Hidden Spark on Earth II (TFP)

Chapter 28

Saphira had a hard time sleeping that night. Even after returning to base, Saphira was still worried about Starscream. Ratchet and Knockout didn't return to the base for many hours, nor did Megatron. Despite the fact that a part of him despised Starscream, he was worried for the seeker. Saphira felt it through the bond. The way Starscream was found definitely was not how they had expected. Optimus did his best to keep Saphira comforted, she appreciated his efforts, though she really had a difficult time sleeping. Optimus didn't even get to finish decoding the next Iacon relic location while Saphira showed signs of distress.

She was only able to relax once Megatron alerted her that Starscream was alive, and that he was stable. She was relieved to hear that, and she was finally able to get sleep knowing that the seeker wouldn't perish due to Mech's destructive actions against him. It was good as Optimus recharged with Saphira on his chassis. Ratchet and Knockout wouldn't return until the morning as they both were still working on Starscream's body as much as they could.

When morning came, Saphira slept in and she wouldn't wake until midmorning. When she did open her eyes, she found herself on Megatron's chassis instead of Optimus's. She rubbed her eyes wearily and looked up to see his red optics looking back at her with a kind expression on his face. "Good morning, my sweet starlight."

She blushed at his compliment. "Morning..." She grimaced as she felt a stir in her gut. "Bucket."

Megatron chuckles softly and grabs a bucket he had placed by the berth to give to Saphira. "Let it out, Saphira." He rubbed her back gently as she began to heave into the bucket. "I will take you to Ratchet for the anti-nausea medication soon." Saphira didn't respond as she continued to heave into the bucket. Megatron really disliked the purging, seeing the tears fall from her eyes from the intensity of the purging and sensing her body was all tense. He knew she couldn't help it, but he felt bad for her whenever it hit her. "At least you will be able to have a less chaotic day today, Saphira...yesterday was very challenging for all of us."

Saphira did not respond for the moment. She waited until she finally stopped heaving and she leaned back into Megatron's hand and took deep breaths to relax. "Yeah...though I did kind of bring it on myself...at least with the Harbinger."

Megatron didn't disagree, though he didn't say anything. He kept rubbing her back gently to soothe her discomfort as best as he could. "I am going to admit...when I saw Starscream that way yesterday, I never knew that Mech would hit that hard. He is lucky to be alive. Knockout and Ratchet don't know how he survived this long."

"Strong will," Saphira said with a smile. "I guess a part of him hoped for a rescue...it finally came...eve though it was almost too late..."

"I hope that Starscream won't get angry at you...I assume he was shocked to see you and likely shocked you would want to help him." She nodded with a smile. "He may forget, given how weak he was. But I hope you were able to impact his mind enough that he will want to be good."

"I think I did..." Saphira remembered how he rolled his hand to hold hers, she knew he was thanking her at the time. "I don't think I will forget it. I never realized how horrible you would look when damaged like that. And I thought Optimus having the Cybonic plague was bad enough."

"You have certainly been around only a very small amount of damage to our bodies and systems, Saphira...and I fear you will see a lot more. Especially now that Mech has clearly shown how far they will go...and they didn't even kill Starscream. They left him to suffer and die slowly." Megatron shook his head with a grimace. "Even I do not deliver such a punishment...usually the torture is over a day or two before it's over. Though I no longer have it in me to want to do that to anyone."

"Even when you tore Bee's voice box out?" Saphira asked curiously. "I heard he was left for death."

"He was not damaged enough to die, Saphira. I had no interest killing him at the time, only annoyed that he wouldn't speak, and I did what I did...something I do wish I could replace." Megatron knew that Saphira would have asked that, and he understood how it looked. Though he knew he had not damaged the scout enough to kill him. "There's a lot that I would like to go back and prevent...but even we do not possess the power to travel through time...and I doubt we ever should, as much as it is painful to remember such things."