A Daughter's Return
It took several day cycles for Jaguar's depleted cores to charge. Her mother stayed protectively by her side. Soon, her sisters from the First Brood joined them, as Raptor radioed them their coordinates.
It seemed like old times, as Jaguar watched her sisters gleefully playing, forgetting their maturity in the emotions of her return. Stretching with feline grace, the deep green Seeker snuggled tighter against the deep blue fuselage of her twin. Tigress smiled and tightened her arms around her twin, her love flowing through her air frame.
Raptor debated on how to tell her daughters and the others about the spark gaining strength within her daughter. She needed to be very tactful, for she wanted the wayward ghost to feel welcomed into the family. Nodding to Tigress and IceOwl to stay with Jaguar, she invited her other thee daughters to fly with her.
'Do you realize who brought Jaguar back?'her voice on their encrypted frequency, asked the three Seekers as they danced in the winds.
She could feel their shrugs. "Figured she just found her own slaggin' way home." Jacket's joking response filled her head.
Raptor banked, catching a wonderful updraft. Her daughters all following suit. 'She was trapped in the afterworld, there was no way for her to find her own way back;' She informed them.
Her daughters considered that fact. 'So what's the catch? How'd she get back then?' Falcon asked, breaking the thoughtful silence.
'She happened to run across a certain red Seeker, who thought he owed her family something.' Raptor stated softly.
A shocked silence followed, as the three sisters quickly realized which dead red Seeker it had to be. 'Ya mean our sire's the one who led her here?' Jacket's incredulous tone captured all of the sisters' emotions so perfectly.
'Yes, so how do you three feel about that?' the black/gold Seeker asked, needing to gauge their emotions concerning Starscream.
Wasp and Jacket rolled underneath her, smoothly exchanging positions in their V-formation. 'Well, I guess he felt bad since he didn't help us that time,' Wasp mumbled.
Jacket snorted. 'Maybe he would've helped us, had he known we were his get. But he never touched us, gotta give 'im that;' she observed.
'Do you two forgive him?' Raptor asked.
Acceptance
The four Seekers set down on the rocky beach, three of them looking at Jaguar with strange expressions as they sat down across from their half-sister. Raptor smiled warmly, her smile telling Jaguar it'd be Ok now.
Jacket cocked her head, her crimson optics staring hard at Jaguar. 'So ya done got ya self knocked up without even bondin' huh?' she joked. Her sarcastic humor did much to relieve some of the tension that hung heavily in the salt-filled air.
Jaguar nodded hesitantly, she could sense Starscream's apprehension building as his daughters studied her.
Wasp studied the green Seeker intently, her thoughts running swiftly. When their mother had explained that not only had Starscream helped their half-sister, but their half-sister had then made the offer to him to give him a second chance at life – she had felt an overwhelming confusion.
She had never really known this true sire of hers, the only time she'd been around him was when he had quietly stood by while the Decepticons had tortured her and her twin. But Jacket was right, Starscream hadn't known they were his daughters – surely if he'd had, he would've intervened. But she couldn't really think of him as a father figure, Optimus had taken that role. But she knew that her mom wanted her to somehow accept the pending rebirth of this sire of hers, so she'd try.
"Well, I hope he realizes that I won't call him 'sir'," she said quietly; her optics softly saying that that's all the acceptance she could manage right now.
Having no experience with Starscream in his previous life, thus no real opinion of him, Falcon slid over and put one of her silver arms across her half-sister's shoulders. "I'm a little pissed at you though. You've already got a wing mate – yet you go and take him for one too! Here I am, stuck with these two sloggers!" She joked.
With that comment, Jacket pounced on the silver Seeker, ending up in a lighthearted wrestling match.
Jaguar felt a spreading sense of relaxation flow from her starboard core, Starscream now realized that he could find some acceptance and work towards forgiveness from his daughters.
Raptor and IceOwl smiled with understanding looks in their optics, as a smile spread over the green Seeker's face - A smile that wasn't truly just hers.
The New Seeker
Jaguar stared at the empty optics of the red Seeker air frame that she and Raptor had built. She knew that tomorrow, Starscream's spark would have enough strength to be reborn, and she was both thrilled and depressed at the same time. She had gotten used to the sensation of the ghost within her, and though she knew that this was coming, it saddened her that he would be leaving.
'It's ok; I'll still be with you.' His voice said in her head, for he read her thoughts as easily as his own.
She reached out, stroking the side of the still Seeker's face with her fingers. Yes, this would be his face.
'My face;' He murmured within her, feeling the cool metal skin under her fingers. 'My body;' His voice filled with wonder as he used her hand to trace the wings that would soon be alive with the spark that was him.
Jaguar smiled, the ghost within her was so happy. He didn't see the loneliness that his leaving would cause her. She had watched her sisters find bond mates, but she hadn't found a mech that she truly liked that much, so the closest thing she'd ever had to a bond mate was having this ghost live within her for these last few months. She had grown to know his every thought, his every emotion, just as he'd learned hers. Strangely, he had made her feel – whole.
Going back to her quarters, Jaguar lay down and went into defragmentation, knowing she'd need her energy for Starscream's 'rebirth' the next day.
As her meta-processor went offline, the ghost within her stirred. He let his strong spark course through her systems, enjoying the warmth of life. His excitement was overwhelming at the coming day, and his second chance at life. But yet he knew Jaguar's internal thoughts, the fact that she'd started depending on his presence within her, to feel whole. The amount of her attachment to him; overwhelmed him, for he'd never had anyone care that deeply for him. He was determined to help her, once he got his own body.
She'd given him so much; a second chance of life and the forgiveness of his daughters. He owed her. He owed her one thing, as he was determined to learn how to give that to her. Perhaps he'd ask Alexis to give him some pointers in this? For that human woman had talked with him through Jaguar. Had shown him that she was still his friend… Yes, Alexis would tell him what he needed to do. To become Jaguar's best friend!
The ghost felt happiness soar through him. For once, he'd been happy to have just that one human girl for a friend. Now, he'd not only have Alexis, but Jaguar as well! He'd have two friends. He'd have respect. He'd have everything he'd always wanted. And it'd happen tomorrow.
Rebirth
The First Brood gathered, along with many Autobots and Decepticons. Jaguar looked around at them, Starscream able to see them through her optics. Those gathered here, were here to welcome the former Decepticon second-in-command back into their ranks, to see him reborn.
Feeling his spark swell within her, Jaguar connected the bonding and power cables between herself and the unanimated Seeker. Her energy flowing into its chassis, as Starscream's spark split from her and flowed into the new chassis. The dull optics began to activate, filling with a shimmering crimson light as they looked into Jaguar's.
As his spark acclimated itself to the new systems, Starscream raised his arms and hugged his green friend tightly to his new airframe. He felt her power flow into him rise, flooding his primary core with beautiful energy. For several minutes they stood like this, but unlike the true births of new sparklings, Starscream wasn't copying her files, he didn't need to learn like a new sparkling.
Finally, he felt her energy flow falter, as his cores were now fully charged, his systems now fully activated. Her deft fingers disconnected the link between them, for he was now complete. He caught her as she staggered back from him, picking up her exhausted frame in his arms. His smile widened as he met her exhausted optics. "I'll take care of you, my friend;" he told her, as he cradled her against his body. He nodded to the gathered mechs, and carried her outside to recharge her depleted systems in the sun.
Optimus and Raptor exchanged surprised looks as the reborn red Seeker calmly walked away from the welcoming crowd, his attentions focused entirely on the exhausted green Seeker laying limply in his red arms. A smile spread over Raptor's face as she understood. "I think Starscream's got a friend."
The quiet Autobot Leader nodded his agreement. The confused red Seeker would find no better friend than his deep green daughter. The big red mech put his arm around his femme friend; and the two parents of that deep green Seeker walked away together, leaving the reborn Seeker alone with her.
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