(Sorry I haven't added a chapter in a while. I was busy with some other stories of mine. Anyhow, here is the next chapter, where Maria is now the prisoner to the Decepticons, but gains an unexpected ally. Warning-Mentions of past abuse to one character, and violence in further part of the chapter.)
Chapter 17
Locked Away
"Get off of me! Let me go!" Cried Maria as Demolisher and Cyclonus held her tight, as Megatron stood in front of her.
"You might as well be silent, for you shall be staying with us for a while, kid." WheelJack scoffed in the background.
"Be Silent! All of you!" Megatron bellowed, before he went on to talk to the youngling. "Now, do not think that I will let you live because you're a child. I only see an enemy, adopted by my enemy. None of your pathetic Autobot companions will save, not when they have no idea where the Crest of Primus' is located. So you will have a very small chance of escape, and while you will wait you will show the respect I deserve.
Maria only frowned and growled, "But I am showing you respect..." She then kicked Megatron in the shin plate, "NONE! Now let me go!"
"Why you little brat!" Megatron growled as he lifted his hand and slapped Maria across the face, making the youngling cry out in pain and sob.
"Infuriate me like that again, and I will turn you into scrap metal. Take her away and lock her up. No energon for three days, that shall be her punishment for disrespecting her superiors." Megatron ordered and Demolisher and Cyclonus took her away, and MAria screamed and struggled to get away but to no avail.
"The child will learn in time, my liege." Thrust comforted Megatron but the tyrant did not pay attention. His shin plate was still stinging from the kick. After the pain stopped Megatron congratulated on WheelJack for his impersonation as his leader in the distraction, and further complemented on the device that he and Starscream had created.
"Those Autobots will be desperate to get hat pest back, but all their efforts will be in vain by the time I am through with them and to that Optimus Prime." Megatron thought to himself.
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Meanwhile, in the cell room, Maria was banging on the iron rails that kept her inside her prison, but the rails wouldn't give an inch. She kept tying, ramming her body harder and herder, but it was useless. She could not break free.
"Oh, what am I going to do now?" She thought to herself as she stopped ramming herself and backed up into a dark corner, sitting down and holding her arms. She was afraid now, No one could save her, no one. She was alone, and afraid. "Help me, Won't some one help me?" She whispered to herself, shedding a small tear.
As the youngling cried quietly, she did not notice that from the shadows, a figure watched her with hidden concern and his amber-orange optics watching her. His mind was deep in thought as he watched her.
What is a helpless youngling like this doing in a place like this? And why do I worry about her, I am a decepticon, am I not? I should not care for such a youngling, but we do I? Why?
He left the room and proceeded to his quarters to think this over, but just couldn't figure it out. There was something about the femmling that just clicked inside of him. But what was it?
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The next day, Maria was crying once again to be let out. Since she did not have access to her medicated energon, she could not control her emotions and thus made her almost sound and act like a caged animal, but not entirely.
"LET ME OUT, LET ME OUT, NOW!" She cried and screamed, banging her fists on the iron rails, and the constant screaming was starting to get on everyone's nerves, especially Megatron. He had heard the youngling scream for almost five hours and had not stopped, until he couldn't stand it any longer.
"Starscream, silence the brat, my audio receptors are about to malfunction." Megatron hollered and the seeker heard his demand and was on his way. How long was the child going to scream and cry,she could easily damage her vocal components.
As he came to the cell room, Starscream went to the cell that housed the youngling and banged on the railing, hard and shouted. "Enough! That is enough out of you. Be quiet, you are disrupting our routines around the ship.".
Maria quieted down, but then angrily huffed. "If you want me to stop, let me go, now. I wanna go home." She pouted, folding her arms across her chest plate. Starscrem sighed in frustration. "That can't be done. You are to stay until Megatron get's what he wants."
"If Megatron want this Crest of Primus, why doesn't he get it for himself, instead of being so lazy?" The youngling asked, but had her back turned to Starscream. She was still upset.
"It is not that simple. The Crest of Primus was is sealed in a crystal fortress and ca only be accessed by a Prime. That is why it's called the Crest of Primus, because it was used by the Primes." Starscream spoke in his gravely voice, but it sounded gentle than what he was comfortable with. "That is why kidnaped you in the first place, youngling. To make Optimus Prime search for the Crest of Primus and hand it over to Megatron. With you, Megatron has full control of the Autobots. Your team will do anything to save you."
"But Megatron didn't tell the Autobots the location of the Crest. How are they supposed to find it?" Maria asked, now that she had calmed down by listening to what Starscream told her.
"That is another thing, Megatron will take any chance to see the Autobots give up, even if he does not play fair. None the less, he will keep his promise upon your fate on the sunset of the third day if the Autobots fail to retrieve it." Starscream finished, and sighed as he sat down.
Maria was surprisingly amazed to see this Decepticon tell her everything that his team were planning to do. Decepticons would never do that, unless...unless what?
"Um...What is your name?" She asked him.
"Starscream. Not that it matters to you." He answered.
"I am Maria. If it matters to you." She said, before she sat down to look at him, her gaze locked into his optics. Thee was something in his optics that told her that there was something inside him that he would not show.
"Why do you look at me like that?" Starscream asked, a little annoyed at the younglings staring optics.
"I don't know. It's just.. I have had that look before. Before I came here." She said quietly, before she went on to tell him why she really was looking at him.
"Since you told me something, I will tell you something. I never really had a family. I was an orphan because I was abused by my father, Jack Hammer. He was never kind to me. He saw me as a servant to him, worthless and weak. I had suffered for the rest of my life because of the pain he caused me. But now, that he is gone, and that I am here with the Autobots I have a nw family. And a new father, who really loves me."
"And I belive that 'father' is Optimus, am I right?" Starscream smirked, and Maria nodded. "Figures, he has to much of a caring spark to let others suffer."
Maria saw the smirk and said, "I knew it!, You're hiding something."
"There is nothing to tell." Starscream sneered, now that his true feelings to the youngling were found out. But the younglling still persisted, asking him what he was hiding. "I promise that won't tell anyone. Not even my team, I promise."
"Do you?" He asked to make sure.
"Yes."
"Hmmm, Since you refuse to leave me be in my memories, I might relate to you in terms of what you went through. I never knew my parents, they both went offline when I was a sparkling. I was found but was not sent to an orphanage like yourself, I was sent to a labor camp, where I lived untill some manufacturer picked me out and had me working for him in his home and facility. My masters name was Iron Claw, so named because of the claw mechanism that replaced his left hand, which had been sliced off by accident. And the loss of that hand had made him cold, and deeply infuriated. He would often beat me at times whenever I did something wrong or just didn't listen to him, but despite that he was also truthful and wise. He taught me the lessons that made into who I am today. I live only by obeying my masters, no matter what the consequences they bring. Megatron reminds me so much of my old master, but is cruel and heartless."
"So, why do you listen to him?" Maria asked, reaching out to Starscreams hand.
"Sometimes I ask the same question. You should not have to suffer the way I do with Megatron, but I can't disobey him either." Starscream told her, and soon became silent for a while, thinking to himself.
"What is it?" The femme asked, and then Starscream stood up.
"I'll return to you tonight." Was all he said, as he left Maria to wonder what he was going to do.
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In the weapons area of the warship, Starscream and his mini-con Swindle were at work, adding the last touches to two, small devices.
"I won't be able to contact the Autobots, both in com-link or in physical appearance. Let us just hope that this will help." Starscream told his mini-con as he gave one small microchip to the mini-con. Swindle then placed the chip into his chest plate, as Starscream placed his in his chest plate.
"Now, you wait here. Once I am in confinement, I will contact you."
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Night. All the Decepticons were in stasis, none of them knowing that one of their own was on his way to the cell room.
Maria lay fast asleep, her mid section growling for not having anything to refuel on. She woke up when she hear the footsteps coming from the hallway and stop right by hear cell.
"Starscream!" She said happily, but the seeker hushed her.
"Keep quiet, and stand back." He whispered as he detached his wing blade sword and carefully aiming for the weakest bars, he sliced through the bars, creating a hole for Maria to step out of.
"We must hurry, the others may have heard bars hitting the floor, but I will get you to the warp station."
"Thank you." Maria thanked him and held his hand as they rushed out of the cell room and through the corridor leading to the warp station.
As they approached the entrance Maria stopped for a moment and looked at the seeker.
"Why don't you come with me?" She asked Starscream but he knew it would not work out.
"I am afraid that would be impossible, I am a Decepticon, and I always will be. Besides, they may not even believe me if I wanted to join them." He explained.
"Of course they will. You helped me escape, that should be enough for them to believe you." Maria smiled, tugging on his hand so Starscream would join her in the warp point.
"What is the meaning of this?" Shouted a deep, and furious voice, and Maria and Starscream turned around to see they were found out.
"Looks like big mean, Starscream has a soft spot for the brat." Cyclonus snickered, but was silenced by his leader.
"Megatron, this is not what it looks like." Starscream stood in front of the youngling, in order to protect her from his leaders rage, but it wasn't enough.
"I gave you a simple task, and this is how I am rewarded? By your betrayal and freeing the pawn for this trap I set for the Prime?" Megatron roared, as he stepped over to the seeker and grabbed his white face plate, pulling it to his grey face plate. "Your punishment will be payed with your lifeless husk." And then Megatron began punching the defenseless Decepticon swordsman, punching his face plate, and around the mid section.
Maria stood utterly terrified, but was more worried about the life of her new friend. She did not want him to die.
"You leave him alone, you big moose head!" She shouted as she jumped onto Megatrons back, banging her fists on the Decepticon tyrant's head.
"RRRAAAAHHHH, GET OFF!" Megatron roared as he grabbed the youngling and tossed her to the ground, making her cry out in pain. "My patience has wear thin with you, I will teach you some manners." Megatron snarled as he grabbed a loose pipe that was on the ground, and grabbed the younglings arm, pulling her to him. Maria saw the pipe, and the anger and hatred in Megatrons optics, and she remembered her father, the pain...the pain...it was about to return.
*CLANK*
"AAAAHHHHH"
*CLANK*
*CLANK*
"AHHHHHHHH! NOOOOOOO!"
*CLANK*
*CLANK*
Starscream scrambled to his feet and tried to intervene but was caught be Thrust and WheelJack. "NO! Leave her alone, She has no right to suffer!" He pleaded.
Megatron ignored his solders pleas, and kept striking the wailing child, fully fousused on make the youngling suffer.
"Let me take the blame! Take me!"
Megatron soon ended his attack on Maria, the youngling crying and screaming in pain, as he turned to Starscream, a look of desperation and fear in his optics.
"Why would you let yourself be subjected to her punishment, Starscream?"
"She should not suffer in the servos of such a monster, and it was my idea to help her escape. Please, let her live and let me take her punishment." Starscream pleaded, his head drooping in defeat, but what none of the other in the room knew was that Starscream's plan was working. He knew that escape was impossible;e, so when he made the microchips earlier, he would have himself locked away and Swindle would teleport himself to earth and have the Autobots take him and Starscream would use the microchip as a form of communicator, to tell the Autobots the location of the Crest of Primus. But what Starscream hadn't counted on was the fury of Megatrons wrath being dealt upon the innocent Maria.
Megatron looked upon Starscream and looked at Maria, who was lying on the ground, energon pouring from her mouth because she had suffer major internal injuries.
"Very well, Starscream will take the punishment. Lock him up and have him chained and gagged. I don't want him to speak to the brat again, and as for the youngling, take her to the med bay and repair her. I want her alive when I kill her in front of Optimus."
Maria was lifted from the ground by WheelJack and watched as Starscream was taken away, now she and him were prisoners to this monster of a being.
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After an hour of repairs to her internal injuries, Maria was taken into a new cell and was chained to the wall. Now she was alone, a hope of escape gone in a blink of an eye. How was she going to escape now? Starscream was no longer going to help her, and now she had to wait until tomorrow, and her fate would be sealed. She began to cry softly, not only because of the pain, but of the sorrow of never seeing her family again. Optimus Prime, her new father, her real, loving father would never save her.
"Father...I need you, now...Please...Please...Help me." She sobbed, her tears lulling her to stasis.
Starscream was in another cell, but nowhere next to Maria, a metal clasp around his mouth, and was too, chained to the wall. He felt sorry for Maria having to suffer the pain and horror of his leader, but he had to initiate the nest step of his plan.
From his command from the microchip, he sent the signal to his mini-con, Swindle, and the mini-con made his way to the warp station, miraculously no one was there to spot him. After adding the destination, Swindle's body dissolved, and was sent to the planet down below the glare of the moon, to the Autobots.
(So sorry for not updating on this for a while. I am swamped with stories I am trying to finish. I managed to finish this chapter for my loyal fans of 'A Fathers Love', I will try to add more in the future.)