Forsaken

★ Prologue ★

It had only been three days since Starscream had left the Decepticons and he was already seriously regretting it. The scorching desert was making his beautiful silver paint fade, and without a buffer, he was sure in a few days he would be as white as snow. His heels were the worst choice of land travel, they sunk into the sand and got stuck making him trip followed by eating a mouthful of sand. Every bit of him was dirty, and without a means to wash, the smell of Earth was intoxicating. Every step made him hate this wretched planet more as it resulted in an utter of a complaint.

"I despise this planet. If it isn't a scorching desert, it is a frigid wasteland!"

Walking alone made the silver seeker feel unhappy and sick. In the Nemesis, there was always someone to talk to, out here it felt like you were the only thing on the planet. In the distance, Starscream spotted a large cave. It was rugged and old. It very clearly hadn't been touched in a long time. Letting out a breath of hot air and sand, he dragged his exhausted body over to it and sat down. The relief from the burning sun was instant as the thick walls of the cave blocked out the sunlight. Starscream rested his back against the cold wall and stretched his wings to cool down. As the heat melted away, little tingles went down his body as a welcome relief from the yellow devil.

"I may be all alone... but at least I haven't a care in the world. "

That little thought made him smile for a moment, but the one breath of fresh air was quickly drowned under the harmful waves. There indeed was only one thing to positive about other than not having anyone to boss him around. If someone were to give Starscream a bit of paper and a pen and ask him to write down the negatives, he would surely have a long list. A feeling of needing to recharge overcame him as he lay in the cool, and soon he closed his optics hopefully drifting into a peaceful recharge. As his optics began to close and the sounds around him of the whining wind slowly faded, he was suddenly jolted alive by a strange noise. With his sensors around him relaxing the sudden noise made him smack his helm right onto a solid rock causing him to curse up a storm. As the anger of pain set in, he sat up and hissed under his breath.

" Stupid wind..."

Starscream was about to lay down in the welcoming cold once more, but the unknown sound repeated itself in an eerie pattern. This time, the noise did not cease, only intensifying as the nanoseconds went by. Typically, the skittish mech would have run for it, but out here with nothing left he was getting desperate. Even an Autobot to rescue him would be welcome. After a minute of his wings quivering in fear, he finally stood up and stared into the darkness as his curiosity slowly got the better of him.

" He-Hello? who is there?"

His wings stood up to attempt to show his confidence, but his blearing optics widened in horror when his voice bounced off the walls far louder than he expected. When the noise stopped, there was a sudden fear that it could be Megatron who had come to finish the job. Getting down on his knees, he pleaded with the lord that he was sorry. After whining for a few minutes, he lifted his helm and gave an embarrassed blush.

" I am such a fool..."

He felt burning rage go through his spark as the noise started again, there was somebody there, and they were playing a stupid trick on him. Starscream was well known for pulling sneak attacks on others, but when the role was turned against him, it wasn't much fun.

"WHOEVER YOU ARE, SHOW YOURSELF!...I-I AM...COMING IN"

He lifted an optic ridge as the voice let out a few happy squeals. Looking around him and finding bits of old wood, he snapped one in half and used his jet booster to light it on fire like a torch. If someone wanted him in there then it was a trap, if it was a trap, then he best prepares himself and at least be able to see who it was. Although his voice was strong and brave, it did not speak the same for the way he was feeling. His wings rattled in anticipation, and his spark failed to keep up.

" al-alright! I am coming to get you!"

It took Starscream a few minutes to finally forced himself to walk forwards towards the cave. His legs felt like jelly as the sunlight tiptoed away from him. Every few minutes, he would glance back wondering if it was perhaps a good idea, the narrow cave did not offer much escape. As he advanced, the sound got louder and louder, and the cave more narrow. Starscream's wings felt compressed against it, making him somewhat claustrophobic. Finally, he reached the source of the sound.

" Hello?"

His voice whimpered. Truth be told he was terrified of the unknown object. He squinted his optics to get a closer look at what it was, but it was so dark that he could bearly see. The sunlight had been drowned out so much that there was only one thing he could do to see, the torch gave small but not adequate light. Very slowly, he moved his torch towards the object, and his optics widened every inch he got closer.

" What the frag is that..."

It was the most bizarre thing he had ever seen in his life—a little round body with two white dots staring out at him out. At first, Starscream thought it was some kind of Earth creature, but after some more observation, he concluded that his strange woven object was merely a vessel. Carefully, he moved the torch down to get a closer look. His body froze in shock at what he saw. Staring right at him, a sparkling. Its little colours were unknown in this light, but he could make out various blues and what appeared to be white. He may not have been able to see its colours, but he could sense that something was terribly wrong. Its little body was breathing rapidly and disgustingly thin. No doubt it had been left here for days alone in the dark. Starscream may have been a Decepticon, not even they were this cruel. Its little servos desperately reached up, letting out a weak whine. Its starving body was unable to cope for much longer. No doubt its body was also freezing. Carefully, Starscream lifted up its body and held it against its chest. Its fragile body clung to him like a magnet as it appeared a content sound. It was ecstatic that someone had finally come for it. Starscream could see that its body was stained with optic fluid and sand from the Earth below. The little sparkling whined loudly clinging to Starscream in an almost strange manner. It made Starscream's spark sink, knowing that it was traumatised after being left alone. He had never had a sparkling before so he was unsure of what to do, he knew. However, they liked to be cuddled and stroked so very gently he stroked the younglings wings. At first, he wasn't sure that it was working, but after a few minutes, it fell asleep. Its last tear was rolling down its cheek as it drifted into a sweet slumber. Now staring into the darkness of the cave, the seeker felt his spark shiver with horror. Just poking through the lights, he could just make out an image of what he was sure was a body of another Cybertronian. No doubt it belonged to this sparkling. Its mother had passed away. He approached the body and carefully removed the datapad from her cold servos. Carefully he read it, his spark sinking once more as he did so.

"Mayday, mayday. I need help. My daughter Asteria and I are injured and in need of serious help. I am injured and without help... I soon I will die. Please, won't somebody take my daughter" 

Such a tragic incident. This little femme certainly was lucky to have Starscream find her or else she would have undoubtedly offlined. 

Now, she needed a new guardian. That, someone, was him. A small smile made its way onto Starscream's mouth.

" Asteria... My little Asteria."