Hunted Species and other TF fictions

In an unknown area, below the gladiatorial area

The sinister noises reached them and made their energon ran cold. The Vampiricons were getting ground by the minutes, and soon would corner them in those dark tunnels.

Starscream tried to speed up but Megatron’s legs gave up, and they fell harshly on the paved ground. The young gladiator coughed some energon and gave out a growl of pain, shaking like a leaf.

“On your feet!” ordered Skullcrusher, glaring at him.

“Leave him alone!” retorted Starscream, glaring back with the same intensity.

Skullcrusher walked up to them, peering at Starscream with a disdainful expression. He stopped in front of him and slapped him in the face, sending him crashing against the wall. He then grabbed Megatron by the throat and hauled him to his feet.

“You want your little friend to remain unharmed and unscathed? Then walk!” he shrieked in the audios of the smaller mech.

Megatron looked up and choked a new cough of energon. “Y- Yes…” he breathed.

Skullcrusher let go of his killing choke with a growl of satisfaction, soon echoed by the shriek of the approaching Vampiricons.

“They’re coming! We have to move on!” gasped Hellraizor, “I really think we should negotiate. Trade those two stupid heaps of scrapped metal for our lives!” he added.

“We’ll do so in a few days. The Quintessons are too outraged at us now. They’re going to kill us if we show up!” retorted the master gladiator, pushing Megatron without care. “And you, walk!” he hissed.

The silver-white Transformer stepped forward, trembling as if he was about to collapse to a heap. Starscream wiped off a trickle of energon that flowed from his cut lip component, swallowed his pride and stood up, promptly offering his support to the injured robot before he collapsed.

“Hey! I’m here… Hold on a little more until we find a safe place!”

Megatron threw him a blank stare and wiped a trickle of energon off his lips.

“Escape… Run away from here…” he whispered, exhausted.

Starscream couldn’t help squashing a hint of compassion when he looked up at the gladiator. Megatron’s face was distorted by an expression of pain, darkened by the energon running from his lips. He was on the way to deactivation and his life energy would be soon extinguished if a medic didn’t take care of his wounds.

“Don’t say stupid things,” he retorted, “I won’t abandon you here!”

“Oh, that’s so touching!”

The snigger of Hellraizor came together with a strong slap on Starscream’s back. The Seeker’s body slammed against Megatron, almost bearing them to the ground.

“Walk!”

“You’re not helping, idiot!” Starscream hissed, tightening his grip on Megatron’s back. He peered at the moribund Transformer, “Don’t give up!” he whispered, trying to be encouraging.

Megatron nodded weakly and stepped forward, his whole body trembling as he moved. Starscream prayed to Primus that he didn’t faint under the effort.

They walked an hour before the high walls of an old storage place blocked their way. There were a few rooms, filled with broken tubes, panels and other materials, but no way to escape.

“That should be an old repair bay or production line abandoned by the Quintessons.” Skullcrusher scanned closely each square of the dead end and grimaced. “Or a laboratory.”

“Whatever it is, it’s going to be our graveyard!” Hellraizor exclaimed. A hiss echoed in his voice. “They’re coming!” he added on a panicky tone.

Skullcrusher scanned again the different rooms and their contents.

“You two, you go there, and you hide!” The master gladiator pointed at a small room filled with pipes of various sizes. “Hellraizor, you stay with me! We’re going to ambush those slagging Vampiricons.”

The designated volunteer startled at the order and even stepped back as he foresaw a painful deactivation.

“You’re crazy! You–”

Gray fingers laced around his throat and squeezed it mercilessly while red optics glared daggers at him.

“Stop your whining, Hell’. Do as I say!”

Skullcrusher released his prey and smirked when his lieutenant stared at him with frightened optics.

“Yes!”

“Perfect!” The Master gladiator glared back at Starscream, who was watching the scene with a puzzled expression. The silver Transformer by his side wasn’t paying attention, staring vacantly at the ground and slipping slowly into unconsciousness. “Do it!”

Starscream didn’t try to protest and gently shook the injured mech, inviting him to move towards the hideout. Megatron moaned as he stepped forward, and finally fell to his knees when strength failed him.

“We’ve almost arrived. A little effort, and we’ll be safe!” encouraged Starscream. He put all his might to pull the larger mech back to his feet and was rewarded for his efforts by a cough of energon that splashed on his shoulder vent.

“Let… me… die.”

Megatron’s plea was a mere whisper.

“Nonsense! I won’t let you die! Now, on your feet, gladiator!”

Starscream’s order seemed to find an echo in Megatron’s desperate mind. He rose slowly to his feet, trembling like a leaf and hissing in pain. Energon leaked from the wounds on his chest, drawing long streaks of greenish blood down his hips and legs.

“Hurry up!”

The growl of Skullcrusher reached them, as threatening as before, together with the hisses of their pursuers. Starscream saw that the two gladiators were perched on the upper structure of the walls, hiding themselves in a tangle of panels and pipes, to better jump by surprise on whoever would cross the threshold of the cul-de-sac. He seriously doubted that the strategy would work; even if the two Transformers were able to stop one or two Vampiricons, others would come in and overwhelm them.

“Yes, hurry up!” he whispered, trying to occult this lugubrious fate.

He guided the staggering Transformer into the room; the place was dark, and the ground built on two levels. Starscream used his infrared to scan the place, and understood there was a small pit at the far end.

“Here, we’re going to hide in the pit!”

Megatron managed to walk to the edge of the crevasse and collapsed to a heap, coughing up more energon. Starscream set his hand on the back of the gladiator, caressing lightly the metal as to soothe the pain.

“We have to get down to the pit. Do you think you can-?”

His question ended with a cry of surprise when Megatron slid along the side of the wall and crashed on the ground, where he laid unmoving on the stomach.

“No, no! Megatron!”

The Seeker jumped into the crevasse and turned him over in panic. His spark tingled with fright when he saw the optics of the young gladiator were black.

“Megatron! Megatron, answer me!” Starscream shook him lightly and felt relieved when the optics flashed red. “Here, don’t move. Everything gonna be all right now!”

“No, nothing gonna be all right.” Megatron’s voice was just a pathetic croak, almost inaudible.

“Don’t speak. Stay still!”

Megatron ignored the order of the Seeker and reached his mid-section with a trembling hand. He moved a panel, unveiling a sub space, and dug his fingers in it. He removed a small piece of metal, which he placed on Starscream’s hand.

“I thought I could be him… I was so wrong.”

“What are you talking about?” Starscream caressed Megatron’s cheek, trying to decipher his enigmatic words. Was he delirious? He looked down at the small item and found it familiar. “What are you talking about?”

“When I found it… I believed it was me. He looked like me.” Megatron hissed in pain as damaged circuits finished to burn in his chest. “It’s why… why I chose his name,” he added and then spat out more vital liquid.

“What?”

The Seeker turned the piece of metal in his fingers, staring blankly at it. It was square, small and silver-gray, with an inscription in Cybertronian language in the middle. Looking closely, he noticed a portrait engraved on the metal, below the loathed quote.

“All hail Megatron! Primus, this is a Decepticon coin!”

Starscream gaped at the barely conscious mech as if to ask for a confirmation. A scene started to play in his memory bank, related to this tiny piece of metal.

O

He immediately spotted the bulky silver frame of Megatron when he entered the Coronation Esplanade. Annoyance and jealousy squashed his spark as he noticed the presence of Soundwave. Why was the Communication Officer always involved in the most secret plans of Megatron? Starscream truly hated Soundwave for being on good terms with the Decepticon Leader, while his own relationship with Megatron was chaotic. Starscream didn’t understand why Megatron treated him with so little respect; it was just as if he had nominated him second in command to tease him cruelly every day.

Clenching his fists while jealousy burned his spark, he decided to reveal his presence to the two mechs, who were still oblivious to his arrival.

“What are you doing here, Mighty Megatron?” His voice was deliberately more grating than usual, filled with sarcasm and condescension. As expected, the Decepticon leader threw him an angry look.

“That’s not your problem, little fool. Go back to the command room!”

This typical answer from Megatron, mocking and disdainful, hurt Starscream’s pride deeply. He decided to blatantly disobey the order.

“And I say, it is my problem!” he retorted, walking with arrogant grace towards the two mechs. He caught a sparkling look in Megatron’s optics as the warlord detailed him from head to toes. Once again, he had a feeling that the Decepticon leader was not immune to his charms. His lips outlined a mocking smile when he stopped in front of Megatron. “I am your second in command; I must be notified of all your plans.”

He assumed he would be slapped in the face for this cutting remark, but instead, Megatron mirrored his mocking expression.

“Indeed, you might be useful in this experiment,” he said with a chuckle, and then stepped aside, unveiling the device that was standing behind him. “Don’t you think we can test the time machine on Starscream?” he giggled, turning to Soundwave.

“Affirmative. Starscream compatible for the test.”

Soundwave concluded his comment with a light chuckle. The Air Commander decided he definitely hated the Communications Officer and would shoot him down during the next battle. He then peered at the so-called time machine; its sharp shape reminded him of the immobilizer. Disturbingly, the device was pointing its gun barrel right at his chest.

“I don’t see why I should participate in an experiment you don’t even want to discuss with me,” Starscream hissed, stepping prudently aside so that he was no more the target of the machine. “Find yourself another guinea pig!”

Starscream knew he had crossed the dangerous border between patience and annoyance when Megatron backhanded him. Propelled to the ground in a graceless heap, he remained sat there, patting with a moan of pain his swollen cheek.

“If you don’t want to cooperate, at least don’t make us lose our time!”

“Me- Megatron, I-”

His pleas were stuck in his throat when the Decepticon leader turned around to face Soundwave, showing his back to him. Once again, Starscream was being denied any interest, attention or respect. Megatron considered him as a nothing. His spark bled in humiliation and sadness.

“Soundwave, can we start the test?”

“Affirmative, Megatron. All sets ready.”

The Communication Officer spoke without looking up, his gaze focused on the wide screen of the control command. He was directly linked to its processor through the connectors on his fingers.

“Now, the test subject!” Megatron peeped at Starscream, obviously enjoying the glimpse of terror that showed up on the Seeker’s face. However, Starscream was not to become the test subject; Megatron excavated a Decepticon coin from a subspace in his forearms.

“This should be enough for a start, shouldn’t it?”

Soundwave nodded silently his agreement. Megatron walked to the coronation platform and set the coin on top. He then walked back to Soundwave and checked the image on the screen.

“Carry on!” he ordered.

“At your command!”

A light flashed at the extremity of the barrel of the time machine, so vivid that Starscream’s optics briefly went offline. Once they recovered their acuity, he realized that the coin had disappeared from the platform. The Seeker gasped in surprise and stood up slowly.

“What… What is it about?”

Megatron’s maniacal laugh was the first to answer his question.

“We’ve succeeded, Soundwave!” Megatron gave his Communications Officer a hug, which sent Starscream to the edge of despair and jealousy.

“What did you succeed in at the end?” Starscream’s voice was trembling under strong emotions.

The Decepticon leader chuckled lightly and then advanced on the Seeker. Starscream stepped warily back when he stood in front of him, not reassured by the smug expression and threatening aura of the elder mech.

“You didn’t catch it? The coin has been sent to another place, and another time. These are the premises of time travels!” Megatron sternly explained.

Starscream stared blankly at him while his processor carefully matched this statement with his knowledge regarding time travels. He outlined a derisive smile.

“Did it occur to you that your so-called time travel machine might have fried the coin?” he ventured. A sly grin appeared on his features, “And even if you have sent it to the past, you don’t even know when and if the molecular structure hasn’t been modified,” he purred. “Besides-”

Megatron’s hand shot around his throat, squeezing the delicate plating. A few seconds later, he was slammed with brute force against the wall. His wings and back creaked in protest, some parts falling from his wings.

“DO NOT QUESTION ME!” Megatron roared. He brought his face close to Starscream’s faceplate, and peered at the red optics. “There is something I will never accept, Starscream. You, failing me again!”

Megatron set his faceplate so close that Starscream believed they would kiss. His lips parted, ready to welcome this death kiss, but just gave out a cry when the Decepticon warlord slammed his fist into his chest, close to his spark casing.

He lost consciousness.

O

“It worked, indeed.” The Seeker turned again the coin in his palm. Megatron’s effigy peered angrily at him when it turned to the reverse side. “The coin had been sent to the past of Cybertron… at your feet?”

“I—I saw the image engraved on this. The portrait… on the coin… it resembled me.” Megatron sobbed and he threw a desperate look at the Seeker. “I thought it was a sign… that I would become this Megatron! A representation of power and strength…”

Starscream startled when the injured mech squeezed his hand in need of comfort.

“Here, calm down. You are Megatron.”

The gladiator shook his head. “No, I am not this warlord. I am just Silvergun. I pretended to be Megatron, but I failed to be strong. I—”

The silver body was suddenly shaken by a strong electric spasm. Circuits sent sparkles of light as they fried beneath the chest plating. Megatron coughed out some energon with a deep moan of pain. Starscream stared at him, worried by his worsening condition. An idea suddenly passed through his CPU, knocking an insane hope into him. What if this experience had opened a time bridge between the past and the future? That would explain how he had been sent to the gladiatorial time. He was standing at the place the coin was during the experiment. What if this bridge was still open? That would enable him to go back to the 20th century.

“Where did you find this?” he feverishly asked. He shook the bleeding mech when no reply came. “I need to know.”

“Where… Where I’ve found you.”

Starscream bit his lip component, thrilled by the idea that he could stop this frightening adventure in the past.

“Where did you find me?” he insisted, shaking Megatron gently. “I need the exact coordinates!”

The head of the gladiator fell back as he lost consciousness, leaving Starscream without an answer. The Seeker was to shake him again in the hope of waking him, but sharp hisses reminded him that the Vampiricons were approaching.

“Slag it!”

He jumped out the pit and caught all the pipes and panels that he could find on his way. He threw them on the trench, making sure that they covered the large body of the unconscious mech. Once there was no more silver metal visible beneath the pile of scraps, and the trench was full, he jumped into it and sank into this sea of rubbish. He lay beside Megatron, who was regaining consciousness, and set a hand on the bleeding mouth when whimpers escaped him.

“Shh—calm down. Keep silent!” he murmured.

Megatron replied by a weak groan and seemed to fall back into the darkness. Slightly relieved, Starscream readjusted his position against the larger Transformer, pinning him firmly to the ground. That way, Megatron wouldn’t move and signal their positions next time he regained consciousness.

Spark pulsing hard in his chest, Starscream set his face against the silver helmet, and waited. He tensed up by the minute, as he was beset with his compulsive claustrophobia. His acute audio processors caught quickly the growing noise of heavy footsteps. He quivered when he heard a shriek followed by the clicking of blades or axes. Skullcrusher was attacking. A second yell reached him, and he concluded that Hellraizor had come to help his leader. Other shouts echoed, mixed with metallic noises.

Panic swept over the Seeker when the cries of agony of the two gladiators reached him.

“Star—”

The Seeker peeped at the red optics that flickered a few inches from his face. Megatron was regaining consciousness at the worst moment.

“Starscream.”

The jet thought he heard footsteps coming from the entrance of the room. He had to silence the delirious mech before he drew attention to them, but couldn’t move a hand without making a noise. He quickly reviewed his options and didn’t hesitate to crush his lip component against Megatron’s. The silver mech gave out a light moan and then relaxed slowly. Starscream’s took advantage of his unresisting jaw to complete his invasion and took control of the warlord’s mouth. Starscream squashed a bite of disgust as he realized he was kissing Megatron, but he had no choice. According to his battle system, enemies were only a few meters away from them.

‘Primus! This is insane!’

His spark gave a start when he felt that Megatron, despite his lack of lucidity, was responding to this awkward kiss. He didn’t move, feeling the other’s glossa teasing his mouth component. Everything in his mind became confused: the danger of the Vampiricons, this awkward position against Megatron, this so strange kiss. To keep his energon cool, Starscream tried to remember the countless times Megatron had beaten him, but his memory bank refused blatantly to play the scenes. Slowly, this kiss erased all knowledge of his surroundings; he forgot the danger of the enemies, standing right above the place where he lamely hid. There was nothing else than Megatron’s glossa exploring his mouth, caressing gently delicate circuits. Starscream finally replied to the teasing, kissing the gladiator back, more for the sake of passion than to silence him. He regained some of his self-control when Megatron lost consciousness again and became unresponsive.

‘What am I doing? I must be crazy!’ he cursed himself.

He ran a quick scan and got no feedback of the enemies he had detected before this insane move. Starscream pulled out and set his face against the silver faceplate, processing slowly what had happened. He shivered deliciously when circuits sparkled in his cockpit. He looked up at the silver lip components, stained with energon, which he had tasted so shamelessly. Worse than that, he had enjoyed this kiss. He had forgotten the danger lurking around them to be drawn completely into the bliss of this crazy kiss. The warmth in his chest increased, spreading to his lower body where circuits tingled deliciously.

‘I am insane. This is wrong! I can’t desire him!’

This euphoric sensation was replaced by pain when a blade dug into his right wing. Starscream offlined his vocal processor and buried his face in Megatron’s neck, pushing a silent cry. The Vampiricons were still there, and were dragging the scraps away with their weapons.

“I think there is something beneath!”

The voice was awfully screechy, grating on Starscream’s audio processor, echoing in his overtaxed CPU. His spark was quenched with fear when he caught some noises above him and understood one of the Vampiricons was cleaning some of the scraps to get a better view of the pit.

“You’re sure that you heard something?”

“Yes! And look, those things have been moved recently!”

“Might be a trap!”

A second blade went through Starscream’s thigh. The Seeker thought he would faint, devastated by the intense pain. He bit his lip components and suffered in silence.

“I heard nothing!”

“Strange… I was sure that there was somebody beneath all those scraps!”

A third blade dug mercilessly into his back. Starscream wished he was in stasis mode.

“There’s nothing! If there was somebody, he would have screamed in pain at the first strike!”

“Guess you’re right! We should search the other rooms.”

The blade withdrew out of Starscream, but it didn’t make him feel better. He waited for the Vampiricons to leave the place to activate his vocalizer and let out a moan. It was more of a sob that escaped him, as pain consumed him. He could feel energon bleeding from his wounds, moistening the ground and the body lying beneath him. Primus, the metal was so cold suddenly. Panic overcame him and he briefly cried, unable to process any more data regarding his condition. The various alarms fed back by his motor system flooded his processor.

He briefly lost consciousness, and came back to the world of pains with a little more lucidity. His body still hurt like hell, but his panic was somehow gone, allowing him to catch the meaning of the alarm messages. His legs were not responding anymore, as one of the main lines of his motor network was cut in his back. His fuel pump had been perforated and leaked energon. His energy level was dropping fast, reaching already the level of 20 percents.

“No!” He had to face it. He couldn’t move anymore and would be dry of energon in no time. “No, I can’t die like this.”

Starscream felt like he was swallowed by the void as he repeated the three words. His logic chip offlined to avoid frying, leaving him in a very delirious state.

“I am dying.” He buried his face into Megatron’s neck and cried. “Please, Megatron. Don’t let me die!”

“Little Prince—”

The mere whisper that escaped the silver mech echoed gently in his processor. Beneath him, Megatron wandered between stasis and consciousness. A large hand came to rest on his back, covering the deep gash pouring energon. Starscream let out a cry when cut wires sparkled under the touch, and then relaxed when pain was replaced by a feeling of well-being.

“Megatron…” he whispered.

The sensation was so strange. He felt so well suddenly. He was not so cold and the metal he was resting against was warm. He could hear Megatron’s spark pulsing in his chest. It was a discrete pulse, irregular but yet, persisting. True to his future behaviour, Megatron refused to give up.

“I won’t give up too.”

Sinking into the pangs of delirium, Starscream kissed gently the dark metal of Megatron’s neck and groped around for his hand. Once he found it, he intertwined their fingers.

“I know you. You won’t let me die.”

Curled up in Megatron’s embrace, his sanity failing, Starscream sank into unconsciousness before he could initiate the stasis mode.

O

A whole cycle passed before the optics of the gladiator flashed to life. He moaned softly as his body reminded him of his various injuries. He however felt a little better as internal repairs had worked on his wounds. The first thing he saw were panels and tubes, which covered him completel. He thought that he was deactivated and had been buried under scraps, until he realised that he was not alone. The Little Prince was lying on top of him, face buried in his neck, a hand squeezing his fingers. Megatron’s other hand was resting on his bleeding back. The Seeker was unmoving, probably in stasis.

“Starscream.” Fear grew in his spark when he remarked that the body of the flyer was cold. He could hardly feel the pulse of his spark beneath the armor. “Starscream!”

What had happened during the short time he had been delirious and then unconscious? Megatron inquired his memory bank and saw himself showing the coin to Starscream. Primus, he had been such a coward and a whiner! There was no image in the following sequence but the feedback of sweet sensations. Lip components pressing against lip components, glossa teasing glossa. A light body pressed against his graceless shell.

They had kissed.

Megatron felt like the ground would open beneath him and swallow him. He could deal with pain and wounds. Not with attentions towards him. He was the grumpy and brute type, the kind of Transformer who doesn’t arouse strong love passions. His most recent affair had ended with the desertion of his partner. He replayed the archive again, and felt like his whole body and spark were to melt down. He was really reaching the top of shame and joy at the same time.

“Little Prince, what happened?” he asked in shock.

The Seeker showed no sign of life.

Ignoring the protest of his body, Megatron shifted their position to have a better view of the Seeker’s injuries. Starscream slid off him and rolled on his side, where he laid, as limp as a broken drone. The gladiator brushed away a pipe that hid the Seeker’s face and set a hand on his cheek, tracing the line down to his jaw.

“What happened to you, Little Prince?” He was shocked with emotion and grief. He was shocked at his own reaction. “Slag, I should have been stronger!”

He then remembered the Vampiricons stalking them. He increased the acuity of his audios, but caught no noise at all. No hiss of Vampiricons, no threats from Skullcrusher. Only silence. Were they all dead?

“Slag you all!”

Megatron let his hand trail down to Starscream’s canopy, which he opened with care and a little hesitation. He wasn’t a medic, and was not used to touch a Transformer that way without his consent. He spotted the spark casing at once, and got the confirmation that the Seeker was almost dry of energy. All the systems around the casing were down and cold; only the spark was glowing of a weak red. Starscream was not in stasis mode; he had fallen unconscious before initializing it, which could be fatal.

“I won’t let you die, Little Prince!”

Megatron washed away his hesitations and opened his own chest compartment. He drew out cables from his spark casing, which he connected to Starscream’s own chamber. The outer shell of the chamber flashed with lights as energy irrigated its circuits again, and the spark glowed of a deeper red.

“This should buy you some time!” he whispered, cradling the cold body in his arms.

He knew that he wouldn’t be able to feed the Seeker with energy for a long time; he himself was in a state of weakness that wouldn’t allow him to stand up and get out of this pit. He needed help, from whoever it would be. Including the Quintessons and the Vampiricons.

Their escape was over.

“Don’t worry. Nobody is going to hurt you.”

He held the comatose flyer tight and activated his beacon signal, giving to whoever would receive it a way to find them.

Palace of the Quintessons, the Alphar’

Beta 15 was starting to get impatient. There was absolutely no report from Jigsaw and his squadron of Vampiricons.

“What are they doing?” he exclaimed, shifting his mask to the expression of madness.

A few cycles ticked by before the leader of his personal guard announced he had come back without the young gladiator and the mysterious “Little Prince”.

Beta 15 switched to the mask of Wisdom when Jigsaw stepped in front of him.

“Report! How did you manage to lose them?”

Jigsaw knelt in front of him, keeping a low profile.

“We followed them into the labyrinths Sir, but I guess someone else found them before we caught them.”

Beta 15 displayed his irritation by showing his strange mask of madness and wisdom.

“The insurgents?”

“Certainly, sir. We found some traces of fight in one of the ancient storage areas, and energon. One of the mechs is certainly seriously wounded.”

“That’s really irritating. We’ll have to be clever if we want to get this mysterious robot back.” Beta 15 pressed a tentacle over a panel on the side of his throne. The image of Gamma 10 appeared on the large screen above Beta 15.

“Do we have any improvements with our guest?”

“Affirmative, Beta 15. The subject Wiper will soon be reprogrammed and become loyal to our cause.”

Beta 15 switched back to the mask of madness and laughed openly.

“Perfect! Once he’s fully reprogrammed, send him back to the old tunnels. He will find his way by himself, and, at the same time, Silvergun and the Little Prince.” Go to: Chapter 5 – Chapter 7