"AGAIN! DO IT AGAIN!"
Blood-energeon sprayed from Starscream's mouth when Barricade's fist came ramming into his jaw.
"Where's the shanix, Starscream?"
Starscream spat out a broken denta. "I can't remember. Maybe if you hit me again, it'll jog my memory!"
Barricade obliged, striking him again. Starscream's optics glared bright red as he smirked through the pain.
"Was that a light breeze I just felt?" Starscream taunted, earning himself another punch that was a little harder than the last.
A black and purple seeker got up into Starscream's face. "Give it up, Star! You ain't wriggling your way out of this one! Now let's wrap this up before things get real' ugly!"
Starscream's energon-streaked lips twisted into a grin. "Oh, I'm shaking. You think I can't handle getting a little roughed up, Skywarp?"
Another blow landed, sending Starscream reeling.
"HAHAHA! AGAIN! HIT ME AGAIN!" His laugh was that of a crazed lunatic.
The red seeker doubled over when Skywarp's knee struck hard into Starscream's abdomen.
Starscream defiantly raised his head and sneered. "Weakling!" Starscream grunted, earning him another knee to the abdomen.
Barricade, dent barred in frustration, violently grabbed Starscream's throat and squeezed until the Seeker's frame shuttered.
"We don't have to do this the hard way, you know. All you gotta do is give Skywarp the 400 shanix you owe her."
Starscream responded by spitting in his face.
Barricade let go of Starscream's neck and took a step back. Calmly, he wiped his face.
"Okay.... I think we're going to need to have a little Spark-to-Spark conversation about this situation before it gets out of hand."
Barricade's right index finger transformed into a small knife.
"Hey, aren't we not supposed to have those?" Thundercracker asked as he struggled to keep hold of Starscream.
Skywarp rolled her optics. "You're a dumbass, T.C."
"No, YOU'RE a dumbass!"
"Nuh-uh, YOU'RE a dumbass!"
"YOU'RE A D-
"Will you two shut up?! I can't hear myself think!"
"Cade..." Skywarp said, looking at the knife. "You better not do any crazy shit!"
Barricade let out an irritated huff before continuing. He used his other hand to shove Starscream's helm back and hold it still. His lips twisted into a sadistic grin as he traced the knife down Starscream's jaw, causing the seeker to hyperventilate and clench his fists. When Barricade found the soft spot where there was no metal bone framework to get in the way, he slowly began to press the knife in. Starscream let out a shriek of pain as energeon to started dripping down his neck.
"Barricade! Don't make him scream! we could get in huge trouble if we get caught!" Thundercracker warned.
"Shut your trap and hold him still!" Barricade snapped at Thundercracker.
His tone then suddenly softened, as if someone turned a switch. "Besides, he won't scream, will he?"
He pushed the blade in further.
Starscream clenched his jaw and tried as hard as he could to free himself from Thundercracker.
"WHERE IS IT?!" Barricade roared.
Skywarp slapped her hand against her face. "Primus, could you be a little louder, maybe?!".
Barricade pushed the knife in a little more. Starscream still managed not to scream, but tears began to well up in his optics.
"Don't make me ask again!"
Speaking was excruciating with the knife inside Starscream's lower jaw. "Okay, okay, okay! I-I'll get it for you! Just stop!"
Barricade wasn't satisfied, and the small blade went in deeper. Starscream was now letting out small whimpers.
"Uh, Cade?" Thundercracker laughed nervously. "This is starting to not be fun anymore."
Even Skywarp was beginning to wince at the sight.
"Cade, maybe we should do this another time? This is Prime's territory! Remember?"
"You want the shanix or not, Skywarp?!"
"I mean, yeah. But you're being a bit intense for 400 shanix."
Starscream began pleading. "I swear I have it! I swear! Please let me go! A-And I won't tell anybody you were here! Honest!"
Barricade shoved the knife in and pierced through the bottom of his mouth. His pleas were choked out as energon dribbled down his mouth and flooded his throat. His fists were squeezed so hard that his talons were now digging into the armor of his hands, causing them to bleed.
"Primus, barricade! Are you out of your mind?!" Skywarp exclaimed. "I don't want the damn shanix THAT bad!"
Starscream was groaning in agony, and optic lubricant was now freely flowing down his face. Barricade slid the blade out just enough for him to speak again.
He wailed, "I-I don't have it! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me anymore!"
Enraged, Barricade thrust the knife in and scrapped the metal palate at the roof of his mouth. A blood-curdling, gargled screech filled the air. Thundercracker immediately dropped Starscream.
"That's it! I'm done with this!" Thundercracker shouted at Barricade. "I know Star may be a jerk, but he's still our brother!"
Skywarp's right hand raised slightly. "Um, actually, I don't care about him because he sucks. I just don't want to end up in the Ark's jail. I heard Slips is in there, and lemme tell ya, we've got BEEF."
"Skywarp!" Thundercracker scolded his sister, who responded with a half-hearted shrug.
"When I start a job, I intend to finish it!" Barricade snarled, his yellow optics glaring.
Skywarp and Thundercracker took a few steps back.
When Thundercracker let go of him, Starscream successfully pulled away from Barricade, far enough to un-impale his jaw on the knife. But Barricade still had his other hand tightly grasping onto Starscream's helm. When Starscream lifted up his arms and tried to use his talons to pry away his hand, Barricade sunk the knife right into his armpit joint. He screamed again.
"Cade, stop! He's had enough! Let's just go back to the Nemesis!"
Thundercracker's words went ignored as Barricade pinned Starscream on the ground and began to savagely beat him. One of his punches landed hard enough for Starscream to momentarily black out. When he came to, he found himself lying on his front with Barricade pinning him down with his foot. He had Starscream's injured arm in his grasp and bent it back.
"I promise! I promise I'll get the shanix! I promise! Just stop!" Starscream desperately pleaded.
Skywarp threw up her hands"Bye! I'm out! Not staying for this!"
"Skywarp! Help me, sister!" Starscream pleaded.
Barricade leered at the fembot with blazing optics. She scurried out of reach before Barricade could grab her. She darted to the door, looked back at Starscream for a moment, then left.
Thundercracker stayed behind.
"Cade! You're gonna kill him!"
In a desperate act of self-defense, Starscream clawed at Barricade's face and nicked him on the bridge of his nose.
Without hesitation, the enraged Decepticon dazed him by punching him in the eye and then flipped him around so he was lying on his front. He placed a foot on his back and kept him down while he grabbed his right wing.
"Scream, and I rip off both of your wings. Got it?"
"Y-Yes, Barricade! I won't scream! J-Just have mercy on me!"
Thundercracker turned his face away from the brutality.
"Cade- Please.... Let's just go home!"
Barricade felt around the base of Starscream's wing until he found a gap in its joint. He then began to pry Starscream's armor layer away from the smaller, susceptible protoform layer underneath. Starscream's entire frame shook. He bit his tongue and dug his talons into his armor, trying to find a distraction from the sensation. It felt like one of the most sensitive parts of his body—his wing— was being slowly dipped in acid. The micronerves that gave his armor sensation snapped as Barricade pulled the armor back. It made sharp stings shoot to the tip of his wing, increasing the burning sensation to an unbearable level. Terrified of screaming, he resorted to sobbing uncontrollably. But this was still too loud for Barricade, and he used all his strength to violently yank back as much armor as he could in one powerful tug. Starscream's wailing only increased.
The sound of metal being torn, mixed with the sounds of his triplet brother's agony, made Thundercracker's entire frame tense up. He may not have been looking, but the sound alone was enough. Memories of Megatron began to flash in the blue seeker's mind.
"T.C... T.C., help me..." Starscream's voice was weak and shaky.
"You touch me, Thundercracker, and you're next."
"Please make him stop, T.C.!"
Thundercracker refused to look.
"T.C., PLEASE!! MAKE HIM STOP, MAKE HIM STOP!"
"Shut up!"
Barricade ripped off another piece of Starscream's armor and threw it at Thundercracker. When it hit Thundercracker in the leg, he didn't realize what it was at first. When he did, he stumbled back in revulsion. Barricade laughed sadistically at the blue seeker's reaction.
Thundercracker's red optics glowed with anger. "That isn't funny, Cade!"
Barricade had to stop for a moment. His arm had become tired and sore from pulling.
The armor on the back of Starscream's wing was almost entirely ripped off, exposing the smaller protoform wing underneath. Barricade brought out his knife yet again and dragged it along the soft metal alloy surface of the bare protoform. Starscream couldn't hold it in any longer. He screamed so loud that it took Barricade a bit off guard.
Barricade tried to cup his hand over Starscream's mouth to keep him quiet. Starscream, seeing an opportunity, was able to bite him. His sharpened canine denta hurt enough for Barricade to let go momentarily. Starscream tried to crawl away, but Barricade grabbed him by the damaged wing. This caused him to scream even more. Barricade let go of him again.
"Thundercracker! Help me shut him up!"
"No! You're real' sick in the head, Cade. And I'm not hanging out with you anymore! Now, can we PLEASE get the hell out of here before- Oh no..."
The sound of thunderous footsteps came rapidly approaching from outside.
"It's HIM!"
Barely a moment later, Skywarp's unconscious body came bursting through the door, completely destroying it.
Starscream scuttled under his table and watched the chaos unfold from there.
Barricade nervously smiled as he addressed the towering mech that had just entered through the broken doorway. "Heeeey Sky! We were just messing around like old times! Right? T.C?"
The mech picked Barricade and Thundercracker up by the helms and bashed them together, knocking them out instantly.
When the coast was clear, Starscream pulled himself out from under the table. He looked up at the massive mech with a scowl.
"I didn't need your help! They were cowering before me!"
"I'm sure he was, Starscream. Can you walk?"
"Of course I can!"
"Good. Then you're perfectly capable of walking to the medbay yourself."
"I am!"
"Don't forget to bring all the pieces that spontaneously fell off your body as Barricade and Thundercracker were kneeling before your greatness. "
"Don't tell me what to do!"
Starscream hobbled over to the piece of armor that was thrown at Thundercracker and picked it up. One side of it was slimy-textured and drenched in blood-energeon. Starscream dropped it.
"Hmph. I'll send the medics to come get this."
"I can take them for you if you're too grossed out by it."
"I am NOT "grossed out," you bumbling fool! I am completely desensitized to these sorts of things! I just happen to have a badly injured arm, if you even care to notice!"
"B-B-But- Isn't the great and powerful Lord Starscream more than capable of carrying things with ONE arm?"
"Piss off, Skyfire."
He turned his back to the giant Autobot and stormed—or rather, hobbled— out of his damaged living quarters.
Outside, a crowd had already formed, murmuring as they noticed Starscream's battered frame limping past them.
"Please tell me it didn't happen again!" Kup said as he limped over to get a closer look. "Oh, it's only Starscream."
Starscream tried to ignore every one and just kept on walking.
"By the Primes, Starscream!" Magnus said. "You're bleeding everywhere!"
Jazz zipped past and nearly knocked the injured seeker over.
"Watch it!"
"My bad, Scream!"Jazz quipped before he leaped over the rubble and slapped stasis cuffs on all three perpetrators.
Starscream tried to press forward, but his legs soon gave out. As the adrenaline wore off, he began to feel the full brunt of his injuries. He was unable to hold back his cries as his wing flared up in pain. He could hear Knockout's voice but couldn't process anything he was saying. He faded in and out of consciousness, unable to comprehend anything he was seeing or hearing. He could only feel searing pain as the flash of colorful armor rushing by reflected in his optics. The entire ship spun around him and caused partially-processed energon to force itself out of his mouth before blacking out.
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The broken mech came to in a hospital bed with a raging migraine, a wing that still felt like it was on fire, and a horrible aching pain that was under his arm joint and radiating throughout his entire face.
As if only to increase his distress, the medics placed him right beside Ironhide. Starscream didn't know how long he had been out, but it was long enough for Irionhide to have woken up, and he did not sound happy. Or very lucid, for that matter. He wouldn't stop switching between incoherent babbling and agonized groaning.
"Alright, I think I get it now! I'm in hell. I'm in hell!" Starscream thought. "The moment I agreed to go along on this Primus-forsaken voyage, I entered hell. I hate this fucking ship, I hate those two good-for-nothing wastes of energon I was unlucky enough to split a spark with, and Barricade... I'M GONNA RIP BARRICADE'S HEAD OFF WITH MY OWN HANDS!!"
Starscream roared with a vengeful rage and used whatever strength he had to get up.
"Ohhh no you don't!" Knockout scolded his patient.
He pushed him right back down.
"Trust me, we're not thrilled about you being here either."
Starscream opened his mouth to shoot an insult at the doctor, but only ended up wincing in pain.
"Just lay down and be quiet for a few clicks so I can get this over with, please."
Starscream's optics rolled.
Knockout held out a datapad and read it to his patient out loud.
"You took one hell of a beating, but as per usual, you somehow managed to survive without any life-threatening injuries. The medical team retrieved your missing armor plating at the scene of the attack and wielded them back in place. I patched up your wing with some protective padding. I know you'll say it looks stupid, but trust me, anything touching your wing for the next month or so will hurt like hell. Got it? Oh, right, you can't speak. Speaking of which," The doctor continued, "You should be able to in a day or so, but the pain won't go away as quickly. I sutured the hole in your lower jaw closed. You had a small scrape on the roof of your mouth, but that should quickly heal on its own."
Knockout paused briefly to scroll down on the datapad before continuing.
"Your left underarm joint was in rough shape, but I was able to wield it. It was very difficult, by the way, so you're welcome."
"I wonder if it's too late for me to jump ship and fly back to Cybertron?" Starscream so wished he could express his irritation verbally."
"You lost a denta, again. A new one should just grow in a few days. Unfortunately-" Knockout let out a sigh. "You're going to be here for at least 2 days."
"TWO D- ACK!"
"I told you to stay quiet. You could tear those suiters and mess up my beautiful handy work if you run your mouth as excessively as you typically do."
"Asshole," Starscream muttered through tightly gritted denta.
Knocking lowered his datapad down a little to look at Starscream and give him a little shit-eating smirk.
"Before I can send you home, we need to examine your brain case for any possible damage. Don't worry, this doesn't mean anything serious. This is just normal protocol for patients with numerous head injuries."
Knockout paused to scroll down the datapad again. "Before Chromdome can take a look in that noggin' of yours, you need several hours of rest. So get comfy!"
He put down the datapad and asked, " On a scale of one to 10, how severe is your pain? To save you the effort, I'll count from one to ten and then you can just grunt on whatever number-"
"TEN YOU IMBECILE, TEN!!!!!!"
"I told you to take it easy, Starscream. Tsk, tsk."
When Knockout turned his back to leave, Starscream used his good arm and held his hand up to his optic. He positioned his visual of Knockout's head between his index and middle talon and pretended to squash it.
The anesthetic supply on the Ark was currently being rationed due to low supply until the Nemesis was able to ship in part of their share of resources. So, for now, Starscream had to try to "relax" with only half the painkiller he needed.
The pain made the hours feel like an eternity. The only recharge Starscream was able to get was when he eventually became too tired physically stayed awake and lost consciousness. Starscream was abruptly awoken when medics came rushing in after Ironhide had fallen back into a coma. He was too preoccupied with his own discomfort to have any emotional reaction to what was going on around the bed next to him. He could hear Chromia crying and Ratchet calling for the other medics. The gravely wounded Autobot was successfully stabilized and ended up surviving. But he remained in a coma.
The pain kept Starscream awake all night while Ironhide's friends drifted in and out of the room.
"The hell happened to Scream? He looks awful!" Hot Rod whispered to Jazz.
"Owed money to some cons and got beat up pretty bad."
"Bee told me he got his face sliced off by Barricade." Said Arcee.
"Arcee, he clearly still has his face." Hot Rod pointed out.
"Knockout could have glued it back on."
Ratchet corrected them. "He did not get his face sliced off!"
"At least SOMEONE around here is willing to spare me of humiliation." Starscream thought.
Ratchet crossed his arms. "It's not appropriate to be openly discussing patient information in here!"
Jazz apologized for the group. "Sorry, Ratch"
Knockout stepped through the entrance of the room and addressed his patient.
"Morning, Starscream."
Starscream just looked at the ex-con medic and grunted.
"Rough night? Well, you'll be happy to hear that I've been able to use my stunning charm to talk the other medics into letting you have a little extra painkiller."
Starscream's optics narrowed with a suspicious glare.
Knockout sighed. "You know, Starscream, you may not be my favorite patient but you are still my patient. As long as you're under my care, I'll do my best to ease your pain."
Starscream's wings instinctively rose as an aggression display, which hurt the joint at the base of his left wing. Starscream winced at the sore sensation.
Knockout filled a syringe with a glowing green liquid. He held it up to eye level and tapped it with his claw to get the air bubbles out.
"I'm not Megatron." Knocked remarked. "I'm not just going to dump you in a hospital bed after being brutalized without any- Ah, okay. You're look you're giving me THAT look."
Starscream's optics shot daggers at the doctor.
"I can take a hint! It's a sore subject."
There was a hole that had been temporarily drilled into the base of his sternum so that drugs could easily be administered directly into his spark.
"Open wide!"
Starscream let out a mean hiss and batted Knockout away with his uninjured arm.
"Starscream!" Knocking grunted as he pushed back his patient's flailing arm. "I'm not going to hurt you!"
Everyone on Irionhide's side of the room just watched in bewilderment while both ex-cons wrestled with each other.
"Would you quit acting like a sparkling?! Hold still!"
Starscream took a swipe at Knockout and missed.
"ARGH! Watch the paint!"Knockout had had enough. "I am going to make you feel better whether you like it or not!"
Knockout jammed the syringe right into the hole in Starscream's chest.
"AAAAAAAAAAH! WHY YOU LITTLE- I'M GOING TO RIP YOUR OPTICS OUT AND MAKE YOU EAT THEM! THEN I'M GOING TO CLAW YOUR FACE OFF! AND THEN AFTER THAT, I'M GOINGTOuuuuaaah..."
Starscream felt immense relief as the solution flushed through his system. The painkiller had the side effect of making him a little high, but he was now at ease enough to no longer be a nightmare for the medics to deal with. Well, for the time being at least.
Ratchet's optics narrowed towards his coworker. "Knockout! How much did you give him?"
"Enough."
"You know we can't be liberal with the painkillers, Knockout!"
"I've already discussed it with Optimus. After explaining the nature of Starscream's injuries, he said it would be alright."
"Ratchet."
"What?! Ugh, that bolt-brain is too much of a big softie for his own good." Ratchet remarked. "None of Starscream's injuries are severe enough to maim him or be lethal and we can't afford to use too much anesthetic on bots who will recover within a few days."
"Hey, Ratchet."
"Do you have ANY idea how much pain he's in?! Part of recovery is recharging, and my patient isn't able to go into recharge. He needs this just as much as he feels like he needs to be a constant aggravation to everyone in his general vicinity.
"Oh, Raaaatchet~"
Ratchet grunted in frustration. "I understand that he's in pain, and if we had the normal amount of resources he would probably be on even more painkillers. But we have several more cycles to go on this trip. We need to ration our supplies!"
"Hey, DOC!"
"Do you have ANY idea how painful a flayed wing is? I don't even have wings, and just looking at this poor heap of scrap makes me want to shield my tires!"
"RATCHET!"
"WHAT is it, you obnoxious bird?!"
Starscream held up his good arm and stuck his middle talon out at Ratchet.
Ratchet vented deeply. He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his optics. Arcee let a snicker escape from her, which Ratchet returned with a side-eye.
Chromia finally said something. "Why did you guys place him next to Hide? There really wasn't ANYONE else you could room him with?"
Ratchet answered her. "All the other beds are currently taken up a bunch of Vehicons that passed out in the rec room. Trust me... You won't want to know."
"Ohhhhho, YEA." Hot Rod added to Ratchet's statement.
Knockout turned back to his patient. He leered down at him.
"Hm?"
"So?"
"What do you want?"
"Don't you have something to tell me, Lord Starscream?"
Starscream stared at the medic, cluelessly.
"Magic words, Starscream? Did no one teach you manners as a sparkling?"
Starscream kept looking at him.
Knockout bent down next to the seeker's audio processor and whispered, "I didn't tell Optimus scrap. I took a big risk getting you this by doped up, so you better say thank you!"
Starscream genuinely didn't expect this type of courtesy from Knockout. Or anyone else for that matter.
"Er, thank you?"
"Aw Starscream, there's no need to thank me!" Knockout made sure everyone in the room could hear him. "I'm just doing my job!"
He patted Starscream on top of the helmet, which made him pull his helm away in annoyance.
"I didn't say you could touch me!"
"Hah! You have such a unique sense of humor, Starscream." He patted him again.
"Keep wearing out your welcome, and I'll bite you."
"I'm sure you will Starscream, I'm sure you will."
"I'm serious!"
"Tsk, tsk, Starscream. I told you that you should take it easy with the yapping. Don't want to open that wound back up now, do we?"
Chromia interrupted. "Pardon me, but could you two please stop before I start punching someone?"
"My apologies, Ma'am." Knockout addressed the blue fembot. "I should be getting out of here, anyway. One of my other patients is this vehicon that got his spike stuck in a-"
"Knockout!" Ratchet cut him off.
"Oh! Silly me. I forgot about patient privacy and whatnot. Opsies.
"Would you just leave already, Knockout?"
"Patience, darling. I need to inform my patient of one last thing."
"Just make it quick!"
"Alright!" Knockout looked back down at Starscream and muttered, "He can be so rude!" before telling him, "Anyhoo, Chromedome will be here later this afternoon to do your examination. And tomorrow afternoon the ship's therapist will ask you a few questions before you're cleared and we can finally kick you out of here."
"I'm not talking to a therapist."
"Yes, you are."
"Um, no, I'm not.
"Starscream, you were just tortured. That's not exactly known to be very good for one's mental health."
"Pah! What do you think I am, a newspark? I've had worse done to me more times than I can count!"
"Are you seriously bragging about how often you get your ass beat?" Arcee commented.
"Mind your own business, Autobot scum!" Starscream hissed.
Arcee rolled her optics. "God, even when he's doped up he's loud and angry."
"Whatever." Hot Rod said. "I'm gonna go get high on something. You in, Cee?"
Arcee answered without hesitation. "Hell yeah."
"Take it easy this time, Roddy!" Jazz warned.
"Sure thing, Jazz." Hot Rod said.
A new voice spoke out from directly behind Ratchet. It nearly startled him out of his armor.
"I could also go for an increase in my vibrational frequencies."
"DAH!" Ratchet yelped and spun around to see a white and red Autobot standing there.
Jazz, Arcee, and Hot Rod snickered at the medic's reaction.
"D-Drift! I didn't even see you there! When did you come in?!"
Drift smiled at him. "Been here the whole time, Doctor."
"Oh, well... Don't be so quiet next time!"
While the three younger bots said goodbye to Irionhide and the rest of their friends, the two ex-cons in the room were still arguing.
"You're seeing a therapist."
"Sorry, I think I had something stuck in my audio processor. Come again?"
"Doesn't matter how annoying you are about it, Starscream. You're seeing a therapist."
"I'd rather get the rest of my armor ripped off than talk to a therapist."
"Oh, I can arrange that."
"Knockout! Don't threaten the patients!" Ratchet shouted."
Knockout turned around and yelled back."It was a JOKE, Ratchet!" He turned back to Starscream and shook his head. "Ah, Autobots. They'll never get Decepticon humor."
"Primus have mercy!" Exclaimed Chromia. "Are you done yet, Knockout?!"
Knockout let a comically exaggerated "Hmph!" and left the room.
Starscream yawned and nestled down in his covers. "Finally! I can get some rest." He muttered.
The alloy pillow and sheets seemed to feel more comfortable than usual, soothing his broken frame. He was still pretty sore, but the pain was now bearable thanks to the painkiller. Starscream closed his optic lids and took in a deep vent. He had no idea what Knockout gave him. His tolerance was way higher than it should be and it was rare for painkillers to have this strong of an effect on him. But he wasn't exactly complaining. With a sigh of relief, he closed his optics. A good recharge was just what he needed.
But the light on his side of the room was still on.
"I need this light turned off, Ratchet. Ratchet? Ratchet! Hey, old timer!"
Starscream's optics flickered open and looked around the room. It was completely empty. Ratchet, Jazz, Chromia, and even Ironhide—gone. Starscream's expression twisted in confusion.
"Where the hell did all the Autobots go?"
He stayed there for several moments, a sense of unease slowly creeping in. Still more concerned about his sleep, Starscream forced himself to get out of bed with great effort.
"This place has terrible room service." He muttered to himself, the sarcasm doing little to lighten the unsettling nature of the situation.
"Now, where's that damn light switch?"
The room held the kind of eerie silence that made Starscream's servos twitch. He brushed it off, blaming it on whatever Knockout pumped into him. Once he finally found the switch, which was curiously on the floor, he flicked it. Instead of the lights shutting off, the Ark was bathed in bright red. The warning lights had come on, and an unbearably loud siren blared over and over.
"FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, WHAT DID I DO?!"
He rapidly flicked the switch on and off repeatedly to no avail.
He ran out of the medbay and looked for a place to hide from Optimus.
"FUCK, HE'S GONNA KILL ME."
The thought of enduring what Megatron had done to him again, this time at the hands of a Prime, filled him with a cold terror. He hyperventilated while his processor raced and his spark pounded against his chest. With the red lights and horrible wailing sirens, on top of being high, the seeker was heavily disoriented. He stumbled through the hallways, crashing into things as he went. The drugs were certainly not contributing much usefulness to this situation, as they only worsened Starscream's disorientation. He eventually found a vent. He ripped off the cover and crawled inside, squeezing his wings tightly against his back.
To his horror, he felt a cold, steely grip on one of his legs. He dug his talons into his claustrophobic surroundings as he tried to crawl away. Yellow sparks came out from the vent's steel walls as the seeker's talons tried to cling on in vain as he was violently dragged out. He kicked and thrashed while the much stronger mech dangled him upside down. At first, he thought it was Optimus. But then he heard the mech's frighteningly familiar monotone voice speak to him.
"Starscream located. Now executing objective: Break Starscream."
"S-SOUNDWAVE!" The frightened seeker stuttered. "You're not supposed to be here!"
The powerful deception grabbed Starscream's other leg.
"No! I'll do anything! Please! I won't tell Optimus, just leave!"
Soundwave said nothing. He grabbed Starscream's other leg. The seeker could hear a sickening crack as his armor began to bend, along with the sound of wires snapping. He could see energeon start to drip and pool beneath him. Soundwave tore him apart, causing sparks to illuminate the Decepticon's battle mask as blinding hot pain slowly crept up to Starscream's abdomen. The seeker screamed in agony and desperately tried to claw at anything. But he could feel himself getting weaker by the second.
Lazerbeak poked his head out of Soundwave's chest and said, "Can we restrain him while I do this so he doesn't bite me, please?"
Starscream then launched out of his hospital bed and attacked the bird.
"Hey, HEY!"
Starscream snapped out of it once a metal fist came in contact with his cheek. The force knocked him back and he fell and crashed into his bed.
Knockout, alarmed, rushed in between the fight.
"Chromdome! It's a night terror; don't hurt him!"
"Oh, I see. Apologies, Starscream." Chromedome said, stepping back and offering a hand to help him up.
Starscream blinked rapidly, trying to shake off the remnants of fear that still clung to him.
"What the?!"
He looked at Chromdome's hand. "Don't touch me, Autobot scum!"
Chromedome swiftly pulled away his hand. "Jeez, I can tell this will be a fun one. You sure we can't restrain him?"
"Don't you DARE!" Starscream snarled.
"It's probably not a good idea," Knockout said, patting Chromedome on the side of the arm.
Making sure to keep a safe distance, Chromedome guided a very reluctant Starscream to his office.
Chromedome held out a hand towards the examination chair like he was offering him a seat in his house.
Starscream cautiously inched his way onto the chair, not taking his optics off Chromedome. "You better not go poking your nose in places you shouldn't!"
"I don't do mnemosurgery anymore." Chromedome posited.
"Hmph!" Starscream narrowed his eyes at the surgeon. "That's what all of them say!"
"I'm just checking to see if anything is damaged. Luckily for both of us, you'll need to be out for a short while. When you wake up, you won't even notice any time has passed."
"You must be out of your mind to think I'm going to let you poke around at my brain while I'm unconscious!"
"Alright, but you'll have to sit perfectly still for up to an hour while being fully aware as I open your skull and stick needles into your brain."
Starscream gulped. "Fine! But I swear if-"
Starscream's eyelids groggily blinked open. He rubbed his bully optics and confusedly scanned his surroundings. He was back in his bed.
"Wait, wasn't I in the?" Starscream drearily asked no one.
He could hear Chromedome's voice from beside his bed "See? Told you. Didn't even notice."
Starscream found himself genuinely taken aback by how quickly he went from sitting in Chromedome's office to lying back in his bed.
"But—What? How?" Was all the seeker could say in his still sleepy state.
"Just a little concoction Brainstorm made. But it's difficult to manufacture and we don't have much on the Ark." Chromedome crossed his arms. "So don't keep going around and getting whacked in the helm by Decepticons!" Chromedome cleared his throat before continuing. "Luckily, you did not receive any damage to your brain. Er, not from any recently acquired injuries anyways."
"Good. So you can go and leave me alone now, yes?" Starscream said.
"Not quite, Starscream. There were some things I noticed that you might want to know about."
Starscream felt a flicker of anxiety in his spark.
Chromedome may have sensed this, as he reassured the seeker, "Don't worry, it's not what you think. You're not sick."
Starscream let out a small vent of relief.
"If I may ask," Chromedome started. "Have you ever gotten a memory cell removal procedure done?"
"No!" Starscream's optics darted away from Chromedome's. ".......alright. Maybe once or twice."
"Once or twice? That's interesting. Because you have an extremely high number of memory cells missing, and all of them look surgically removed."
"What? That's absurd!
"I'm very being serious here. Entire cycles worth of cells appear to be completely missing from your memory bank."
"Shit, how hard did Barricade hit me?!"
"Not hard enough to do this. Like I said, these are surgically removed. You must have gotten the cell removal procedure done several times throughout your life."
Starscream sat himself up with a groan, the painkillers starting to wear off. "I can't believe this. You better not be lying to me!"
"You could see for yourself with a cortical psychic patch, you know," Chromedome suggested.
Starscream thought for a moment. "Hrmm" He grunted. "I'll consider it." He took a moment to stretch out his uninjured left wing. "Right now just want to get out of here."
"Just hang in there for one more day. And try not to kill anyone in the meantime." Chromedome gave his patient a thumbs up.
Chromedome soon left, and Starscream was once again alone with an unconscious Ironhide. It was already nighttime by the end of his procedure and he was still quite tired, but he could feel the painkiller wear off as the minutes ticked by. He wanted to go into recharge mode before the pain became too severe, but he was kept awake by his racing thoughts.
"If I got rid of all those memories, then it must have been for a good reason! I should trust my past self. I am impressively intelligent, after all. There is nothing to worry about. Why would I hide anything from MYSELF? Hahahaha ...................Aside from maybe a few of the times Megatron bested me...... And perhaps some regretful interfacing.... And the memory of Skyfire leaving...... But those memories are gone for a reason! This does not bother me at all in any way whatsoever!"
Starscream shut his optics and tried to relax, but it was hopeless. Between the sounds of the machines keeping his roommate alive, Starscream's restless mind, and his increasing pain, the seeker could tell this would be another long night.