Chapter 10

"Are you alright, Skywarp?" Sunstreaker asked as they slumped against the couch in the rec room with their energon cubes.

"Of course," she replied with a small shrug. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"A number of reasons," Sideswipe teased. "You've been acting distant since you came back. Don't tell me the Cons were more fun than the two of us."

"I won't," she promised as she sipped her energon. "Just got a lot on my mind."

She could feel the worried look the twins shot over her wings. They didn't like it when she got broody and she didn't really like it either. But, she had a lot to muddle over and think through, mostly about the growing trine between herself, Thundercracker, and Soundwave.

It was getting harder and harder to think of decent excuses to be away from the base. Megatron never gave Thundercracker and Soundwave a hard time; apparently they were incredibly obvious about their attempts to trine. She was slightly jealous of that, but kept her mouth tightly shut to avoid complaining to the wrong mech. And she did miss the protective grip Soundwave always had when they were all resting against each other.

He was clearly the trineleader. There was no question about it. He was the more dominant personality of their threesome, his needs always perfectly clear and obvious to her and Thundercracker. He was defensive and protective, even going so far as to pin one of the Coneheads against the wall after he had heard one of them make a snide remark about her. But, that was going by what he had said and not something she had actually witnessed; still a lovely thought though.

"Know where Star is?" Skywarp asked as she finished her cube. She needed to talk to her sister.

"Shouldn't you know?" Sideswipe asked as he poked her cockpit.

"She's been defensive lately," Skywarp shrugged. "Not going to push boundaries if she's going into heat and doesn't want me to experience it too."

That was a blatant lie; Seekers didn't go into heat until after their last upgrade. Luckily for her, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker did not know enough about Seeker physiology or biomechanics to comment. They just grimaced and glanced at each other.

"Think she's in her office," Sunstreaker replied as he picked at a rare spot of bunched paint on his wrist. "Hopefully not having Skyfire frag her against the desk."

The urge to lash out and strike Sunstreaker was a terrifying sensation and Skywarp thanked them both quickly before she fled. She had never wanted to hit someone like that before; yes, the thought of Skyfire and her sister going at it in her office was terrifying, but the tone that Sunstreaker had used made her internal components spin in fury. There had been disgust, as if the very thought of someone touching Starscream with love was repulsive.

But she should have known that would happen. Starscream had been the enemy for a very long time. She was synonymous with repulsive and horrid. It was likely that anything "sexy" about her had long since been stripped away.

Shaking her head furiously to dislodge the thought, Skywarp knocked on the door to her sister's office and waited. It opened after a minute, Skyfire's huge frame easily blocking the way in.

"Hello, Skywarp," he greeted with a smile. "Starscream's just putting something away. Come take a seat."

"She employed you as her greeter?" Skywarp teased as he stepped back to let her in.

"Try telling him not to get the door when the doorbell goes off," Starscream called as she hovered near one of the huge cabinets at the back of her office. "He's like a cyberhound sometimes." Landing, Starscream flicked her wings and tipped her head to the side. "What's wrong, little sister?"

"What isn't?" Skywarp sighed as she flopped into a chair and dramatically lifted her hand to her forehead. "Everyone glares at me, the energon sucks, flights are restricted, Ratchet's an aft, Tracks hogs all the wax, and…."

"And your trinemates are Decepticons," Skyfire finished with a smirk. At Skywarp's terrified look, he shrugged a shoulder. "I'm a good big brother, Skywarp; I notice these things."

"How many others know?" Skywarp demanded, looking between her sister and Skyfire desperately.

"Just us," Starscream reassured her. "No one else knows what to look for." Sitting down behind her desk, Starscream's optics narrowed. "As your superior officer, I think what you are doing is suicidal. Those are Decepticons you are falling for; dangerous ones at that. As your sister, I want to know why you are jumping after them now."

"Do I really have to answer those?" Skywarp huffed.

"No, because I already know the answer," Starscream smirked. "I just want you to be safe, Skywarp. This war still isn't over and there is a good chance any one of us could be shot out of the sky tomorrow." She leant back against her chair and laced her fingers together, optics narrowing. "And the fact that you are pursuing Soundwave worries me greatly. I know what he is like."

"I know," Skywarp murmured. "He's big, he's scary, he's absolutely terrifying and probably is the biggest sociopath in the Decepticon army. But he's just…you know?" Skywarp made a weak hand motion and dropped her head pathetically.

Starscream smiled and nodded, glancing at Skyfire in adoration. "I'm well aware of what you mean, Sky," she cooed softly. "I just want you to be careful. Anyone else would hold this as treason."

"It is," Skywarp sighed as she stood up. "Any ideas on how to get everything off my mind?"

"Come for a flight," Starscream chuckled as she stood up. "It'll make you feel better."

Skywarp happily got to her feet, grinning widely as she trotted after her sister and her mate. Skyfire easily cleared the hallways of anyone that might have tried to give them a hard time, everyone so used to Skyfire's size that they did not even stop to think about getting out of his way. It was only after they had passed that they grumbled under their breath about Seekers taking over the base.

Once they made it outside, Skywarp transformed and took to the sky. Starscream streaked by mid-transformation, her chassis making Skywarp jealous for a split-second. She could never hope to look that graceful and magnificent while her chassis was in the middle of twisting around to fold neatly into her flight mode. Starscream was just perfect in the Seeker way of life; it was tragic that Ratchet would never let her upgrade.

"None of that," Starscream called as she flipped over. "Just flying, not thinking about our carrier, got it?"

Skywarp laughed as she teleported in front of Starscream and shot ahead. She heard Starscream laugh behind her and the roar of her engines. Skyfire was somewhere above them, keeping an optic out for Decepticons. Starscream zipped by her underside and banked hard, making Skywarp veer to avoid her. Laughing, the two of them chased each other across the sky.

They left trails behind them, making it easy for them to keep track of where the other one went. Catching sight of Starscream's trail, Skywarp grinned to herself and aimed for it. She could hear her sister shouting at her that she was going to lose. As she started to initiate her teleportation, she heard Starscream cry out in surprise.

As she reappeared on the other side of the playground, Skywarp twisted to find her sister. She couldn't see Starscream's vibrant colours anywhere. Worried, she transformed and let out a whirl of confusion, letting out a loud chirp. The lack of answer made her start panicking. No matter what, a Seeker always answered a chirp from a family member.

"Starscream?" she called out, reaching down the bond for her.

Something smashed into her from above and she rolled with the blow. Darting away as talons raked her shoulder, she spun to watch Ramjet flip over and aim for her again. She glared at the white and grey mech, flaring her wings as his thrusters powered up. She dodged his attack, striking out with a foot as he streaked past. He snarled and rolled to face her, dentas bared to make up for his lack of prominent wings.

Skywarp felt something sting her neck and she immediately reached up to feel what had just hit her. The instant she felt the blunt end of a tranquilizer dart she took off towards the trees. She had exactly five seconds before she would start to feel the effects of the tranq. Teleporting was too dangerous; if she lost control half-way through her systems would be fried permanently. If she could get into the trees, get her back against something, she could fight them off.

Something big hit her and latched onto her. Shrieking, she struggled even as the temporary virus started shutting down her systems. She twisted just enough to see what had hit her and growled sluggishly at Blitzwing. He didn't even give her a smirk as he stopped their descent and started rising. She could make out a large shape against the sun as they rose and she struggled more, biting and kicking at Blitzwing.

Her processor stuttered and she lost track of time. When she came to, she was lying on the floor of a familiar cargohold. Someone was crouching beside her and she lashed out, backing up as the Constructicon moved a mere second before she hit them. Or her reflexes were so sluggish and her chronometer was so laggy that she had not actually posed a threat. She growled at the mech, optics rolling around as the virus tried to force her into forced recharge.

Something moved out of the corner of her vision and she hissed. Or at least tried to. Her glossa was so heavy and swollen that the noise was more of a splutter. A hand rested on her shoulder and she immediately moved into it as she made out Starscream's outline.

"Easy, Skywarp," she soothed. "It's going to be okay.

Starscream's voice sounded like it was coming from miles away. Skywarp whimpered a little, tucking her head into Starscream's elbow. She could faintly hear her sister's soothing voice as she let the virus drag her down. She'd get answers later when she wasn't drugged and likely to not hear everything correctly.