, which is good against an opponent none too smart. However if you analyze your opponents weak points and then decide where to strike, you will always prevail. Brawn and strength stand nothing against a clear head." Sunstreaker stared at him with a slight frown, but respectfully backed off. "Who's next?"

Surprisingly, Jazz stepped forward, dropping into a crouch with a grin. "I'm game."

Starscream smiled slightly, and before you could blink, the two began. Jazz was a whole different opponent from Sunstreaker. He was quick, fast, and smart. He watched the seeker circle him, and moved. Unlike Sunstreaker, Jazz was built for speed and stealth, not strength. He struck with his fists and hands in places, seeking the weak points in Starscream's armor. The seeker had to react more defensively with Jazz, smacking his fists away with his own, performing complex twists and spins to avoid the assaults. The opponents sparred for quite some time, seeming to be equal on the ground before Jazz tried something bold, sweeping his foot upwards as he took a roll, striking for Starscream's cockpit. It would have worked, Alexis thought, if Starscream had been distracted. But he wasn't. He caught the foot aimed for his chassis, and used it to flip himself over, not releasing it as he landed and jerked Jazz flat on his stomach with a bold snap of his leg. The saboteur grunted, and glanced back with obvious admiration. Starscream released his leg, he rolled over, brushed himself off and grinned. "Awesome. Thanks."

It went on like that for some time. Each mech got a bout if they wanted it, and many did. Each time, Starscream bested them, each and every one. His skills were unprecedented, he seemed to know how to strike each person's weakness, their style, adapting his own to match.

It was nearly sundown when Ironhide hit the ground with a tremendous crack of metal plating, looking highly baffled as to how the light and agile seeker had managed to throw him. But he accepted it gracefully, nodding to Starscream as the seeker returned the nod.

"What is going on here?" A deep voice rang out through the group.

Everyone froze, and guilty optics all switched towards a mech no one had noticed approach. Optimus Prime was watching with a clearly disapproving expression, a jeep-full of men watching with far more interest than the Autobot leader. Starscream for one, suddenly looked highly unnerved. "Ah… sorry, we were just…" He stammered, wings drooping with sudden concern.

"I saw what you were doing." Optimus Prime interrupted, and then slowly stepped forward, over the lines of humans on the ridge into the impromptu ring at the center of the Autobots. Starscream took a few steps backwards, optics lowering suddenly. "What I want to know is why."

Starscream remained silent. Alexis wondered why suddenly the seeker looked as if the Autobot Commander might lash out and strike him at any minute. "It was my fault sir." Prowl spoke up, unexpectedly, stepping forward swiftly, coming to stand beside Optimus. "I asked him to teach them a few moves, thinking it would help them learn some new tactics. I coerced him into agreeing…"

"Prowl." Optimus interrupted. The tactician fell silent, lowering his head and stepping back slightly at the unspoken order. Optimus turned his head back to Starscream, studying him intently. "Is this true?"

"No sir." Was the quiet reply. "I agreed to do it willingly."

"I see." Optimus said quietly, his gaze sweeping the gathered Autobots who all suddenly shuffled, looking away. But the Autobot leader's gaze did not seem to miss much, as it noted the dents and dust covering his men, and back to Starscream. "Have you taught them anything useful?"

Starscream's optics snapped upwards, surprise evident on his face. His expression briefly flickered to one of something indefinable, before he pulled himself upright. "Yes." He said firmly. "I have."

"Show me."

There was a ripple of surprise among the Autobot ranks, and anticipation as well. Surprisingly, Starscream, after his initial burst of surprise, smiled and tensed, crouching prepared as Optimus Prime stepped into the ring. Now, everyone was there watching, optics and eyes riveted as the two circled one another. Starscream was by far smaller than Optimus was, but as had been demonstrated all afternoon, size mattered little against skill. But in this case, it was clear everyone expected Optimus to win. There were a few energetic shouts as the two circled, but for the most part everyone kept silent for them, eager to see how they sparred. The one rule that had prevailed during the sparring match was no hard blows, no weapons. But then, someone with strength like Optimus Prime hardly needed weapons. One blow from his large fist could easily dent the seeker's malleable plating. However, this time, Starscream seemed to decide striking first was to his advantage rather than watching his opponent. He moved forward with a flash of silver, fist extending towards Optimus' side. The large mech quickly twisted aside, and was surprised by an impromptu kick in his lower back as Starscream whipped around, thrusters activating to give himself boost. The kick didn't stop him for long, however, as his arm reached out and grabbed the tip of the seeker's wing before he could get out of reach, and swung him back around, throwing him off balance and delivering a blow to his chest with his free hand. Starscream grunted, falling back to the ground heavily, but didn't stay there for long. He was rolling back on his feet, circling again, not seeming phased by the blow at all. This time it was Optimus who moved forward, his long legs carrying him quick distance in short moments, giving Starscream only a half-second to duck as he swung, and then kicked in quick succession, moving to sweep the other mech off his feet. Starscream ducked, and lifted his feet with a burst of thrusters at the same time, performing a move that no other mech would dare try. But Optimus was not a renowned fighter for nothing. His other fist came around flat-palmed towards the seeker's chassis. Starscream was quick, catching it with his hands, stopping the move as his thrustered foot swept up towards Optimus' face. The larger mech ducked, releasing the other only to find himself suddenly used as a vault, Starscream flipping up and over, his legs locking around his throat as several tons of seeker affixed to his shoulders, hand in the poise of a gun against his temple. "Bang." He said simply.

There was silence before loud shouting cheers rose out in the crowd. Optimus Prime smiled behind his facemask and relaxed. Starscream dropped his arm and jumped off, smiling a little, but then looking suddenly worried as he glanced over at Optimus.

"Well fought." Optimus greeted, offering his hand. "I admit, though I had heard of your fighting prowess, I never thought that hand-to-hand would be your forte. I can see that like many people, I have underestimated you, Starscream."

The clapping died off slowly, only a few mechs remaining giving their applause, the rest of their optics were slowly widening in surprise. Alexis glanced worriedly at the flier, but saw that he was relaxed, smiling, and seemed unworried that his name had just been spoken aloud. Perhaps he'd known that it was inevitable after his sparring bouts and had already accepted his secret would be revealed, perhaps he was more secure standing next to Optimus as he acknowledged him as an equal and friend, but whatever reason, he showed no sign of being concerned. "It isn't." He stated quietly. "It was my weakest area. So I had to work hard to improve it."

"If that is your weakest area, I would be very hesitant to meet you at your specialty, which I can assume is aerial assaults?"

"Yes."

"Our own aerial fighters could stand to learn from your specialties, if you would be willing to offer teaching."

"I believe I could provide that."

Optimus nodded, then turned to the gathered mechs, most of whom were still gawking in evident surprise at Starscream. Many of them held a bit of morbid curiosity in their gaze, as if they were looking at a legend or myth, which in a way was not far from the truth. "I realize many of you may be surprised at learning our guest's identity, but I can assure you that having been fully aware of his past I found no need to treat him as anything but an honored guest. However, as he has clearly offered his knowledge and expertise to you freely, I would like to remind you all that past identities and offenses play no part in what we are here to achieve now. While Starscream may have once been fighting with our enemies against us, that time is long past. His reason for being here coincides with ours all, to find the Allspark and use it to restore our world peacefully. That alone unites us all, past differences aside. I would encourage you to remember this. Any who bear curiosity must keep it to yourselves unless he so feels inclined to indulge you. I will tolerate no harassment, am I clear?" There were numerous nods, and not a single mech seemed to disagree with that judgment. "Very well. I have an announcement to you all. After speaking with this country's leader, we have come to an official truce. The Autobots and any peaceful Cybertronian refugees are given protection to remain here under their permission, and in return we are to assist in protecting any facility, city, or human being from Decepticon or other hostile Cybertronian threats." He paused. "In addition, we have been informed that the humans of this country are in fact in possession of the Allspark, and have agreed to give us access to it."

There was a collective gasp as everyone began talking all at once in excited voices. Starscream frowned, looking suddenly concerned, but said nothing. It was in fact Prowl who spoke up. "Access sir?" His optics flashed. "They are not returning it to us?"

"Not immediately." Optimus sighed shaking his head. "At the moment, the item is in their possession, and they have been studying it. I am still waiting for assessment from the government on whether they will release it to us. As it is on their land, they are entitled to this right."

"But it's our relic." Ironhide snapped. "It belongs to us, and it's what can bring back our home!"

Optimus held his hand up patiently. "We have been given permission to access the item. I am still discussing logistics with the human government. For now, you must be patient. We know where it is, and we know it is heavily guarded, for the moment that is the important thing. We must now ensure Megatron does not find out where the cube's location is, so we can finish negotiations with the humans. We are a patient people, we can afford to wait as long as we must."

"And when Megatron shows up?" Sunstreaker crossed his arms over his chassis. "What then? When he brings an army of his losers…" his optics slid briefly over to Starscream, as Sideswipe smacked his brother upside the head and mouthed 'sorry!' to the seeker. "…then what?"

"We have already considered that possibility." Optimus said solemnly, gazing at the men evenly. "And it is why I urge you to begin polishing your skills often. Prowl will put together a training schedule for everyone based on tactics and skills, and I urge you to put serious effort into it." He glanced over at Starscream who nodded once. "Starscream will add whatever insight he can into your training, including Decepticon techniques and strategies. Considering his known track record as an air elite commander, I would urge you to take heed to his advice." He paused. "We will continue training until we are given clearance to move forward. Until then, everyone must practice vigilance and continue their duties." He nodded, and the gathered mechs began to stew about. Optimus hesitated before turning to Starscream. Their voices were soft, but Alexis could still hear their words faintly over the din of metal feet on dirt. "Are you certain that you wish to do this?"

"What good am I otherwise, Optimus?" Was the soft response. "I won't change things here by locking myself up in a lab. You're right, one mech can make a difference in the right area. I just had to remember where my place was."

"Then my friend, you are welcome with us."