Keeper - Movieverse fic, chapter 3

[writer29]

Disclaimer: do not own Transformers.
Chapter warnings: violence towards a youngling in the beginning.

Keeper

3
Deep inside the base, Thundercracker and Skywarp were leaning against the wall of a darkened hallway, facing a closed door. From within that room, they heard the thump against the wall, accompanied by a muffled yelp.

They looked at each other. "I guess I shouldn't have told him," Thundercracker said.

"A little too late for 'I guess,'" Skywarp replied, optics looking tiredly to the ceiling. "You should have just left him out there to starve. Maybe then he'd have actually learned something."

Thundercracker looked at him, aghast. "That would have been cruel."

There was a sharp sound of metal against metal, and the sound of a body hitting the floor. The youngling gave a weak moan before Starscream hit him again.

"You'd think that he'd have learned to stay down when hit," Skywarp said. "It just makes Starscream angrier when he doesn't." He looked at Thundercracker, who was looking worriedly at the door.

"Maybe we should go in..."

"That's your problem, T.C.," Skywarp said. "You're at the whim of your stupid instincts. They're just thoughts in your head. You ought to ignore them now and again, especially when they're telling you to do something as suicidal as to interfere." Thundercracker continued looking at the door, and Skywarp added, "Ah, whatever. Don't get your wires in a knot over it. Starscream would've found out anyway. There's always someone trying to get his good graces. Remember, better the kid than you. Besides, pulling stunts like this, he's pretty much asking for it."

Thundercracker stayed silent, and they heard a small, quivering voice say, "That's not my name."

"Then what is your name?" they heard Starscream say, his tone completely bored.

The youngling managed, "My name is-" before being abruptly cut off. They heard a pained, strangled sound, and then came the calm, low murmur of Starscream's voice as he attempted to re-teach yet another lesson.

"And we're back to this old argument again," Skywarp said. "Yep, he's definitely asking for it."

Thundercracker sighed. "I don't understand why he can't just behave. He knows Starscream hates it when he brings it up. And I don't understand his attachment to his inferiority. His inferior form, his inferior allegiance, even his inferior name."

"He's young," Skywarp said simply. "They ain't really bright at that stage."

"It's a burden on our programming," Thundercracker said after awhile. "To care so much for the young." Starscream's rough murmur continued to come from the room. They didn't hear anything else from the other occupant. "You better go check on Skyfire," Thundercracker sighed. "I'll stick around."

"Done," Skywarp said, rolling his optics. "More entertaining than this, anyway."

X x x

Skyfire, he heard Airrazor laugh.

Skyfire, he heard Tigerhawk call. Where'd you go?

You're not real, Skyfire thought. You're not real.

They could stand the emptiness of space. They could stand being exiles, they could stand knowing that they'd never see Cybertron again. They were never pained by the price of being omegas, as long as they had each other.

But then...that all changed, didn't it? The battle between the Autobots and the Decepticons reached past Cybertron. Wrong planet, wrong place, wrong time. That was all it took.

Sometimes, if he just flew far enough, if he just flew quickly enough, the world around him became just a stretch of endless white sands, and the sounds all around him melted into silence. It was there that he thought that he could hear them, calling to him.

Skyfire, Airrazor laughed.

Skyfire, Tigerhawk called.

Wake up.

Skyfire's optics opened, scarlet light glowing brightly. He got up with difficulty, and looked around. Silver walls surrounded him. He was at one end of the room, and the berths between him and the exit leading into a shadowed hall were empty.

Hopsital? he thought. Gingerly, he got out of the berth. He winced as his metal and wires protested the movement. It was as though he hadn't moved in a long time. He looked down at himself, confused and more than a little disturbed. His armour was covered in gashes and scrapes and cracks, the wiring showing in some places. Looking carefully, he could see several sealed energon leaks.

What was going on?

He reached the exit, leaning against the wall for support. His hand accidentally pressed against a button on the wall. He looked over, startled, as one side of the room began rising, metal sliding upwards to reveal a large window underneath.

He looked, and saw a planet of red sands and three moons on the other side of the window.

Ship?

He looked around frantically. Autobots? This can't be an Autobot ship... His spark trembled at the thought.

"Look who's finally awake," said a voice. "The deltas did a decent job; you actually look like a seeker again." Skyfire jumped. Another seeker was leaning against the door frame. It was as though he had suddenly popped out of nowhere. Skyfire recoiled.

"Who are you?" he asked, his voice coming out shakier than he would have liked.

The newcomer's grin widened. "Aw, Skyfire. What's wrong? Can't remember an old buddy?"

Skyfire's optics widened. "Skywarp?"

"The one and only. Now are you going to start asking pesky questions like 'where am I?' 'what is this place?' 'what vorn is it?' and all that stuff?"

"I'd very much like to know," Skyfire managed after a pause.

"I ain't telling," Skywarp said carelessly. "That'd spoil the surprise. 'Sides, Starscream wanted to talk to you."

"Starscream?" Skyfire asked, feeling relieved.

"Duh. He's the one who ordered that your sorry aft be rescued and repaired." Skywarp was still smirking. "Myself, I would have left you in the ice."

Skyfire decided to ignore that. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Don't know," Skywarp said, his red optics glinting in the light of the planet. "Starscream somehow found your emergency beacon and dragged us here. We found you frozen up in the poles at this place. What did you do, crash land?"

Skyfire frowned. He remembered...trying to fly quickly enough, far enough...

I must have made a mistake, somewhere...

"And where are Airrazor and Tigerhawk?" Skywarp asked.

Skyfire's attention snapped back to him. A wave of grief swept over him. He struggled to find the words, and said, "They're gone."

A strange look passed over Skywarp's faceplate. "Oh."

"I'm sorry."

"Huh, what for?"

"Tigerhawk was your mentor, wasn't he?"

"Oh yeah. Him," Skywarp said, waving him away. "It's alright." He was already grinning again.

Skyfire looked carefully at him. It made him angry, somehow, that Skywarp didn't seem to care when his own spark was still torn asunder...
But alphas are not meant to care about their omegas. Alphas do not answer to anyone.

He buried his rising emotions. Tigerhawk...would have approved of this. He forced himself to listen to what Skywarp was saying.

"Anyway," Skywarp said. "Starscream would have come himself, except he ran into a little bit of a problem. But now we know," he said in a sing-song tone and giving Skyfire an exasperated look. "Youngling plus unlocked door plus unguarded exit equals escape attempt. An equation that never fails." He smiled at Skyfire's mystified expression. "The joys of raising a youngling."

"I need to see Starscream," Skyfire said after a pause, and attempted to get past Skywarp. But although the seeker was smaller than he was, Skywarp still managed to push him aside.

"Not like that, you aren't," he said, continuing his patronizing tone. "I'll tell his greatness that you're awake, you're going to finish getting repaired. Not that I care, by the way," he added, as though Skyfire could ever mistake his nonexistent concern. "But Starscream did make it pretty clear that he'd have my innards if you came to him looking like you lost a fight with a cyber-hound."

As if on cue, another seeker came forth from the halls, and led Skyfire back into the room.

"But..."

"See you later, Skyfire," Skywarp said, already heading down the hall and not bothering to look back.

X x x

Skyfire towered over even alphas, but the seeker who was repairing him-Aerial-was on the opposite end of the design table. As a delta, he barely looked taller than the protoform model most seekers were sparked in, and had the minimum of upgrades. His sleeker form would have flown easier in the air in comparison to the bulkier forms of beta and even gamma seekers, though he would not been able to fly as quickly or as far. His nimble fingers, unburdened by upgrades, were quick at their repairs.

He ran tests on Skyfire's programs to make sure that they hadn't sustained damage. Then he replaced Skyfire's scratched and battered armour, sealing it atop Skyfire's primary metal layer that housed wires pumping with energon. "I apologize," he said quietly. "That I hadn't done so sooner, but I thought it would be better to begin when you were awake. We finished the most crucial of repairs to bring you out of stasis-lock, but some of your programs still needed to be tested for abnormal function, and your self-defence programs might have reacted badly to the change while unconscious."

"You have nothing to apologize for," Skyfire said. "I can only thank you for repairing me."

Aerial paused in his work, looking slightly confused, as though he wasn't used to being thanked, before choosing to carefully ignore Skyfire's comment.

Skyfire looked down at his shoulder. The dark Decepticon insignia at his right shoulder stood out from the silver metal. "I thought that the seekers declared their neutrality," he remarked.

"You must have been trapped there for a very long time," Aerial said mildly in answer, finishing up. "Those were the former alphas. Shortly after our current alphas took over, our flock swore allegiance to the Decepticons, and many others followed suit, especially when Lord Starscream became the second-in-command of the Decepticon army. There are those, however, who chose to join the Autobots. Neutrality is hard to come by these orns; I doubt any neutrals exist anymore."

Skyfire' looked once again at the Decepticon insignia, not sure of what he felt about that. But at least we are not with the Autobots...

"But if there were any neutrals left," Aerial continued. "I have no doubt that they, too, would have joined the Decepticons, now that Starscream is leader..."

"Starscream is the Decepticon leader?" Skyfire asked, surprised. "I did not know that Megatron had been terminated."

"Megatron...had vanished for quite some while," Aerial said slowly. "During that time, the loyalty of the Decepticons were divided, each swearing allegiance to a different high-ranking member. Though Lord Starscream was second-in-command, there were others who had equal influence, others who claimed that Megatron still lived. But now that his termination has been confirmed, one can only imagine how power will now be divided." He looked at Skyfire, his gaze strangely piercing. "Lord Starscream is the rightful leader, of course," he added. "But I do foresee some difficulty ahead. For now, the Decepticon army is...quite leaderless."

Skyfire's optics widened. He knew the consequences of alpha-less seekers; he could only imagine what the effects were on a large group that was countless times larger than even the largest flock in seeker history, which numbered twelve trines, a staggering thirty-six seekers. Starscream's flock was currently the largest in existence, with twenty-four seekers.

"You're all set," Aerial said, stepping back. He then winced, his optics closing. He tilted his head a bit, as though he was listening to a voice only he could hear.

"Are you alright?"

But Aerial did not answer him. "Understood," he murmured, his optics dim. Then he looked back at Skyfire. "Lord Starscream will see you now," he said, and helped him up.

The walk to where Starscream was seemed long, hallway after hallway, shadow after shadow, maze within maze. The ship was expansive...or perhaps only seemed that way. Skyfire wondered how the seekers' claustrophobia withstood having to be in this base as it endlessly wandered. He could hear the sounds of full-grown seekers going about their business...but something was amiss. He couldn't hear the light murmurs at the back of his mind, the tell-tale frequencies of those too young to have their own mind-walls.

"Where are the young ones?" Skyfire asked. "I heard that the Allspark vanished, but..."

"Yes," Aerial sighed. "You've definitely been out for a long time."

Then he paused. "Forgive me," he continued, inclining his head. "Of course you would not understand our situation. After the Allspark disappeared, all our power was not enough to sustain the young ones. Pods and bodies are constantly being built and rebuilt all the time in anticipation. Without the Cube, rarely are we lucky enough to be granted phantoms of a new spark, and even then, all those we've had have faded within moments. I can only assume that other flocks have fared just as well."

"The situation is that bad?"

"I believe it speaks for itself." There was a pause, and the two seekers rounded another corner. "We haven't had young ones in a very long time...that is until..." Then he faced Skyfire, his smile strained. "Well, Lord Starscream will tell you all about that. Here we are," Aerial said, stopping suddenly. He inclined his head again, waiting at the side of the door.

Skyfire entered, and Aerial slipped in behind him.

To his right, one wall of the room consisted almost entirely of a wide window. Moonlight and starlight gently glowed upon an ocean of red sand, framed by an equally alien sky. To his left, the floor stopped abruptly to reveal many consoles on a lower floor, messages blinking on the screens even though the gammas who usually attended to such things were absent. Aerial stood at attention with his two other trine-mates at the edge of that floor.

And in front of him, sitting upon a throne, was Starscream.

Starscream had been slouched in his seat with a look of utter boredom, but he sat up straighter at Skyfire's entrance. One arm was draped over the armrest, and with the other arm, he carefully supported something...something sleeping.

Skyfire remembered, for some reason, a conversation from a long time ago...

They had been granted a tiny hatchling. He was not made by the Allspark, so he had been weak, and the phantoms of his spark held precariously together. But oh, it held. He and Starscream had watched as the body animated, as the energon went from grey to purple as it was energized, as dark optics went bright. Then the tiny thing had hatched, the pod it was encased in having finished its task. He was a small, and light, barely three quarters of the size of his fully upgraded form and having none of the proper features of a seeker. Skyfire caught him before he fell, cleaned him up gently, and handed the young one over to Starscream, who held him carefully, his optics wide in wonderment. "One of the most important duties of an alpha," he had told Starscream, "is to protect the future. Listen to your instincts, and you will not be led astray."

"Starscream," Skyfire greeted warmly. "Thank-you for rescuing me." Too late, Skyfire remembered that Starscream had long ago attained alpha status, and should be treated as such. Out of the edges of his viewing screens, he saw Aerial and his two trine mates looking at one another, probably wondering at Skyfire's disrespect.

Starscream did not acknowledge his gratitude, and the first words he said were,"Why did you leave?"

Skyfire's optics shuttered in surprise at the vehemence in Starscream's tone. "I...I was created to serve and protect you until you gained alpha status," Skyfire said, composing himself. He adopted a low, soothing tone that he hadn't used in a long time. "When that was accomplished, the elders acknowledged my obsolescence and I had to leave with my trine lest we disrupt the integrity of the new order. You no longer needed me."

Starscream's optics narrowed. "I didn't need you," he said. "But that doesn't change the fact that I wanted you here." He got up a little in his seat, and the being began to stir. He froze at the movement, and his expression softened as he looked down at his burden. Carefully, he gathered him up in both arms.

For a few spark pulses, every optic in the room was trained on the sight.

Starscream didn't even have to give an order for Aerial to come up next to him. He handed his charge over with great care.

"You know where to put him," he growled. Aerial inclined his head, and turned to leave. His two trine mates followed him. Skyfire barely caught a glimpse of red optics, flickering and looking blearily at him from over Aerial's shoulder before the owner of those optics was whisked away.

The doors shut behind them.

"Descent," Starscream said in way of explaining. "You will meet him later."

"Was that...a youngling?" Skyfire asked in surprise. "But I see that he is not a seeker..."

"We did not create him ourselves," Starscream said, answering the unspoken question. "But of course, you understand the burden of our programming; that we must care for the young even when they are not seeker-framed." He paused, and then tilted his head, looking at Skyfire piercingly. Skyfire's gaze remained respectfully on the floor at Starscream's feet. "I rescued Descent from the Autobots," he said finally. "He still bears scars from the experience."

"Forgive my ignorance, my lord."

Starscream's optics narrowed once again. "Don't 'my lord' me," he snapped. "It doesn't sound right, coming from you."

"Of course...Starscream."

Starscream regarded him in silence for a moment. "So now that you've thawed out, what are you going to do now?" he asked.

"I don't know," Skyfire said simply, honestly. "My trine is gone," -he pushed away another wave of pain, "-and, as a previous generation omega, I am obsolete-"

"You are not obsolete!" Starscream said, slamming his fist against the armrest. Skyfire fought the strange urge to take a step backward. "You're going to stay here," Starscream continued, more calmly this time. He settled down once more in his throne.

"But-"

"Are you going to disobey me?" Starscream asked, his voice suddenly quiet.

"No, Starscream," he said soothingly, remembering his place. "My loyalty has, and always will be, to you."

"Good," Starscream said. There was another pause, and then he said, "You're the only one I can trust."

"With what?" Skyfire felt compelled to ask.

"Descent," Starscream said simply. "The hatchlings. Betas and gammas couldn't deal with a youngling if it came with an instruction manual, and deltas can't be trusted for long with such important tasks. Thundercracker tries, but that fool can't even make sure that a youngling won't leave the safety of the base. We are at war, Skyfire," Starscream continued. "I can't be around all the time, and as incompetent as he is, I need Thundercracker. So you will stay here, and you will watch over the young ones for me, do you understand?"

No, Skyfire didn't quite understand. He'd only been awake for the past half orn after he didn't know how many vorns of being trapped.

But at least Starscream was here.

"Of course."

"Good," Starscream said. He paused for a moment, as if unsure of where to take the conversation. Vorns upon vorns ago, the younger Starscream would have pestered Skyfire, demanded to know where he had been, what he had seen...but Starscream was alpha, now. He could not act like a newly-sparked seeker. "Now go," he said finally. "I will call you when I need you. The deltas waiting for you outside the door will show you to your rooms."

Skyfire didn't know what to say, except, "As you command." He turned to go.

"Skyfire," Starscream said. Skyfire turned around again. "It's good to see you back. You took care of me, all those vorns. Now it's my turn."
Skyfire thought about how to answer, but Starscream was leaving, and the other seekers were already leading him away.