#fandomtrashfox

Starscream walked alone through the brush and trees of some Earth forest; he lived any seeker's worst nightmare—being grounded—all alone. He was sure the Autobots were far enough away, and they thankfully hadn't seen him, but it stung his pride to think he couldn't access the sky.

Where had he gone wrong? He thought for sure that an alliance with humans would benefit him; it always works so well for the Autobots. Maybe he just hadn't picked the right breed? They're always so loyal to them; how would he have known MECH wouldn't be? Though, more so than he was upset at MECH, he was angry at himself for not realizing what would happen.

Starscream almost considered abandoning his rogue status; maybe if he grovelled enough, Megatron would pity him? Let him back with the Decepticons? ...No. Starscream wouldn't let himself be abused again, crawl back to Megatron, not unless it was his last resort.

As Starscream walked, heading toward the Harbinger—which would unfortunately be a long walk—he grumbled and complained to himself about his situation. "Of all the things that could've happened to me!" He growled to the sky, "I may as well be one of those-" He couldn't even finish that sentence, threw up his servos as he thought about how smug that 'Bumblebee' must've been.

Then Starscream heard a sound that pulled him from his thoughts. His optics snapped toward the sound, to see... a human. For Primus' sake, another one?! Starscream had half a mind to fire at it to scare it off. Though before Starscream could yell for it to leave him be, it spoke first; "Woah! Are y-you... a giant robot?!" Starscream raised a brow.

Before Starscream could think to respond, the human rushed from where they were at the treeline and up to him. Starscream raised his arms away from it, as he half-expected it to climb him or something. "What- What are you doing out here?!" He demanded, as the sheer audacity of the humans' actions made him stutter.

The human hesitated, eyes wide as it marvelled at him. It almost reminded Starscream of how he looked while conducting his experiments back on Cybertron; the amazement at a new discovery. "Oh, I'm just camping. I- I didn't think I'd s-see anything like you!"

Starscream frowned. "How convenient." The human spun around him, as if it hadn't noticed Starscream's sarcasm. His processor spun to match, as he noted a few minor details about this human that seemed... off. "You're alone out here?" He asked, as he realized he couldn't hear any other voices.

"Yeah!" The human replied, then made a small whistle noise that sounded like a human ringtone, before it flapped its hands like it were shaking off water. "I don't do it often. B-but it was really beautiful tonight." Before Starscream could comment further, the human added, "You're so cool! W-where did you- did you come from?!"

A single human, alone in the wilderness? It felt like a trap, but Starscream could tell something was off about this human, very similar in mannerisms to a Cybertronian processor disorder. Perhaps it was telling the truth? ...Could humans even have disorders like that? Starscream's scientific curiosity and inquisitive nature prodded at his processor. "...Do you want to see for yourself?" He asked after a moment with a smirk. Before he reached out and plucked the human from the forest floor, effortlessly.

"You wanted to see me?" D-16 asked as he stepped into the room. The screens and blinking lights of his master's chambers filled each corner with darkness, which obscured detail and made monsters of shadows. There was a long pause of silence; the tendrils of D-16's master went still, and D-16 sighed as he realized why. "…You wanted to see me, Master?"

The Quintesson turned to look at him, eyes narrowed. "Come here." It said, a tendril curled to point at the spot beside its wriggling mass of a form. D-16 moved before he could think, stood tall and at attention beside his master like the loyal dog he was. "I have something I want to discuss with you."

The quintesson's tendrils slithered over the keys of the computer, sharp digits tapped too fast for D-16 to track, until the computer's screen lit up with a pre-recorded video.

D-16 himself in the fighting pit, the head of his greatest gladiatorial rival in his servo, a scream bellowed from his throat into the sky as quintessons and cybertronians alike in the stands cheered for him.

"You have been far more successful in the pits than any slave I've owned before." D-16's master began, as a few more key clicks pulled more clips of D-16's triumphs. "You're superior to most, and I want more like you."

D-16's brow furrowed. "Sir?" His voice wavered as his optics turned to his master, who was now staring far too intently at him.

The quintesson's tendril raised, but stopped just shy of D-16's faceplate. "You have superior genes, son." His voice hissed despite the sickly sweet tone he used. "I want more of you, and you are going to help me achieve that."

"Y-you aren't suggesting cloning…" D-16 whispered as he took a step back.

"No," the quintesson rolled his eyes. "Of course not; clones are always sickly, weak, and useless things." Its voice hissed like spilt acid at the thought. "No, you're going to make another, with this."

D-16's master held out a tendril, the claw clutched a piece of metal that D-16 recognized. "A reproduction chip?" Then it clicked for him. "Sir, y-you can't-"

"I spent far too many credits on the chip of another powerful bot for you to say 'no'." His master shoved the chip into D-16's servos.

D-16 stared down at the chip in silence - a small piece of metal, waiting to be joined with another reproductive chip and incubated inside a spark chamber.

A small growl escaped the quintesson's throat, but a smile replaced its deep scowl. "How about this?" As the quintesson circled behind D-16 with curled and slithering tendrils, it leaned in and whispered, "I won't send you to the pit until the sparkling is grown, if you do this."

D-16's expression shifted, and his optics darted from the chip to the floor. "…Really?" No answer came, but would it matter if it had?

After a few moments, D-16's chassis clicked open wide for him to reach in. D-16 didn't need a guide or a glance, as his instincts already knew where to find it; a chunk of metal like a puzzle piece, which unlatched far too easily with a simple tug.

As D-16 pulled it out, his optics softened a little; two pieces, like a plug and a socket. Was it right to bring a sparkling into quintesson slavery?

"What are you waiting for?" His master whispered into his audio receptors. "Do you want to be sent into the pit tomorrow?"

D-16 let out a huff, gritted his denta, and after a moment of hesitation, pushed his servos together, plugged the two reproductive chips, and locked them together with a twist that let out a click like a cocking gun to his head. D-16 reached back into his chassis and set the active chip inside, and his chassis swung shut with the finality of a morgue door.

★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★

D-16 forced himself forward, his legs thundered with each step as he searched for an empty room. He could feel the little thing squirm in his chassis, ready to come out as it already scratched at his interior. Its little claws were more painful than D-16 thought they'd be, but he couldn't let that deter him from his task; if he had to deal with this, he wanted to do it somewhere safe.

Cameras were everywhere, sharkticons waddled down the halls, but after an hour of searching, D-16 finally found it. A storage room with nothing of note inside; no prying eyes, no guards, no master.

D-16 snuck inside as quietly as possible, his jaw clenched as he felt a sharp digit scrape against the metal dangerously close to his spark. He had to bite back the urge to yelp at the sensation as he sealed the door shut behind him, and nearly collapsed against a giant metal container full of energon. "Stop squirming!" D-16 barked, half-tempted to rip open his chassis and yank it out.

He took a deep breath, then let his chassis unlatch and open. The newly formed, thick membrane of sticky blue energon greeted him, already partially torn by the sparkling's incessant clawing.

The moment fresh air filled his chassis, a squeak escaped his interior, and the little beast's scratching and squirming grew more erratic. D-16 had to grab his own throat and squeeze just to keep from screaming out in pain as the claws ripped through the membrane and wire that had grown over his chassis interior. Wire and membrane ripped away and devoured by the little parasite that D-16 wanted to throw across the room for putting him in such pain. Energon dripped and spilled across his body and onto the floor; D-16 almost felt like he'd bleed out, and it just wouldn't end fast enough.

Then it stopped.

D-16's breathing came ragged and labored as he felt the pain ebb and gradually subside. Burning hatred rumbled in his spark for the parasite that inflicted such pain on him. His helm snapped upward, ready to squeeze the life out of the little insect, but when his optics finally settled on it, he froze.

Round, small, made of soft living rubber and barely any hard metal. The little creature was so tiny and helpless; how could it possibly be responsible for all the pain he felt? As D-16's chassis shut, he barely felt the membrane and wire caught in the door, focused on the tiny piece of him that stared back.

His servos were already around it before he could think twice, and he held the beastie against his warm, rumbling chassis. The sparkling's mouth opened with a tiny yawn as it rubbed its head with a claw and curled against him.

D-16 stared, mouth agape as words failed to come. Its wide optics so perfectly mirrored D-16's, down to their rose-red color.

"I thought you'd be uglier." D-16 muttered with a chuckle, and his sparkling only blinked in reply. "But… I guess you are mine."

★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★

D-16 threw himself forward with a loud roar, the blade in one arm extended but barely missed the Quintesson. "Let him go!" The proud warrior bellowed as he dodged his master's initial strike. His instincts boiled the energon in his veins as his sparkling's squeals of fear filled him with white-hot rage.

"How long have you kept this from me?!" The quintesson's tendrils surged, one sliced in two by D-16's blade. His master winced, and like a predator scenting weakness, D-16 lunged.

Crash! Just as D-16 was about to make impact, there he was. "Stand down." D-16 struggled and writhed under the leg that held him down, his helm twisted aside to stare up at Sky Byte. "Dinner is right around the corner, you know, and I'd hate to spoil my appetite." The sharkticon's glossa licked over his sharp denta as a drip of lubricant-saliva spilled to land on D-16's face.

Before D-16 could speak, his Master's tendril grabbed his faceplate and yanked him to stare into his eyes. "Answer me, you ungrateful pile of scrap! How long has it been since your sparkling emerged?!" D-16 clenched his jaw, and with a growl, surged to bite down on his master's tendril.

Not a moment later, with a hard swing, his master launched D-16 across the room, and his body collided with the screen of his master's computer. In mere moments, he felt the pain of shattered glass, then wires as they fired electricity through his metal. D-16's screams joined those of his sparkling; squeaking and squealing as they ripped his child away from him.

When the loud pop of electricity that plunged the tower into darkness finally released D-16, he had only seconds before he hit the ground, unconscious.

Megatron's optics fluttered open, and a great pain ran through his frame. The Teletraan 1's roof, coated in rust and caved in, greeted him awake. Vines and moss covered metal, rocks, and stalactites, now fused with the tunnels and caves, forever grounded.

Megatron's processor felt fuzzy as he forced his limbs to move, and he couldn't remember why. As he sat up, he realized he couldn't remember a lot of things. Megatron ran his servos over his helm to will his name to memory, and a low growl rumbled in his intake.

"Hello?" Megatron's head snapped toward the voice, which sounded achingly familiar. "I was worried you'd never wake up! Are you okay?"

Another bot stood a few feet away, tall and strong with a red and blue frame. Reddish-brown fur fell down his back, hooves on his pedes, and a pair of long, regal antlers on his shoulder plates.

Megatron narrowed his optics, but despite the lingering feeling that this bot was familiar, Megatron couldn't decide why. He opened his mouth, but forming the words felt like chewing on a brick.

The bot stepped closer with a servo held out to him. "Here, let me help."

Megatron felt the urge to smack his servo away, but didn't know why. Instead, Megatron grabbed the bot's hand and allowed himself to be pulled upright. Somehow, the touch felt simultaneously familiar and like something forbidden. Megatron could feel a fuzzy tail uncurl behind him, and when he looked over himself, he found parts of his metal frame covered in fur, fangs filled his maw, a wolf-like ornament adorned his chassis, and the tips of his digits had long, thick claws.

"My name is Optimus." The bot said, a smile on his face. "Do you remember anything?" Megatron shook his head, and Optimus' shoulder plates slumped. "Ah." Optimus paused, then rested a servo on Megatron's shoulder. "It's alright; I don't remember much either." Megatron huffed and pulled his shoulder away.

The computer on the other side of the room flickered, its screen too badly damaged, and the only light in the room, filled with shifting static. Megatron could see imprints of what he could only assume were other bots, long gone after they'd woken up. He felt the urge to find them, track them all down and drag them back like misbehaving children. At least this one, Optimus, stayed close; Megatron could only assume he was the second in command. Megatron turned to Optimus, a servo pointed to one imprint, and gave another huff.

"I don't know where they went." Optimus replied, "Maybe they thought we were dead?"

Megatron scoffed as he rolled his optics at the thought. He reached out and grabbed Optimus by one of his antlers; Optimus jolted as Megatron dragged him along, but followed regardless. As if they'd simply die so easily? As if their group would all survive, but the leader and second-in-command would be the only casualties?

The mouth of the cave was high, and the sunlight shone across treetops, dappled with sparkling dewdrops from recent rain. Megatron barely paid the sight any mind, though, focused on his task of gathering the others. He wasn't sure what they were to each other, but he knew they couldn't survive on their own; a lingering instinct that felt equal-parts alien and familiar.

"It's… beautiful." Optimus muttered, his optics fixated on the distant rising sun and the sky of pink, orange, and purple brushstrokes. The interior of the cave was so dark and rusted that the easel of nature's beauty made Optimus freeze in place.

Megatron tried to pull him along, but Optimus didn't seem to notice. Megatron pulled harder, but it made no difference. Finally, he forced his processor to speak, but words felt like cotton balls in his intake and spilled like slime from his lips. "You pay attention now." Optimus turned to look at him with wide optics, and Megatron finally pulled him from his trance. Megatron stuttered more than he'd like, but added all the same, "We f-f-find others."

Optimus raised a brow at how Megatron talked, but put it aside for now. "Okay. Let's find our friends." Optimus lunged past Megatron on pure instinct; metal shifted and fur stretched across plating until Optimus' alt mode stood, a strong stag with a noble crown of antlers.

Megatron hesitated, but the pull of instinct made him follow. With a leap, loud mechanical sounds erupted in Megatron's audials, and a massive, red-eyed wolf replaced him as he landed. Optimus gave a happy hop, and Megatron gladly led the way, tail and nose held high as his second-in-command followed close behind.

Starscream's optics opened groggily. His processor felt like it was pounding, and his body wasn't better off. "What happened…?" He mumbled, the ache a momentary distraction from his circumstances.

"Explore! Explore!"

Starscream looked up as a Sky Spy twisted in mid-air, searching. It looked different, but he couldn't remember why; only a lingering sense that something was off about its shape and size.

"Explore! Explore!"

"Hey! Wait!" Starscream scrambled to his pedes despite the throbbing, searing pain in his processor, in favor of following the Sky Spy. "Don't leave me here!"

Starscream's instincts kicked in, but his jets wouldn't respond, so his leap after the Sky Spy barely missed and he crashed into the damp soil. With a growl of annoyance and frustration, Starscream could only watch as the Sky Spy flew off without a care.

"Ugh… why didn't my…?" Starscream grumbled, and the more he thought about it, the more he realized he couldn't remember anything. At least, nothing beyond a few small things. Starscream rolled over onto his back, raised a leg to check for damage, but froze; instead of his blocky, white pedes, his leg ended with large, black, scaly toes with curved claws. "…What in Primus' name?" He curled his new talons as disbelief warred with the sobering reality.

Starscream couldn't remember a lot of things, but he knew for sure that wasn't right; he could remember how he looked before, albeit vaguely. Now that he looked over himself more critically, other things felt off; black feathers clashed with white, red, and blue metal; clawed servos; and his back now adorned with large, feathery black wings.

His feathers fluffed up. "Something must've happened… that thing was looking for something." Starscream muttered as he carefully stood up. His optics searched the surrounding forest before his gaze settled on a massive Starscream-shaped impression where his body sat for untold years, partially obscured by plant life and built-up minerals.

His digits traced the impression his body left in the earth, which proved Starscream's memory correct, as he could see the impression of his previous sleek jet wings. "I was here… for years, by the look of it. Maybe that thing did something to me, and it woke me up?" The evidence seemed to point in that direction, so what else could Starscream have believed? "If I'm here… that means there must be others, too." Starscream felt a pull, but he wasn't sure if it was loneliness or some new flocking instinct.

Starscream hesitated, then glanced at the new feathered wings on his back. He sighed, unsure how he was supposed to fly with these things, especially without his jets, but he stopped when he noticed the feathered creatures in the surrounding trees. None of them resembled the new traits exactly, but his optics focused on their movements and watched as one of them leapt from a branch and took off.