They should have gone after Starscream immediately.
It was all Thundercracker could think after he and Skywarp spent almost an hour searching for their unwell Trinemate without success. Wherever Starscream had disappeared to, it wasn't one of his usual haunts, and the other two Seekers had finally been forced to return to their quarters in defeat.
"For Primus' sake!" Thundercracker growled, dropping onto his berth. "How does a sick mech just disappear like that?"
Skywarp snorted, leaning against the opposite wall with his arms folded. "When that mech's Starscream? Pretty fraggin' easily."
Thundercracker grunted, bracing his elbows against his knees and dropping his head into his hands. He still wasn't happy that Skywarp had scared Starscream off by bringing up Hook, but he was more upset with himself for stopping to scold him for it. It had only been a minute, but that was all the time Starscream needed to disappear without a trace.
"Not in his lab," Thundercracker muttered, naming the first place they had checked. "Not in his quarters, the Command Center, the rec room, or the washracks. Where could he be?"
"Passed out in a hallway somewhere," Skywarp suggested flatly. "We didn't get a chance to see if his temperature stayed down. For all we know he relapsed, took a wrong turn, got lost. Was found by someone less nice than you."
Thundercracker raised his head to glare at Skywarp, who just stared pointedly back at him for a few moments before adding, "If he was found at all."
"For the last time, I'm not forcing him to see Hook," Thundercracker snapped, shoving himself back to his feet. "I promised him I wouldn't."
"Yeah, and you know what? He doesn't remember that," Skywarp countered, pushing off from the wall. "He doesn't remember you finding him, or bringing him here, or who knows what else! He needs help."
"And you think dragging him to someone he's terrified of is a good idea? Delirious or not, he knew who I was talking about, and he was begging me not to comm him!"
"Yeah, see, that word right there weakens your argument. If he was delirious, who even knows what he thought was going on?"
"He can't have been too far out of it, to have reacted the same way this morning."
"So what are you saying, that Hook did something to him?" Skywarp shook his head. "Do you know how crazy that sounds?"
Thundercracker growled impatiently. "If you had waited and let me talk to him instead of getting him worked up, maybe we could have found out why he was so scared and not be having this discussion now!"
"Oh sure, blame a mech for being worried." Thundercracker started to speak, but Skywarp stepped back. "You know what, forget it. If you don't want to tell Hook because of some stupid promise, fine, but I never said I wouldn't."
Thundercracker's optics widened. "Skywarp, don't you dare-"
Too late. Skywarp had already disappeared, leaving Thundercracker speaking to empty air. He stared at the space for a moment, then dropped his head back to his hands with a frustrated groan.
"Only Starscream," he muttered. Only Starscream could cause this much trouble just by getting sick. It wasn't often Thundercracker regretted accepting him into the Trine, but right now he was close. He loathed being stuck with a wingmate who, by Seeker standards, was not socially functional in any sense. Trust and caring were the essential elements of any Trine, and Starscream seemed increasingly incapable of either as time went on. Part of that was the war and the abuse he suffered, of course, but those events would have pushed a normal Seeker to their wingmates, not pulled them away. Starscream never went to his Trine for comfort.
Except.
Thundercracker grimaced and shut off his optics, trying to physically block out the image of Starscream huddled on the floor of a hallway, terrified and weak, yet willing to join his Trine for the night despite his vulnerability. If that wasn't trust, Thundercracker didn't know what to call it. But did it really count if Starscream hadn't been lucid? It had been business as usual once he was back on his feet, and knowing he had still been scared didn't help anything. Normal Seekers didn't run from their Trines when they were afraid.
Maybe Skywarp was right. Maybe Thundercracker should have just let Hook take care of the problem. Trying to help Starscream himself had been a stupid idea, one likely brought about by his talk with Soundwave. Reliving the past had made him sentimental.
Soundwave. He would want to know about this turn of events. Although he had already known that Starscream was ill and that he was behaving more fearfully than normal, so he was probably already aware of-
Thundercracker stopped. Hadn't Soundwave said Starscream was avoiding him? Just like he was now trying to avoid Hook? If his newfound fear of one looked anything like his aversion to the other, Soundwave's questions about calming him took on a whole new meaning. And it wasn't just them he was afraid of, he had been terrified of Thundercracker too, before recognizing him. What if he wasn't actually afraid of them, but of something - or someone - else that they reminded him of? And what if the sudden deterioration of his mental state had an explanation beyond his preexisting instability?
"Frag," Thundercracker whispered. He pinged Soundwave, pacing the room with his head still in his hands while he waited for an answer.
::Thundercracker,:: came the calm greeting. ::Purpose of communication?::
"We need to talk," Thundercracker said, coming to a stop. He took a deep ventilation. "I think Starscream's been attacked."
"Laser scalpel, line clamps, beryllium drill…"
Hook carefully arranged each item on a tray as he listed it, scowling and moving tools around whenever he couldn't immediately locate something. Properly trained medic or not, no one would ever accuse him of being ill-prepared as a surgeon. He might be required on the field today, but if anything happened he would be ready to deal with it immediately upon return-
A resounding crash jolted him from his thoughts, followed a few moments later by Bonecrusher's voice snarling, "Frag it, Skywarp! How many times do we have to tell ya not to warp into the med bay?"
Hook cycled a slow ventilation and carefully set a soldering iron down on the tray. Then he turned sharply and strode to the door of the operating room, lips pressed into a thin line as he stepped out into the main room of the med bay.
"Mute it," Skywarp was snarling from the floor, trying to heave a floundering Scavenger from his back. "Where's Hook?"
Hook answered for his teammates. "This had better be a real emergency, or you'll be praying you don't end up back here after the raid."
"Why wait?" Bonecrusher asked, pulling Scavenger off of Skywarp. "I'd be happy to wreck 'im for you now."
"Watch it," Skywarp growled threateningly, stumbling back to his feet.
"The point," Hook interjected, marching up to them, "is that we only have a couple hours to get ready. Anything less than an emergency will have to wait."
Skywarp gave Bonecrusher a dark look. "I'd rather talk about it in private."
Coming from Skywarp, it was a strange request. Hook considered him, then sighed and motioned the other Constructicons towards the door. "Go, I'll deal with him." To Skywarp he added, "We can talk in the operating room. If you make it fast."
He didn't wait to see if his orders would be followed before returning to the operating room himself. He adjusted the soldering iron on its tray, then resumed organizing his tools. An impatient cough drew his gaze briefly to Skywarp, who stood with his arms crossed, but Hook just continued his task with a clipped, "Well?"
"Starscream's sick," Skywarp said in a rush. "He collapsed last night-"
"Collapsed?" Hook repeated, turning face Skywarp. "What do you mean he collapsed?" He had expected it would happen, but not this soon. Not when Starscream had been weakening so gradually before now.
"He was overheating badly," Skywarp explained. "Thundercracker thinks he was delirious too, because he was acting strangely-"
"Where is he?"
"Well… we don't exactly know," Skywarp hedged. "We had him with us last night so we could watch him, but he ran off this morning."
Hook muttered a curse, removing a datapad from subspace. "He was sick enough to collapse and you didn't comm me?"
"You can blame Thundercracker for that. I kept saying we should, but he said we shouldn't 'cause Starscream didn't want us to."
Hook could guess why, and he inwardly berated himself for taking so long to tell Starscream that he was already aware of the situation."Overheating, passing out and possible delirium," he repeated, entering the information into the datapad. "Did you notice anything else wrong?"
Skywarp tilted his head with a frown. "He just seemed off this morning. Unfocused. And he didn't remember last night."
Hook resisted a snort. That described Starscream for the last two weeks, although the memory loss was worrying. At best he had a virus that had corrupted the data before it could be stored in his memory banks. But the more likely scenario was that his processor had crashed and the information was safe in an offline core, waiting to be processed. On the surface the virus seemed the worse option, but corrupted data could be recovered. Crashes could take entire systems offline, including life support functions. If they were severe enough, or if several occurred within a short time, they could be fatal.
"Did you see any signs of systems failure?" Hook pressed. "Trouble venting, purging, shaking, convulsions?"
Skywarp cringed, but shook his head. "No! I mean, yeah, he was kinda shaky this morning, but that was because he was having trouble standing, not… I was watching him all night, I would have noticed something like that."
"At least you did something right," Hook muttered.
"Hey, I said we should call you!"
"Yes, you mentioned." Hook raised a hand to forestall any further protest and turned away. "Have any of you seen Starscream?" he demanded over his team's comm line.
There was a short pause, then Scrapper answered, ::He's here in the Command Center.::
Well, that was easy. "Does he appear to be functioning normally?"
::...I hadn't noticed.::
"Well notice now, this is important."
"Someone found him?" Skywarp cut in. "Where is he?"
Hook shot him a look and Skywarp quieted with a grumble.
::He looks about normal,:: Scrapper reported. ::Maybe a bit nervous, but he's got Megatron looming over him, so that's hardly unusual.::
"Define 'looming'."
::I don't think you'll have to make repairs.::
"Whether he needs them or not, I want that Seeker in the med bay now. Skywarp just told me he passed out last night, and it sounds like a crash. I don't care what you have to do, get Megatron to send him here if you have to, but get him here."
Scrapper muttered a curse. ::I'll see what I can do, but no promises.::
The connection cut. Hook shook his head, then turned back to Skywarp, who was bouncing impatiently on the balls of his feet.
"Well?" he demanded.
"Scrapper's going to see about sending him in. I'll do some scans and see what comes up, but there isn't time to do much for him. Except recommend he stay behind, but you know Megatron will want solid proof of a problem before he'll act on it."
"He'll get it," Skywarp muttered. "Starscream was bad last night."
Hook started to set the datapad down, then paused when he realized he would upset his carefully arranged tools and returned it to subspace it instead. "He might be easier to convince if you stayed to provide your account of events, since I'm quite sure we can't trust Starscream on the matter."
Skywarp snorted. "Yeah, like I'd be going anywhere anyway. You're not getting rid of me that easily."
"Well then." Hook folded his arms over his chest. "While we're waiting, perhaps you can tell me why Swindle and Brawl showed up last night with bright yellow paint burned into their armor?"
The look of horror on Skywarp's face was a welcome distraction from the worry Hook couldn't seem to shake off.
"I have a message from Hook," Scrapper announced as he moved up beside Megatron's throne. "He wants to see Starscream in the med bay."
"Now?" Megatron questioned, turning his gaze from the Seeker in question to frown at Scrapper. "Has he completely forgotten that we're on a schedule?"
Scrapper shrugged. "That's why it's urgent. Apparently Starscream passed out last night."
Megatron sat back slowly, staring hard at Scrapper. "Really. And just how did he hear about this?" he demanded, watching out the corner of his optic as Starscream sent what was probably meant to be a subtle glance in their direction.
"From Skywarp. I don't know the details, just that Hook thinks he crashed and wants him brought in."
Megatron's hands tightened into fists. "I was with Starscream until early evening. He showed no signs of either cognitive or physical difficulties then."
Scrapper shifted his weight, but his voice was steady when he replied, "A crash can occur within minutes of symptoms appearing. Especially when it's heat induced."
"Hmm." Megatron returned his gaze to Starscream, not really listening. He knew Scrapper was right, but he wasn't interested in onset times right now. He was too busy running other calculations. There couldn't have been more than a few hours between when he left Starscream and when Skywarp turned in, and Starscream couldn't have left his quarters without recharging first. But nor would he have succumbed to exhaustion immediately, if he was afraid to sleep, so unless Skywarp had visited him for some reason...
That fragging Seeker. Just how much sleep had he gotten before deciding he'd fulfilled his orders?
Scrapper coughed lightly, regaining Megatron's attention. "Should I tell Starscream to report to the med bay, or…?"
Megatron shook his head. "No. I'll deal with him myself. It seems he and I have a few things to discuss."
Scrapper's visor flickered, and Megatron knew he was looking away. "If he did crash, he's not likely to be as functional as he appears. False recoveries can happen sometimes, after the processor reboots. But he could relapse if the problem wasn't resolved."
"Your point?"
"He shouldn't be allowed in combat if he's at risk." After a few seconds of silence Scrapper added, "Please don't shoot the messenger."
Megatron had to hold back a groan upon recognizing the human phrase. "You may resume your duties. And inform Hook that he has a patient on the way."
Scrapper bowed his head and stepped back, leaving Megatron to his thoughts. On the edge of his vision he saw Starscream turning to face the room and refocused on him, taking in the drooping wings and slumped posture with a frown. Starscream was a proud mech; whether he'd crashed or not, he had to be feeling terrible to be broadcasting it.
Megatron replayed their earlier conversation in his head, noting again Starscream's nervousness and confusion throughout the brief interaction. None of it registered as unusual when compared to their last few encounters, but perhaps that was the problem: if he'd behaved that way before being reprogrammed, Megatron would have known immediately that something was seriously wrong. But now, when abnormal behavior was expected, warning signs went unnoticed.
It was an understandable mistake, but not an excusable one, especially when Starscream was already known to be ill. Megatron would have to be more careful. And, apparently, more exact in how he phrased his orders. It wouldn't do any good for Starscream to obey by doing the bare minimum required of him.
For now, however, the most important thing was to make sure the idiot hadn't done himself serious harm by not resting.
Starscream couldn't handle it anymore. Having everyone behind him was driving him crazy.
He turned to face the room, folding his arms over his chest to hide the trembling in his hands. Despite his intentions when he left his Trine's quarters, he hadn't returned to his lab; the realization that they could easily find him there if they came looking had scared him off. It was stupid to go without the patches he needed, and he knew it was stupid, but the fear of being dragged to and scanned by Hook had crushed every rational thought he'd managed to have on the matter. As a result, a cold shower to bring his temperature down had been the extent of his self-medication.
His optics swept the room, focusing briefly on Scrapper as he moved away from Megatron's throne, then settled on an empty patch of wall when the movement of the mechs around him proved too much to felt sluggish, both physically and mentally, and he wasn't sure whether it was an aftereffect of his crash or simple exhaustion. Even carrying on a conversation was tiring, thanks to the effort required to pay attention. Hopefully Megatron hadn't noticed. He hadn't seemed to, but at this point Starscream didn't trust himself to be able to tell.
He couldn't fight like this. That was one thing he knew for certain, but what choice did he have? Megatron had given him his orders, and unless those orders changed… well. Best case scenario, Starscream would pass out or get injured and be dragged back to base in disgrace. More likely, though, he wouldn't live to see the day's end.
He still didn't know if that would be a bad thing. If the night before was any indicator of how things would be now, during both his waking and sleeping hours, the future held nothing he wanted to live through.
He was roused from his morose thoughts by a message flashing on his HUD, informing him that the diagnostic scan he'd been running was finally complete. It had taken far longer than he'd expected, and it was with a growing sense of unease that he opened the report. He skimmed past reiterations of the same warnings he'd awakened to, then notices about minor systems damage, and finally found the results of the processor scan.
He shut off his optics. Seven cores. His crash had taken seven cores offline, and two of the backups were lagging, including the one that ran diagnostics. It was no wonder he didn't feel right, although a second look assured him the problem wasn't as serious as it first seemed. The remaining five backups were fully functional, and two slow cores weren't a major loss. Cybertronian processors had dozens, including backups and cores which did nothing except coordinate other cores. In fliers the total count was over a hundred.
Given time his systems would have the damaged cores up and running again, and then he would be fine. Unless he experienced another crash, but he refused to consider that.
"Starscream."
He started and reactivated his optics, feeling strangely like he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't. Or perhaps not so strangely, because Megatron was looking at him like he'd done something he shouldn't have.
"You're back," Starscream noted, trying to mask his irrational guilt.
"And you're distracted," Megatron countered before turning away, beckoning Starscream with a wave of his hand. "Come with me. We need to talk."
A talk out of the public optic? That could only end in misery. Starscream shuddered, but trailed silently after Megatron. Just do as you're told, he reminded himself. Don't waste energy fighting the little things.
They weren't heading for the privacy of Megatron's office, that much was quickly apparent. Starscream started to ask where they were going, then changed his mind and closed his mouth without making a sound. It was probably better for his vow of obedience if he didn't know.
They passed Scavenger and Bonecrusher heading in the opposite direction, but apart from them, this hallway appeared empty. Starscream was beginning to think it was a good thing he hasn't been able to make himself refuel earlier, because his tanks were starting to hurt. His diagnostic had informed him that his filtration system was among those damaged - a side effect of too much time spent purging - so he chose to believe that was what was causing the pain. The anxiety clawing at his insides had nothing to do with it, because he wasn't anxious. He wasn't going to let fear overcome him this time.
"Tell me," Megatron said abruptly, throwing a glance over his shoulder at Starscream, "how would you propose to deal with soldiers who were in no fit state to fight?"
The question snapped Starscream's scattering thoughts back into focus, and he stared at Megatron's back with a mix of shock and dread. As much as he longed for people to actually listen when he spoke, when had anything good ever come of Megatron asking for his opinion?
Casting around for what he hoped would be the right answer, he replied, "I suppose I would expect them to fight regardless. It's their own fault if they get killed because they were weak."
Megatron cast him another brief, guarded look. "That isn't what I asked."
Scrap. Starscream was silent as he replayed the question, wondering what he'd missed, and Megatron made an irritated sound. "Unless you're stupid, you wouldn't throw away the life of a mech who was useful to you. And even strong mechs can be weakened by injury or sickness. So if that was the case, and one of your soldiers was put out of commission by a temporary ailment, what would you do about it?"
Frag it all to the Pit. This was exactly the sort of question Starscream wasn't good with. Thinking about people as individuals was too personal, too risky. But if bots could still be useful he would want to keep them around, so…
"I would want them off the field until they recovered," he said at last, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt.
"And how would you determine if a bot's condition was poor enough to warrant such consideration?"
"Is there a point to this line of questioning?"
Megatron came to an abrupt halt, forcing Starscream to do the same, and turned to face him, expression unexpectedly grim. "Answer the question, Starscream."
Starscream winced and took a step back, the memory of being thrown to the floor and literally ground under Megatron's heel still fresh in his mind. "I don't know," he bit out, bracing himself for a repeat experience.
Megatron waited a few moments, as though making sure that was really all the answer he intended to give, then hummed. "Passing out would be a good indicator that they aren't fit for battle, wouldn't you agree?"
Starscream froze, staring at him in alarm. How did he…?
Skywarp and Thundercracker. Starscream was going to kill them. But for the moment he had Megatron to deal with, and he couldn't think of a single reply that wouldn't get him in trouble for… something. The entire conversation now felt like an obvious trap, and he had walked right into it.
Starscream took another step back - which was rendered pointless when Megatron followed - and lowered his wings, fighting to keep his ventilations even. Stay calm, he reminded himself.
"So you did collapse," Megatron said, though he didn't look as triumphant as he usually did when he caught Starscream hiding something. "I must admit, I'm having trouble believing even you would be so stupid as to keep something like that to yourself. What happened to your finely honed instinct for self-preservation?"
The words were harsh, mocking, and Starscream couldn't seem to stop backing away. "I- It's not…"
"It's not what?" Megatron demanded, seizing Starscream's arm and ending his retreat. "Not important? Not serious? By all means, continue. I'm most curious to hear how you intend to finish that sentence."
So was Starscream. He mouthed silently, free hand finding Megatron's in an attempt to pry it from his arm while he scrambled for a reply. But he'd never known what he was saying to begin with, and orders or no, the program couldn't find words for him. It could only push him to speak, and the pressure grew with every second he remained silent, leaving him light-headed and trembling.
"I-it's not…" But starting over didn't help, and it was getting hard to deny the fear that was priming every system to run.
"What are you doing?" Megatron asked. Starscream jumped and shrank in on himself, spark racing. What had he done wrong?
"I- Y-you said…"
"Not everything that sounds like an order is an order," Megatron interrupted, annoyance clear in his voice.
Starscream stared at him, feeling as though he could crash again just trying to understand that comment. Determining how literally to take Megatron's orders was a layer of complexity he wasn't equipped to process, let alone handle. The subtleties of rhetoric were lost on him.
"Starscream." Megatron's free hand came up, gripping his other arm. Starscream glanced at it worriedly, then looked back up when Megatron continued. "What's wrong with you? And don't you dare lie to me."
Both hands tightened on the last words, bordering on painful. Starscream grimaced and tried to lower his wings appeasingly, only to realize they were already as low as they could go. He ducked his head instead, wondering where he would even begin to answer this new question - then realized there was only one honest answer he could give.
"You reprogrammed me," he said simply, barely audible even to himself. Now the hold on his arms did become painful, but he did his best not to react.
"That's hardly the only thing affecting you right now."
Starscream glared at the floor and resumed his efforts to pry Megatron's hand from his arm. "It's the only thing that matters."
The hand under his tore free. An open palm slammed up under his chin faster than he could process, shoving his head back. Fingers dug into the hinge of his jaw, but his grunt of pain was muffled by his inability to open his mouth. He tried to pull free, but Megatron tightened his grip and pulled him close.
"I am fully aware of how you feel about recent events," Megatron snarled. "You have made it very clear on multiple occasions. But bringing it up every time we speak is not going to make me change my mind."
Starscream spluttered in an attempt to speak, clawing at the hand choking him. But Megatron merely lifted him from the floor, forcing him to give up his struggles in favor of supporting as much of his own weight as he could.
"I don't know what possessed me to expect better of you," Megatron continued, "but your reaction to all of this is disgraceful. You've made no effort to face what has happened, and I was willing to leave you alone because Soundwave thought it would help you to have some time to accept it. But you clearly aren't willing to do that, and if the only way to make you accept your new life is to make you live it, I will."
He all but threw Starscream to the floor. Starscream landed hard on his side, jarring one wing, and lay there panting until Megatron entered his field of vision. Then he sat up slowly and tilted his head back, meeting Megatron's glare with frightened confusion. He'd obeyed, hadn't he? He'd answered honestly. Why had he been attacked for doing what he was told?
"If you didn't want the truth, why ask for it?" The words were out before he could stop them, and he flinched from the sound of his own voice. The shaky, hurt tone didn't sound like him at all.
"You know full well I was asking in a more specific sense than that," Megatron replied coldly.
Starscream shook his head, denying the claim, but regretted it when the world spun around him. "Why bother with specifics? Everything wrong with me now goes back to… that."
He pressing a hand to his head, waiting for the hallway to still. A growl was his only warning before Megatron grabbed his wrist, dragging him from the floor. He yelped in pain, staggering as he was forced to his feet before he was ready. But Megatron just wrapped an arm roughly around his waist and shoved him down the hall, keeping a painful hold on his wrist.
Starscream wanted to resist, but thought better of it. His tanks hadn't liked the violent return to an upright position, and the lingering dizziness wasn't helping. Nothing seemed important now except not purging.
Well. That and figuring out what he'd done to make Megatron so angry when all he had done was what he'd been told. He wondered if he should ask, but it was probably something obvious that would get him in trouble for stupidity. On the other hand, not knowing would get him in trouble the next time he did whatever it was.
Might as well get it over with, he decided, swallowing down his nausea. He had to try twice to produce any sound, and his voice still shook, but finally he managed a weak, "What did I do?"
Megatron snorted. "On which occasion?"
"You told me not to lie, and I didn't. But you still… Why? What did I do?"
It came out more desperate, more hurt, than he wanted it to. He winced, silently cursing himself for the show of weakness.
"I believe I already explained that," Megatron said darkly. "But if you need it in simple terms, I'm sick of your complaining and moping. You're a Decepticon soldier, and my Second in Command. Act like it."
What do you think I'm trying to do? Starscream wanted to shout the words, or at least get properly angry. Instead he whispered, "Is that one of those orders that isn't an order?"
Megatron sighed impatiently. "Yes, it is. Unfortunately, it would take a complete rewrite of your personality to accomplish that miracle."
Starscream decided it was time to stop talking while he still had some semblance of control over himself. He'd never realized Megatron hated him so much.
He tugged at the arm still held tightly in Megatron's grip, unable to ignore the growing pain anymore, and to his relief Megatron released him. He gingerly rubbed his dented wrist and finally lifted his gaze from the floor, optics flitting as he regained his bearings. When he realized what section of the base they were in, however, his intention to stay silent evaporated.
"Where are we going?"
"The med bay."
Starscream immediately stopped, only to stagger on when Megatron shoved him forward. "But- I can't! If Hook scans me…"
"He'll find out what happened to you?" Megatron finished when Starscream cut himself off. "He already knows."
The words didn't make sense at first. Then Starscream stumbled again, and this time a push from Megatron sent him to his knees. But he barely noticed the impact and just knelt on the floor, optics wide, with all of his earlier pain eclipsed by one horrible thought:
"Hook… knows… You told him?"
"That surprises you?" Megatron knelt beside him and he shied away. "You might like to think you're invincible, but you need regular scans just like the rest of us. Hook would have found out eventually, so it's better that he know from the start."
Starscream growled, but it was anger directed at himself as he dropped his head into his hands. Megatron was right: he shouldn't be surprised. He should have realized it was only a matter of time before his new status became common knowledge. Why wouldn't Megatron tell everyone?
"Who else?" he whispered hoarsely. "Who else knows?"
"You, me, Hook and Soundwave. We're the only ones. I'm not as stupid as you like to think - I know what would happen if this became common knowledge, and I would rather avoid it."
The harsh gasping sound that left Starscream's throat probably didn't qualify as a laugh, but he didn't know what else to call it. "You really expect me to believe that?"
"What would I gain from telling anyone?"
"Well, you've never hesitated to make an example of me before, so why start now? What better way to show you're done messing around than to enslave the biggest traitor of them all? First the Combaticons, now me, who's next? The Insecticons? No one's going to step out of line with that question hanging over their heads, especially when they can see me suffering-"
"Starscream, enough. You're becoming hysterical."
Starscream fell silent. Not because it was an order, but because Megatron didn't sound at all angry now. He sounded like he had the night before, firm but eerily calm. It was frightening, and Starscream didn't want to know what would happen if he didn't calm down. So he dug his fingers into his head and dragged in the deepest ventilation he could manage, which wasn't very deep. He tried again, but the air felt hot and thick, and seemed to get stuck somewhere inside him.
A hand settled between his shoulders. He swayed dizzily, dropping one of his own hands to floor for balance, but didn't otherwise react to the touch.
"I would have preferred to discuss this behind closed doors," Megatron said, still calmly, "but now that it's come up, I want to make it very clear that this situation is a secret. Soundwave has taken steps to keep it that way-" Starscream flinched, and Megatron's voice hardened slightly, "-and we both know he's capable of covering things up. So you have no reason to panic like this."
Starscream turned his face away. He wanted to know about these "steps" Soundwave had supposedly taken, but doubted Megatron would welcome anything resembling suspicion. There was another question, though, that needed to be answered if Megatron thought he was going to stop panicking.
"Why? Why keep it quiet?"
Instead of answering, Megatron shifted the hand on his back and slid the other arm under his legs, hauling him from the floor again. Starscream yelped, pushing off from Megatron's chest in an attempt to escape, but the arms around him tightened, drawing him back.
"What are you-?"
"Don't argue," Megatron warned. "At your pace we'll never get there."
Starscream couldn't see that as a bad thing, but there wasn't much he could do about it. He shifted restlessly, not enjoying empty air under him when he wasn't supporting himself, but unwilling to latch onto Megatron for insurance the way his instincts urged him to. That felt too much like giving in. He was almost grateful for the distraction when Megatron finally spoke again.
"Do you have any comprehension of what would happen to you if something happened to me?"
Starscream winced and looked away. "I'd be free, of course."
Megatron snorted. "Of me, perhaps. But there's nothing stopping a new master from registering after the original's death. If I died while others knew of your status, any one of them could force themselves on you and take control."
Starscream stilled, optics widening. He'd never stopped to consider that aspect of slave programs. "How… how do you know Hook or S-Soundwave wouldn't…?"
"I don't," Megatron replied simply. "They won't tell anyone - or try anything - while I live to make them regret it. But if I was gone? They might well take advantage of you, or tell someone who would. They have no reason to protect you."
"Like you do?"
"You seem determined to forget the key point of this situation. You're mine now, and I don't like having my possessions messed with."
"I am not," Starscream countered without thinking.
"That's not what you said last night."
Starscream flinched, shutting off his optics. "Saying something you made me say doesn't make it true," he muttered dully.
Megatron adjusted his grip, pulling Starscream more firmly to his chest. "Perhaps not," he agreed. "But nor can you make a truth go away by denying it. And no matter how many times you deny my ownership, your frame is going to keep obeying me."
It was more than Starscream could do to reply. He was venting more easily now, but was also tired, nauseous, hurting on every possible level, and had no idea what to make of this encounter. Megatron had already made clear his desire to break Starscream, yet now he claimed to be trying to protect him? It made no sense, and was far too similar to the things Soundwave kept saying.
But unlike Soundwave, Megatron at least seemed to acknowledge that he was suffering. And… he had taken Starscream's side on the issue of hacking sleeping bots. He had even lectured Soundwave, and that never happened. Was it possible that he meant what he said? Was it possible that he truly didn't want Starscream to fall victim to someone else? Or was this just the program encouraging him to find comfort in his "master's" possessiveness?
The fact that he couldn't tell scared him. But he now had an explanation for the secrecy, even if it wasn't one that made sense to him, and it was enough to calm him a little.
He'd almost forgotten they were actually going somewhere until he heard doors slide open. He blearily activated his optics, resetting them a few times against the bright lights of the med bay, then nearly leapt out of Megatron's arms when a dark mass materialized in front of them.
"Where the frag were you?" Skywarp demanded loudly. Starscream only realized the question was meant for him when Skywarp shifted his attention to Megatron without waiting for an answer. "Is he okay? Why are you carrying him?"
"No he isn't," Megatron replied curtly, clearly annoyed by the lack of respect. But he also seemed willing to ignore it, because he continued speaking as he pushed past. "He appears very confused, and panicked when he realized we were coming here. And he was in the Command Center."
"We checked there!" Skywarp protested, reappearing in Starscream's field of vision and giving him an obvious once-over. Starscream glared at him a moment before registering the plural and looking for Thundercracker. But the only other mech he saw was Hook, who was approaching from the back of the room.
"Then clearly you missed each other," Megatron told Skywarp. He deposited Starscream on the first medical berth they came to before turning to Hook. Skywarp was at the berthside an instant later, and was undeterred by Starscream snarling at him.
"You're an idiot," Skywarp informed him quietly, although a light brush of fingers over his wing took the bite out of the words.
"And you're in trouble," Starscream hissed, drawing back. Skywarp ignored him, instead catching hold of his hand to study the dents in his wrist. Starscream jerked free of the loose hold when he realized what was so interesting, but Skywarp had already looked away, narrowing his optics at Megatron's back.
"Are you sure it was panic and not the onset of another crash?" Hook asked, appearing on Starscream's other side. Starscream growled and raised his wings threateningly, backing up along the berth to escape the mechs surrounding him.
"No," Megatron answered simply. "Thus why I felt it necessary to get him here sooner than later. But either way, he is - or was - considerably calmer."
The last words were accompanied by a pointed look at Skywarp, who backed away with a huff. Megatron took a step back as well, and though it wasn't nearly enough, Starscream's sense of being trapped eased a little.
"He also confirmed that he collapsed last night," Megatron continued, "so he won't be a part of today's mission. Someone will have to take command of the Seekers in his place."
He was still looking at Skywarp. Skywarp glanced around, as though expecting someone else to be standing near him, then his optics widened.
"Me?"
"I'm sure you can handle it. You already made one good call today, in alerting us to Starscream's condition."
"That's his daily limit," Starscream muttered, deliberately loud enough to be heard. A hand on his arm startled him before he could see Skywarp's reaction. He whirled around, punching Hook in the face. Hook staggered back and Starscream retreated from the edge of the berth, stopping only when he almost fell off the opposite side.
"Starscream," Megatron began warningly, but Hook interrupted.
"No, it was my fault. I shouldn't have scared him."
"I wasn't scared," Starscream spat, although he certainly was now. Since when did Hook ever admit to being in the wrong? Why did everyone who knew what had happened to him start acting like a complete stranger?
Then again, why wouldn't they? No one treated slaves the way they did normal bots.
"How long will it take you to figure out what's wrong with him?" Megatron asked as Hook straightened, rubbing his jaw.
"Longer than we have. I could get you the results of physical scans in about twenty minutes. But he was unwell before this, and a deep viral scan takes hours. To say nothing of the time required to check his processor for damage. Of course, all of this depends on how cooperative he is."
Hook cast a glance at Starscream, who glared back with one arm half raised, fist clenched in a silent threat.
"Take as long as you need," Megatron ordered. "I don't want him alone when he's like this, and if all goes according to plan, we won't need Devastator." There was a brief pause, then he added, "Can you handle him on your own?"
Hook's mouth tightened. "I would rather do so, yes."
Starscream glanced between them, feeling strongly like he was missing something important. He turned to Skywarp for a clue, but the other Seeker just shrugged, lowered wings twitching. He looked worried, maybe scared. But Starscream wasn't ready to forgive him for telling Hook what had happened and merely looked away again.
"We'll leave you to your work, then," Megatron said, stepping back from the berth. "Come, Skywarp. We have a battle to win."
Skywarp gave no verbal reply, but after a few seconds Starscream heard the clicking of his thrusters follow Megatron's heavier footsteps. Starscream peered over his shoulder, watching until the med bay doors sealed behind them. Then he slid from the berth, standing shakily but unaided, and slowly circled around it, optics fixed on Hook.
