"Starscream? Hey, Starscream, wake up!"
The silver Seeker, jostled from recharge, awoke with a start.
"Rise and shine, sleepy head!"
I know that voice. Why is he here bothering me?
"What do you want, bug?" Starscream rasped, optics blinking as they adjusted to the light.
"Well, good morning to you, too, Screamer," Bumblebee replied with a smirk. Starscream glared at the yellow and black mech standing next to him.
"Don't tell me Knockout's gotten everyone hooked on that absurd nickname."
Bumblebee ignored the accusation. He suddenly grabbed Starscream by the arm and led him out of his cell.
"What… Where are we going?" Starscream stammered.
"You'll see," Bumblebee said without looking back.
Starscream struggles in the Lieutenant's grip, afraid that something bad is about to occur.
He isn't going to terminate me, is he? Knockout wouldn't let him do that to me! Right?
Still apprehensive about what this could possibly be, but knowing he had no choice, ceased his escape attempt and followed Bumblebee the rest of the way in silence. It wasn't until after he calmed down a bit that he realized the absence of stasis cuffs. The lack of restraints added to Starscream's confusion, as well as his curiosity.
Well, might as well behave myself. Primus knows when I'm going to get another chance like this.
"Ah, there you are, Starscream."
The silver Seeker snapped back to reality and looked up. He noticed they were in the hangar, clusters of crates scattered everywhere, with the remaining Cybertronians occupying the center area.
"Sleep well?" Knockout asked, having turned his attention away from the data pad in-servo to greet the newcomers.
Moonracer waved at them from her spot perched atop a crate.
Steeljaw seemed too engrossed in the information on his own data pad to bother acknowledging their presence, unless one would consider an ear twitch as a sign of acknowledgment.
"Let's just say it's been easier for me to recharge with all that stress out of my system," Starscream answered, shrugging as if it were no big deal. Knockout's mood shifted from amused to pained and back again, all in a matter of seconds.
"Glad to hear that."
"Yes, yes, I'm sure you are. Now, would someone care to explain to me why I've been dragged out here?"
The Cybertronians, minus Steeljaw, looked at each other.
"Well, Starscream, we've finally reached Suitable Planet NO.1 of our little... expedition... and for reasons that I do not feel like getting into right now, decided that we should split up into teams and explore the place," Knockout explained. "We'll have two pairs go off in opposite directions, while the remaining one will, well, remain here as mission control."
"And to make sure nothing happens to the ship," Moonracer added.
"Yes, that, too."
"So, who's with who?" Bumblebee asked.
"While I sincerely doubt I have a say in any of this, I know none of you are going to leave me behind to watch over the ship," Starscream said.
"Yeah, no," Knockout laughed. "As my responsibility, you're coming with me."
There were so many things Starscream wanted to say right then and there, but didn't. He wanted to fly asap, and knew that wouldn't happen if he argued with Knockout. So, he kept his mouth shut.
"No complaints? Alright, then. Bumblebee, you're with Steeljaw…"
"Figures." Both mechs interrupted at the exact same time.
"Leaving Moonracer here."
"Of course," Moonracer vented.
"Sorry, Moon, but I couldn't think of anyone more responsible or trustworthy to handle protecting the ship while keeping track of the rest of us at the same time."
At that, Moonracer's mood lightened. She was clearly ready for adventure, but knew that Knockout was putting a lot of faith in her to handle things while nobody else was around. For both Starscream and Bumblebee, it was so strange witnessing Knockout being sincere to someone else, especially one of his own colleagues. The only other Cybertronian Starscream ever remembered seeing Knockout act this way around was Breakdown.
He didn't dawdle on the subject any further as the door opened, allowing the sights and sounds of the outside world to reach their senses.
For a moment, Starscream couldn't move.
.
. .
. . .
"Knockout, are you sure you didn't land us in one of Earth's jungles?"
"Hey, I wasn't the one in charge of navigation, Bee! You were!"
"Calm down, guys. There's no point in, well, pointing digits."
"Pointing fingers, actually. Oh, wait, wrong planet. Hold on, are we back on Earth? Alright, who screwed-up the coordinates?"
Bumblebee, Knockout, and Steeljaw continued to bicker amongst themselves. Moonracer attempted to get a word in edgewise, but to no avail. She quickly grew tired of their arguing and thought of a less than civilized way of getting them to stop fighting. Just as she was about to lay down the law, however, a powerful force shot past the group like a bullet.
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. .
. . .
Starscream laughed, nothing but joy escaping his vocalizer as he soared through the air, feeling the wind beneath his wings.
He was finally flying.
After all that time – lying comatose, locked in a cell – he was finally back in the clouds.
He finally felt free.
KO: {STARSCREAM!}
The loud, unexpected voice startled the silver Seeker, causing him to falter and lose altitude for a split second.
KO: {Starscream, answer me!}
SS: {For the love of the Allspark, Knockout, I read you loud and clear! Now stop raising your voice at me! You nearly made me crash with all that racket!}
KO: {Ratchet? What does he have to do with any of this?}
SS: {RACKET! I SAID RACKET, NOT RATCHET! Primus, something must be clogging your audio receptors. I thought you pride yourself on the best of self-care, doctor? Does that not apply to every single part of you, and not just your looks? Either that, or you really suck at listening.}
Knockout didn't immediately respond. Starscream could hear him saying something, but couldn't understand what was being said.
KO: {Honestly, Starscream, whenever you're preaching nonsense, I just tune you out.}
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KO: {Starscream? Hello? Screamer, you still there?}
Knockout waited another minute, then turned to face the others.
"He hung up on me."
"Shocking," Moonracer retorted, earning a few chuckles from Bumblebee and a snort of amusement from Steeljaw. Knockout just rolled his optics.
"Anyway, what are you two planning on doing while out and about?" Knockout asked, directing his question to the other pair of explorers.
"Well, for starters, making sure Steeljaw doesn't kill me while we're alone," Bumblebee said, raising his voice in order to make a point.
"Not when I have a lot riding on this mission, I won't," Steeljaw argued, not bothering to look at Bumblebee.
"Doesn't matter. I'm still going to keep a close eye on you."
"So long as you don't get in my way, go right ahead."
"Alright, then!" Knockout anxiously interjected, wanting to get them to talk about something else before things got out of hand. "So, what else do you guys have in mind, aside from the possibility of… WHOA!"
Knockout never got to finish as he was swept away in the blink of an eye.
.
. .
. . .
Starscream was used to howling winds echoing in his audio receptors. Because of that, Knockout's screaming wasn't as painful to deal with as it could have been. Not that Starscream would mind either way. He was having way too much fun to care.
"What's the matter, Knockout? Afraid of heights?" Starscream teased, laughing all the while.
"Heights, no. Falling to my death, yes!" Knockout screeched, further tightening his grip around Starscream's jet mode. "Not to mention the damage to my beautiful paint job!"
"Tch. You're such an idiot."
Knockout opened his mouth to protest...
BB: {Knockout? Starscream? Come in!}
KO: {Bee? Is that you?}
BB: {Knockout? Thank the Allspark! Are you alright? What's going on?}
KO: {Well, I'm not too sure, but I think Screamer here is trying to kill me.}
SS: {No, I'm not, but call me Screamer one more time, and I won't hesitate to drop you.}
KO: {Don't worry, Bee! I'm fine! We're both fine! Actually, more than fine. Courtesy of Starscream, we have a bird's eye view of the place.}
SJ: {That means the ground work will be left solely to us.}
BB: {I guess so. Knockout, Starscream, you two be careful out there, alright?}
KO + SS: {Got it.}
SJ: {And do try to come back with something useful while you're at it.}
MR: {What I'm certain Steeljaw meant to say was to be sure to return in one piece, please.}
SJ: {Yes, of course. That, too.}
KO: {Well…}
SS: {We'll try.}
BB: {Good luck.}
communications disconnected
"Something tells me Moonracer is a lot scarier than she looks," Starscream admitted. "Honestly, it sounded like Steeljaw was a little intimidated by her."
"I wouldn't be too surprised," Knockout vented, relaxing his grip on the jet. "Moonracer can be rather terrifying at times, but that's a side of her that rarely comes out, and I plan to keep it that way."
Starscream hummed in thought.
If she's anything like Arcee, then I must stay on her good side.
Suddenly, a heavy force pushed up into the Seeker's undercarriage, and everything immediately went dark.
.
. .
. . .
"What happened?" Starscream moaned as his systems rebooted. Carefully, he transformed from jet mode to bipedal mode.
"Knockout?"
Starscream only had to look to his right to spot his comrade sprawled out on the ground a few yards away.
"Knockout!"
The silver Seeker turned and rushed to the medic's side, only to double over in pain.
"Scrap, that hurts!" Starscream vented, wrapping his arms around his damaged midsection.
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"Starscream?"
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"Starscream!"
The silver Seeker felt light servos glide across his dented frame. He instinctively flinched at the touch of another being, but relaxed once he realized that it could only be one mech, and knew he wasn't going to hurt him.
"Knockout…" Starscream rasped, attempting to sit up. He grimaced as pain shot through his frame and collapsed, unconscious, in Knockout's waiting arms.