A World Beyond Our Own | TFP AU

21 || Pawn

Taylor didn't get a wink of sleep. She was absolutely terrified, ripped from slumber even at the slightest noise. It didn't make things any better that Megatron was in the den with her.

And when she finally managed to slip into a somewhat peaceful slumber, Megatron interrupted.

"Get up, fleshling." The warlord growled, his hot breath ruffling her hair.

Taylor's eyes shot open, her breath hitching in her chest. She quickly pushed herself up despite her body's protests and turned around to look at Megatron.

"W-What do you want?" She stammered, failing to keep her composure. Just gazing upon the massive silver dragon was enough to instill fear into the hearts of anyone.

Megatron did not answer. He simply lifted her from the ground with a rough tug of his jaws and padded outside.

The sun had barely come up. It was dark and the air still had a biting chill to it. Despite how early it was, the Decepticon camp was bustling with activity. Strangely enough, there weren't as many Vehicons as Taylor thought there would've been. Usually the camp was swarming with them. Where had they all gone?

"Ah, Lord Megatron! I see you've gotten our prisoner up bright and early." Starscream said as he approached, bearing that signature sneer of his. "The scouting party you requested is ready to move out upon your command."

"Excellent." Megatron muttered through his teeth. He bent his head and dropped Taylor at his paws so he could speak more clearly. "And what of Soundwave?"

"He is awaiting your command as we speak."

Taylor grew increasingly nervous as their conversation went on. She had no idea what was going on, but her gut feeling was that it wasn't anything good.

Oh, what she would give to be snuggled up in Ratchet's den right now...

A small yelp escaped her as she was yanked from the ground yet again, by Starscream this time, and carried away like a piece of freshkill.

"Hey! Where are we going?" She was too tired to struggle much, but she still had her voice.

"Be quiet, fleshling!" The slim dragon hissed, his teeth slicing deeper into her sweatshirt.

Taylor huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. She hated Starscream. As he carried her towards a group of Vehicons mingling amongst themselves, an earth-shattering roar suddenly rang out. She slapped her hands over her ears, the deafening sound rattling her to her core. It had to have come from Megatron, no doubt.

Birds fled from their hiding places in the bushes, the sound of their fluttering wings filling the air for a moment before everything went silent again. Any creature within a five-mile radius definitely heard the Decepticon leader's roar.

Taylor didn't have much time to wonder why Megatron did that. Starscream was already on the move again, the group of Vehicons following at his heels as he headed into the forest. She gulped nervously and hugged herself. This wasn't good.

*
*
*

"Wake up!"

Taylor felt herself being shaken like a ragdoll and woke up with a loud gasp. She must've fallen asleep at some point without realizing it.

"I'm awake, I'm awake." She muttered, rubbing her eyes.

"Good, because this is your chance to prove your usefulness to me." Starscream seethed. He let her fall from his jaws, not caring to be gentle.

Taylor winced as she landed hard on her side. Pain flared up in her shoulder, forcing her to fight back tears as she pushed herself to her feet. "What do you want, Starscream...?"

She stumbled a bit when the seeker slammed his paw down next to her, a cry of surprise escaping her parted lips.

"Don't use that tone with me, fleshling!" He snarled while flashing his teeth. After a moment, he withdrew his paw and composed himself. "Now, I order you to bring me to the human place."

Taylor's heart practically leapt into her throat. "What?! The human place?"

"You heard me!"

"B-But you guys hate humans, don't you? Why would you want to find more of them if you've been hiding from them this entire time like a bunch of cowards?"

Starscream hissed in frustration and pinned her to the ground with his paw, his talons anchoring deep into the ground. "You dare call us cowards?! We haven't been hiding from them. We've just been biding our time, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Now we shall finally have our revenge!"

Taylor frowned. "Never! I'll never lead you to them just so you can kill them all!" She shouted defiantly.

"You shall pay for your insolence, human! After I burn you to a crisp, your pathetic friends shall be next!" Starscream reared his head back, parting his jaws to reveal an orange glow in the back of his throat.

Taylor's eyes widened in horror. She had never seen one of them breathe fire before! She didn't even think they were capable of that!

"Commander Starscream!" A Vehicon interrupted Starscream before he could unleash a wave of fire upon Taylor.

Starscream hissed, the fire disappearing back down the depths of his throat. He whipped his head around to glare at the Vehicon who had spoken up.

"What is it?" He snarled.

The Vehicon shrunk back in fear, yet he stood his ground. "R-Remember what Lord Megatron said. He wants the girl alive. How else will we get to the human place?"

Starscream blinked in disbelief. This Vehicon just made him look like an absolute fool! Forcing a chuckle, he released Taylor and lashed his tail.

"Yes, of course." He muttered dejectedly. His head swiveled back towards Taylor, who was still cowering on the ground. "You will lead us to the human place, or else I'll make sure you never see the Autobots again."

Taylor swallowed hard, fear reigniting in her heart. She desperately wanted to see the Autobots again, just to make sure they were alright. But, she didn't want to abandon her own kind by leading the Decepticons straight to where they lived! The poor girl was torn. Decision-making had never been her strong suit.

The risk of never seeing the Autobots again clashed with the risk of single-handedly causing the destruction of mankind. She had to come up with something. Anything. She had no other choice.

"F-Fine... I'll take you to the human place.." She murmured softly in defeat.

Starscream grinned victoriously, holding his head high. "Good choice."

---

I'M ALIVE!

Sorry for taking so long to update. As you know, I've been trying to take a bit of a break from writing. I can never fully stay away from it, though. Too many ideas XD

Anyways, I hope you guys are still enjoying this book! Thank you for all the reads!