Flight for Life

Starscream's legs pumped hard as he ran, his spiked pedes digging hard into the rock and grass, not daring to look back even when the first blasts of blue fire began to ping around him. Skyfreeze's optics were still online but it looked as if she was not really seeing at this point, optics nearly vacant as she stared up at the passing skyline and trees. By the looks of her, she would not be awake much longer. He could feel the sticky warmth of the energon leaking over his serovs where he held her, some smeared over his chassis where he held her against him. He should have realized before what her condition was but he was so focused on escaping... he just did not pay attention. He noticed her leaking energon in the cell before they broke away, but he had no idea it was extensive.

He ducked behind one of the rocky outcrops to avoid a shower of blue that was coming his way, pulling her closer to him instinctively. He had no idea where they were, but at least there was some cover. The trees and rock mountains were a great help in avoiding hits. The rocks were like a maze, but he could deal with that. Even so, it still would not be nearly enough cover. This game of tag would not last forever with him running in inevitable circles. The Prime and Arcee may have been the only pursuers, but that was still two against one. Bumblebee and Smokescreen would come back from stasis all too soon as well. If he could not fly out of here soon, this game would be lost.

"Starscream, Skyangel, surrender now!" The deep authoritative boom nearly was enough to vibrate the ground under the seeker's peds.

Yeah, how about no way in pit! He edged farther along the rocky hillside, trying to listen for their location. Anyway, could they really not tell what condition Sky was in by the fact that he was carrying her nearly limp frame?

They needed to get out of here swiftly before he ended up flanked. Skyfreeze did not seem in any condition to hang onto him though. She was weak, likely from loss of energon and he was sure she would not be able to stay with him in his jet form, at least not for very long. If these were any other circumstances, he would have begged the Medic for help, but that was not currently an option. Stopping during a hostile escape for dear life was hardly the time to ask for a favor. It would not be an escape for long at this rate though. If he kept her with him, neither of them would be getting away. Unless he left her-

His helm gave a mighty shake to clear his processor. What had he just considered? His faceplate dropped to snuggled against hers in regret, repulsed by the way his own thoughts worked. Had that thought really just passed through him? His denta kneaded his lower derma slowly. Yes, sadly, it had. His arms clamped down around her frame to hold her closer as he speed ahead again from his hiding place. Why such a disgusting thought even entered his mind, he had no idea. Leaving her behind to save his own aft was out of the question. Anyone else, sure, he would have left them here, but not Angel. He knew for a fact she would never leave him if the tables were turned, so he would never leave her either. No, no, he would not think something like that ever again. Old habits died hard, he guessed.

Tossing her frame high into the air, his thrusters gave a mighty blast as he transformed into his F-15 alt mode, swooping under her as he flew forward. As he ascended he could already feel her shifting and slipping, not seeming to be even making an attempt to hang on - He had an ill feeling she was not conscious any longer. Carefully, he rocked his wings back and forth in an attempt to maneuver her into a position she could sustain, arching higher so that when she inevitably fell, he would have room to catch her before she hit the ground. He needed altitude, badly; both to avoid her hitting the ground as well as to avoid being in range of Autobot fire. He was flying at a far slower speed than normal to keep her from being caught by the drag of the wind. As he climbed higher, he could feel her slipping lower still, metal shrieking as it slid over his. He tired to level out but before he could shift her back, several blue blasts sailed his way.

Before he even thought, acting on instinct, he made a hard shift to the left, avoiding the hit. Starscream yelped as he felt her suddenly sliding off, helm scraping his wing and wing flaps as she slipped away from him. Panicking, he dove after her, the wind wheezing around him in his sheer drop. Rushing under her, he pulled his nose up, letting her crash against his cockpit as he began to climb with her once again - Already, she was beginning to skid down toward his tail, but he had to keep climbing, had to get over the mountain at his front. The seeker blasted his jets to maximum thrust as he climbed higher, pulled down by her weight. If he could just get her to this mountain top, it would gain him some time. It would be high enough to be out of range unless they climbed it to get to them. They were fast, even in climbing, but it might still buy him enough time to get Angel back online. There was no way he could hold her this way, not for any distance.

Skyfreeze slid all the way to his tail, folding over it; legs and helm dangling dangerously on either side of his vertical stabilizer as her waist was pressed hard into the sharp of his rudder. If she slid off that way she was sure to take out both his receiver antenna. He growled, the rumble vibrating the glass of his cockpit. The heat from his thrusters would burn her if she stayed there long. He heaved a vent of air in relief as he soared over the top, transforming to catch the femme smoothly in his arms as he landed on the rocky face.

"Angel, online your optics and look at me!" Starscream ordered forcefully in an attempt to gain her attention.

She was hot to the touch where she had come into contact with his thrusters but the wind from this height would cool her quickly. She did not give a response, so he tried again several more times as he scanned the ground below in search for the two Autobots he knew were following. Already, he spotted the femme at the base of the mountain, transformed into her alt mode, racing up the side. He lifted his arm, missile locking into place as he fired it some distance ahead of her. Even his missile would never reach her at this distance, but he was not aiming for her directly. There was a blast of smoke, fire, dust, and heat as the explosion drilled into the mountain side. As predicted, rock began to rain down on the blue motorcycle, driving her into a swift retreat to avoid being crushed.

That bought him a few minutes. He glared down at the still falling rocks below, knowing he needed something much better than that if he planned to escape this place. They needed to get back to the Harbinger. There, he would have the needed tools to finally tend and treat Skyfreeze. How close they were to the ship was hard to say without knowing where they were. He could scan to find out, but now was not the time. Even if they were close, he had no intention of leading them to his doorstep. The mountain would not be a defensible position for long, so he had to decide swiftly what move to make next. His spark was starting to thrum faster as his mind worked, going over so many routs, but seeing how poorly they could go.

His optics widened when he saw the Prime move in with the femme, both coming at the same time now, moving over the huge fallen rocks with surprising agility. Now he really needed to move! His vents started working harder to cool his heating system despite the cool air whirling around him. His ruby orbs began traveling the area swiftly, desperately searching for anywhere to hide or anything he could use against them.

Nervous optics paused on what looked to be a cave a ways down the mountain, or at least, it could have been a cave. Chancing it was better than standing here to wait for the Autobots. A cave could be a risky move, being blocked in with no way out, or it could be his only chance. If it went deep enough it might block him from their sensors. At the very least, it might provide a bit of cover and buy just that much more time.

Holding the silver femme close, he began to slide down the rocky terrain, bounding off rocks, despite the complaints it drew from his knee joints and pedes. It was faster this way, faster than walking, which he did not have time for. He vaulted himself over a few large rocks, using them to gain him speed in a drop before he gave his thrusters a momentary burst to ease him into a soft landing. The seeker raced for the opening, hoping to Primus it really was a cave as he neared it. Skyfreeze stirred ever so slightly in his arms, clearly having been jolted and jostled into a semblance of consciousness. He made a quick click with his glossa to signal her to be quiet.

As he reached its opening he was relieved to see it was indeed a cave, and though he tended to have little luck with caves, there were no other options. He ducked inside swiftly, nearly tripping over himself in his rush to get out of sight. The seeker moved as swiftly as the darkness would allow, the light of their optics giving off some light, but not enough to see well. He did not dare turn on any of his alt mode lights, not yet.

Skyfreeze was beginning to squirm in his hold, whimpering slightly, clearly confused, processor not quite fully restarted. The seeker tightened his hold on her tiny, trembling frame, lowering his helm to whisper soothing words into her audio receptor. He had no idea if it was fear causing this reaction or pain, but he needed to keep her calm before she drew attention. With some difficulty, he carried her deeper, trying not to trip. Finally, he knelt on the ground, cradling her against him in a more secure position. Gently, he began to stroke her faceplate, feeling the chill setting into her. He tried not to worry but he could not help the way the sensation made his spark twist in his chest. Being this cold meant that her systems were shutting down.

"Don't worry, Angel, I've got you... and I won't let you go ever again..." She stilled as he rested his faceplate to hers softly.

The blue and red mech stood tall and straight against the light of the sun, sharp optics scanning over the terrain from his place atop the mountain. Arcee stood at his side, a servo on her hip, posed in frustration as she searched as well. They both knew there was no way the seeker could have flown out of their line of sight this quickly, yet he and the other femme had vanished. After they had gotten over the rocks to this point, there had been no sign of life other than their own. The skies were clear and void of cover clouds, stretching out peacefully as far as sight allowed. Unless he was flying dangerously low, he was not in the skies at all. The question remained, where had the two gone?

Both the leader and his subordinate knew fully well they could not allow the prisoners to escape. They knew far too much and likely knew, or could guess at the base location. Even if the exact placement was not known, the information they did have would lead them to it by process of elimination. There were only so many places like those that the government possessed large enough for creatures of their size.

The thing neither of them wanted to consider was the possibility that the two were already aboard the Nemesis, bridge away by Soundwave. They did not want to consider that the events up until now had been planned by their enemies. Even if it was not their plan, the two escaped prisoners might have been plotting such an outcome from the first. There was simply no way to know.

It was really all the femme could do to hold in a snarl of anger, furious that those despicable 'Con's had slipped past them. The pit spawn of a seeker had to be behind this, she was sure! She never did like having him around. Had she thought it would do her any good, she would have been more vocal about it. Letting him roam instead of being locked up every way possible would have been best. Locking the two of them up so deep that they forgot what earth's sun looked like would have been ideal, if you asked her. Neither of them deserved to roam freely. There was a point at which she almost liked the other femme, but that had changed rather quickly once she discovered a bit more about her. She was a 'Con no matter what she said.

Optimus raised a servo to the side of his helm, "Ratchet, we have lost sight of Starscream and Skyangel. Can you pinpoint their signal locations from the base?"

Arcee looked up, unsure what the medic had said in response, but trying to listen anyway.

"Affirmative." The Prime stated shortly, then paused as if listening, "I am uncertain."

Well, this side of the conversation was informative, she thought in a rather dry form of humor. He was talking directly to the medic, not on the general channel they all used. She could switch over, but by the time she did so, she was sure the conversation would be finished. She watched his faceplate closely, waiting for a sign or indication from him of what to do next. His cerulean optics traveled slowly down the side of the mountain, flitting around an area until he finally fixed on a spot. Her optics followed to a darkened area far below them. Was that it, where they were hiding?

"I will report back with our finding shortly, Ratchet."

Without a further word from him, he transformed and began driving toward the cave. It really was the only option outside of a transport. There may have been quite a bit of cover in the area, but nothing the two prisoners could have gotten too fast enough. Even the larger rocks on the mountain could not hide them well enough. The femme followed swiftly, staying close as they descended. She watched carefully as they moved, wheels rolling slowly as they neared the entrance. Optimus and Arcee transformed in tandem, weapons at the ready as they came the rest of the way on pedes. Wordlessly, Optimus drew her attention to a few drops of energon on the ground in front of the cave. That meant one of them had been hit during the escape, unless that had been placed there as a trick. No way to know that at this point.

She made her way up, swiftly circling over the top of the opening to come in on the opposite side as Optimus, covering both ways they might be fired on. Leaving one side open was never the best of plans, most of all if this was a trap. The two moved in, back struts nearly sliding over the rocks as they edged to the darkened hole. The Prime gave a nod to indicate they were going in. They spun together, blasters held high as they lunged inside.

The darkness was all that met them as they plunged ahead. Arcee narrowed her optics, trying to adjust to the change in light from outside. The blasters provided quite a bit of light, but also ensure they would be targeted easily. No matter what they did, they were walking targets with enemies that could be lurking in any of the uneven areas of the rocky opening. It was no energon mine, the sides far too jagged and uneven for it to be. Optimus had to keep his helm low, knee joints bent at a likely uncomfortable angle in order to move without scraping the crest of his helm against the top of the cave. She was moving just a bit ahead of him so that his broad shoulders could fit in the small area. At last, since their blasters already made them glowing targets, Optimus turned on his front headlights to give them a better chance of washing the darkness away and making a broader illusion of a target.

Even so, there was still nothing to be seen. There were indeed tracks over the dirt and rocky floor to indicate they had been here, but nothing beyond that. With the light flooding the cave, they could see a very clear end. As the cave opened up to allow them more space, Optimus moved slowly on her left, every step deliberate as he examined the area. The cave was not deep by any means, even a human could reach the end in a few minutes. Her optic ridges turned down as her optics swept the area, moving slowly as she went. They had been in here, but where could they have gone? Small rocks crunched lightly under her pedes as she walked. There was clearly no exit, just the end of the cave. How could they have vanished outside of being bridged away? Perhaps that was what they did do. Her spark sank considerably as she walked the end, reaching out just in case, to touch the smooth end of the walls. No secret opening or false back.

Could they have come in, then circled out again? That would be something that slimy, sneaky little 'Con would do. Perhaps the two expected them to come into the cave and... Arcee's optics shot wide open as the thought occurred to her, spinning instantly back toward the entrance, blasters charged at full strength. Maybe this was a trap, set up to give herself and the Prime no place to run from the blasts. It would make sense from those two, a plotting pair if she ever saw one. Maybe that was the seeker's plan from the start.

"Arcee!" Optimus called her name with a sense of urgency, as if in warning.

It was fortunate he had chosen to come in here, the last of his ex- commander luck, maybe. While the cave was not deep enough to hide their signatures from those that knew where to look, it had other advantages. The cave had quite likely resulted from an earthquake many years ago. The back of the cave was wide and high, opened like the belly of a beast. There were rugged, jutting areas on the left hand side that could have been used to hide in, but not like this. Likely, there had been some manner of fault line that lead to the surface, covered up over time on the right. It was sheer on both sides, a sort of jackknife formation into the walls that rendered it nearly invisible unless you were looking from the very back of the cave. The farther up the fault space went, the narrower it became, but at its base, it was fairly wide, at least enough that two Cybertronians could hide within the crack, given enough room to move. I was like a strange, pointed room hidden away at the back of this place. It did not go back far, but far enough.

Starscream had been hopeful that the Autobots would not even come all the way to the back, missing this area entirely from a glance. From farther to the front, and even when you were nearly on top of the space, you did not notice it in the darkness. It was easily mistaken for a simple void of space to anyone not utterly desperate for a hiding spot. He hoped they would not venture far enough back to see this, but he was never that fortunate. Hearing them come was torture, but he stayed still, positioned in front of Skyfreeze. She was on her feet now, but not exactly steady. The femme was together enough to grasp the situation, but not in any condition to fight or flee.

When he saw the two Autobots coming to the end, he shuttered his optics in an attempt to remove the excess light they gave without totally blinding himself. His wings quivered slightly with nervousness as they lingered, time seeming to drag on interminably. The Prime observed his side first, taking note of every single rock, it seemed like. Oh, but he turned, he just had to turn a bit more. Autobots always did go above and beyond the necessary. Those bright lights of his instantly catching the gleam of silver metal reflecting back. His large silver faceplate lite with surprise, optics widening as his body turned more fully to face the danger. Even before he spoke, the femme was already moving, apparently sensing the danger without knowing the location.

Before Starscream could do more than bring out his red and black blasters, Angel was already stepping out from behind him, bar wings snapping with charge. He wanted to call her back, tell her to stay behind him, but she was already too far to catch hold of. His intakes hitched instantly, for once, more afraid for someone other than himself.

Optimus's spark jolted in his chamber as he saw the unmistakable flash of metal, the two frames gleaming a stark contrast against the dull rock in his headlights - Red optics snapping open when it was clear they had been seen, a dull set of blue optics locking with his from behind the seeker. He was hardly even aware of warning Arcee, looking out for his team so much a part of him it was more of a reflex than a thought. His blasters jerked up, but Arcee was directly in his line of fire, moving to aim at the entrance rather than the escaped prisoners. Time was not quite moving at a normal speed, the way it always seemed to in a fight. To him, it inevitably felt one of two ways; as if everything was moving in a slowed motion, or as if time was racing past him faster than he dared hope to catch hold of.

Skyangel was already moving, stepping out from behind Starscream with a determined and focused agility so few attained in the stress of battle. The Prime had a tendency to take in every detail of situations, observing everything around him even if he did not have time to dwell on anything he noticed that was not directly of importance. His processor moderately registered the way the seeker had been standing so protectively in front of her - A nearly unthinkable show from one so generally intent on allowing any and everyone but himself to be in harms way.

Optimus moved again to fire without risking a hit to one of his own, his blast flying just past Starscream's helm - He had over corrected slightly. Arcee whirled again, swift motion so fluid it was hard to follow, her blasters each letting a burst fly toward the approaching silver femme. Even Arcee's swift motion was not fast enough to avoid the other femme's white shot. One of the stunning blasts caught Arcee directly in the chest, while the other nearly caught the Prime in the side. Arcee's swiftly moving frame came to an instant, unnatural stop as induced stasis shut down and locked her body in place. His processor took note that the femme had only used two of her six bars, as if conserving energy, or unable to use more than that. Any more and he would have been hit as well, only saved by Arcee's location. Skyangel also took one of Arcee's blasts, he noticed, the scorched mark, energon, and smoke at her right shoulder strut enough to indicate that.

From here, standing in the open would be ill advised, those wings still blue with un-expelled charge. He could simply shower the escaped prisoners with his cannons, potentially dealing fatal damage in seconds, but the return fire was bound to hit the frozen member first. Grabbing his immobile and vulnerable comrade, he vaulted over the larger rocks to crouch awkwardly against the opposite wall, the blue femme carefully placed behind his larger frame. No matter the situation, he always moved to protect the others, consciously or otherwise. The safety of his team always had to come first, that was always his first priority. Victory was hallow if no one remained to share in it. Without his team, Autobot or human, there was really nothing left to fight for, if he allowed himself to admit such a thing. So much had been lost over time that there was precious little to keep even his hope alive. A point he seemed to share with the silver femme to some extent.

A red shot slammed into the wall above his helm, causing him to duck reflexively. Skyangel made no move to flee, still standing in the open position, not bothering to seek cover. Starscream let several more blast fly, all missing the mech, but seeming more intent on gaining the femme's attention - He even went so far as to edge away from the arching rocks of protection, moving as if to catch hold of her. Optimus leveled his cannon at her, knowing she was the most logical target to eliminate first - His cannon twitching with hesitation as he saw the femme teeter on her pedes before crashing to her knees. A strangled gagging sound shook her frame as energon spurted from her mouth, oozing between her fingers as she put a servo up in a vain attempt to stop it.

"Angel!" The seeker yelped as he rushed forward, seeming to forget his usual need for self preservation.

The expression on the seeker's faceplate was desperate and full of fear as one servo shifted back to its normal form, pulling her to him as he knelt at her side, still keeping one blaster aimed at the Prime. Tactically, now would be the time to strike; cripple the already downed femme while taking the opportunity to down the seeker while his guard was faltering. The tiny, seemingly shrinking frame quivered in the mech's hold, the charge in her wings going dim as he tugged her carefully towards what precious little shelter there was. The show could be a guise to throw him off, a ploy to catch hold of his sympathy, but he highly doubted it. Skyangel was not fabricating the energon dripping from her derma, nor was the seeker bold enough to expose himself to attack without genuine reason.

"Starscream, surrender." Optimus spoke in a clear, even voice, his spark not quite able to fall to the cold logic he knew he should follow,"There is no reason for this to continue."

The seeker's red optics jolted up to lock onto the larger model with shining malice, "Surrender? Why, so you can finish the termination your brainless friend began on Angel? So you can execute us both peacefully?" His vocalizer had turned to a deep throated snarl of barely veiled rage as he tucked her beneath his wing protectively, "I will never let you terminate her, Prime, never! That is my reason!"

Optimus' gaze did not falter in the slightest, the stand off between their blasters not able to shake his ever calm exterior, "I give you my assurance that no further harm will come to either of you."

Starscream growled, optics narrowing, "Your assurance? What good is that? It is your so called subordinates we have to worry about!"

It was time to shift his focus, this method was just spinning their wheels, "Starscream, she is clearly in need of medical attention. You cannot care for her properly alone."

He scoffed, but wavered slightly when she shivered against him in obvious pain, "You Autobots did this to her, now you expect me to believe you will repair it too?" A steely chill edged into his red orbs, "At least I know for a fact that I will not 'accidentally' take her offline in the process of 'repairing' her damage! At least I know I will take real care of her!"

"Be reasonable, Starscream. Ratchet is far better prepared to repair Skyangel than you are." Optimus spoke each word in as soothing and even a voice as he could in an attempt to calm the other. "It is in both your best interest to return to base willingly."

"Reasonable? How is turning her over to that scrapped up medic that threatened to torture her for having the audacity to help one of your own reasonable?" The rage in the seeker's voice had turned from a growl to a higher tone of mockery.

Optimus narrowed his optics, taking in with no great pleasure the simple fact that talking the ex-commander down was not going well, "Do you really want to take her away only to watch her offline slowly before you... because you refused to put your anger behind you?"

Strascream's faceplate twisted into a pained, sick expression, the words sinking in. It looked as if the Prime had finally gotten through to him. If he did indeed care for the femme as much as the evidence indicated, he would concede. For all his flaws and traitorous ways, it seemed the seeker's spark was not utterly lost. In all the years battling the second in command, he had never seen him use his own frame to shelter another willingly. The past the two shared was unknown to the Autobot leader, but he could imagine it must have been similar to what he shared with Elita-1. He considered offhandedly the potential that this femme would be the key to soften the ex-commander's spark enough to assist the Autobots with his knowledge of the Nemisis. Somewhere in his spark, he did not believe she was as terrible as she seemed. He felt something in her that made him feel oddly at ease, as if he were back on Cybertron, though Primus knew why.

The only sound he heard was something like static before his world suddenly fell into a spin, processor strangely sluggish. He tried to move to steady himself, but found the act suddenly impossible, his systems feeling somehow disconnected. Even in this state of fog, his processor snapped the answer to him with moderately normal efficiency - Skyangel never fully powered down her wings.

His slowly dimming optics watched as the femme doubled over, more energon coming from her oral cavity as the seeker stared at her a moment, too stunned to react. He recovered quickly, burning opticts turning on the Prime, red blaster flaring to fire the killing blow while he had the chance. It was almost readable over his faceplate, the understanding that such a chance might never fall at his feet again. A trembling servo reached up and clapped hard onto his wing, the action making him pause, though never dropping the weapon from it's target.

"Don't, Star. Leave them." A weak but firm voice broke the stillness as she leaned heavily on the seeker to stand.

"Angel, now is our chance!" He persisted, but shifted as if by reflex to support her.

"Please... let's go?" Skyangel nearly collapsed into him, her pedes all but useless at keeping her upright any longer, the last of her strength clearly spent.

Starscream did not answer her in words, simply shifting away the blaster and scooping her up into his arms. He cast a final angry glance toward the Autobot leader, clearly displeased by the idea of walking away from such a chance, but too worried not to - He might loath the tought of leaving them alive, but kne well enough that Skyangel's health was slipping to fast to argue with her over it. The Prime hardly saw them as they slipped right past him, his blue optics online but only so far as reading information, no longer able to transmit directly to his processor accurately. He was not offline, but might as well have been so far as being able to move or reason. It felt a bit like being under the water, the pressure and weight of the depths against his frame, unable to move in anything but a sluggish crawl. It could have been compared to how he felt while nearly frozen solid in the snow some time ago. Interestingly enough, that time had been with Arcee as well. Perhaps he would remember this later on a cleared processor, or perhaps not.

It felt like his vents had not been working properly in days, time ticking by with agonizing slowness. Every moment she did not awaken was another moment he had to think of all those days his spark had withered without her, believing her to be dead. Starscream could never forget how it felt, how much it hurt to come out of recharge to a world with nothing to live for. As silently as possible, he moved in to sit on the berth at her side, one servo gently running over her faceplate. The pain of those times had been nearly too much for him to endure. So many times he had considered just allowing himself to rust away. He really did want to join her, go to the Allspark to see her once again. Turning his body slowly, he eased himself down to cuddle beside her, arm draped protectively around her upper frame. It made him feel as if he could hold her here like this so she would never slip away again.

He felt rather wretched for not seeing how badly she was hurt before he decided to make an escape, but what else could he have done? They were not going to take time to repair her, they made that clear by not even giving her condition a single look before shoving her off to a holding room. They would have let her die or offlined her no matter what he had done. That was the way war worked. She seemed to have forgotten that.

Skyfreeze had quite a bit of internal damage, very like he had seen in Vehicons that had been hit with the bruits hammer. Multiple lines were damaged or disconnected, causing extensive energon loss. He managed to patch most of the damage enough for her own systems to take over the repair. He was far from a medic, but his menial knowledge was enough to fix a majority of the problems. Doing repairs on himself was impossible, but doing repairs on others was much simpler. The ship did have the tools he needed as well. Granted, she would not be fully functional for some time, but he was sure he had repaired most of the trouble areas. He had given her quite a bit of energon to replenish with. Thank Primus he had some hidden on the ship or he would have had to leave her to find some. He would have to go out in search of more for them both, but not quite yet.

He had done everything he could to repair her, so why... why had she not come back online in all this time? Starscream pressed the side of his faceplate into the crook of her neck. She was so still. Multiple times he checked her spark chamber just to be sure it was still beating, just to assure himself. It was strange how helpless this situation made him feel, how her vulnerability made him feel exposed somehow. He depended on her so, as she did with him. His world had already crashed down around him once, the last time she left, and it hurt to think it could happen again. The only thing that actually got him through that first time was Megatron, as beyond belief as it was. The galdiator taught him to turn his pain into hate. He taught him how to twist every second of agony into joy by turning your pain into someone else's. The seeker learned that if he had to suffer, the way to forget was to make everyone he could get a hold of suffer more. Causing others to suffer oddly provided him with a numbness, a dead feeling, but something preferable to agony. For every moment you hurt, make the ones that caused it hurt ten fold more. It really did ease his spark somehow. Misery loves company. Revenge was like a drug, a drive that swallowed everything else until it was all that occupied your thoughts. There was so much he had to get revenge for, and indeed he did get it.

Gaining power became an addiction as well, the more he had, the more he wanted. It was the singular thing he had in life, so it was all he could focus on. When he became the leader of the seeker group, things took a turn for the better for a while. For a time, his Trine eased the pain and gave him a purpose. His brothers became the shot of medical energon he needed to heal the seething wounds. During those days, they managed to make him smile and even forget to a large degree. Thundercracker and Skywarp gave him a reason to get up, once again, filling the void of his losses. To some degree, they made the feeling of numb deadness ease. However, he lost them as well, just like Angel. It took him a long time to really function again when they were snatched away too.

After that... he simply gave up. Why bother to care or become close with anything if it will always end in pain? Why feel anything at all for others when it only meant the utter anguish their loss would bring later? No, he had decided never to care again, ever. He decided to allow the deadness to consume him so he would never have to feel again. He channeled all his emotions into the purest of hatred for everyone and everything because hate was safer than love. Anger and hate were easy and very consuming with the familiarity of his own darkness. In the end, he would always end up alone, so why not simply gear himself for it? He looked out for himself, and no one else, because he knew that he could at least count on himself.

Even so, Angel had always haunted his dreams like a beautiful illusion he could never catch hold of - His first love, and also his last. Sometimes he dreamed that all three of them were with him again in a different time. Only in the hours of the night did he remember the feelings of happiness, but those memories only made awakening all the more bitter. Though he mourned them all, she was the one he dreamed of most, in some form or another. Sometimes they were good dreams, but others he awakened to in terror, just glad he was awake. There had been times he wished he had never even met her so he could have avoided all the suffering the loss of her brought. Loss was a bitter thing and part of him wished to Primus he had never known what it was like to love at all. Having such a thing snatched away was far worse than any torture created. Another part of him though, was glad he had the chance to know happiness just once.

When he first came to work at the laboratory everyone told him how they pitied him for being stationed as her partner. They told him that everyone else always refused the position. It seemed everyone was not only uncomfortable around the well known scientist, and unofficial head of the department, but secretly feared her as well. There were many odd rumors he had been told before meeting his soon to be partner, such as the most popular one about her being the only Cybertronian born without a spark, running only by her processor. She intimidated others with her unreadable, silent, impenetrable, steadfastness. Her mind rivaled the best of them, and such a cold creature like her made it seem terrifying. Those stories did more to intrigue him and draw out his incurable curiosity than they did to frighten him.

Once he met her, he understood why they felt about her the way they did. Being around her was like being in a room with Soundwave for extended amounts of time. Even her electromagnetic field pulsed waves so cold and indifferent it chilled the metal. Her faceplate almost never changed, optics always sharp, yet void, drilling clear to the spark. If she spoke, it was generally short, formal, or covertly unkind in nature. The only time any warmth came into her field was when something she was working on developed as she expected. The first time he saw her with the remotest form of a smile was when her tests were a better success, theory turning out better than expected. It was then that he knew there was more to her then met the optics. She had emotions, and her reserve about showing them only made him want to get at them all the more.

He gained joy from every time he got that pretty faceplate to react, satisfaction from every pulse of anger her teased free, and glee from every time he managed to embarrass or humiliate her. It was an interesting game he loved to play, constantly thinking of newer and more creative ways to get at her. Granted, he found a new understanding for why she was feared after he got a real reaction out of her. Skyfreeze had an uncanny way of finding someones weakness, which she was a bit too skilled with doing. Being locked in that cramped, ever shrinking, room to panic all night proved that to him with full clarity. He was reminded to tread more carefully lest he earn another form of wrath from her. However, that little event meant the game had turned into war, and one he fully intended to win! It made him far more determined in his endeavor than ever before.

Getting the little femme drunk had been his idea, one in which he enlisted the rest of the departments help with. He had good relations with the rest of his co-workers, so it was not hard to convince them. Considering everyone was more than a little curious to see if Sky was even capable of being out of control for even a second, it was not a hard sell. Even now, he still remembered the faceplates of his co-workers the first time Skyfreeze giggled, not even laughed, but giggled. It had shocked him as well, but in a slightly different way. He still remembered the musical sound of that expression of joy and the way it made him smile - Hearing that, he simply could not help but feel a sense of infectious joy right along with her. The sound was far warmer than anything he had felt from her before. It reminded him that she was capable of being happy, and sad that he had never seen it before. It made him truly want to see her happy more often.

After that night, when she drilled him with cold optics, it made him want to find ways to warm them. After that night, when she spoke harshly or told him she hated him, he knew she was lying. Her softer, warmer side had shown though already. She was a delicate creature hiding behind walls made of cold, unfeeling fronts to protect herself. She was so afraid of letting anyone in that she stifled herself. The reality was that she did feel, she felt very deeply, but she deprived herself of the right to show it. Someone had to get her out, so why not him? It took him forever, tiny step after tiny step, but he gained on her. He could not rush her or she would run, so he had to move slowly, agonizingly so.

In the evenings when everyone else had returned to their dwellings, the two of them stayed behind. When they were alone, working after hours, she would drop her guard just enough for him to see her. The two would work in their station, building dark and silent, save their little room and computer screens. It was in those times she would finally let him just a little closer, speak with just a little more warmth, and smiles just a little. Those moments, her emotions, belonged to him, and no one else.

He could never forget the times she allowed him near, letting him hold her servo or wrap his arms around her waist as he watched her work. It always made his spark flutter when she returned his affection, resting her helm against his shoulder, or simply touching his arm softly as she walked by. Those moments when they were alone were the sweetest. There were other times he remembered equally, never failing to smile a little at the thought. He would never forget the shrill squeak she made when he caught her walking by and pulled her into his lap in front of everyone at the lab. She had never looked so flustered and humiliated in her entire time in the lab as she did then, thrashing and shoving at him, demanding with every threat in her vocabulary that he release her. Much to her horror, that moment was never forgotten by any that saw it, and others that had only heard. Starscream was nearly a hero in the ranks for that one act alone. It took him weeks to get her to let him within any reasonable range, walking out of her way to ensure he could not catch her again. He always waited until her guard was down again before pulling another stunt, reveling in her embarrassed expressions. He always made up for them later, when they were alone... after she stopped threatening him, of course. Those memories were bitter-sweet now, but etched into his spark.

Slowly, Starscream pulled himself away from her, easing off the berth. He allowed himself a few moments to look at her before he turned, making his way out of the ships old medical room, doors slow to respond to the press of the button. The ship was old and flawed, but functional enough to work. His spark felt heavy as he made his way down the hall toward one of the damaged openings. Leaving her frightened him, but he had no choice. In the event she lost more energon, he would have nothing to give her. Furthermore, he would be useless to her if he ran out himself. It had been a few days since he refueled adequately. He had taken the last of it before lying with her and working up the courage to leave her alone. He had hoped she would awaken long enough for him to tell her where he had gone, but it did not seem that would be happening any time soon.

His vents hummed with a fast escape of hot air as he moved out into the sunlight, his metal wings nearly acting as a reflector to magnify the glare. After being in all that darkness he had to squint just to see. The seeker hopped up, transforming gracefully to jet into the air before he changed his mind about leaving her. Thus far, this temporary T-cog was functioning perfectly, but he still did not fully trust it. Using this was another reason he was hesitant to leave, unsure how long this item would really last him. Leaving was the only choice though. Some things had to be done, and this was one of them. He could only pray Primus had pity on Angel and kept her alive long enough for him to get back to her.

AN: Thank you all for your advice and kind worlds! I seriously love reading what everyone has to say! It always makes my day. ^^ Though, sorry if this seemed jumpy, I was trying to get multiple perspectives. Optimus' perspective is the hardest for me to get right.
Oh, and for those of you that have been saying all along how her secrets are making things worse and will come back to bite her later, you are quite right. XD Have no fear, things get much worse for her, muuuch! Those of you with this prediction will enjoy the future chapters.