Windbalde dragged her fingers down Starscream’s back as his hips met hers with a deliberate rhythm. A sharp cry escaped him, mingling with her own soft moans, filling the room with their shared passion.


    Starscream pulled away, venting heavily. “You’re the most gorgeous fembot I’ve ever seen, you know that?”


    Windblade smiled, her optics flickering as she averted them.


    “Oh, really?” Starscream teased with a sly smirk, “You’re being bashful NOW?”He cupped her cheek, guiding her gaze back to him, “Look at me, darling. I want to see those beautiful optics of yours.”


    Her optics glowed brighter under his intense focus.


    “Good girl.” The seeker purred, pressing his forehead to hers as his movements quickened.


    The shift in energy caused her to gasp. This was in stark contrast to the last night they had been together. Windblade had the seeker bound to her bed as she did everything she could to make him live up to his namesake. With him being so submissive, she didn’t expect him to be this dominant when they swapped roles that night. She was pleasantly surprised.


    “Agh! Fuck! Starscream, you’re doing so good!” Windblade’s optics rolled back as pleasure consumed her. Starscream kissed her again, keeping his pace. Windblade had to slightly readjust her valve to be looser.


    Starscream felt the change in tightness. He snickered mischievously, “Hope I’m not too much for you, dear.”


    “You’re perfect,” Windblade said, panting, “Just… give me a moment.”


    Starscream slid out, “Want me to ride you for a while, darling?”


    “Phew! Just give me a minute or two, okay?”


    “Anything you ask, beautiful.”


    Starscream sat up and got off of his partner, spike still exposed. Windblade sat up soon after and kissed him, steadily stroking it. Starscream leaned into her and whimpered.


    “You know, Star, before our previous night together, I never thought you’d sound so cute.”


    Starscream balked, “Cute?!”


    Windblade laughed at him, “You are! You’re cute when you whimper like that.” She then went in to nibble on the seeker’s neck cables. His engined purred loudly.


    “Hmmmm. Are you complimenting or insulting me?” Starscream asked in an unserious tone.


    “Would you have been up in my fuel processor a second ago if it was an insult?”


    “Heheh, I suppose not.”


    “Oh! I almost forgot!” Windblade took her hand off Starscream’s spike and hopped off the bed.


    “Heeey!” Starscream whined dramatically, his wings drooping.


    “Oh, hush up you! Unless you don’t want some of the high-grade oil I snuck on board when I transferred from Omega Supreme.”


    Starscream’s wings perked up immediately, “High-grade?! Thank Primus! Those fools who hang around the lounge all day drank every last drop on the ship.”


    “Omega Supreme’s stock is low. So I took some with me just in case I didn’t get the chance to have any again.” She looked back and smiled at him as she prepared their drinks, “It’s the fancy stuff, too, so be careful how much you drink” She felt Starscream’s hand on her waist as he came up behind her. One hand slid down and grazed the tip of his talons against a hot spot in one of her hip joints, causing a soft moan and a purr from her engines, “Ugh! You are so impatient! You’re gonna GET IT next time I top”


    “Promise?” Starscream teased.


    “Shut your mouth and take a shot.”


    Starscream happily obliged, downing the shot Windblade handed him. His nose crinkled as his optics squinted, “YIKES! Haven’t had one that strong in a while!” He poured himself another.


    “Easy there, Star. I don’t want you passing out on me, now!” Windblade said before downing her own shot, “Oh… WOW, okay this really is strong.”


    Starscream was already pouring a third shot. Windblade quickly downed another to keep up with his level of intoxication. They shared a moment of silence, just gazing at each other up and down, admiring the other’s anatomy. Starscream felt a familiar feeling began to increase his sparkbeat. A feeling he hadn’t felt in a very long time.


    “So,” Windblade started. “How’d that therapy appointment go?”


    Starscream crinkled his nose.


    “Uh oh. You didn’t give Rung too hard of a time, did you?”


    Starscream took another shot, “He just asked a bunch of pointless questions. Like my feelings and all that crap.”


    Winblade took a small sip of her shot, “Baaabe it’s not pointless! Everybody needs Winblade to point a finger at Starscream’s chassis.


    “I’m fine on my own.”


    “Noooooooooo~” Winblade leaned into him, resting her chin on his chassis. “Rung is such a nice guy, give him a chance!”


    Starscream shook his head, smiling at her tipsiness. “I suppose it wasn’t as bad as I thought. Though I sort of zoned out while he was giving me treatment recommendations.”


    Windblade playfully slapped him on the arm, “Listen next time, dummy!”


    Starscream laughed at her a bit, “I remember him saying I was a candidate for cortical psychic patch therapy, but he’s not properly trained to do it and neither is anyone else on the fleet.”


    “Why would you need CCPPT?”


    Starscream downed yet another shot, “Eh, Chromedome found an egsessif- exces- A LOT of deleted memory cells in my brain.”


    Winblade’s mouth fell agape, “Starscream oh my GOD that’s bad!”


    Starscream scoffed, “Probably deleted for a reason.”


    “Noooooooo Staaaaaaaar, your past is what makes you YOU, babe. Not knowing it makes it harder to heal!”


    “If I don’t remember it, it can’t bother me.” Starscream took another shot and placed the glass down a little too hard.


    Windblade punched him in the arm.


    “Hey! That one actually hurt a little!”


    “Moron! If you lost memory of getting your ass beat the other week, you’d still feel it, right?”


    Starscream cocked his head, “……… Huh?”


    “What I’m SAYING is that just because you don’t REMEMBER something bad, doesn’t mean it won’t still evefect- affect you!” She pointed at his chassis again.


    Starscream stood silent for a moment, then shook his head, “I’m fine! Besides, Rung said not to do it alone. Or at least not without someone to watch you. But hell if I’m going to let someone watch me while I’m out!”


    “I’ll do it.”


    “Hm?” Starscream looked back into Windblade’s big, blue, pleading optics. He looked away when his spark felt a small jolt of energy.


    “I’ll be there for you, no matter how painful the memories get.”


    Starscream felt a lump in his throat, “I… I think I’m supposed to have a certified therapist with me.”


    Windblade stopped to ponder for a while before saying, “Then fuck it, I’ll get certified.”


    Starscream chuckled, “Really, now?”


    “Yeah, I’ll just look up some tuterals on Vector Sigma.”


    Starscream chuckled again, “You certainly are entertaining while intoxicated.”


    Windblade poured another shot and downed it before surprising him with several kisses laid over his face, her red lip paint smudging onto him in the process.


    She pulled away to catch her vents, “You need to take care of yourself, okay Starry?”


    Starscream kissed her on the tip of the nose, causing her to giggle. It had been a long, long time since his spark felt so… warm.


    “Hey babe,” Starscream started, optics beginning to dim a bit from the drinking, “You wanna get high?”


    “Got something to smoke?”


    “No, better.” He bent down and pulled two vials of neon green liquid out of a secret modded-on compartment that was modded on his leg.


    “Starscream! Is that synth en?! Where the hell did you even get that?!”


    “Payed Swindle 400 hundred shanix for it.”


    Winblade smacked a palm on her hand, “Oh, Starscream… Please don’t tell me that’s why Barricade beat you up!”


    Starscream grinned, his sharpened fangs becoming visible, “Once you get a taste, you’ll see why it was worth it.”


    “N-No- No. That shit is SO bad for you, Star!”


    “One drink won’t hurt you. Trust me, it takes more than a few times to get addicted,” he tried reassuring, “Besides, this is pretty diluted with regular energon. Swindle is a cheap-ass, lying, scamming little bitchboy. Which reminds me! I need to punch him in the face next time I see him.”


    Windblade raised a brow, “Star… his name is LITERALLY Swindle.”


    “That jackoff is the only one on this ship who sells it. You know how much of a hardass Prime is about the harder stuff.”


    “One of his closest friends used to be a synth en addict. He’s not being a hardass, he just doesn’t wanna see any more of us go through what Ratchet did.”


    “I promise you’ll be fine. You won’t get addicted to synth en on the first try. Especially not on this cheap shit.”


    Windblade shook her head. “No. I’m sorry, Star, Can we please just go back to fucking instead? Please?”


    Starscream let out a soft sigh, “Alright, alright.” He caressed her cheek with the back of his hand, a gentle smile appearing on his face as he gazed into her optics again.


    Winblade took his hand, kissing it, “Please be careful with stuff like that, Starry.”


    Starscream quickly downed one last shot before scooping her up unexpectedly, causing her to laugh. He jumped onto the bed wither her and pinned her down with her wrapped around his waist. He pushed his spike into her still-wet valve and slid in and out while his fangs dug into the side of her neck.


    “OH GOD!” Windblade cried, “Faster, Star! Faster!”


    Starscream’s lips curled into a smile and he happily obliged.


    “Fuck! Fuck! YES!”


    Starscream sat up to see her squirming, still keeping his pace.


    “S-Star…. C-Can I ask you something?”


    “Anything you desire,” Starscream replied between his grunts and moans.


    “Can… Can you choke me? Just a little.”


    Starscream’s optics widened with excitement as a mischievous grin appeared on his face. Without saying a word, he wrapped a hand around her throat, making sure not to squeeze too hard. The sights and sounds of Winblade’s utter enjoyment drove the seeker wild. He started thrusting as fast as he could as she grasped his slender waist, placing pressure on his hot spots. It had been a very, very long time since he had gotten this much arousal and enjoyment out of interfacing. He had forgotten what it was like to actually have chemistry with one’s partner.


    “Tighter…” Windblade managed to grunt out.


    Starscream tightened his grip around the fembot’s throat, still making sure not to hurt her. “You’re turning me into a goddamn animal, you know that?” He panted, “Fuck, just looking at you is driving me mad!”


    “Keep talking like that, Star.”


    Starscream had to momentarily slow his pace so he wouldn’t overload right there. “You look so pretty with my hand on your throat and my dick inside you! Fuck, I need you!”


    “You are so fucking hot!”


    Starscream fluttered his optics, “I know, thank you. And you aren’t terrible to look at either.” She really was gorgeous to him. Her chest and hip armor were the exact shade of red that he liked, combined with a sexy black waistline. The tattoos on her face, as well as the natural facial markings contouring her cheeks, intrigued him even more. He also had blue accents like he did. He wondered if camien bots in general were this attractive, or if Windblade was just particularly beautiful. “GOD, your valve feels so good! I love fucking your tight little hole!”


    Windblade’s optics flashed, back arching “You dirty talk so good baby! Yes! Tighter…”


    “Baby If I squeeze that pretty neck anymore, you might end up sounding like me.” He said with a weak laugh. He knew from their previous time together that the fembot had quite the kinky side to her, but with the dominance she displayed then, Starscream didn’t think she’d make just as excellent of a submissive. Maybe a little TOO submissive at times. “How about we try out one of my mods instead, huh?”


    “You have mods? Why didn’t you say so before!” Windblade gasped out.


    Starscream released his grip on the fembot’s neck just a little so that she could speak easily.


    “I should warn you, these aren’t rookie mods.”


    Winblade grabbed him by the helm and pulled him close to her face, “You may be the first mech I’ve fucked, but you’re far from the first bot. Let’s get going.”


    Maybe she wasn’t as submissive as Starscream thought. Still, the interaction excited him even further. He switched on a mod that allowed his spike to eminent a mild electric pulse. He could feel Windblade’s legs tighten around him and her fingers dig into his sides. The amount of noise coming from Windblade’s quarters made it apparent that the sensation pleased both of them. Starscream kept going as fast as he could, mind completely overtaken by lust and… something else.


    If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    “FUCK! FUCK!” His voice cracked, almost sounding on the verge of tears. He then greatly slowed his pace and turned off his mod to keep himself from overloading.


    “Why did you stop?”


    “Baby if I keep going I’m gonna cum first.”


    “It’s okay, Star. Go ahead.”


    “Are you certain?”


    “Please…. I’m begging you to.”


    Again, the seeker happily obliged. He switched the mod back on and mercilessly thrust into her. He had taken his hand off her throat and now both bots had their arms tightly wrapped around one another.


    “Yes, yes! You’re such a good boy! Cum inside me Star!”


    “You’re a dirty fuckin’ Autobot, aren’t you?” Starscream sneered. “GOD, Yes! Shit!” Starscream tightly shut his optics as he got closer to overloading.


    With the high grade dulling his emotional defenses, he allowed his spark to truly feel for the first time in a while. It made him feel warm and…. safe. Like he didn’t have a care in the universe aside from Windblade.


    “Oh my God! Oh fuck-“ Starscream whimpered desperately, “Ah! Baby, fuck! I love you! Baby, you feel so good! I love you, I love you!” he felt her valve tighten, tipping him over the edge. His mod automatically turned off, and he rested there on top of Windblade, his body shifting in tandem with her’s catching their ventilation. He noticed her now hand resting beside her and unwrapped his arm from around Windblade so he could slip his talons between her slender fingers. She brought his hand up for a gentle kiss before resting it back down with hers. He snuggled into her neck, taking in and savoring the scent of her pheromones.


    “Holy shit Starscream…” Winblade sighed, still panting, “You were amazing!”


    Starscream kissed her, “I could say the same for you, my dear.” He kissed her again.


    “Starscream?”


    “Mhm,” he murmured, lips brushing hers.


    “Did you mean it?”


    “Hm?”


    “What you said… Did you really mean it?”


    It took Starscream a few seconds to process before remembering and then thinking to himself, “Oh FUCK, I did NOT say just say ‘I love you’ FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, SON OF A BITCH!”


    He had long since sworn off ever uttering those words to anyone ever again. And all it took was some high grade and being horny to let it slip out, “Why did I do that? Why am I such a goddamn DIPSHIT???” He kept thinking to himself. But it was true. He did love her.


    The last time he had spoken those words— it was a rather intense interface with Megatron. And that was several vorns ago. And the only other time he ever felt this safe had been… Skyfire.


    “You know what?” Starscream sat up and looked down at his exhausted partner, admiring her stunning features.m, “I…. I guess I did,” His voice was softer than usual.


    Windblade brought herself up too, “Seriously?!”She grabbed the seeker’s hands and held them to her spark, “I….. I was so afraid you didn’t feel the same way!”


    “Y-You do?” His voice wavered.


    “Yes!” Windblade leaned into him with a tight embrace, “I love you too, Star. I love you.”


    Hearing those words again, for the first time in so long, stirred something deep within the seeker’s chaotic spark.


    The high grade in his system allowed him to further give in to Windblade’s affection, and returned the hug, stroking her red and black wings as their lips locked. After a few seconds of snogging, Windblade pulled away.


    “So… what do we do? Are you my conjunx now or—“


    Starscream snickered, a playful glint in his optics, “Yea… I suppose you are. heh.”


    Windblade rested her helm against his chassis, “I can’t believe it…. This almost doesn’t seem real. I didn’t think I’d find anyone after Caminus died. Especially not a former high-ranking con, no offense,” she ended with a laugh.


    Starscream laughed as well, “And I never I’d conjunx with an Autobot!”


    “Funny how life turns out, isn’t it”


    “Yea…” Starscream closed his optics and leaned in for another kiss.


    They lay back down together, arms wrapped around one another as their legs tangled together. Recharge soon claimed them both, but Starscream’s sleep was anything but peaceful. He had another intense and vivid dream that night. He was on the Nemesis, an unbridled rage coursed through his veins as he saw Barricade before him. Starscream carefully took in his surroundings. No security cameras. Good. The scene unfolded rapidly, his talons gripping a blade as he lunged. The Decepticon let out a sharp gasp as the blade slipped into his back and directly through the ventilation system in his chest. He collapsed to the ground as the seeker savagely stabbed him, over and over, relentlessly. He felt no emotion during the act other than searing rage.


    Blinding light shattered his dream. His optics flickered open as a sharp pain pulsed through his head. “Uuuuuugh”, he groaned.


    “Morning, sunshine! Have a nice nap?” A familiar voice spoke to him. It was a mech’s voice.


    “Sssskyfire? The fuck are you doing here?” Starscream groggily sat up in bed, “Wait…… WAIT, WHAT-” He turned his head frantically back and forth, realizing with mounting dread— This wasn’t Windblade’s quarters. “WHY AM I IN YOUR ROOM, SKY?!”


    “You’re asking ME that question?! You and you stupid friends just and waltzed on in, saying you ‘made a huge mistake’ and ‘needed to hide out here for a while’”


    “WHAT?! Wait- friends?! Who- Where’s Windblade?!”


    He looked to the bot lying under the covers next to him. His vision was still too blurry to make out the exact shape, but they were a red Jet. Starscream sighed in relief, but it was short-lived. He suddenly remembered what he admitted to her the previous night. His talons grasped the sides of his helmet. “Ohhhhh no. Oh, no, no, no, no, NO!” He bit the tips of his talons thinking, “Oh shit, do I do?! What am I supposed to tell her?!”


    He saw the figure next to him shift under the covers. Starscream decided to just rip the bandage off. He lightly nudged the figure awake, “Er, Windblade? Baby?”


    The bot turned over and sleepily looked up at Starscream.


    “THRUST?!” Starscream screamed and leaped out of bed. “WHAT THE HELL?!”


    Skyfire slapped his palm to his face and shook his head era as he muttered, “Oh boy, this should be good.”


    Thrust rolled over, rubbing his optics, “Oh…. hey, Scream.”


    “WHAT ARE- HOW- DID WE????”


    Starscream didn’t see Astrotrain wiggle his large frame out of the washroom. The seeker stood frozen once he felt a large hand smack him dead on the aft with a loud “CLANK”.


    “How’s that ass feelin’?”


    Starscream just stared into space, mouth agape.


    “Alright, everyone, time to get the hell out of my room!” Skyfire shoved Astrotrain out the door, “Out, out, all of you OUT!” He grabbed Thrust and Starscream with each arm, tossing them out of his quarters where they landed in front of Astrotrain. Starscream shoved his leg through the door, blocking it from shutting.


    “SKY, WAIT! You have to tell me what I did last night!”


    “Ask your pals.”


    “They aren’t my- HEY-“ Skyfire nudged the seeker back out with a large ped and shut the door. “GODDAMMIT!!!”


    Thrust yawned and stretched, sitting on the floor where he landed, “Bummer.”


    Starscream slowly turned to face the other red seeker, optics burning with a silent rage.


    “Hi Scream.”


    “SHOO! AWAY FROM ME!” Starscream jumped up to his peds and aggressively gestured with his arms “GET OUT OF MY FACE! ALL OF YOU! GO AWAY! I HATE YOU ALL!”


    “What? After all we’ve been through? Awwwww….” Astrotrain asked, still inebriated, clearly.


    “WHATEVER HAPPENED LAST NIGHT—“ Starscream jabbed a talon at him, “I WAS DRUNK!”


    “Whatever, I don’t even remember most of it anyway. Jackass.”


    “THEN WHY DID YOU- Oh my god, just GO AWAY!”


    “Fine, Fine!” Astrontrain raised his hands and rolled his optics. “We know when we aren’t wanted.”


    “JUST GET OOOOOOOUT!!!!!”


    “We’re in the hallway. Where do we go?” Thrust asked.


    “If you two are not out of my line of sight within the next 10 seconds, I am going to claw both your goddamn faces off.”


    Both Decepticons shuffled away, quite unbalanced, muttering words to Starscream as they went along. Sophisticated words such as, “Asswad” and “dickshit”. Starscream paid no mind. He was too preoccupied with trying to figure out his next move. Should he go find Windblade? Should he just go home and pretend nothing happened, should he be trying to figure out what he did last night?


    He noticed something strange. His arm… it was covered in this flaky purple substance? Oh, it’s just dried energon….. WAIT-


    “Ah, SHIT, why am I covered in blood THIS time?!”


    He looked down at his body. There was blood-energon smeared all over him. It looked like he had made a poor attempt to wipe it off at some point, but wasn’t able to do so properly in his drunken state. Visually, it could easily pass for a snack he had just spilled on himself. But at closer inspection, the scent was undeniable. It was blood. Edible energon didn’t smell as oily.


    “Shit…. This better be mine, or else I’ll be in REAL trouble.” Starscream thought. “Maybe I just got a bit TOO kinky with Windblade the other night. Wouldn’t be the first time.” He decided to go home and wash off the blood as best he could. He took the walk of shame back to his quarters. The entrance was sloppily welded back together by Wheeljack, clearly a rushed job.


    He scrubbed as much of the dried energon off his frame as possible. Getting in all the nooks and crannies of his armor was tedious, but he did his best. As he was cleaning up, he started thinking about that dream he had. His face suddenly went cold. He rushed over to his terminal and logged on to Vector Sigma to check the fleet’s daily news. His frame stiffened when he read the first headline.


    “MURDER ON THE NEMESES! INVESTIGATION ONGOING”


    He didn’t even read the article all the way through. He just skimmed it, frantically searching for any mention of his name. Words like “stabbing” and “Barricade” came up, but he saw no mention of a “Starscream”. At the end of the article, it mentioned that a search for potential suspects was currently ongoing, meaning the fleet’s authorities didn’t know it was him who did it. Though his spark was still beating fast, his frame relaxed a little.


    First things first, he had to find out what he did that night. And where the hell did he get a sword? Sure, Starscream smuggled some small knives onto the ship on launch day, but those were quickly confiscated. What in Primus’s did he do last night? He nervously paced around his room. He NEEDED to find out what happened and cover up whatever evidence he could. And he knew there was only one bot on The Ark who could help him…


    He quietly snuck out of his quarters and avoided as many bots as he could as he tried to make it to Rung’s office. He was nearly at his door when he felt an empty energon cube hit the back of his head. He sharply turned around.


    “BITCH!” Chromia yelled as she chucked another cube at him, this one being full. He tried to dodge but wasn’t quick enough in his current state. The cube smacked him in the forehead.


    “HEY! The hell is your problem?!”


    Chromia flipped him off.


    “THAT’S IT! I have had ENOUGH of you! Where do you even get the AUDACITY to-“ Another full cube of energon hit him. If he wasn’t so aggravated he might have been impressed by her aim.


    Chromia marched up to him. She stood up as tall as she could to the taller bot’s face and aggressively pointed at him, “NO! YOU listen here, you shitty little twink!” Chromia pressed up against him, causing the seeker to raise his hands defensively, backing away.


    “Chromia! I don’t have time for this right now!”


    “Oh, I think you do, hon!” Chroma said with a somewhat maniacal laugh in her voice. She stepped towards him again. “What did you do to Windblade?!”


    “Oh shit. Look, Chromia, whatever I said to her last night— I got drunk, said some things I didn’t mean, and then blacked out. I don’t remember scrap after that!”


    “WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!? Taking advantage of a young femme like that! She trusted you!”


    Starscream raised his hands, “We were just friends with benefits, and she knew that!”


    “You said you loved her, and then took it back, you pompous jackass!”


    Starscream felt a pang in his chest, “I was DRUNK! We both were!


    Suddenly, two huge white-colored hands separated the bickering bots, “Cut it out!” It was Ultra Magnus. He was able to push them apart with ease.


    “Stay out of this Mags!” Chromia snapped.


    “Let’s settle down, now,” Magnus said, his voice commanding.


    Chromia closed optics and took in a deep vent. She let it out slowly waiting a few seconds before addressing Starscream again, “Fine… But if I see you hangin’ around her again, you’re dead!”


    “YOU DARE THREATEN ME?!”


    Magnus’s antennae drooped, “Can you two PLEASE not do this right now. I have been up for 2 days.”


    “ALRIGHT- Alright…. I’m sorry, Mags.” Chromia said, trying to calm herself down.”


    Starscream hissed and turned around to leave, forgetting what he was originally there for. Whatever was in that high grade was still buzzing around in his brain somewhat. He found somewhere to lean against a wall, suddenly feeling nauseous. He waited there for several moments, focusing on keeping down the contents of his fuel processor.


    “Uuuuugh, god… I must have taken something else last night to be THIS hungover. WAIT-“ Starscream fumbled around his leg to check on the hidden synth-en. Gone. All of it. “Oh….. my…. GOD!!! NONONONONO!!!! NO!” He knew he must have taken it last night. It would certainly explain the mess he made, “HAHAHAHAHA!!! I’M AN IDIOT!!! I’m a worthless, low-life, good-for-nothing IDIOT!!!” Without thinking he started to run back to his quarters, before remembering where he was actually supposed to go and then turning back around, “Dammit, you fool! Think!” He cursed at himself. He ran as fast as he could to rung’s office, but didn’t even get halfway there before—


    Vision still a bit blurry, he peered out at a little yellow smudge in the hallway, quickly getting closer, the sound of a small engine growing louder. “Is…. Is that Bu-“


    Using his speeding start, he transformed and leaped towards Starscream, landing a fist directly in his face. The force of the punch knocked the seeker over, with Bumblebee latched on to him like a ravenous scraplet. Starscream let out expletive after expletive as Bumblebee ceaselessly pummeled him in the face. Physically, the small Autobot wasn’t very strong. But this was beginning to hurt even Starscream. Bee’s damaged voice box hissed and screeched, his mouth forming words that could have rivaled Starscream’s.


    “GET OFF ME, YOU LITTLE FREAK!” Starscream clumsily tried to pry Bumblebee off of him, but he held on to him by chest armor. Starscream was able to punch him off, which sent Bee launching into the wall. Starscream didn’t have time to get up before he quickly recovered and attacked Starscream again. The thought of calling out for help flickered in the seeker’s mind before he quickly snuffed it out. He’d be caught dead before he was seen submitting to such a puny little Autobot!


    Bumblebee was suddenly yanked away by Ultra Magnus. “Bumblebee, stop!”


    Bumblebee struggled as much as he could to free himself from Ultra Magnus. Unable to overcome the massive mech’s strength, he opted to transform one of his hands into a stinger and jab him with a small electric shock. Magnus dropped him immediately.


    “THAT is a ship code violation!” He said, incredibly stern. “You do not have clearance to unsheathe, carry, or conceal any weapon on this ship, and any natural self-defense ability you emerged with MUST be unsheathed at ALL TIMES! You may unsheathe them within your own quarters or at the request of a medic for cleaning or maintenance. But you are NOT permitted to shoot, stab, torch, spray, poison, elect-“


    “HE’S BEATING THE SHIT OUT OF ME AGAIN!”


    “Bumblebee! This is a SEVERE ship code violation!” He tried to apprehend the much smaller Autobot again, but Bumblebee stung him a second time. He turned on his comm, “*Optimus Prime! Do you read me? Come in, Prime!*” He wasn’t answering for some reason. Not bothering to waste more time, he ran off to get Optimus himself, while coming to Jazz at the same time.


    The blows to the head only made Starscream’s hangover migraine immensely worse. He couldn’t focus. After feeling a sharp sting in his mouth, something small and hard slipped down his throat. He knew he had just swallowed a denta. A punch later, another one slid past his tongue. The seeker’s chest tightened, remembering a time when Megatron knocked several of them out. The smell of his own blood trickling under his nose, as he was being held down and continuously struck, forcing images of his former leader to manifest in his mind. The sight of Megatron’s fist hitting him in the head over and over. He wasn’t sure if he was going to really kill him this time or not. “Please! I beg you, Megatron! I’m sorry! I’m sorry, have mercy!” Miraculously, he complied.


    Starscream backed up into the wall and curled into himself, not realizing the tears soaking his face. His venting was heavy and labored as his composure crumbled in front of Bee, his fearful crying and pitiful submission leaving the Autobot stunned. Bumblebee looked down at Starscream, his expression a mixture of horror, grief, and astonishment.


    Jazz’s voice cried out as he ran to him, “Bumblebee, buddy, what’s going on?!” He looked down at the cowering seeker, “Bee, what did you do?!” His tone was far more concerned than demanding.


    Bumblebee didn’t even seem to notice Jazz, his gaze remaining fixated on his victim.


    Ratchet turned on his comm, “I need a medic at my coordinates, quick!” He listened to the voice on the other line for a moment, “Scream got attacked again by” He glanced at Bee, “An Autobot, Don’t know the extent of the injuries. Just come quick!”


    Starscream’s venting steadied. He opened one optic, waiting for it to focus enough to see his attacker. Like him, Bumblebee was weeping, silent tears rolling down his now blood-splattered face. The two looked into each other’s optics for several moments until Optimus came running in, pulling Bee to the side and separating the two mechs.


    “Bumblebee! Did you get into a fight?!” Optimus turned to look at the injured and disoriented seeker sitting against the wall, “B-Bumblebee, did you do this?!” He didn’t sound angry, but instead shocked.


    Bumblebee averted his father’s gaze.


    “Bumblebee…” Optimus lowered to his level.


    The trembling little Autobot slowly turned to look at him, and then again burst into tears. Optimus didn’t expect Bee to fall into his arms, sobbing. He sat on the floor with him and held him. A melancholy inkling of nostalgia breezed by the old Prime as he comforted Bumblebee as if he were a sparkling again. Jazz decided to join the embrace with the bot he helped raise.


    While Jazz and Optimus were preoccupied with Bumblebee, Starscream slinked away, not waiting for a medic. He hurried back to his quarters, again, to wash the blood off of him, again. He used a first aid kit he had hidden in a drawer. It had already been heavily used and was nearly out of medical alloy adhesive. Struggling to squeeze whatever was left in the tube, he winced as the stinging gel was applied to the cuts on his face. Once done, he stared at his reflection in the mirror before him. He looked worse than he did in a long time. His nose was broken, and energon was trickling from it again. He checked his denta, finding that he had actually lost THREE of them, not two. His lower right fang, the premolar after it, and his upper far-left left incisor. He hissed at his own appearance and turned away as he went to get something to wash the blood-energon out of his mouth. There was a simple plumbing system on the ship for cleaning, showering, and coolant. But transformers didn’t exactly need to drink water, so there were no fountains on board. After spitting a mouthful of pink liquid into the sink, Starscream awkwardly tried to squeeze his head under the faucet of his sink. His helmet got in the way. He stuck out his tongue to try and lap up some water, but it was just barely out of reach. A low growl came from his engine. He tried to use his hands to cup the water, but it just slipped through his joints. His growling grew with gradual irritation. He tried lapping it up again, this time squeezing his face in as much as possible. The metal facet was starting to bend slightly, but he mistook this as progress and persisted. Then he heard a crack. The seeker soon came crashing to the floor with the rest of the now-destroyed sink, water spraying everywhere. Due to his awkward position, he fell head first, luckily not on his face. Despite the fragile alloy of his face being spared from further injury, the fall did hurt immensely. He curled into a fetal position on the floor and screamed for several seconds, shouting at himself in between shrieks, “YOU STUPID FUCK! STUPID, STUPID, STUPID, STUPID PIECE OF SHIT! YOU’RE USELESS!” After tiring out his voice box, he continued to lay there in the same position, clasping his helm, waiting for the pain to ease a little. Once he calmed down somewhat, he slowly got back up. He straightened his posture and cleared his throat.


    The broken pipe was still spouting water, making the entire washroom floor soaking wet. Starscream grabbed the end of it and bent it tightly shut to stop the flow. He stood there for a moment, feeling hundreds of tiny droplets fall from his armor. He looked at himself in the mirror. The entire lower half of his face was bright, glowing pink blood-energon. His battered face wasn’t an unfamiliar sight. His denta would grow back within a few days, but the bent bridge of his nose would need to be surgically repaired. He knew the routine.


    “Look at you. Pathetic.”The words tang through his mind. “This is all your fault. You let a mech less than half your size beat you to scrap!? Weakling!”


    A massive crack Appeared in the hard glass mirror as Starscream’s fist hit it with full force. He was further angered by it not shattering. He picked up a large piece of the broken sink off the floor and began bashing the mirror over and over. Countless cracks filled the entire frame, but it never shattered. Too tired to continue, he threw the shard of sink to the floor and left his quarters.


    He finally made it back to Rung’s office, but there was a sign on his door saying he was on break. Starscream groaned as he plopped down into one of the waiting chairs.


    He heard First Aid’s voice from the end of the hallway, “Starscream, there you are!”


    “NO! Noooooo! Whatever you want— NOT NOW!”


    “Look at you, man, you’re covered in blood!”


    Another voice appeared on the other side of the hall, “HEY, Shitscram!” It was Hot Rod. “You made Bumblebee cry! I’m gonna kick your ass!”


    First Aid held out his hands and pleaded, “Please, no more fighting! We all need to settle down aaaaaand you’re fighting-“


    Hot Rod tussled with Starscream on the floor, but the younger mech was surprisingly uncoordinated. Starscream could smell the low-grade on his breath. Normally this would be an advantage for the seeker, but he wasn’t fairing too well either.


    First Aid tried to pull the two drunken fools apart, but the poor guy was only barely bigger than Bumblebee and not strong enough to drag Hot Rod off, “RODDY! Enough, please!”


    Drift appeared as if out of nowhere and grabbed Hot Rod’s legs, dragging him away in one swift motion. Starscream scrambled away with First Aid in pursuit. Once he turned a corner, he crashed right into Ultra Magnus, who didn’t even flinch from the impact.


    “Starscream! Report to the medbay immediately!”


    Optimus appeared on the other end of the hall behind Magnus. He did not look happy. “Starscream! Can you explain why Megatron sent me a video of you harassing people on the Nemesis last night?”


    Rung could be spotted walking around the corner, back from his break, but then immediately turning right back around as soon as he saw the chaos before him.


    Starscream ducked under Magnus’s legs and called out, “Rung, wait!”


    “Damn! I really have to stop leaving myself open for that.” Magnus muttered to himself, “Starscream! Get back- HEY!” First Aid ducked under Magnus’s legs as well, “Both of you get back here, NOW!” Hot Rod ducked under soon after, followed by Drift. “Would everyone PLEASE stop doing that?!”


    “Roddy, I know you’re angry but PLEASE!” Drift pleaded. He caught Hot Rod by the arm and pulled him back. Out of habit, Hot Rod swiftly turned and raised a fist before realizing who he was about to hit, just in time. His Optics softened and his frame loosened as he lowered his fist. He suddenly looked ashamed. But there was no time for apologies before Red Alert came crashing into them, which caused them to hit Magnus and topple him over as well. Starscream had transformed, and the force of the blast from his thrusters had sent First Aid flying.


    “THAT IS A SHIP CODE VIOLATION!” Ultra Magnus shouted at Starscream from the floor.


    Starscream attempted to speed past Optimus and almost thought he made it. But then he felt a mighty fist grip his wing so hard that it bent his metal. This made him extremely unbalanced, causing him to crash into the wall with Optimus still hanging on. This caused a great deal of damage to that wall’s section of metal plating. It was enough for the Ark’s immune system to kick in and send an almost dangerous amount of electricity through both mechs, causing them to pass out. Everyone rushed to help… Optimus. They just sorta let Starscream lay on the floor in his alt mode for a while before Magnus picked him up and carried him to the medbay, holding the jet by the thrusters with outstretched arms.


    Starscream woke up in the medbay…. again, this time in an area specifically made to accommodate injured bots in their alt modes. He had some painkiller in him, but it wasn’t enough to stop the throbbing pain in his jaw and nose…. again.


    He slowly unfolded himself back into his bot mode and groaned as he got up.


    “Take it easy, now, LORD Starscream”


    Starscream rolled his optics, recognizing the voice immediately, “Hello Knockout.” He muttered.


    “You were in much worse shape than you looked, you know that?”


    Starscream didn’t expect such a stern tone from the doctor.


    “Really, Starscream. Synth en?”


    “Spare me your judgment!”


    “You overdosed the ever-loving hell on it! If you weren’t already so tolerant of excessive drug use, I’d be wheeling you to the morgue right now!”


    “I don’t have time for this! When do I discharge?”


    “Most likely at the end of the day. But don’t get too excited. You and those two idiots who attacked you are going to be questioned and likely punished as soon as you’re out!”


    “Oh SHI- Okay, Knockout, we’re friends, right?”


    Knockout raised an eyebrow at him, “Riiight…”


    “You HAVE to help me co-“


    “They already suspect you offlined Cade.”


    “GODsshhhffFFFFuDAMMIT- MOTHER FUCKING F U C K-“


    “Language! My goodness, Starscream! Besides, what did you expect?


    “SON OF A BITCH!!!! SON. OF. A. BITCH. I’M GONNA- AUGH! AGH! DAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHH!!!!!!!!!” He pounded his fists on the ground like a misbehaving sparkling.


    “As amusing as I find your antics, Starscream, I am going to have to ask you to stop beating up the floor panel.”


    Starscream grabbed an expensive-looking machine he was hooked up to and started punching it repeatedly.


    “Okay-“ Knockout pinched the bridge of his nose. “JAZZ!”


    Starscream ripped out anything that was connected to him and pushed past Knockout to leave. When the door slid open, Jazz was already standing just outside, arms folded. Starscream shut the door and ran to the other side of the room, his optics darting to every corner of the room, looking for an escape.


    Jazz walked in. He didn’t look happy.


    “Starscream, please don’t make this harder for yourself!” Knockout pleaded with uncharacteristic concern.


    Starscream spotted a vent and ripped off the cover.


    Jazz’s optics widened behind his visor as he pointed at the seeker. “Nope! Don’t you go in that vent!”


    Starscream folded his wings back and slithered into the vent halfway before Jazz grabbed his leg. On instinct, he fired that leg’s thruster, badly burning one of Jazz’s arms. He let go, allowing Starscream to wiggle the rest of the way through.


    “I’m fucked! I’m fucked! I’m so fucked!” He muttered to himself.


    There weren’t many places to run. You can only hide for so long amongst a fleet of four ships out in the void of space. He could hear Jazz’s voice echo through the vent, “You son of a bitch!” followed by a loud bang. “Just wait till I get my hands on you!” Jazz had kicked the wall. Starscream noted that the Autobot seemed more aggressive than normal.


    He was just slim enough that he could fit through most areas in the vent. He didn’t know where he was going, he just turned in whichever direction he thought took him further away from everyone. He really hoped they wouldn’t send a minicon after him. Or worse, Wheelie.


    Scuttling past another great, he could see just outside the energon storage vault’s door through the slits of the grate. Something caught his attention; two mechs he recognized— they were in there alone, having some sort of argument.


    “So what do you want to do now? Kill me? So be it.” Megatron’s voice spoke, failing not to sound threatening. “But mark my words, Skyfire, revenge isn’t as satisfying as you may think.”


    Starscream crawled on. “Ignore it, ignore it, ignore it, ignore-“


    “OPTIMUS SHOULD HAVE KILLED YOU!” Skyfire roared.


    Starscream quickly shuffled back to the grate to watch the drama unfold.


    Skyfire leered down at Megatron. He spoke calmly, but the fury in his optics gave away his anger, “Do you know why I hate you so much, Megatron?”


    “I can imagine very many reasons why, Skyfire. I’m not exactly the most liked bot around here.”


    “No, No you piece of shit!” Skyfire took a step towards Megatron, trying and failing to intimidate him with his size. “You took…. You took away the one thing that mattered to me most. You took away everything, my world!”


    Starscream felt a large lump in his throat.


    Megatron stood silent. He stood tall, but optics dimmed to indicate he didn’t want to fight.


    “Do you have any idea…. ANY idea—“ Skyfire’s voice cracked, “How much I LOVED him?!” He could feel his optics begin to lubricate but didn’t fight it.


    Starscream looked down, his spark beat raised.


    “He was everything to me, Megatron… And you ruined him.”Skyfire spoke with rising anger, “You bent and twisted my conjunx endura into a psychopath!”


    Starscream’s spark beat raised higher as he continued to observe. “Sky, no…”


    Megatron’s optics lowered and dimmed a bit more.


    “We were going to merge! We had plans! We had a LIFE together! And then you-“ Skyfire was fuming, struggling to find words that matched his anger, “You came in and ruined our lives!”


    “Skyfire I…” Megatron sighed, “I…. You’re right. I did… I did some really bad shit to Lucky Star. I fucked up.”


    “OH? DID you fuck up, now? Gee, I wouldn’t have fuckin’ guessed!” Skyfire lightly shoved Megatron.


    They may not have merged, but a piece of Starscream’s personality certainly did rub off on Skyfire. Still, Megatron did not wish to fight, “Skyfire, I don’t want to fight, but if I need to defend myself, I will.”


    “Don’t tempt me, old timer!”


    “Skyfire, please-“


    “It doesn’t matter HOW remorseful you are, how much you THINK you’re an Autobot now, or how much you attempt to repay your sins-“ Skyfire stepped closer, engines growling and wings spread out in aggression. “Ulchtar will NEVER come back!”


    Starscream slipped away from the grate, ignoring what he just witnessed as best he could. Without thinking, he just kept going and going, until he stopped. He hadn’t the slightest clue where he was. But instead of panicking, or screaming, destroy anything, he quietly wept. Soft whimpers escaped him, but his usual shrieking did not occur.


    He fell into recharge without realizing, bots still out in the halls, rushing around and looking for him. They had assumed he had already left the vents, but he was there, sleeping alone… again.