The following week carried on more or less peacefully. Though Starscream still held a grudge against Ratchet for not giving him a cube the other day, he was relieved to find out it was only temporary. The next two interrogation sessions came with a cube, the first one eagerly devoured quickly. In return for the cubes, however, Starscream did not tell Ratchet much, other than that Megatron was looking for more Dark Energon to do something big (which the Autobots already knew), and that though Megatron was in possession of all the Earth's Energon mines, they wouldn't last forever (something that the Autobots also already knew about).
"I'm beginning to think he doesn't actually know as much as we had hoped," Ratchet said the day after the second interrogation.
"He's probably just pretending he knows something so we can keep him here, all nice and cozy," Arcee said coldly. "It wouldn't be unlike him to do something like that."
"Well, I say we make him tell us more," Bulkhead said and clenched his fists.
"No," Optimus protested. "We do not resort to violence unless absolute necessary. And using it in an interrogation is not the Autobot way."
"But what do we do when he ends up running out of useful info?" Arcee asked. "Do we just drop him off for Megatron to find?"
"I'd feel better when he's gone, honestly," Bulkhead said. "I'll never forget what he tried to do to Miko back in the mine. I say we let him go."
Most of the Autobots agreed, but Optimus raised a servo in objection.
"We do not know what would happen to him if we give him back to the Decepticons. Airachnid could have acted on her own when she left him, but if she was following Megatron's orders... I do not believe he would take Starscream's return well."
"So what if he scraps him?" Bulkhead replied. "One less 'Con to worry about. And one of the worst, for that matter!"
"If we act indifferently to Starscream's fate by sending him back, we are no better than the Decepticons. We Autobots differ from the Decepticons by knowing the concept of mercy."
They all silenced, neither disagreeing nor wanting to protest against Optimus' statement. They knew he was right. He interpreted the silence as understanding and continued talking.
"However frustrating he may be, we have to be patient with Starscream. He will come around, sooner or later. But make no mistake, we will keep a close eye on him at all times."
-----
The next evening, Ratchet was checking a sample of Synthetic Energon; ever since Bulkhead lost the formula, Ratchet had continued to connect the missing pieces in an attempt to complete the unfinished formula, then worked several days on the development. Rafael was currently present in the base, having come home from school early and having regained control of his homework – Jack was working at the drive-thru, and Miko was in detention (again) – and leaned against the railings, looking interested at Ratchet's work.
"Hey, Ratchet. Is that Synthetic Energon?" he asked curiously.
"Well, yes," Ratchet replied while checking the cells on the Synth-En. "In fact I am preparing to test a sample. I see that you come equipped with protective goggles," he added with a smile, referring to Raf's glasses.
"I can watch?" the boy asked eagerly.
Ratchet chuckled. "We just add some to this test engine..." He injected the test engine with the Synthetic Energon. He and Raf watched as the blue light turned green from the change of Energon, followed by the engine running smoothly with a purring sound.
"It works!" Raf exclaimed. "Bee!"
"Ahp-yep-ep!" Ratchet protested. "This saturation of the formula requires further trial before we can even think about using it for fuel, ammunition or first-aid. Which is rather unfortunate since our own Energon reserves are at an all-time low. Our severely outnumbered warriors have been rapidly burning through our stockpile of late, as the Decepticons continue to run us ragged and grind us down. Natural Energon is in such short supply on your planet, and Megatron seems to have his oily claws buried deep in all the Earth's deposits. But, if we can successfully produce a synthetic form, we can manufacture all the energy we'll ever need."
Arcee and Bumblebee entered the command center from the training room. "Hey Ratch," Arcee said. "It's interrogation time again."
Ratchet sighed and rose up from his work. Raf glanced from the hallway to Ratchet.
"I still can't believe you're actually keeping Starscream here," he said. "Isn't it, you know, dangerous?"
"Very," Ratchet replied. "But we have it all under control. I'm not particularly looking forward to this session though."
"Why not?"
"It's because we're low on Energon, isn't it, doc?" Bulkhead asked, having entered the command center after Arcee and Bumblebee. Ratchet nodded.
"Our supplies are too low to spend on him at the moment. If you enter another battle now and get wounded, we'll need what little Energon we have left to fix you up."
"Not that Scream is going to care, of course," Arcee said. "He just wants the room-service we provide."
"Yes. He certainly won't like this news." Ratchet walked towards the hallway. "Let's just get this over with so I can return to my work."
-----
Starscream wandered restlessly back and forth in his dim cell. So far the Autobots had bought the information he told them, but he feared they might be beginning to suspect he didn't know as much as they wanted him to. The last two sessions had certainly not contributed well to their belief that he had useful information. Nonetheless, Ratchet had continued to give him an Energon cube every second day, as he did his best to behave – the way the Autobots thought was behaving, anyway – so it would probably still be long until they lost interest in him.
At least, that's what he had believed, until Ratchet opened his cell door for their scheduled session. The Seeker stopped his wandering back-and-forth and gave the doctor a crooked smile of expectation.
"Ah, another interrogation, I see," he said and inspected Ratchet from top to bottom. His smile faded as he failed to see the usual Energon cube on him. Confusion and panic struck him. "Uh...where's my cube?"
"Sorry, you're not getting one today," Ratchet replied. "Sit down, please."
Starscream faced full front and scowled at the medic. "What do you mean I'm not getting one today? I've behaved recently, haven't I?"
"Indeed, and I'm grateful for it. It's easier to work when you cooperate. Now please, sit down," he repeated, a little sterner.
But Starscream did not want to obey the medic at the moment. "Not until you explain to me why you see fit to ignore my needs, when I have obviously not done anything wrong!"
"Sit. Down," Ratchet repeated impatiently, this time with an undertone of anger, making the Seeker wince back a little. He snorted, but sat down on the floor up against the wall, giving him a more vulnerable position – in Ratchet's favor, not so much in Starscream's own favor – just like the previous sessions. "Now, speak."
Starscream kept silent for a moment, considering his next move here. Seeing as his previous sessions had been less than informative, it would be unwise not to say anything this time at all. It would certainly give the Autobots an indication that he really didn't know anything useful. However, the Seeker also knew it would be stupid to tell him anything during this current situation. If he told Ratchet something useful, would that not indicate that they did not have to feed him to get information? They would most likely give him less Energon, or even worse, they would completely stop giving him Energon, thus letting him starve to death!
"I said speak," Ratchet repeated impatiently.
Starscream made his decision: He wouldn't say anything to the medic. He remained silent and turned his head in a pout. Ratchet sighed in irritation.
"Look, the reason you're not getting a cube is that we're very low on Energon," he gave in. "We simply cannot afford to spend any more to feed you."
Starscream snorted. "Well isn't that just typical of you Autobots. You only care about yourselves, never about someone who's alone in a small, dark room with nothing to do, every day and every night, slowly starving to death."
Ratchet clenched his fists in anger. "We're not just thinking about ourselves," he protested. "We're trying to protect Earth and find a way to restore Cybertron, while you Decepticons are only interested in conquest. Isn't that what you want, Starscream? To be leader of the Decepticons?"
"That was my former ambition. Right now I just want to get my revenge on Megatron."
"But it was Airachnid who—"
"Megatron set me up, I know it!" Starscream exclaimed. "He wanted to get rid of me, he wanted that ever since what happened in the mine! You can't send me back, he'll kill me!" There were traces of both anger and fear in his voice. Ratchet wasn't surprised, but the Seeker's behavior still bugged him.
"We're getting off track here," the medic said annoyed. "Just tell me something."
Starscream returned to his pouting position, crossing his arms stubbornly. "Sorry, no Energon, no information."
Ratchet sighed and face-palmed. "I don't have time for this," he said and got up, heading for the door.
Starscream looked surprised up. "Wait, where are you going?"
"I have work to do. Perhaps you'll be more cooperative in two days." He went out the door and closed it behind him. The door locked with a beep.
"No, wait, don't leave me here!" Starscream exclaimed and crawled hectically along the floor as Ratchet left the hallway, ignoring his outbursts. "You can't just let me rot in this hole! Stop ignoring me!"
As Ratchet did not return and he got no response, Starscream sat on his knees and stared into the floor. It's just a matter of time before they kick me out, he thought anxiously. And then I'll perish.
-----
"He wouldn't tell you anything?" Bumblebee asked as Ratchet entered the command center much earlier than usual.
"Nope. He seems to stand by the principle of getting a cube in return for information."
"Oh, that sassy little..." Bulkhead said and slammed his fists together. "Let me in there so I can teach him—"
"Stand down, Bulkhead," Optimus said and laid a servo on the green bot's shoulder. "Remember what I said. No violence unless absolute necessary. It is only natural that Starscream would be upset about not getting Energon. We need to talk to him about it, not punish him further."
"We can't afford to give him any cubes though," Arcee pointed out. "Our supplies are too low."
"Besides, if I went back in there again, without a cube, I don't think he will tell me anything anymore," Ratchet said. "At least not unless I use force."
"I'll give him a little talk," Bulkhead said and stepped forward, but was stopped by Optimus.
"No, I will talk to him. He might see the situation differently if I am the one standing before him."
Bulkhead had no objections against that, so he stepped back and let Optimus enter the hallway. Raf leaned against the safety rails.
"Are you sure Optimus can make Starscream talk?" he asked doubtfully.
"If there's anyone who can make a lowly 'Con like him talk, it's Optimus," Arcee assured.
"Yes," Ratchet agreed, as he returned to the Synthetic Energon. "Starscream may not like Optimus, but he must at least have some respect for him. Everyone respects Optimus, even the Decepticons."
"Yeah, Prime will make him talk," Bumblebee agreed.
-----
Starscream got a shock as the door opened up. He hadn't expected Ratchet to return so soon. He was still sitting on his knees in the same position as the doctor had left him in.
"Back already?" he said. "I thought you were too busy to—"
He silenced and widened his optics as he saw that it was not Ratchet standing before the kneeling Seeker – it was Optimus Prime. He was really big, just as big as Megatron, but he looked even taller from Starscream's kneeling position. The light from outside flashed against Prime's back, making his front dark and gloomy.
"P-P-P-Prime?! Wh-what are you—"
"Be quiet," Optimus said calmly as he closed the door, silencing the Seeker. The room was once again shrouded in darkness, the only light coming from the dim wall lamps and the two mechs' optics. Starscream had never noticed how dark this room actually was, not until the large Autobot leader had stepped inside.
Starscream's gaze fell on the floor as a series of questions appeared in the anxious Seeker's mind. What did Prime want? Was he mad about him not telling Ratchet anything? Was he going to pummel him like Megatron used to when he was misbehaving? Was he going to kick him out and leave him for the Decepticons to find?
"Please don't hurt me," he said desperately and lowered his wings in submission. "I promise I'll be nice. Keep your stupid Energon, just let me live!"
"You misunderstand," Prime said patiently. "I am not here to punish you. I simply need to talk to you."
Starscream dared to lift his gaze and look at Prime's face. "Talk...to me?" he repeated nervously.
"Yes. I apologize for the absence of your cube, but our supplies are dangerously low. We need to have some in case any of us get injured in battle." Starscream held back a snort – it would be unwise to be rude against the Prime in his current situation. "But you can help," Optimus continued. "You still know the locations of Megatron's Energon mines, do you not?"
"Well, yes, but..."
"Then tell me at least one of the locations, so we can acquire more Energon. For ourselves and for you."
Starscream hesitated. He knew about many of the mines, but for some reason, his memory was failing him recently, at least as far as Decepticon information was concerned. He hadn't thought about it before, but now he realized he had had problems with remembering things ever since he joined the Autobots. He tried with all his might and will to remember an Energon mine location, but they mixed in his processor; he couldn't tell which mines were empty, which were full and which were thin.
"Starscream," Optimus repeated, still calm though with a very slight sterner tone. "You just have to tell me a location of an Energon mine."
"Don't rush me," the Seeker hissed, when he suddenly remembered one. "Wait! There is a deposit that was just recently discovered, and it was quite a mother-load. I think there's Energon in there for several months supply."
"Give me the coordinates."
"Um..." Starscream struggled in remembering the coordinates. "116, 39. In a canyon."
Optimus studied the Seeker for a moment, then nodded and opened the door. "Thank you for the information. We will be back soon."
As Prime closed the door, Starscream realized too late that he might have given him the wrong coordinates. There was another deposit not far from the mother-load, which had much less Energon and not nearly enough to last even a few days. The two locations were still too far from each other to detect the other though.
He dreaded to think what the Autobots would do to him when they returned from the poor raid. He crawled up against the corner, staring anxious at the windows.
-----
As Optimus entered the command center, he found that everyone except Ratchet were absent.
"Ratchet, where are the others?" he asked.
"Oh," the doctor said and looked up from the Synthetic Energon. "The computer detected Energon on the move. The others weren't patient enough to wait for you, so they went on ahead to obtain it."
"Open a GroundBridge. I will accompany them."
Ratchet opened the GroundBridge and reminded Optimus that their Energon stockings were almost depleted, and that if any of them came back wounded, it might be difficult for them to recover. As Prime left through the GroundBridge, Ratchet wished he could do more. An idea struck his mind, and he looked down at the Synthetic Energon.
"Time to find out if you're ready to be used on Autobots," he said and injected the Synth-En into his arm. His blue optics turned green, he began shuddering and dropped the jar. The world turned dark around him, and then he passed out on the floor.
Raf noticed the doctor's fall and went over to him, waking him up by calling his name. Ratchet found it puzzling and annoying that such small beings could be so loud.
After finding out that the Synthetic Energon made him feel better than ever, Optimus called the base to ask for an emergency GroundBridge. Apparently Arcee was chasing after Knock Out and Breakdown who had an Energon cube, and she wouldn't stop because they needed the Energon, even if it was just a single cube. He locked onto her coordinates, but she told him she was too close. Her status meter then showed she got hurt, which prompted Ratchet to open an emergency GroundBridge and went through it himself to save Arcee, leaving Raf to man the 'Bridge.
While waiting for Ratchet to return, Raf poked around on his laptop to see if there was any way he could help – that is, until he came across something interesting.
He found what seemed to be a video feed of Starscream in a room, and it looked an awful lot like the rooms in the base. He quickly realized that the video was a security camera, as he remembered Bumblebee telling him that they had installed a camera into the wall after Starscream's 'episode', so that they could keep a closer eye on him, in case of another outburst. As such, they were able to determine when he had behaved or misbehaved, and in case of misbehavior, whether they had to put him in place or not.
Right now, the Seeker was crouched up against the corner of the wall opposite to his recharging table, muttering lowly to himself. Raf turned up the volume in an attempt to hear what he was saying, though he could only make out small bits and pieces.
"...wait...when I get out...show them...regret...let me in..."
From what he could hear, it sounded an awful lot like Starscream was planning to escape. Almost as if he was planning for the Autobots to let him go, and then he would attack them or something.
"I better tell the others about this when they get back," Raf said to himself.
After a few minutes, Optimus called the base and requested for a GroundBridge. Raf used all his strength to pull down the heavy switch and opened a portal. The Autobots entered with Ratchet in the lead.
"What happened?" Raf asked as he saw the look on their faces. Ratchet seemed rather elated, and the others seemed to be admiring the doctor – even Optimus had a curious look on his face.
"I only saw the gory aftermath, but I hear the doc was a one-bot wrecking machine," Bulkhead replied with an impressed tone.
Ratchet went over to Raf and picked him up, to the boy's surprise. "Hey there, little buddy," the doc said and dropped the boy back onto the floor.
"Hey!" Raf said surprised. "I have something to—"
"Alright, what's your secret?" Arcee asked, interrupting Raf.
"No secret. Just a little something I like to call Synth-En," Ratchet replied and threw a full jar over to Arcee, who caught it.
"Guys, I—" Raf said but was interrupted once again, as if they didn't hear him.
"From the data Bulkhead transcribed?" Arcee said and handed the jar to Bumblebee. "I thought the formula was..."
"Incomplete?" Ratchet ended for her. "Not anymore."
"Guys, I found something I think you should—" Raf tried again, but was then interrupted by Bumblebee.
"It's...green?" Bumblebee bleeped upon inspecting it, then passed it on to Bulkhead.
"So Ratchet makes a better tough guy than I do a smart guy?" the green mech said baffled and handed the jar over to Optimus, who didn't seem as impressed about the situation anymore. He seemed more concerned than happy – then again, Prime rarely smiled.
"Ratchet, I question your wisdom in using yourself as a test subject," he said.
"G—" Raf didn't even get to say a word before he was interrupted again.
"Optimus, you didn't see Ratchet out there. He was in overdrive! We should all try this stuff!"
"Or give Ratchet more so we can take a vacation," Bulkhead suggested jokingly.
"I agree that the initial results seem...promising," Optimus said and walked over to Ratchet. "But I recommend that further testing be confined to machines, not Autobots. Outnumbered though we may be, old friend," he said and laid a servo on the medic's shoulder, "we need a warrior in the laboratory right now, more than we need another in the field."
"GUYS!" Raf exclaimed. Finally he got the Autobots' attention. He looked a bit shyly at them for his outburst. "Sorry. I saw Starscream on the security camera, and I think he's planning to escape."
The Autobots looked at each other, then back at Raf.
"Well, why wouldn't he?" Arcee said. "He's our prisoner, so it makes sense that he'd want to get out."
"But," Raf continued, not certain they understood what he meant, "I heard him say that when he gets out, you'll regret having let him in. Or something like that. It sounded like he was planning an attack."
They shared glances once more.
"Thank you for the information, Rafael," Optimus said. "We will continue to keep a close eye on Starscream. He will not get a chance to escape anytime soon."
-----
The following morning, Ratchet was in the training room with Bulkhead to show him how he handled the Vehicons.
"And then," Ratchet said and jumped, "he came right at me, and I..." He waved at Bulkhead. "Well, come on, Bulk! Come at me!"
Bulkhead looked surprised at the medic and made a resenting gesture. "I don't wanna hurt you, Ratch." To his surprise, the doctor slapped him across the faceplate and retook his battle stance.
"I said: Come at me!" Ratchet repeated eagerly.
As if triggered by the slap, Bulkhead turned his servo into a wrecking ball and charged at Ratchet. The medic dodged the Wrecker's attack, then proceeded to lift him up and threw him against the wall. Bulkhead went right through the wall and landed on the wall behind it, in the hallway. The first wall had broken off the speed, thus lessening the impact on the second wall, but it still had some cracks in it.
"What was that?" Arcee exclaimed as she and Bumblebee entered the hallway. They saw Bulkhead lying upside-down against the wall with pieces of the broken wall below him. He groaned by the impact.
"You have competition, Bulk," Ratchet said as he walked out, punching the air in an excited state. "I'm a bit stronger than I used to be." He walked out of the room, over the rubble. "Also a bit faster, THOOM!" He made a movement against Bumblebee as if he was about to punch him, but stopped just as the fist was a mere inch from the scout's face. The doctor chuckled by Bumblebee's reaction. "Think you can take me, muscle-car?"
"No way," Bumblebee said and waved his servos in resentment.
Ratchet retracted his fist from Bumblebee's face. "Wimp."
"Hey, tough guy," Arcee said, "watch where you're throwing Bulk. That's Starscream's cell, and it looks like you made some cracks in it."
"Oh, never mind that," Ratchet said nonchalantly and walked off. "The wall will hold. He won't get out that easily."
-----
Starscream was fast – though uneasily – asleep in the corner that morning, when something huge suddenly hit against the wall from the outside, knocking the surprised Starscream down with a scream of fright, along with his recharging table in the other end.
"What in the name of the AllSpark was that?" he said and looked to the sides. His gaze fell on something lying on the floor next to the recharging table. He crawled over to it and inspected it. It looked like a camera of sorts. A security camera. They had been watching him this whole time, maybe even listened to him!
"Not anymore," he said and struggled getting up. He lifted a leg and stomped hard on the camera, crushing it beneath his ped. His gaze rose to the wall, where the impact had come from. His spark made a jolt as he saw a few cracks in the wall. Whatever had made that impact seemed to have given him just a slight chance to escape. And now that that security camera had been destroyed, the Autobots wouldn't know what he was about to do.
"Alright," he said as he approached the wall and dug his claws into the cracks. "Let's get to work."
-----
Meanwhile, in the command center, the Autobots had entered the coordinates given by Starscream. There was indeed a signal of another vein. And there would most certainly be Decepticons there too.
"Autobots, roll out!" Optimus said, but Bulkhead gestured him to wait.
"Hey, hey, shouldn't we wait for our secret weapon?"
"This mission is unlikely to require medical expertise," Optimus pointed out.
"But you never know if it may require additional firepower," Ratchet said while leaning against the wall in the entrance to the hallway. He walked over to the GroundBridge while adding: "Bumblebee can handle GroundBridge duty."
Bumblebee looked skeptically from Ratchet to Prime. "Optimuus..." he said in a begging tone, but it seemed as if Ratchet had already made the decision official.
"Time to put some hurt on those Decepticons!" Ratchet said with a clenched fist.
-----
Meanwhile, Starscream had spent five long cycles carving through the wall cracks with his still-cuffed servos. After finally cutting all the way through, he pulled his claws out and looked at his work.
"Now, should I pull or push?" he asked himself. It would be easier to do it quietly if he pulled, though vastly difficult. Pushing would be faster and easier, but certainly noisier as well.
After a while of consideration, he decided to push the piece. Although his claws had dug deep, it was still tight in place and only budged a little as he pushed with all his strength. After a whole cycle, the piece finally went all the way through and landed on the floor outside with a loud bang. Starscream hit his face against the wall and recoiled. As he regained his footing, he inspected the hole he had made, which let in a lot of light into the otherwise dark room. It was pretty small, but perhaps if he laid down his wings and made himself as narrow as possible, he might be able to squeeze through...
He did as self-instructed, and though the arms went through easily, he got kind of stuck by the shoulders, as they were the widest part of him. They were just half an inch too wide on both sides. He pushed and squeezed and struggled to pull through; the Autobots must have heard the loud noise from the wall piece, and it wouldn't take them too long to get there and see the Seeker stuck halfway-through the hole. He had to be fast.
"Nggghh, come on, you stupid shoulders!" he snarled in panic as he found that now he couldn't get back into the room again either. This unfortunate situation meant, however, that he was moving further out. "GET THROUGH!"
Pushing against the wall outside and the floor inside the room, he made one last, full-strength push which popped his shoulders through, along with the rest of his narrow body, making him fly through the hole and land hard on the floor outside, face-first. He rose on his knees and stood up the rest of the way on his legs, and now he noticed the wall in front of his cell's wall had an even bigger hole, as if something huge and heavy had been thrown through it with massive strength. Perhaps the Autobots had been a bit too eager in their combat training, a mistake which suited Starscream just fine.
He looked to the left and right, considering which way he should take. He decided to go right, as last time he chose left it was a dead end – he had not considered the fact that the directions were now mirrored, however, since the wall was opposite to the door, meaning Starscream was heading towards the same dead end, but he first realized that later.
-----
As Bumblebee and Rafael stood by the GroundBridge, waiting to hear from the others, a sudden loud bang sounded from the hallway.
"What was that, Bee?" Raf said concerned. "It couldn't be more Scraplets, could it?"
"Either that, an intruder, or Starscream's up to something," Bumblebee bleeped. "Whatever it was, I better go check it out. Can you look after the GroundBridge in the meantime, Raf?"
"Sure," Raf said, though a bit worried. "Be careful, Bee."
Bumblebee went off into the hallway with his blasters ready. He walked carefully among the walls and around the corners. As he rounded a corner, he saw a glimpse of gray that disappeared immediately.
"Hey! Get back here!" he shouted. He ran down the hallway and around the other corner, until he arrived at the broken wall. He inspected the wall to Starscream's cell – there was a small hole where the cracks had been. The scout looked through the hole and into the room. It was empty. Starscream was on the loose.
"Oh, scrap," he bleeped. "The command center! I gotta warn Raf!"
The scout ran off to his right, towards the command center. A few nano-cycles later, Starscream peeked forth from the training room, having hidden behind the wall when he had seen Bumblebee coming from around the corner. He dared to step out from the room and tiptoed off in the same direction as Bumblebee had taken. He soon arrived at the entrance of the command center. He peeked from the wall and saw Bumblebee talking to the human known as Rafael by the GroundBridge controls.
"Starscream's on the loose, Raf," the scout bleeped frantically. "I'm going off to look for him in the hallway again. Keep your eyes and ears open in case he comes here. If you see him, go hide and call me, and I'll be right back. Okay?"
"O-okay," Raf said, rather spooked by the news of the Decepticon loose in the Autobot base; it was just like the Scraplet situation, except that now it was also dangerous for the human. Reassured of his partner's safety, Bumblebee went off through the other entrance to the hallway, in search of Starscream.
Starscream glanced from where Bumblebee had disappeared, to the human boy. He chuckled silently. This was too good an opportunity to let alone. He waited until the boy left his attention to the small screen humans seemed to be so fond of, and then he tiptoed as silently as he could towards the boy. He did once turn around and look, but Starscream had just managed to duck behind the cover of the med bay.
"Bee? Is that you?" Raf called silently. As there was no response, he went back to the screen, slightly anxious.
Starscream reappeared from his cover and stalked closer to Rafael. When he was just a few feet from the boy, this one turned around, but he had noticed Starscream far too late.
"Bumb—" he began, but silenced as Starscream grabbed him between two claws, his thumb perking at the boy's chest and his pointer perking in the back. Altogether, this gave Raf an uneasy feeling that he was about to get impaled, and he could very possibly be, if the Seeker felt like it.
"Shhh," Starscream whispered and held the other pointer against his mouth. "Be quiet, little boy. If you make so much as a peep, I will spike your puny human spark." He grinned maliciously at the boy's frightful reaction.
"Wh-what do...do you want...?" Raf whispered anxiously, hoping it was silent enough for the Seeker.
"I want to get free, of course," Starscream whispered. "But first I need a few things. Now, firstly, where are my missiles?"
Raf stayed silent, looking anxiously around. He didn't know where they were, and Starscream got the indication of that by the boy's silence. It did not make him any less annoyed though.
"Okay, then, I guess we can wait with the missiles until I get free. So, where is the keycard to my stasis cuffs? And you better answer me this time, or I will end you."
Raf looked anxiously around again, and felt panic growing as the Seeker's claws pressed slightly harder against his torso.
"I-I don't know," he cried. "I don't know! Please don't hurt me..."
Starscream blinked, but then frowned. "Hmph, should've known you'd be useless," he mocked. "If you want anything done, you gotta do it yourself."
Raf was afraid he meant he was going to kill him, but luckily he decided to keep him around while he wandered around in the base, looking for the keycard. As he passed the med bay, however, he encountered something more interesting.
"Well, well, well," Starscream said, looking at a jar filled with a green substance. "What do we have here?"
Raf's heart skipped a beat as the Seeker picked up the jar filled with Synthetic Energon. "No, don't touch that, it's—Argh!" He groaned as Starscream pressed a little tighter on the boy's torso, threatening to cut him in half.
"I know very well what this is," he said without removing his gaze from the jar. "It's Synthetic Energon. Other than being a substitute for regular Energon, it also enhances the consumer's strength and speed. Judging by the bright color, however, I assume it is incomplete. If so, then that means it would also increase the consumer's temper. Not that big of a problem, of course. It is rather beneficial in a battle, actually."
Rafael stared perplexed at the Decepticon while he was talking, almost forgetting his life was at the 'Con's mercy. Starscream noticed the boy's confusion and smiled in amusement.
"I was an Energon Seeker before I joined Megatron. I know a thing or two about all kinds of Energon, including the sort the Ancients sealed away to prevent us Decepticons from using it. In fact, not to brag or anything, but I know how to manufacture it, as well as Dark Energon."
Rafael gaped; he had listened to how the Autobots had begun doubting the Seeker's knowledge, but he had just found out right here and now that he did indeed know more than they thought. Apparently Starscream seemed as if he could read the boy's mind, because his smile faded quickly.
"Uh, forget what I just said, okay? I will kill you if you squirm," he added, but his attention had now returned to the green jar. As it was impossible for him to inject the Synth-En into himself while he was still cuffed, he opened the jar at the top with his teeth, threw the lid aside and guzzled the jar's entire content within a few nano-cycles. Raf dangled dangerously above the Seeker's head, almost afraid he would fall into his mouth along with the Energon (Starscream did have a rather large mouth, in more ways than one).
He shuddered a bit before the effects kicked in; his red optics turned green like Ratchet's had done, he dropped the jar on the floor so it broke to pieces, and he also lost his grip around Raf. The boy screamed as he fell through the air and onto the ground. He tried getting up, but his left shoulder hurt immensely – it had been misplaced, maybe even broken.
"BUMBLEBEE!" he screamed loudly.
Starscream did not react to the scream; he stumbled a bit but did not fall like Ratchet had done. After about ten nano-cycles, Bumblebee stormed into the command center and was shocked, not to see Starscream drooping slightly while standing, as if he was ill, but to see Raf lying on the floor, twisting and groaning in pain, next to a broken glass jar.
"Raf!" he bleeped in panic and ran towards Starscream, preparing to punch him. "You'll pay for that, you worthless pile of—"
Starscream had ducked, avoiding the scout's punch, and instead head-butted him in the stomach, sending him flying into the wall. Bumblebee groaned and looked up at the approaching green-eyed Seeker.
"Heh, this stuff is good," the Seeker said and clenched his fists. "Real good." With a swift movement, he broke the stasis cuffs in half, freeing his arms, though the remains still stuck to his wrists, making him unable to transform, use his lasers or his missiles which he was not currently in possession of. However, he was now able to freely use his claws to do some damage.
Bumblebee got back onto his peds and charged at Starscream, but this one dodged all the scout's attacks with relative ease, thanks to the Synthetic Energon. The Seeker laughed maniacally while dodging the scout's attacks. Meanwhile, Raf finally got up and struggled desperately to get away from the robots' battle. He sought cover behind the med bay and watched Bumblebee's almost pointless fight against the seemingly superior Starscream.
At one point, Starscream misread one of Bumblebee's moves and got punched in the face, making him wince back. Bumblebee jumped back, surprised he actually got a hit in, but hesitated in continuing the battle, a mistake he soon regretted.
"Heh. Big mistake, scout," Starscream said and leapt forward, swiping his claws against Bee's chest, making him recoil. Starscream proceeded to punch him repeatedly, without letting the scout get as much as a single hit in. Raf stepped anxiously forward.
"Bumblebee!" he exclaimed. "Fight back! Come on, fight back!"
But Bumblebee could not recover for even a second; Starscream was too fast, too strong. The Seeker swiped with his leg against the scout's legs, making the shorter bot fall on the floor, injured and near unconscious.
Watching in panic, Raf looked around for something he could do to help his friend; he spotted the GroundBridge switch, and without a further thought, he left his cover and ran up the stairs as fast as he could, holding onto his wounded arm, all while listening to Starscream's continued punishment of Bumblebee. He reached the switch and used all his strength in his right arm to pull down the heavy switch. He hoped the GroundBridge was still locked onto the Autobots' coordinates; they really needed them right now!
After a good amount of beating, Starscream grabbed Bumblebee's shoulders and lifted him into the air, off his peds.
"Hmm, this reminds me of something," Starscream muttered. "Oh yeah, I remember now. Let me tell you a little secret..."
He pulled Bumblebee closer to him; his optics were flickering on and off, making his consciousness uncertain. He pulled him so close that his mouth almost touched his audio receptor. Then, he whispered so lowly, so faintly, that only Bumblebee would be able to hear it.
"...I...killed...Cliffjumper..."
Bumblebee's optics had gone black, indicating he had slipped into stasis lock. He had most likely not even heard what the Seeker had just said.
"What's that? You didn't hear me? Oh well, that's too bad," Starscream said and spread his left claws. "See you in the Well of All Sparks, Bumblebee!" He stretched his left arm out, preparing to kill Bumblebee."
"NO!" Raf screamed, tears threatening to trickle down his cheeks.
"Bumblebee!" a familiar voice shouted from close by. The next second, a shot blasted out from the GroundBridge and hit Starscream on his left arm, making him drop Bumblebee to nudge his wounded arm. Another blast hit him in the chest, making him fall on his back.
He hadn't even noticed the GroundBridge had opened, but the Autobots stormed out from the green portal, stopping him from executing their scout. Arcee approached and pinned down Starscream with her blade at his throat.
"Don't move, or I'll cut you in...Wait, why are your eyes green?" she said as she noticed the Decepticon's odd optic color and malicious smile.
"Go figure," he simply said before swiping her off him with his claws. He rolled around so he was on top of her. He punched her hard in the face, and as she seemed down for the moment, he rose up, took one quick look at the other arrivals – Optimus and Bulkhead – before he proceeded to run in the direction which he hoped led to the exit, at full speed.
The Autobots didn't chase after him right away. Optimus went over to Arcee and knelt down before her while Bulkhead was standing by.
"Arcee, are you alright?" he asked concerned.
She regained consciousness and groaned as she sat up, holding a servo to her head. "Yeah...yeah, I'm fine."
"Get the Energon prod," Prime said. "And wait for my signal."
-----
Starscream continued to run through the very dark corridor, where the walls were made of rock instead of metal like in the hallway, and the floor seemed more like a dirt-road than an actual floor. This was most certainly the way out. Just a little more, he thought eagerly to himself, you're almost out!
He was struck by shock and disappointment as he ran into a dead end. In front of him was nothing but rock, though he had a feeling it was a hidden door.
"Locked?" he said in disbelief and swiped repeatedly against the wall, but it had no effect. "No, no, no, no! I was so close! Let me out! Scrap, scrap, scrap, SCRAP!"
"Did you really think we were going to take in a dangerous Decepticon to our base, and not prepare for an escape?" Optimus Prime's voice sounded behind him. He stiffened and turned around to see both Prime and Bulkhead, cornering him like a pair of stalking Predacons.
"Let me out," he repeated in a hiss. "I need to get outside!"
"And let you see where our base is?" Bulkhead replied. "No way! You come with us right back to your cell right now, or we'll have to use force!" He turned his fist into a wrecking ball, and this time Optimus did not object to it; Starscream had gone too far when he hurt both Bumblebee and Rafael.
"On my signal," Optimus whispered to Bulkhead, who nodded in understanding.
"If you won't let me out willingly..." Starscream said and spread out his claws.
"Wait for it..."
"...I'll make you release me!" He charged towards them, claws ready to strike.
"Now!"
Optimus and Bulkhead jumped to each side, letting Arcee through and shove an Energon prod into the Seeker's neck. The electricity ran through his exposed throat and through the rest of his body. He shuddered and shrieked in pain, but Arcee did not stop until the Seeker closed his optics and his body went limp – he had passed out.
Arcee turned the prod off, but kept it attached to Starscream's neck, just in case he would wake up again.
"Get him to the med bay and initiate stasis, quickly, before he wakes up," Optimus ordered and helped Arcee carry the unconscious Seeker through the corridor into the med bay, where they put him on a recharging table and initiated stasis. They had been just in time; Starscream's optics had already started to open when they put him in stasis. He had just managed to glare at them and let out a groan before falling unconscious again.
Relieved they had managed to avert the crisis, the Autobots took a moment to rest while making sure Arcee, Bumblebee and Rafael were all safe. Bumblebee had regained consciousness, but was heavily wounded. He was carried into the Energon shower to recover from the worst wounds, but if he was to recover completely, they needed Ratchet. This thought made Raf look around; Ratchet was nowhere to be seen among the Autobots.
"Where's Ratchet?" he asked nervously. "Is he...?"
"He went off on his own to track down Megatron," Bulkhead answered. "We gotta find the doc so we can get Bumblebee fixed up!"
"And so we can remove that stuff from Scream and Ratch himself," Arcee added in. "Doc tried to mercilessly kill a miner back there. Then he berated and blamed us for losing the war. And he...he had the nerve to blame Optimus for Cliffjumper's death." She clenched her fists, shuddering in rage.
Raf looked surprised at her; he recalled how Starscream had said the Synthetic Energon escalates the user's temper as well as enhancing their strength and speed. And judging from his sudden energy and vigor that followed his consumption of Synth-En, he had proven to be right. He was about to mention it, but recalling what the Seeker had told him about staying quiet, and the fact that more serious things were happening, he decided to wait with telling them until things had calmed down again.
Bulkhead was at the computer and tried to get a fix on Ratchet's coordinates, but nothing came up.
"That stupid Energon is messing with his signal," he growled. "I can't locate him."
"Keep trying," Optimus encouraged. He glanced at the unconscious Starscream who, despite being in stasis, was slightly twitching with his servos and legs. He seemed to be fighting the stasis – probably due to the massive amount of energy provided by the Synthetic Energon – but was ultimately unable to fully wake up. "We need to find Ratchet, before he finds Megatron."
After fifteen anxious cycles of waiting, searching for Ratchet's signal, keeping Starscream in stasis and Bumblebee recovering, finally; Ratchet's energy signal popped back on the screen. It was close near the location that Starscream had sent them. His status meter told them he was badly hurt, so they immediately set the GroundBridge to his coordinates and went to get him. Bumblebee stood by to look after the GroundBridge, Rafael and Starscream. It seemed risky at first to let them be alone with the Decepticon again, so shortly after the critical scene, but they reassured themselves that he wouldn't be able to do any more damage while in stasis.
It took roughly eight cycles or so before they returned to base with Ratchet, who had a nasty wound on his stomach, which he had gained by a punch from Megatron. Optimus carried the unconscious doctor in his arms all by himself, while Bulkhead and Arcee went through carrying something else: Energon cubes.
After having connected Ratchet to Energon support in the med bay – using the small amount of Energon they had left in storage – the Autobots (including Bumblebee who was already feeling a little better now) took turns in walking in and out through the GroundBridge to transport Energon cubes from the mine, and looking after Ratchet, Starscream and Rafael. After about half a mega-cycle, they had carried all the cubes through the portal and were stacking the last ones when Ratchet woke up. He tried to sit up, but Optimus pushed him gently back down with a servo.
"Easy, old friend," he said. "You lost a lot of Energon. Good and bad."
Ratchet struggled through his words. "I...I-I didn't intend to hurt...anyone, I-I just wanted...so...badly to..."
"To help us," Optimus ended for him. "We know. But you nearly cost us something irreplaceable. Our medic...and a most trusted friend."
Ratchet didn't know what to say. He was touched by Optimus' words, but he wasn't sure how the others felt about the situation. He looked to his left and saw Bumblebee and Bulkhead stack a few Energon cubes on top of a large pile.
"You did lead us to a much needed Energon supply," Optimus said. "And for that, we should all be thankful."
Ratchet smiled, reassured all was well. A faint groan made him look to his right and see Starscream lying on a table next to him. He only had a stasis cable attached to him, along with having his wrists and ankles restrained so he couldn't get free.
"What...happened...to him?" he asked uneasily.
Optimus hesitated before speaking. "Unfortunately, Starscream took advantage of your situation and escaped after the wall to his cell got damaged."
Ratchet stiffened, remembering how he had thrown Bulkhead against the wall and then ignored Arcee's warning. He felt regret and guilt stab him on the inside. "I...I'm sorry..." he muttered.
"Apology accepted, doc," Bulkhead said after finishing stacking. "But Scream asked for trouble himself, so it's really him who has to apologize."
"We will have to sort that out after we get the Synthetic Energon out of his system," Optimus said. "Now that our supply has been replenished, we can safely do an Energon transplant on him."
"Why not just keep him in stasis? This way he won't do any trouble at all."
After saying that, Starscream's servos and peds gave violent twitches, his head shook and he grumbled loudly. Arcee swore that she could even see one of his optics slightly open ajar to reveal a thin green line. This display gave the Autobots an uneasy feeling. He seemed as if he was about to wake up.
Optimus returned his gaze to Bulkhead, who seemed to have understood what Prime meant. "He could wake up at any moment, regardless of how deeply we put him into stasis. Besides, we are not finished with him yet."
"Right," Arcee said. "He needs to get taught a lesson so he doesn't pull that stunt off again."
"What about Raf?" Bumblebee broke in. Optimus glanced at Rafael in the couch by the TV. He seemed to be about to fall asleep, not having contributed to the conversation, and his shoulder still seemed to hurt him.
"Bring him home to his family, Bumblebee," he said. "He needs to recover too."
-----
Starscream did not wake up until the very next day. After sending Bumblebee off to drive Raf home, they had hooked the Decepticon up to cables and drained Energon from his body, until the green substance had disappeared and only light blue Energon came out. Afterwards, they had swiftly changed the machine to give him normal Energon. As soon as the Seeker had been relieved of the corrupted Energon, he had laid still and remained quiet the rest of the time.
While he was recovering, the Autobots had prepared a new cell with a recharging table for him, as it would take too long to repair the wall in the old one, and it would be harder for him to find his way out from a new spot. They had also removed the fragments of his stasis cuffs from his wrists and instead put a new set around them, but this time on his back. This would make it more difficult for him to refuel, recharge and move around, but at the same time it would prevent him from any further attempts at escape or attack. They had debated for quite a while before they finally cuffed him.
Then, after having put him into his new cell, Bumblebee had returned to base around noon and told the others something interesting that Raf had told him on the way to his home.
"Starscream knows how to make Synthetic Energon!" he whirred excitedly.
"What? Are you sure?" Ratchet asked in disbelief, and as Bumblebee assured him, he continued: "But how can he? That formula is eons old. The Ancients had it sealed away long before any of us even existed."
"Maybe he was lying," Arcee suggested. "To make us think he can still give us useful information. Maybe he's getting aware of our suspicion."
"Yeah, we can't trust this guy," Bulkhead said in agreement. "I mean, look what he did to Bee and Raf! This is the second time he's tried to escape, and so far the only useful info he's provided us is the location of Energon mines. Seriously, why are we still keeping him here?"
Nobody spoke for a while. They were all thinking, considering what to do. Optimus was the first to break the ice.
"Whether Starscream was lying or not, it is an opportunity to find out if we can complete the Synthetic Energon formula sooner. We have to take the chance and ask him about it."
"But he's in stasis right now, and he might not wake up the next few mega-cycles," Arcee pointed out.
"Then we shall wait until he wakes up. However long that will take."
As such, the rest of the day was spent patrolling the hallway and checking up on the sleeping Starscream, all while recovering from their own wounds. Starscream's stasis nap did not take a few mega-cycles, but almost two solar cycles. It was almost midnight the next day, when Starscream finally woke up. He had one Pit of a headache, as well as a backache.
"Oww...what hit me...?" he groaned and wanted to nudge his head, but found out his servos were cuffed behind his back, thus explaining the pain in his back. But he did not know where the dizziness came from.
"Finally you're awake," a voice said from outside. He looked up and saw the door open up, revealing a sleek figure enter his cell. It was Arcee.
"Wh-what do you want...?" the Seeker said drowsily.
"It's interrogation time."
Starscream blinked. "No it's not. It's first tomorrow."
"It is tomorrow. You've been in stasis for almost two days."
Starscream blinked a few times, then opened his optics wide up. How could he have slept in for so long? Come to think of it, he did feel kind of hungry. He scouted the femmebot as she closed the door, but she had no Energon on her.
"Then...why did you not bring me Energon?" he asked right away.
"Because you don't deserve it," she replied directly.
"What? Why not?"
She turned and looked at him in disbelief. "Seriously? You're wondering why, after what you did to Bee and Raf? After what you did to all of us?"
Starscream winced back a little in confusion. "Uh, yes. What did I do?"
"You took Ratchet's stash of Synthetic Energon, trashed Bee, hurt Raf and tried to escape! I had to stun you with an Energon prod and then put you into stasis to keep you down! Or maybe you don't remember any of that?"
"...No...I don't," he replied after a moment. Arcee's anger was replaced with bewilderment.
"Seriously? You don't?" Starscream shook his head. Arcee sighed. "Well, no matter. Whatever the case, you're not getting a cube today."
"But, I didn't do anything wrong today," Starscream argued.
"Today, yesterday, it makes no difference. You're not onboard the Nemesis anymore, Scream. You're not getting away with trouble by whatever Megatron does to punish you. If you're going to stay with us, you'll have to follow our rules. Now, Bumblebee told us you're capable of making Synthetic Energon. Is that true?"
Starscream stiffened, surprised by the sudden change of subject. "Who told him that?"
"Is it true?" she repeated, ignoring his question, though his answer gave her an indication that it was.
He hesitated for a long while. "...No. I can't. I just said that to impress- eh, I mean, to show my superiority to him!" he corrected. "I really don't know how to manufacture Synthetic Energon! Or, that is...I'm not actually sure right now..."
Arcee face-palmed irritated. "I knew this was a waste of time. If it wasn't for the locations of Megatron's Energon mines, I'd kick you out through the GroundBridge personally and leave you wherever you might end up!"
Starscream sat up in fright. His worst fear had been confirmed. "Wait, wait, I can provide you with other useful information!"
Arcee crossed her arms and stared impatiently at him. "I'm listening."
Starscream hesitated again. He wasn't sure what to tell her. If he told her too much information, his usefulness would drop right away, but if he didn't tell enough, she might scrap him right on the spot! Although the Synthetic Energon part hadn't been true, he did know how to manufacture Dark Energon, but that was basically useless to the Autobots as they were trying to prevent Megatron from gaining more. But what else could he tell her? He spent almost an entire cycle on thinking, which was apparently too long for the femmebot, because she was about to leave again.
"Wait, don't go!"
"I don't see a reason to stay. Unless you can tell me something useful, something important right here and now."
He felt like he was about to scream, when suddenly a thought struck his mind. His panicked expression changed to a malicious smile, which kind of unnerved Arcee. What could be on his mind?
"You know, Knock Out and Breakdown were not the only Decepticons roaming this planet before I summoned them," he finally said.
Arcee finally seemed to be interested in what the Decepticon was saying. "What do you mean?" she asked. "Are there others?"
Starscream chuckled in delight. He had them right where he wanted them.
"Give me Energon, and I shall tell you."