CHAPTER 1

Consternation

"Once a Decepticon, always a Decepticon." That's how the old saying goes.

But what if you're not really a Decepticon, nor an Autobot, nor really a Neutral either?

If you're fully committed to yourself, and ONLY yourself, what are you then?

Selfish? Egotistical? Self-absorbed? A coward? A traitor?

Alone. That's what you are.

The loneliest bots don't realize just how lonely they are, not until no one sees them anymore.

Some bots don't realize what they have...

...until it's gone.

All gone...

Starscream was excited. Very excited. Which was saying a lot, considering everything he had just been through.

He had just been riding a Titan for light years, who had seemingly been completely unaware that he had a passenger, as he casually flew through dangerous gas storms and passed suns with such close proximity, Starscream was surprised neither of them had melted down.

And this, just after he had been taken captive by the Autobots on the Ark, for many cycles since they left Earth and set course for Cybertron.

Starscream had managed to trick that naive Teletraan-X into allowing him access to a ventilation shaft, which he then used to escape his cell and find a door to the outside. Despite Teletraan-X's pleas for him to return to his cell, Starscream had ignored the system and went for his freedom.

Only, as he had gotten outside, he got caught in the slipstream of a colossal Titan named Croaton who had decided to take off to find his missing citizens. Starscream had caught on to the Titan without knowing where they were going or if he was ever going to land somewhere with Energon.

It wasn't that big of a problem though; Cybertronians could potentially go months or even years without Energon, though the latter would require going into stasis lock to conserve as much energy as possible. And during this little trip, Starscream definitely did not have the luxury of being able to choose stasis lock, so he just had to hold on to his Titan until they arrived where they were apparently going to go.

But then, after having blacked out from getting too close to a passing sun, Starscream had woken up to an approaching ship. At first he had been ecstatic, as he finally could get off that 'big tin-foiled turkey' as he called the Titan, but as it turned out to be the mothership of the malicious Quintessons, he was a lot less ecstatic.

The Judge, one of the leaders of the Quintesson race, had already decided to deem Starscream guilty, when the Seeker decided to make himself useful to the giant aliens.

To save himself, he had given the Quintessons information about the AllSpark's power and its whereabouts on Cybertron. That had definitely pleased the Judge, and as a reward for his usefulness, they had decided to give Starscream the highest power and honor one could get in his universe.

They had not told him right away what this power was, but they did tell him where he could find it. It was apparently in the lab on the lower levels. All he was told was that the Scientist would be waiting there for him, so he could give him his reward.

Because of his useful information, the Judge had allowed Starscream to walk the way to the lab alone. It was no trouble finding it, as there was only one room for each floor, and the lab was one of the bottom ones. Starscream would not be able to get lost even if he tried.

"I wonder what my reward is going to be!" Starscream said to himself as he was nearing the destined floor. "I hope they will give me power beyond what even the AllSpark gave me! Or at least let me have some of the AllSpark's energies so I can free everyone's Sparks and end this pointless war forever!"

Granted, he had already tried this once, but thanks to Optimus Prime and his Matrix of Leadership, the AllSpark had been ripped from Starscream's possession and knocked the Seeker unconscious. Next time he had woken up, he had found himself inside a cell within the Ark, welcomed by Prowl and the two-headed Autobot Rack'n'Ruin, who dared make fun of his not having the AllSpark's power anymore.

But oh, that had been such a wonderful experience. All that power, being able to hear everyone's beating Sparks, having the ability to remove and absorb those Sparks with just a flick of his finger... that had been more powerful than he ever imagined.

Now though, all that was gone. As were his Seekers, as they had been the first ones whose Sparks he had liberated from their bodies. Thundercracker, Acid Storm, Nova Storm, Thrust and many others. Not Slipstream, though, as she had escaped the missile silo they had been hiding in since Starscream had come back online from his beating by Megatron. He wondered if Slipstream had returned to the Decepticons, since it didn't seem she was with the Autobots?

"I will set everyone free," Starscream muttered to himself, as he reached one of the last floors. "And then everyone will be happy, everyone will become one. One with the AllSpark. And then I shall join them, so there will forever be peace and joy. All Sparks will be happy and free and love me for everything I've done for everyone..."

This mantra went on for the rest of the journey through the remaining floors, until he reached supposedly the last level, which seemed to be the lab. As he entered, he fell quiet, and his excitement returned, renewed by his mantra and eagerness for new power.

Seems quiet, he thought as he looked around. Too quiet, maybe. Is this where this Scientist guy is supposed to be?

"Hello?" Starscream called with a joyful, squeaky voice.

As he walked through the room, he saw a large black sac-like thing hanging in the middle of the lab, if one could call it that, as there was seemingly no machinery or tools anywhere, just a lot of spikes sticking out of the floor. The sac was connected to both the floor and the ceiling by some vein-kind-of-things. The entire room was black, the only light coming from the countless red glowing rings and dots on the countless cables making out the walls and ceiling. Everything seemed kind of creepy with this weird techno-organic infrastructure.

"Welcome to my laboratory," an ominous voice sounded behind him.

Starscream turned around and saw to his shock a large Quintesson Scientist, single-faced and with a visible organic brain, protected by a glass bowl of some sort. It had several tentacles, six at least, from what Starscream could initially count, all mechanical but emitting strange squishy sounds as if they were organic. Like the room they were in, the Quintesson had several red bio-lights glowing ominously on his body.

The Scientist's face was the kind of face you wouldn't want to meet alone in an alley at night. He had an upside-down triangular face, silver and with a pair of large red eyes, one more dilated than the other, and his mouth was contorted into a wide, toothy grin, the canines longer than the others, but being blunt at the tips rather than sharp like fangs. Altogether, this gave the Scientist a maniacal expression and appropriately so.

Considering the general ruthlessness of the Quintesson race, a Scientist was the very definition of a true mad scientist.

The Scientist approached Starscream with his tentacles spread out, the three claws on each spreading out in open 'hands'. The looming presence of the Quintesson gave Starscream a bad feeling. He suddenly realized why he was in the lab and what was about to happen.

At first Starscream hadn't thought anything strange about being sent to a lab by himself. He thought maybe the Scientist would show him a device that would make him more powerful than anything in the universe or something. But now that he had looked around at the seemingly empty lab, he realized to his horror that the Quintessons had tricked him.

They were not going to give him power. They were going to experiment on him.

"What?" Starscream exclaimed and took a step back, realizing he had just made a horrible mistake.

"Don't worry," the Scientist said with an eerily calm but malicious tone. "I will be gentle with your face."

Having nowhere to run or fly off to, trapped inside this enclosed space and with low energy levels, Starscream found himself frozen in fear and shock as the Quintesson approached him with its tentacles.

The tentacles shot quickly forward. Starscream lifted his arms in reaction to shield himself. He let out a scream as the tentacles grabbed him and lifted him into the air.

"No! Release me!" Starscream shrieked as he tried to struggle free but in vain. "What are you going to do to me?"

"You will become the most powerful creature in the universe," the Scientist explained as they approached the large black sac-thing. "Of course, you will have to share that experience with two others..."

Starscream stiffened and gazed into the sac but couldn't see anything. "Two others? What do you mean?"

"If you survive the procedure, you will see. Or, you will hear, in any case."

They stopped just in front of the sac. The tentacles holding Starscream began pressing the Seeker against the outer wall of the black sac. It felt soft yet strangely solid. In some way, Starscream suddenly found himself inside the black sac. Only, on the inside, everything was piercingly red, and the bright color filled the Seeker with anxiousness.

Starscream turned his head the best he could to look around. He stiffened as he spotted a couple of decapitated heads, both organics, one being a Gray and the other of the Velgrox race, floating in some kind of preservation fluid, though seemingly without being conscious. Starscream had a really bad feeling about this now.

"No," Starscream cried but found his words muffled by the fluid. He looked back to the wall of the sac as he saw several tentacles breaching the sac walls though without spilling out the contents. One of the tentacles turned into a chainsaw-like tool. Starscream's Spark skipped a beat.

"NO!" Starscream tried to shriek, but his screams were barely heard. "NO, RELEASE ME! I'VE CHANGED MY MIND! I DON'T WANT THIS POWER AFTER ALL!"

The chainsaw turned on, and while the sound was still muffled by the fluid, Starscream could clearly hear the rattling roar of the saw. As the chainsaw approached, Starscream began to panic and started struggling in the Scientist's grip again, trying desperately to get free.

"STOP!" Starscream screamed. "DON'T! I DON'T WANNA DO THIS ANYMORE! PLEASE, HAVE MERC-"

Starscream's scream was cut off as he suddenly began floating out of the Scientist's grip. Had he been released? Was he free? He felt strangely tired, barely able to keep his optics open.

Starscream only managed to keep himself awake long enough to slowly turn around a single time in the fluid... after which he laid eyes on his body in front of him, headless and limp. Not even being able to speak anymore, he silently fell into the world of darkness.

Starscream sat up with a start and a shriek. He looked around. He wasn't in the lab anymore. He looked down at himself. His body was whole and intact. He still had his head on. How else would he be able to turn and look around or look down at himself?

"It must have been a dream," Starscream mused and rose up. "What a horrible nightmare..."

He gazed from side to side. Something seemed off. "Where am I? Is this... Cybertron?"

Starscream found himself among rubble of unknown origin. As he looked up, he recognized the dark sky of Cybertron, a starless night. Tall buildings surrounding him were wrapped up in strange cables, dark and ominously familiar. They looked like the cables Starscream had seen in his dream.

Starscream emerged from the rubble and walked out into the street, looking around in an attempt to find answers.

"How did I get here?" he mused. "Last thing I remember is being in that cell on the Ark. When did we land on Cybertron? And where is everyone?"

Starscream wandered carefully through the streets of what seemed to be Iacon City, trying not to get spotted by anyone.

"Maybe I escaped," he muttered to himself. "Yes, I remember now. I escaped, before we landed on Cybertron. But how did I get here? Wasn't there a Titan or something? Maybe it took me to Cybertron with it..."

Starscream winced back as he rounded a corner and hid behind the wall. He had almost walked right into a large open area filled with Autobots and Decepticons, as well as a shuttle from which three Insecticons emerged together with the red Stunticon Dead End. In the middle of the two armies stood Optimus Prime and Megatron, the latter of who seemed to be missing his left optic and had horrible scars on his frame. What could have caused the warlord such injuries?

"Megatron," Optimus spoke, and Starscream listened closely to what they were saying. "You have saved Cybertron and our entire universe. We are all in your debt."

Starscream stiffened. Megatron, saving the universe? The Autobots being in Megatron's debt?

"I must have arrived in an alternate universe in some way," Starscream whispered quietly to himself. "There is no way the Autobots and Decepticons would make peace with each other."

After a while, Optimus continued: "How will you make us pay for it?"

That was more expectant. It seemed Optimus was just as surprised over his own words as Starscream was. What could have happened while the Seeker was unconscious? Hopefully they would talk about it.

"There may come a time where I call in this debt," Megatron replied with a gruff voice. "But for now, these are the rules: half of Cybertron is mine. You and your Autobots stay on your half, or there will be consequences."

"So be it," Optimus replied shortly after.

Starscream stared at the scene in disbelief. Were the Autobots and Decepticons really making peace? Were they ending the war? No, this was only a truce. Megatron said so himself, there would be battle if either side trespassed the other's territory. The war may have ended, but the conflict was still there.

"They can still start another war," Starscream mused to himself. "And all this pointless fighting will continue. I must find the AllSpark, so I can prevent any future wars from happening."

Only, where was the AllSpark? Last thing he remembered, it was on the Ark, in the Autobots' possession. Had they perhaps returned it to its rightful place upon arrival? In the Well of All Sparks?

"Only one way to find out," Starscream mused and set off, reverting into jet mode, taking off into the sky.

As he made his way toward the entrance to the Well of All Sparks, Starscream felt strange. Normally while flying, he would feel a cold breeze brush his armor and a wind pressure pushing against his front. This time, he felt no cold, no pressure. He felt no subtle obstacles slowing him down as usual, and he felt as if he was flying faster than normal.

"No matter," he said to himself. "Probably just lost some weight from all that space travelling. Once I get to the AllSpark, there will be no more pain or fear. I will set Cybertron free forever."

Eventually Starscream made it to the entrance of the Well of All Sparks near the Sea of Rust and descended into the large hole without hesitation. Before long, he arrived in the planet's core, where he transformed and landed. Right in front of him was, as he had suspected, the AllSpark, floating in the air in the center of the chamber which made out the Well.

Starscream sighed and marveled at the sight of the glowing icosahedron. It had been years since he had last seen the AllSpark, which was when he had personally possessed it inside himself, before getting taken down by Optimus Prime and the Matrix of Leadership. He had known the AllSpark had been onboard the Ark but had not seen it himself. He had been a prisoner in the Ark for probably some years, before he seized an opportunity to escape, then to ride on a Titan for months before... something happened. His mind was blank after that. He only remembered riding the Titan for a considerably long time.

"Even with all the time that has passed," Starscream said, "I have never forgotten the AllSpark's brilliance. It is as I remember it. Marvelous. And now, it will be mine again."

Without hesitation, Starscream walked over to the AllSpark. He had not been in this place since the day he was created, like many other Cybertronians, certainly. It wasn't exactly a place bots just went to. Heck, Starscream wasn't even completely sure how he knew where the entrance to the Well was. There had just been some kind of map in the back of his processor that instinctively lead him to the Well of All Sparks.

Starscream shook his head, casting the strange thoughts away. It didn't matter how he knew where the Well was or where the AllSpark was, all that mattered was that he had found it and he was going to reclaim it. And then the Autobots and Decepticons would pay for everything they had done to him. Then he would return everyone to the AllSpark, himself included.

"Come to me, my precious..." he whispered and reached out for the AllSpark.

Starscream winced back in surprise as his hand bounced off the AllSpark. He stared between his hand and the AllSpark.

"What just happened?" he said aloud in confusion.

He tried to touch the AllSpark again, but he felt a strange force pushing his hand back, preventing him from touching the sacred implement. He tried reaching forward and press against the force, but no matter how hard he struggled, the tip of his fingers only came millimeters close to the AllSpark before getting pushed back. He snarled at the glowing object.

"How dare you reject me!" he screeched and tried to grab the AllSpark with both hands. He was once again pushed away by the invisible force. "Give me the power!"

Tired of getting rejected by the AllSpark, Starscream aimed his null-ray cannons at it.

"If I can't have the AllSpark, then no one shall!"

He clenched his fists and pulled the triggers.

Nothing happened.

Starscream hummed in confusion and tried firing his null-rays again. Still nothing happened.

"Stupid, useless null-rays," Starscream snarled and instead opened his abdominal plates to fire his chest-missiles.

Only, as he looked down, he found his missile-containers empty. He hummed louder in even bigger confusion.

"Where are all my weapons?!" he exclaimed. "Did someone strip me clean before I was left behind?"

Starscream shrieked in frustration and leapt forward, trying again to take the AllSpark, again getting pushed away. Only this time, as he collected himself again, he heard faint voices whispering en masse. There were so many voices that he only managed to understand a few of them.

Futile...

He does not know...

Pointless...

No idea...

Give up...

Has not realized...

Not welcome...

Starscream clenched his fists and shuddered. "SHUT UP!" he screamed.

The voices immediately stopped. Starscream let out a sigh of defeat.

"It seems I cannot touch the AllSpark anymore," he concluded. "The Autobots must have put some kind of safe code on it to prevent bots like me from possessing its power. Morons..." He thought for a while and then smirked. "But I bet the Guardian of the AllSpark can still access it. I must find him."

Delaying his plans for genocide for the time being, Starscream reverted back to jet mode and flew out of the Well again, through the same hole that he came in. Soon he was outside and in the skies of Cybertron once again. By now, Hadeen had begun rising in the horizon. He flew across the Sea of Rust, contemplating where he might find Cheetor, the Guardian of the AllSpark. He tried using his radar, but for some reason he couldn't track any energy signals, not even his own. He cursed his malfunctioning systems.

"Those two said Cybertron was to be parted into two, didn't they?" he asked himself, remembering Optimus and Megatron's conversation earlier. "Then I must find out where the Autobots are residing now. Then certainly I will find Cheetor."

Starscream returned to Iacon City, where he could see the residents were already beginning to rebuild the broken city. It seemed oddly built already though, as if they had already rebuilt the city once. How long had Starscream been out? And how long had he been down in the Well just now?

Starscream descended to the ground and landed in an alleyway, away from the sight of the working Autobots out in the street. While he didn't sport a Decepticon brand like the others, he was the former second-in-command to Megatron and was famous enough for everyone on Cybertron to instantly recognize him. Even if he wasn't a Decepticon anymore, he knew he was hated by both Autobots and Decepticons and would be welcome in neither's territories. He was all alone in this. Unless he could somehow convince Cheetor to help him. Not that the bot would help him terminate everyone, as he had already stated to be against the idea, but Starscream could probably work something out.

A movement caught Starscream's optics and caused him to hide behind some debris. An Autobot was taking a break from the work and decided to lean against the alley wall, away from the optics of the other working Autobots. Starscream smirked gleefully. This was perfect. He could interrogate this bot into telling him where Cheetor was, or at least where he might be.

Determined, Starscream stepped out from his cover and wandered over to the inattentive Autobot.

"You there," Starscream hissed as he approached the bot and pointed at him. "Tell me where the Autobot Cheetor, Guardian of the AllSpark is, and I shall let you live."

The Autobot didn't even look up. Starscream paused in his steps. Was he ignoring him? Ignoring Starscream?!

"Did you not hear what I just said?" Starscream hissed even louder and hiked his wings in offense. "Tell me where Cheetor is, or I will rip the Spark from your body!"

The only reaction Starscream got was the bot raising a hand to scratch his head. What was he even doing? He wasn't listening to any music, he didn't have any devices to look at, he just stood there and stared at the ground. Was he so deep into his own thoughts that he was tuning out everything around him?

"How dare you ignore me!" Starscream shrieked and stomped over to the insolent Autobot. "Look at me when I'm threatening you!"

The Autobot stretched out his arms and then crossed them, staring into the sky. Starscream could practically feel the smoke fuming from his audio receptors.

"You asked for it, Autobot," Starscream snarled and lifted a fist. "Maybe this will knock some sense into you!"

Starscream punched at the Autobot's face - and watched as his fist phased right through the other's head.

Starscream winced back in surprise. "Huh? What?" he exclaimed and looked at his hand, then at the bot. The Autobot was still staring at the sky, not even having a scratch on his face.

"What the frag?" Starscream said and approached the Autobot again. Instead of talking to him, Starscream simply reached out to touch the bot's shoulder. Just like before, his hand phased right through the other's armor. Starscream pulled back and took a step back.

"What in Primus' name is going on?" Starscream said and stared confused between his hands and the Autobot. Was he using a Phase Shifter or something? That must be it. That was the explanation. But then why didn't the bot hear Starscream when he spoke to him?

"Maybe he's deaf," Starscream concluded. "Then I must gain his visual attention."

Starscream walked in front of the Autobot and waved wildly at him. The other kept his gaze at the sky, not sensing the Seeker standing right in front of him. Starscream waved a hand right in front of the other's optics, but still there was no reaction.

"Maybe he's blind too," Starscream deduced and stepped away from the bot. "But wait, if he's blind, then why is he staring at the sky? And how is he leaning against the wall if he's using a Phase Shifter?"

Starscream decided this bot wouldn't be able to tell him anything, so he instead gazed out into the open street. There were many bots out there, even some whose names he knew. He could see Bumblebee, Hot Rod and Wheeljack among others. They were all helping with the building. Starscream studied all the bots out in the street. It didn't seem like any of them were Fliers. He could easily get away if he was spotted and attacked by any of them.

In a bold move, Starscream stepped out from the alleyway and walked into the open street, though stopped before he got too close to the Autobot crowd. He spread out his arms and took a deep vent.

"Where is the Guardian of the AllSpark?!" Starscream shouted.

He looked around at the bots. No reactions. No one even looked up to see where the sound came from. Even Bumblebee and Hot Rod seemed as if they hadn't heard anything, and he knew for sure that they weren't deaf nor blind. He saw them talk to each other as they passed by and looked at each other and laughed.

Starscream felt even more confused now. Confused and angry, that is.

"Hello?!" he yelled. "Did you hear what I said?! Look at me, Autobots!"

No one was looking at him. Fuming, Starscream stomped over to the crowd, no longer caring if he was entering the danger zone or not.

"How dare you all ignore me!" Starscream screeched as he entered the crowd. "It's me, Starscream! The one who will terminate all of you, if you do not pay attention to me right now! Look at me! STOP IGNORING ME!"

Starscream turned to his left and shrieked in surprise as an Autobot had approached him without his knowledge. But instead of knocking him over, the bot passed right through him. Starscream leaned back, thinking he was about to fall down but then paused and rose back up as he processed what just happened.

"What the..." he mused and stared after the Autobot. "Did he... just pass through me? He can't be using a Phase Shifter too, can he? Phase Shifters aren't all that common, after all..."

Suddenly, another bot came into his vision from behind, this one also passing through the Seeker's body. Starscream screamed in surprise and jumped to the side.

"What the frag is going on here?!" Starscream shrieked. "Can any of you see me?! Can any of you hear me?!"

No one seemed to pay any mind to Starscream, neither his visible or audible presence. Something was wrong here, something was clearly wrong here.

"Hello?" he tried, but no one paid any attention to him. He hummed in confusion and looked around for someone he knew. He spotted Bumblebee over by a structure delivering some beams to rebuild something. Starscream walked determined over to the smaller Autobot.

"Bumblebee, you can see me, right?" Starscream said as he stood right beside Bumblebee. "You can hear me, right?"

"Yes," Bumblebee said.

Starscream felt a strange surge of relief wash over him. "Finally, someone who-"

"Yes, Hot Rod, we can visit Maccadam's later, but after we've delivered enough of these beams."

Starscream's Spark skipped a beat and he stopped. The relief he had felt before disappeared immediately. He looked around but didn't see Hot Rod anywhere. Bumblebee must have spoken to him over the comm. Starscream felt an idea springing to mind.

"Of course, maybe the comm. will work," Starscream said and tried opening a communications link with Bumblebee, or anyone for that matter. "Hello? Can you hear me?"

But Bumblebee still didn't hear anything. In fact, Starscream couldn't even hear his own comm. work. He had a very bad feeling about this. He walked over to the structure that was getting build, using iron beams and apparently had glass windows, perhaps a building of some sort. Starscream stopped and had a sinking feeling as he looked at the structure.

The windows were so clear and shiny that they gave clear reflections of the passing bots and the street surrounding them. Starscream saw Bumblebee's reflection and the beams he was carrying, but as the Seeker stared ahead, in the spot where he was supposed to be... there was nothing. No one.

Starscream wasn't there. He couldn't see himself.

"No," Starscream whispered. "No, this can't be."

Starscream looked down at his hands. He could clearly see his own body, but not his reflection. Now that he looked at his hands again, however, he noticed something new. As he moved his hand around, he observed as he could see the structures through his hand. His body had become transparent, the colors only faintly noticable by him now, and apparently invisible to everyone else. Furthermore, as he looked at the ground, he saw that he was not even casting a shadow, unlike the rest of the bots surrounding him.

Having a feeling of dread hanging above his head, Starscream gazed between his hand and his body. Slowly, he reached for his cockpit... and watched as his own hand phased right through his own body. He felt cold, empty, and now he realized he couldn't even feel the ground beneath him. He pressed a foot against the ground and saw as it phased through the ground. He wasn't standing on the ground; he was hovering slightly above it.

"No..." Starscream whispered, which then turned into cries. "I... I'm... no..."

Starscream shuddered as he looked down at his hands and his body, his transparent body which phased through everything and which no one could see. He had no feeling in himself or his surroundings. No warmth, cold, no aching or stinging from past wounds. No reflection, even though he could see himself. Not even a shadow.

Starscream screamed out loud into the sky as the realization hit him.

He was dead.

His Spark had been extinguished.

No one could perceive him in any way.

And thus he was now more alone than he had ever been in his entire existence.