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It was supposed to be an ordinary survey.
A planet with such long day-cycles and little moisture that it was almost entirely covered in dry, hot deserts with the most fascinating mineral compositions. Sure, there were some organics living underground in tunnel-network hovels, but Starscream didn’t have to deal with them. Skyfire had that covered, leaving him free to fly over the expanses of sand and admire the view.
“How’s it going?” Skyfire asked over comms.
Starscream’s spark did not flip at the sound of his partner’s voice. His lab partner. Not that he would have refused if Skyfire asked for…something else. But he certainly wasn’t going to be the one to broach the subject. No matter how handsome Skyfire was, or how clever and gentle and—
“Stascream?”
“I’m fine!” Starscream snapped. Damn, that sounded harsh. “Don’t startle me like that.”
He huffed as Skyfire chuckled at him.
“Okay. Just wanted to make sure you were watching your fuel levels. This time.”
Starscream grumbled, “I’m at 65%, I’ll have you know.”
“Good.”
Ugh. Stupid shuttle. So concerned. And caring. And with broad shoulders and hands big enough to completely encircle Starscream’s waist.
“I’ve almost finished running the first round of tests,” Skyfire said. “We can go over the results when you get back to base.”
Ah good. Something else to occupy his processor. Starscream checked the distance back to the portable lab they’d set up. He wasn’t that far. At max he’d burn through an extra 5% of his fuel. He could explore a little more. Perhaps find a different set of mineral deposits.
He scanned ahead and found a place where the sand dunes were interrupted by rocky ground and sharp cliffs, curled towards the sky like claws. Starscream altered his course and headed towards the formation. What could have caused that? An impact? Perhaps wind or weather scouring rock until it took on this ominous shape? So many possibilities.
Once he was close enough, Starscream cut his thrusters and used the remaining momentum to transform and land. The jagged cliffs seemed bigger now that he was walking amongst them. Their shadows were dark enough to noticeably cool him, despite the blazing sun.
Starscream took a chisel from his subspace and collected some of the rock, while taking plenty of image captures of the site. They could go over his findings tonight. Together. In close proximity.
Damn it. Why had he thought going on an expedition alone with Skyfire was a good idea?
As he sent copies of his image captures back to Skyfire, a shimmer of light passed over his shoulder. He spun around, sensors working to try and determine what he’d seen. A trick of the heat? Most likely, but his plating still flared. He had a bad feeling. But he wasn’t a coward, so he shook off his nerves and went back to his work.
When he sensed movement again, he spun and said, “Who goes there?”
No answer. Starscream stomped towards the base of one of the rock formations, switching to different visual filters to figure out what he was sensing. There might be an native species here? Or a visual trick? Something to do with the rocks?
When he rounded the corner his spark jumped into his intake. In the flat area sat a large, round ship. What was a ship doing here? Then he realized why it looked familiar, and immediately activated his thrusters to take off.
Something curled around Starscream’s ankle and yanked him down to the ground. His back collided with the rocks. The impact sent a jolt through his processor. Before he could recover, more tendrils wrapped around his legs, his arms, one wing, and around his waist.
Frantically he struggled and his arms were stretched above his helm and held together. His legs were dragged apart and his attempts to burn his captor off with thruster fire just caused them to yank hard enough to nearly dislocate his leg from his hip joint. Finally, the hazy shapes came into focus. Tall, round, armored, with tentacles falling from their floating forms. Two large, ominous faces leered down at him.
Starscream snarled. Quintessons, cloaked so he hadn’t seen them before.
“Look at this,” the one holding his arms and crushing his waist said. “There was indeed a Cybertronian on this planet.”
“How lucky for us,” said the other, taller and more oblong where the other was rounder. It lifted a limb towards Starscream’s face, tracing the tip along his cheek.
“Don’t touch me!” Starscream cried. “You hideous, arrogant, slimy piece of—hrmph!”
The tendril wrapped tightly over his mouth, silencing his protests.
“Oh dear, it’s voice is annoying,” said the first. “I don’t know if I want to keep this one, Monatus.”
“Voices can be changed, Nerus. Besides, the ones with wings are my favorite. And look at the colors. This one is quite exquisite when it’s quiet.”
Starscream squirmed, but he could barely move as the two Quintessons wrapped their limbs around him. His tanks lurched. He tried to scream, but he could make little noise besides a muffled whimper.
“Now,” Nerus said. “There’s supposed to be another one, isn’t there?”
Skyfire! Starscream had to warn him. He activated his comms, frantic to send a message.
“Skyfire! Skyfire, come in. Emergency. Q—”
Pain erupted from the side of his helm. When the static cleared from his vision he saw the taller Quintesson holding a small prod in its tendril. Electricity arced between the two prongs. They’d blown out his comm relay!
“None of that,” Monatus said, smirk widening. “Come, let’s get it secured inside. Then we can search for the second.”
No, no! The pair lifted Starscream and started dragging him towards the ship. No matter how he struggled, they just held him tighter.
“Nmph. Mmph, grmph!”
His back arched as he struggled vainly, and the door of the ship opened.
###
“Skyfire! Skyfire, come in. Emergency.”
The connection went dead.
“Starscream?” Skyfire tapped the side of his helm. “Starscream!”
Skyfire set down the scanner and stepped back from his workbench. He kept pinging Starscream but got no response. The signal wasn’t going through at all. That made no sense. Even if Starscream was unconscious or unable to respond, Skyfire’s comm would still connect with his. He could use the signal to track him. They’d both had that extra mod added before setting out as a safety precaution. Why wasn’t it working?
Dread hit him like a cold knife. Could Starscream’s comms be damaged? There wasn’t anything environmental that should interfere. The locals weren’t hostile. The planet had no cybervores. What could have hurt him?
Skyfire needed to find him. He couldn’t lose…not Starscream. Not his partner, his friend, his…
He chided himself. Starscream was brilliant and tough. He was definitely still alive. He just needed help.
Before panic could overwhelm him, Skyfire released his vents. He needed to hurry, but he couldn’t run off senselessly. Starscream had sent him several files a few minutes before the last comm. Skyfire sat in their prefab laboratory and base camp, thin walls glowing with sunlight as it bled through. He checked the files. They were pictures. Rock formations, taken from the ground.
So he knew where Starscream had been. But not where those rocks were. The only thing Skyfire had seen since landing was sand. How was he going to trace Starscream’s flight path?
Skyfire rushed outside and transformed. He may not know where those rock formations were. But the locals might.
###
Starscream’s joints ached. He hung, suspended within a large frame, in a mess of sticky, black tendrils that reminded him entirely too much of his captor’s tentacles. Except they were stronger and colder and seemed to constrict more each time he tried to move.
They curled around his wrists and arms and throat. His mouth remained covered by thick coils, as did his wings and waist. His legs were bound together, knees bent slightly. He dangled in the dark, unable to clearly see the cell where they’d left him.
That didn’t mean he wasn’t trying to escape.
“Hmph!” His lips were sealed but his vocalizer still had volume. If he could get one of the Quintessons back maybe he could trick one into making a mistake.
“HMPH!”
Nothing. The metal of the ship groaned slightly as the temperature around them changed. The planet became considerably colder once the sun set. Damn it. How long had he been trussed up here? The prongs had taken out his internal chronometer, along with his comms.
Starscream tried and failed to pull an arm free, wincing as the tendril pinched a conduit in his wrist, and wondered where Skyfire was. Had the Quints found him? What would they do if they did? Starscream could escape—somehow—but Skyfire wouldn’t hurt a tinfly. And he was a larger target. If the Quints got the drop on him, he’d be done for.
Starscream let his helm fall back as much as the gagging tendril would allow. He was still certain the Quints would make a mistake he could exploit, but if they didn’t…Quintessons treated Cybertronians as little more than toys or tools. At best, Starscream might become a decoration in some bastard’s collection. At worst? Forced labor. Experimentation. Torture. There was probably more. Especially for a rarer frame type. Like a shuttle.
The idea of these monsters laying a single limb on Skyfire made Starscream want to kill something.
Starscream wasn’t going to let that happen. Neither he nor Skyfire were going to become Quintesson playthings. Not before he’d proven himself to all the fools back home who’d doubted him. Not until he and Skyfire were as respected and famous as they deserved.
The door opened. Bright light hit his optics and forced the apertures to contract. The shorter of his captors came in with a scanner in hand. Starscream glared and struggled again with renewed vigor, desperate to sink his claws into the ugly, fleshy creature.
“I don’t like the way it stares at me!” the Quint called.
“Then do something about it instead of complaining to me.”
The Quint sighed. Starscream jerked as a long, ribbon-like appendage dropped from above and began wrapping around his optics. He gave a muffled scream as the world went black.
“Don’t panic,” the Quint said. “I’m just taking some measurements. Potential buyers always want to know the specs.”
The restraints had no give, but Starscream shook his wings anyway, just to make the Quint’s job more difficult. It made an annoyed sound.
“Quit squirming or I’ll shock you again.”
Starscream paused. The last one had hurt. A lot. And he couldn’t risk anymore damage to his systems if he wanted to get out of this. Reluctantly he stilled, shuddering when something dragged across his wings.
“They really are a striking feature. If it were up to me I’d keep you. You’d be the highlight of our collection.”
Well obviously, Starscream would be the highlight of any collection, but he was not going to be a part of anyone’s collection, so it was a moot point.
“Check and see if it has one of those array mods,” the second one called. Its voice sounded like it was echoing from across a corridor on the ship. The one they’d dragged Starscream through to bring him to this cell.
“Right, good idea.” An uncomfortable note of glee entered the thing’s voice. “Such an odd thing to add for a species that reproduces totally asexually. Trying to imitate organic life.”
Organic…how dare?! But Starscream was distracted from the insult when the tendrils holding his legs shifted. The coils around his knees tightened and pulled them apart, while tendrils around his hips dragged him slightly forward.
Oh no. Absolutely not! He thrashed and shook his helm as much as he could, but nothing budged. Any coil that did slip was immediately replaced by three more. He couldn’t see the alien staring at his panels, but he could feel it. His face heated in humiliation at the idea of being exposed.
“RRMPH!” A tendril crawled up the length of his inner thigh. The other leg was wrapped securely nearly to his hip joint. He couldn’t close his legs. Armor and protoform shivered at the oily length creeping across his thigh towards the seams between his legs.
Skyfire! If you’re going to rescue me already, now would be an excellent time!
The second Quin called, “It seems a ship is approaching our location.”
“Oh?” His tormenter said. Starscream felt the grasping tendrils pause. “Local?”
“Far too large and fast for these primitives.”
“Ah.” The Quint chuckled. “That might be your friend.”
Starscream wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or alarmed. If it was Skyfire, there was no way he was armed. He had no element of surprise—not that that was ever an option for a bot of his size. What if he was caught too? Damnit there had to be something Starscream could do!
He heard the door close, leaving him stretched, bound, and with the tendril’s tip alarmingly close to his panels.
Skyfire, you’d better have a plan!
###
When Skyfire had shown the pictures to the locals he’d befriended they’d immediately pointed him in the right direction. They knew about that formation, and often used it as a place for tribes to gather to trade supplies. Unfortunately they’d missed the last gathering due to a ship and a pair of hostile aliens who’d taken the place over for the past month.
The moment Skyfire heard that, his lines went cold.
He flew as fast as he could, though not nearly as fast as Starscream. Every second clicking by on his chronometer was agony. What if he was too late? What if Starscream had in fact been kidnapped by the aliens—please, please, let them not be Quintessons as Skyfire feared—and taken off world? More importantly, how in the world was Skyfire going to get him back? He was unarmed, save for a stun blaster, and that was only designed to stop local fauna large enough to threaten them or their supplies.
They were far from Cybertron. By the time he was able to contact anyone for help, Starscream would be lost. That was if they got any help at all.
It didn’t matter. Starscream needed him. If he was just injured, Skyfire could take him back and repair him. If there were Quintessons here…they weren’t taking Starscream. Not unless it was over Skyfire’s gray frame.
His HUD blared with an alarm. Incoming projectile. Skyfire dodged, dipping one wing into a roll that made his tanks lurch. But he avoided whatever it was by scant inches. His processor raced. A net?
Two more shots came from below, and again Skyfire maneuvered between them. He silently thanked Starscream for teaching him evasion techniques in the sky. He’d really just thought Starscream wanted to show off—not that Skyfire minded, Starscream was stunning in the air. He’d never suspected he’d actually use the training himself.
Skyfire dove for the base of the rock formation and transformed, drawing out his stun blaster. At least it looked dangerous enough.
“You missed, you fool!” someone yelled as Skyfire approached the location of a ship. Starscream must be inside. It was circular, with the ramp open. Two figures argued, and Skyfire’s spark flared with ingrained hatred.
He pointed his stun blaster and fired towards the two Quintessons.
The shot missed, going wide, but at least it shut the pair up.
“Where is Starscream?” Skyfire demanded, back pressed against the stone, out of their line of fire. “I know you took him!”
“Who?”
“It means the other Cybertronian, no doubt.” One of the Quintessons stepped forward. “Your companion is unharmed. We’d be more than happy to take you to him.”
Skyfire was almost insulted that they thought he’d reveal himself so easily. “Then release him and we’ll be on our way.”
They both laughed.
“What do you think, Nerus?” the taller one asked. “Worth collecting?”
“Another flight class, and such a large one? Of course it is! Do you think the pair are mates?”
Skyfire’s fuel pump flipped.
“I certainly hope not,” the first one said. “It’s ill advised to keep mated Cybertronians together. They get troublesome. Besides, while this one’s size is impressive, the fuel consumption makes it tricky to upkeep. You’d need a very particular buyer, and frankly I’m not sure if I want to bother with the upkeep.”
The one called Nerus pouted. “But I’ve never seen one like that before! Surely we could find someone to take it. What a fine trading piece it would make. And if we don’t find someone who wants it—”
“You’re already pushing your luck trying to keep one Cybertronian,” the taller Quintesson chided. “You most certainly are not getting two.”
“Fine. You always spoil my fun.”
“Hey!” Skyfire poked his helm out from cover, ready to take another shot. “I’m still here. And I’m not letting you leave with my partner.”
“Ah, partner. Definitely mated then.” The tall Quintesson shook its helm. “Far too much trouble. Best to leave it.”
Oh no. Why had he said it like that? Whatever, it didn’t matter. He couldn’t let the ship take off!
Engines hummed. Skyfire jumped from his hiding spot into a full sprint. One of the Quintessons fired a shot at him, but the red bolt failed to pierce his armor. He hissed at the sting. It didn’t slow him down.
The ship’s door began to close, ramp retracting as the two Quintessons vanished inside. Skyfire reached out despite being nowhere near close enough. Dust and rocky debris blew into his face. He paused to shield his optics as his armor was scoured.
“Starscream!”
The ship took off. Skyfire transformed, desperation choking his vents. He couldn’t let them get away. Starscream needed him. That thought put extra fire into his engines as he chased after the ship, burning through fuel and coolant more rapidly than he had in his life.
He transformed, stretched towards the edge of the ship. His fingers latched on.
“Yes!”
The ship wobbled. Skyfire nearly lost his grip, but he pulled himself onto the hull and jammed his hand into the space between the ramp and the hull that had not yet sealed. Skyfire pried it apart and squeezed himself inside, scraping off his paint until he was inside. He rolled onto this back.
The ship was dark and uncomfortably humid. Skyfire shoved down the wave of exhaustion threatening to drag him down, and the soreness in his heels. He looked down and grimaced. He’d burned himself with his desperate boost.
He shook his helm. It would be worth it once he had Starscream back.
The moment he started limping further into the ship, he saw something shimmer ahead of him.
Another net shot towards him.
On his pedes, Skyfire failed to dodge. The net curled around his legs and caused him to fall hard on his shoulder. He grunted, kicked, tried to free himself, but only succeeded in tangling himself more.
A cloaking device fell away, revealing the Quintesson called Nerus.
“You broke our door.” The Quint made a scolding motion with its tentacle. “Troublesome. Apparently you really can’t bear to be away from your mate. I suppose I can’t blame you. He’s quite pretty. When he’s not talking.”
“Where is he?” Skyfire demanded.
“I’m not telling you.” The Quint lifted another net launcher. “I’m going to keep you in cargo until we’ve figured out how much we sell you f—ARGH!”
Skyfire fired his stun blaster, hitting the creature square in its face. It twitched as it fell.
“If you’re not telling me how to find Staracream, I really don’t care what you have to say.”
Skyfire detangled himself, rose, and started running.
###
The ship moved. Starscream’s vents sped up, causing his helm to spin. His plating crawled as the movement jostled the tendrils close to his panels, which sent a jolt of sensation through his systems. Were they moving somewhere else on the planet? Had they found Skyfire?
Or had they given up on Skyfire and decided to take him into space?
Trying to bite the tendril around his mouth got him nothing but a taste of some oily, bitter liquid followed by a limb forcibly shoving his jaw shut. Despair clawed its way up Starscream’s intake. His claws couldn’t reach far enough to cut himself loose. He was trapped. He couldn’t see. He couldn’t make a sound besides a whimper.
He knew he should stay calm. Save energy. Wait for an opportunity to free himself and hopefully rip his kidnappers limb from limb.
Heavy steps approached him quickly. On instinct he tried thrashing again, terrified they were back to continue their examination. He was not going to let them expose him any more than they had! He wasn’t—
“Starscream!” Large, warm hands touched the sides of his face. “It’s me. Don’t be afraid.”
Skyfire? Skyfire! Starscream shook his helm. The Quintessons must have captured him too. Guilt coiled in Starscream’s spark. Not that this was at all his fault—it wasn’t, obviously—but it felt like his fault for getting snatched up first. For being unable to warn Skyfire what had happened.
Skyfire’s fingers grabbed for the ribbon-like coil over Starscream’s optics. He tore it free, allowing Starscream to see again. To his shock, Skyfire was alone. Unrestrained. No Quintessons in sight.
“I’m going to get you out of here.” Skyfire’s blue optics glowed, lighting up his face. Starscream’s tanks felt like they’d just dropped very suddenly from a great height. “Hold on.”
Starscream nodded, trying to angle himself to give Skyfire an easier time, but the black tendrils were painfully tight. He winced then gasped as the coils began crushing his thighs.
Skyfire’s expression went wide with horror when he saw the tendrils between Starscream’s legs. “Those…those pieces of slag. Hang on.”
Skyfire grabbed the highest tentacle and tore it off, immediately relieving some of the tension in Starscream’s core. Tension that immediately returned as Skyfire tried to unwind the second, which meant his large hands were drifting across Starscream’s thighs and very, very close to his array. His face grew hot, which caused his vents to bark harshly.
“Are you alright?” Skyfire looked at him with spark-melting concern. “Did I hurt you?”
Starscream shook his helm. He did try his best to indicate his bound arms, trying to get Skyfire to go back to getting those loose. Once he had his claws to bring to bear they could escape even faster.
Skyfire understood and began messing with the coils around Starscrem’s right wrist. The increasing pressure hurt, but it would be worth it soon. Skyfire was strong. He’d get him out of here.
The tendrils began to shift.
“Rmph—MMPH!”
His warning came too late. A thick coil lashed out and closed over Skyfire’s hand. He recoiled, but more black webbing curled around his wrist and started climbing up his arm.
A shadow appeared in the doorway, tall and menacing Starscream was glad he could at least glare with the full force of his hatred.
“You really should have forgotten that mate of yours,” the Quintesson said.
Mate?!
“Let us go,” Skyfire said through gritted dentae. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
I do, Starscream thought.
“You aren’t really in a position to make demands.” It showed a smirking face as Skyfire’s arm was further enveloped. “Perhaps Nerus was right. Maybe a matching set will fetch a better price. Or the distance haulers will have use for that frame of yours. It really is more impressive up close.”
Fragger! Skyfire was not going to be turned into some sort of convoy! Starscream looked around for something he could use or maybe call Skyfire’s attention to. He had a bit more range of motion in his hand. But not much. Still not enough to cut himself loose.
But he could cut Skyfire’s bindings.
With a loud grunt, Starscream slashed his claws across Skyfire’s arm. Skyfire clenched his jaw as talons scoured his armor, drawing trickles of energon. But it released enough of the black tendrils for Skyfire to tear himself free with a sickening rip.
The rest of the tendrils quickly seized Starscream again, but it didn’t matter. Skyfire was free. The Quintesson paused, confused. Then panicked.
It didn’t retreat fast enough to avoid Skyfire’s fist.
Starscream cheered internally as the Quint went down in a crumpled heap.
Skyfire did not seem nearly as pleased by the victory. He immediately turned back, this time working on the gag wrapping around the lower half of Starscream’s face.
“I’m so sorry,” Skyfire said. “Are there any more, besides those two?”
“Not that I know of,” Starscream said. “I hope you squished the first one.”
“Just stunned.”
Damn. Not that Starscream was in much of a spot to complain. Not with Skyfire’s frame hovering so close to his, hands fussing as he tried to free Starscream without hurting him. His tenderness was such a contrast to the harshness of Starscream’s bonds.
“You came,” Starscream said softly before he even realized the words were forming in his vocalizer.
“Of course I did,” Skyfire replied. “I couldn’t let them take you.”
Starscream really, really hoped Skyfire hadn’t heard his engine rev at that.
“Besides,” Skyfire continued with a lopsided grin. “You’d do the same for me.”
“Obviously.” Starscream rolled his optics. “You think I’d let them take the only half-way decent lab partner I’ve ever had?”
Skyfire’s smile was so stupidly handsome. Starscream wanted…he knew what he wanted but he couldn’t make himself ask for it. He still felt speechless, which was profoundly unfair.
Mate. The Quintessons had clearly misunderstood something. Not to mention that obviously Cybertonians were far too civilized to have anything that could be called a “mate.” But the spirit of the word…Starscream wanted it and it hit him just how close he’d come to never getting the chance to try to get it. He would have spent the rest of his life as a plaything without Skyfire ever knowing how he felt.
Starscream did not like it when anyone tried to take what was rightfully his.
And really, depriving Skyfire of the opportunity to be with him was cruel so…
“Skyfire,” Starscream said. “Can you do me a favor?”
“Anything,” Skyfire replied earnestly.
“Bend down a little.”
Skyfire frowned but did not argue. He stopped once he was just above Starscream’s optic level.
“Lean forward.”
Skyfire obeyed.
He was just close enough for Starscream to force his neck forward and bring their lips together.
Skyfire flinched then froze. Starscream felt like he’d been doused with something icy cold. Was Skyfire…had Starscream misinterpreted? Skyfire had risked his life to rescue him! But what if—
Skyfire wrapped his massive hand around the back of Starscream’s neck and kissed him back, hard and needy enough to make Starscream’s mind go blank. It took him several nanoseconds to remember he should be kissing back. His processor swam at the euphoric feeling of Skyfire’s soft mouth against his own, drawing him in as his hand tilted Starscream’s helm back.
The soreness bled out of his frame. Skyfire’s glossa teased past Starscream’s lips, kissing away the bitter aftertaste left by the gagging coils. Starscream wanted to embrace Skyfire but he was still held fast. And now his partner suddenly seemed to have no interest in remedying that.
Starscream moaned into Skyfire’s mouth, half protest and half pleasure. Skyfire chucked with far more wickedness than his kind spark should have been capable of.
“Is it wrong that I think you look good like this?” Skyfire murmured.
Starscream sputtered. It was absolutely wrong! He’d been kidnapped, for Primus’ sake. But…well, as he felt Skyfire’s arm reach around his back, under his wings to pull him close as his limbs were powerless to move, completely at Skyfire’s mercy…his fuel pump started doing something funny. It wasn’t unpleasant. Not at all.
“Just get me down from here!” Starscream screeched. “After you kiss me again. Just to make sure you meant it.”
Skyfire did. And after no small effort, he finally managed to free Starscream from the constricting tendrils. Starscream shuddered as he realized his beautiful armor was covered in a thin, sticky residue. It felt absolutely foul.
“Let’s get back,” Skyfire said. “We can keep…talking, back at the base. I could, uh, help you clean off?”
Skyfire, helping to wipe down and polish Starscream’s aching frame? With those incredible hands? Touching his wings and canopy and turbines…maybe a few other places. Just to be thorough.
“Yes. You should.” Starscream laughed “I’m feeling absolutely filthy.”