Forsaken

★ Chapter 23 ★

Guilt truly was a disgusting emotion, and did Starscream feel it? Without a shadow of a doubt. That's all there was. Guilt. It was there, bigger and nastier than he could ever imagine. But what choice did he have? It was either him or the boy. The one small human creature who had dared to trust him when no one else did, lying alone in a cave. The cave which was supposed to be an adventure, had turned into a place of misery. Anger swiftly swept over the seeker's body. His wings stiffened as the Energon in his body boiled. How did that Blasted Megatron find him? Before the seeker had the chance to ponder the question, the mighty warlord stopped him in his peds.

Megatron:" Welcome home, Commander Starscream"

If there was one thing Starscream was good at, it was his silver golossa. He knew his "Master" was attempting to stroke his ego, and on any other terms, it would have worked. Had it not been for the recent Kindness of the Autobots, Starscream would have immediately bowed before his master and resumed command. So that's exactly what he did.

Starscream: "Thank you, Lord Megatron, It is an honour to continue to serve you"

He hated it. He hated to suck up to that silvery-toothed fragger, but he knew it was necessary. Perhaps, just perhaps, Megatron would believe that he was coming back to the Decepticons. With that hope, there was hope of an escape. Taking in a deep intake and putting on his best Performance. The seeker stood patiently waiting for the warlord's next sentence which was no doubt coming and that he would no doubt hate.

Megatron: "It's good to have you back commander, since your... departure from our ranks. Infighting has become a rather prominent issue. I do hope you will be staying long enough to assist with the issue"

Staying long enough to assist. That sentence left a foul smell in its presence and a new wave of emotions overcame the seeker. Megatron always had the power to say so little, but have so much impact. A picture was worth a thousand words, but his words were worth a blade in the spark. He knew this meant his return wouldn't go unpunished for his desertion, but he had hoped perhaps his "Master" would have let it slide given the circumstances. Megatron ruled by fear and power, Optimus by hope and wisdom.

Starscream:" Of course, Lord Megatron"

The pair stood in a stalemate silence,moments ticked by that seemed like an eternity before the warlord finally let out a slow nod and stood aside. Starscream had to restrain himself not to Transform and escape. He could have done so if it were not for the fact the wound on his wing had been reopened when he was viciously slammed against the cave wall. At least here, the medics had far superior equipment to work with to aid in the healing process.

Megatron:" Very well then, get yourself repaired and get some rest. I have an important matter for us to attend to tomorrow"

Without a shadow of hesitation, the seeker quickly matched off to head to one of his favourite places within the Nemesis, the Medical bay.

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That infernal beeping machine was driving Ratchet crazy, if it weren't for Optimus being present, the medic would have screeched at humans to turn that darned Earth box off. In the mense of his annoyance, Ratchet, suddenly remembered that it was rather late for the humans, and thus the good excuse for the humans to leave came up.

Ratchet: "Shouldn't you be gone by now, watching your inferior box in your homes?"

When they had first met, the young humans found the medic's words insulting, but given time and familiarity, the humans found the medical officer's grumpiness (To much of Ratchet's disdain) rather amusing. Normally, the pair would brush it off but today, the pair had been anxiously waiting for the return of Starscream and Raff. Ratchet was right, it was getting late and they weren't back yet.

Miko:" Oh come on Ratch, we're waiting for Screamy and Raff to come back!"

Optimus stood in science. His emotions were nearly impossible to read as he faced the groundbridge in anticipation. His human friends were right to be concerned. Ordinarily, at the slight hint of Danger, the Prime would have not hesitated to investigate. There was however a complication with that scenario. Trust. This solo mission the seeker had been sent on was about Trust. The seeker was a challenged individual on his own when it came to such a thing but a very valuable asset to the team if trust was earned. Thus Optimus wanted him to trust him, however, as the sun was setting, the Prime's instinct took over, and he decided that enough time had passed and it was time for action. His teammates Starscream and Raff, may just be in Perel.

Optimus:" Ratchet, Open the groundbridge. I am going to investigate"

Without hesitation, the medic swiftly pulled up the last coordinates and pulled the lever. The groundbridge activated with a bright green swirl and seconds later, he transformed and drove through. A mere seconds later after he transformed, the prime was greeted with a very dirty and distressed Raff.

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When the door to the medical bay hissed open, the last thing the seeker expected was to see two completely frozen Mechs that appeared to be caught in a very peculiar predicament. Both Optics snapped over to the seeker in horror. After staring at each other presence, the seeker's optics wandered over to the two scenarios before him. Breakdown, the big and bulky mech was...standing on the table attempting to reach what appeared to be Knockout, 's favourite buffer. The top half of it was somehow lodged into the roof, sparks crackling down from the damaged light from above. The seeker made eye contact with the appropriately grumpy medic who was desperately trying to remove several of what appeared to be earth trees stuck on an unreachable spot on his back. Starscream's Optics paced further, several tools scattered everywhere, simply put, it looked like a scraplet had been present moments before.

Breakdown:" Commander Starscream!"

Even as the big blue mech attempted to sound serious, it failed spectacularly as he came tumbling down on top of the much smaller frame of Knockout. The fancy red sports car bot let out a horrified screech as he could do nothing to stop his gloriously painted work from being ruined. Perhaps the seeker could have intervened when he heard the familiar squeal of delight from Asteria, followed by a loud smash of glass landing right on top of the pair's head. The seeker winced, whatever substance was inside that jar certainly didn't look like it would come off easy.