Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Is the seal secure?"

"Yes, for the fourth time, it is secure. Nothing is going to break that door."

The explorers heard a deep, faint groan, and they exchanged nervous glances.

"Maybe I'll check it again."

Skyfire stopped welding the console and got up, ambling over to the corridor. Starscream followed behind his fellow explorer to check the door as well. They had only been traveling for a few centuries when they had been lured to a planet that was giving off anomalous readings. Skyfire bent down by the door, doing a diagnostic of the door seal while the nervous seeker looked over his shoulder. The scans beeped in response, indicating there was a complete vacuum.

Skyfire turned his head around to look at his partner. "I'm still not sure we are doing the right thing. Why don't we just go to Cybertronian command and let them deal with it?"

"Skyfire, if we go back, we're never going to be able on this mission again. Do you want to go through all that lobbying to get an approved trip, again?"

Skyfire looked crestfallen. "But Starscream, he's a sentient being-"

Starscream shook his head. "It only has one thing in mind. Even its very cells are hostile to our programming... And since we can't kill him, this is our only option."

Skyfire looked horrified. "Kill him? What do you mean? You mean... you didn't try, did you? I thought my cluster bombs had done that damage to him."

Starscream glowered back. "It was self-defense. And I was trying to protect you. Our E.M.P. bursts have no real affect, and his cells regenerate if they are destroyed by anything other than ultra-violet rays. I'm not going to murder him, but we can't let him loose, either. It'd be tantamount to murdering our own planet."

Skyfire still wasn't convinced. "Maybe we could still reason with him-"

He was cut off by a clashing knock at the door. The door pinged, showing that it was completely solid despite the deafening crashes at the door.

Skyfire backed away slowly and bumped into Starscream who nearly jumped out of his frame. Their optics were trained on the door, praying to Primus that it held.

"Guess my null-ray wore off."

Then there was a scratching, and a high-pitched wail that sounded so otherworldly that both of them threw their hands over their audios. The screech carried through the door and reverberated down the corridor, bouncing off the console room and returning back to them on the other side. The Skyfire and seeker shuddered.

"Let's go," Skyfire mouthed. Starscream nodded, and they left the facility alone for millions of years.

Much Later...

Starscream scowled as he walked across the sandy plain. It would have been so much easier to fly to the ruins, but it just so happened that there was a sandstorm brewing just beyond the ridge. He knew from experience that even fine granules of sand slagging hurt when they got in your joints. The best way to avoid it was transforming before the flying sands blew and hoping that all of your baffles and seal were in operation.

He frowned. It was Megatron that was forcing him into this anyway. It was slagging Megatron that had put him on another "exile asteroid," and basically said, "Good luck getting back, moron. You might have trouble because I took out your navigational positioning with that last punch to the helm, but that is why I'm such a sadistic tyrant." In reality, Megatron had said, "Imbecile,” and left.

Granted, it had been just a typical day in the Decepticon ranks, including the standard infighting and a suspiciously placed mine tile in Megatron's path set only to detonate when Megatron's exact weight pressed on it as he walked by. Who knew that a carousing bunch of cassettes, when combined together in a conglomerate of punches and yelling, weighed the same as Megatron? They set off the tile, blowing up a decent fifth of the base, but somehow managing to survive the blast. Starscream had pulled up in the throne room and had gone and started his victory speech about their dearly departed commander.

Until a fusion cannon blast ripped through his right wing. Megatron was right behind him.

So Starscream had sat there on the asteroid for hours trying to figure out how to fix his damage. He started by repairing his wing; a shoddy job to be certain, considering he couldn't work on his own back. Still, he was functional if not a little peeved that his pristine coat of paint was marred. He flexed his wing joints appraisingly. When he didn't gasp for pain, he figured it would have to do.

Next: navigation. Unfortunately for Megatron, Starscream always knew where he was because of a detailed map of the galaxy that he had helped compile. Years of exploring had to be good for something. In fact, he doubted there was a Cybertronian map of this quadrant that didn't have his or that Skyfire's name on it. So, whether on purpose or not, taking out Starscream's positioning array might not have had the desired effect of leaving Starscream stranded for long. He looked to the stars and counted them, looking up their arrangement to his internal databanks to find out where the Pit he was.

His red optics narrowed. There was an oddly familiar binary system very close to his position. In essence, two blue giants had formed rather close to one another and were now locked in a deadly dance, spinning around one another at a slow and fixed pace. They both were exerting the same amount of internal pull and so pulled on one another to continue the dance for eons. Eventually, the spin would be thrown off balance by something, and one of them would crash into the other.

He smiled. Even he, terror of the skies, was not immune to a perfectly drawn metaphor. He tilted his helm and imagined that one of stars had a reddish tint and the other was a duller gray. Now all he had to do was somehow cause one to fall into the other... and only one would survive, cannibalizing its neighbor.

It was then that his smile faded. That binary system had been discovered by he and that Skyfire millions of years ago. That means that he was on the path that he and Skyfire had traveled. That also meant he knew exactly where he was.

He stopped for moment when an idea hit him. If he was on the path, then that means he was close to that. Oh...how perfect.

Cue his transformation and flying off in the direction of a small orange-red planet near the binary.

And so he continued to skulk on the sandy plain, furtively looking back at the looming storm that threatened to do wonders to his paint. But he was already here and he had a plan that would certainly surprise Megatron.

In the past, Starscream had always taken a more solo approach to defeating Megatron, with the occasional help that he created. He had tried to manipulate the Autobots, aliens, humans and other beings to no success of helping him to his goal of a lifeless gray Decepticon general. So for the last few attempts, he had tried inventions meant to take Megatron's spark that held no pretentious aspirations other than their main objective. He had cut down on the frivolous excess.

The result had been less fun, and less successful. Plus, Megatron mocked him for his change in tactics relentlessly so it only made the aftermath harder to bear. Overly complex and agonizingly simple produced the same effect. Fusion cannon. Repair. Laughing stock. Bristled and pissed seeker.

But not again. No. This time, this slagging time would be different. He was going to get help.

He came to a huge boulder that was worn from thousands of years of sand erosion, but still was three times the size of the Nemesis. Huge maybe didn't cover it. Maybe mammoth.  This boulder was one of three or four partially covered behemoths that stood hackneyed of one another arranged in a seemingly random fashion.

But boulders arranged randomly? It was not the fragging sand that had placed them here. In fact, the rocks formed the Cybtertronian glyph for disease.

Chapter Text

The huge rock blocked most of the harsh suns, but Starscream was still irritated by the heat. He felt along the sandstone for the groove that he hoped to Primus was still there. It was possible that the sand had worn it away, and if that was the case, he was going to be groping the rock for a long time.

Finally, he found what he had been looking for. A small groove, about the size of his servo waited patiently for him in the shadow of the rock. He noticed a second groove next to his that was a little bit bigger. Meant for the hand of a Skyfire. He glared at it and thrust his servo into his groove.

The whole rock thrummed harmonically, recognizing one of its masters had returned after so very long. Then, a relatively small opening emerged about twenty feet from where he was. Really, only a few steps away for him. He leaned away from the rock, smiling gleefully that his creation still worked. This is why the Cybertronians should rule the universe. The staggering ability of their technology to endure.

The fake rock door hissed as the inside depressurized. Zillions of grains of sand flowed out from between the cracks and stubbornly into the now open doorway. Starscream covered the doorway with his frame, realizing it hadn't changed much from the last time he was here. He quickly closed the door behind him with a click of a keypad, feeling the winds picking up and bringing with them the detrimental pieces of sand. It never ceased to amaze him how small things were off of Cybertron.

He twitched his wings, allowing the sand to roll off of him like drops of water. Starscream glared at his surroundings, but then his look softened. The room was dimly lit by lights that gave off a deep red glow. They had chosen red for its synonymous meaning in Cybertronian to some kind of medical issue, just in case someone got through the hidden door they had placed they might think twice about their prolonged presence in the facility whose very form spelled "disease." He found himself grinning like a sparkling who just transformed successfully for the first time. He had genuinely thought that the place would be in ruins, but he was pleased (and proud) to find that it was pristine and functioning, just like the day he left it.

Starscream felt his memory banks pulling, wanting to relive that day. He suppressed the urge. Not yet. Skyfire was nothing to him, and he wasn't about to go and change that by delving into the memories of better days. However, there was a lurking thought that he did not suppress. Last time he was here, he thought of the creature a little differently. That was then, back when he was young and naive. Now he was a ruthless Air Commander and he knew he could handle it.

He walked over to the console, noting that it still had enough solar power to continue at its function until after the suns died out (another billion millenia or so) and then for at least another couple thousand millenniums. Luckily, those blue giants put off a lot of power. Too bad it was now a wasted effort since he was about to remove the facility's reason for existence.

He turned and walked out of the main room and walked down the narrow corridor to the door that had about a million different languages all prominently displayed on the door. They basically all said the same thing. Warning: Fatal disease of Techno-Organic origin. Any exposure could prove contraction. Vacate the area immediately. Starscream had thought that up and he still felt it carried some verbose weight to it.

He punched in the code, getting plenty of errors claiming that there was no way he'd want to get back in there. This place was specifically designed to keep one thing inside for the rest of eternity. Starscream and Skyfire, in their youthful prime, had never dreamed that that one of them would come back to release the most dangerous thing they had ever encountered in their travels.

The door reluctantly relented. It hissed, breaking the million-year old seal and slowly opened. Starscream took a step back and allowed the door an open path. He allowed his scanners to do a constant sweep, checking for any signs of it.

Not that he would be able to see it coming.

Starscream sighed. This was it. The point of no return. He could still turn back, go beg to Megatron for forgiveness and continue to be the slagging test dummy for the Decepticon army. Or he could walk in there and try to control that thing, and maybe it would all work out. He could be the leader of the Decepticons by Friday.

Faintly, Starscream heard scratching and a thump coming from the darkness in the doorway.

He leaned around the door and even with his perceptive scanners, he could not penetrate the darkness. He didn't need to know it was still there, because he had always known. He had not forgotten.

He flinched a little when he heard the scratching continue. Starscream got closer to the door. He looked down into the darkness that led to a series of stairs, all black metals, forged by his and Skyfire's hands so long ago. He could only see the first three steps, and they shivered with vibrations, indicating someone was at the bottom.

"Hello?" his voice rasped. He sounded a lot less confident than he had hoped. Starscream silently cursed himself.

The scratching stopped.

"I said, 'hello.' Are you going to at least dignify me with a response?" Starscream folded his arms.

Nothing. It seemed as if the darkness was looking at him warily and with surprise. Almost as if it had forgotten that there could be other beings out there.

Starscream resisted the urge to stamp his foot. "Well, if you're not going to at least talk to me, I don't have to-" He stopped, hearing clicking and the sound of hacking. Someone was below.

"Sta-r-m?" came a voice colored by its disuse. After of millions of years, Starscream decided it was reasonable that the creature could not completely talk right away. He gave it the benefit of the doubt.

"Well, I see you have some social skills left. Entertained by all of the datapads we left you?" Starscream couldn't help adding a little bit of sarcasm. The thing down there probably read them many, many times.

"I've completely memorized them," the thing said, his vocals much more even now. "Come on down and I'll prove it."

Starscream smirked. "What can't you come up here and tell me? What a shame. Must be that lack of energon. How long have you been down there?"

The creature ignored him. "You know, I am rather surprised that it was you who came to get me. From what I gathered it was Skyfire who was not sold on the idea of my imprisonment. I would have bet credits on it being him that would rescue me."

"This isn't a rescue. It's a commissioning."

There was a pause.  "I assume it has something to do with those insignias on your... wings."

Starscream could almost feel the optics grazing over his wings, and despite himself, he twitched them. That only made the mech below make a guttural noise that could be interpreted in many different ways, none of them exactly looking good for Starscream.

Still, not to lose control of the situation, Starscream put his hands on his hips. "There’s a civil war going on."

The creature below took a stealthy, silent step. "Oh really. Tell me, has our dear terra patris been blown to slag yet?" He was speaking in ancient Cybertronian, proving yet again that he had read those datapads many times. He hadn't been such a learned mech before. The creature posed to take another step while Starscream listened to the sound of his own voice.

"Close enough. It seems like often it’s not really about Cybertron anymore, but Megatron defeating Prime."

"And which Prime would that-"

"HEY." Starscream had taken a step back and looked into the darkness suspiciously.

"What?" said the creature innocently.

Starscream still had his faceplate in a scowl. "Your vocals are getting closer. What are you doing?" He started to warm up his null-rays but didn't make any physical indication that he was doing so.

Another pause.  "I was leaning against the steps for support. You don't happen to have any energon, do you? I'm simply parched."

Starscream tensed despite himself. "I promise I'll... get someone for you soon."

The creature chuckled darkly. "So we'll be leaving then?"

Starscream leaned against the doorframe. "If you agree to my terms." He examined his digits as if indifferent to the whole conversation.

"And what are they, master?" came the reply.

"First, I want to ensure my personal safety. As great as the... perks... of your condition might be, I don't want to become permanently infected."

The other mech snorted from the darkness. "There is no way in Pit you could stop me."

Starscream frowned and began to close the door. "And even if you get through this door, the front door is locked so you won't get out. Nice talking to you. Enjoy another millennia of silence."

"WAIT. Wait." He sighed.

Starscream stopped the door and reopened it. "Care to try again?"

The creature stifled a laugh. "All right, I think I can agree to that. But does that mean Skyfire is off limits?" he said jokingly.

"Skyfire and I are no longer... Longer." Starscream changed how he wanted to end that statement and then continued as if it hadn't come up. "Second, I want you to act under my authority. You have to do as I say, and in return I will not only let you out of here, but I will attempt to find a cure for you."

The creature snorted. "And how far is attempt?"

Starscream considered that for a moment. "I have developed some theories to your condition over the years, but I can't promise that they will definitely cure you."

"And if you fail to cure me?"

Starscream tried to stifle a smirk. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

There was another long pause. Starscream figured the creature needed time to adjust.  He knew he had some new mannerisms and definitely more sadism.  Starscream and Skyfire had betrayed him in a way all those years ago, so the hesitancy was not unexpected. 

"Right. Nothing I don't agree with," it said after a few moments.

Starscream nodded, looking slightly relieved. "Well, I'm going to throw a light down there so I can find you. I'll probably have to put you into stasis to get you fully repaired-"

"Oh, I can think of better ways." Suddenly there was a rush of displaced air. Starscream froze and let his optics search the stairway, but he could still see nothing.

"Behind you," came a growl.

Starscream scrambled to turn around and nearly lost his footing at the top of the stairs. He steadied himself by splaying out his arms and legs in a spider-like fashion in the doorway. He locked optics with the creature, who had a rather amused expression on his faceplate.

Starscream tried to look dignified as he was cowering in the door, but he failed miserably. He stood slowly to full height and groaned inwardly as the creature was still nearly a helm taller than he.

He was dark gray like gunmetal and had a dull sheen to him rather than a shiny polish, and cyan blue biolights that ran the length of his frame. The mech probably had some kind of car-alt, but Starscream didn't really remember. He was tall, lanky, and had a flashy smile that probably would win over many of the femmes. And he was dangerously close.

"Now, ugh, just wait a minute," Starscream stammered, hugging the wall as if it might yield some kind of escape. Why had he put himself in this position, again?

"Oh, dear Starscream. Let me show you how much I've missed you..." He started to lean in, his optics now a sickly yellow.

"S-stop, please!" Starscream screeched, waving his arms about in the most defensive way he could.

"Mmm, you said you would find me someone for me. And look. You did."

"You promised you wouldn't hurt me..." he said, barely above a whisper. His protests seemed to die on his lips. Secretly though, he had his nulls charged to full. He just needed a chance to aim them correctly which might prove difficult since the hallway they were in was so small.

"I promised I wouldn't infect you," his breath had become husky. He seemed hungry.

"What's the difference?" Starscream cried, leaning far enough back into the stairwell to hopefully aim his nulls. Any second now.

"Over time I discovered I can control whom I infect. I won't release the toxins into your system... just relieve you of some of your energon."

Starscream wrinkled his faceplate. "Keep your filthy, techno-organic fangs to yourself." He pulled back and fired a high blast at the mech. He missed, but he figured he had surprised the creature before he could react. He dashed past him and ran down the hallway, desperately trying to get back to the front door to escape.

"Oh come now Starscream, you'll be fine after a few hours!" He ran after the Starscream, grinning.

Starscream awoke on the floor of the console room with a terrible helmache. He was on his back, looking up at the dim red lights on the ceiling as they gently throbbed with the power it had. Starscream slowly looked around the room, when he saw in the corner him.

Oh. Oh Primus.

He sat up quickly, feeling along his neck. He found two puncture wounds that were innocuous enough that no one would notice. He swallowed his rising panic. Second, he quickly ran a diagnostic to make sure he wasn't infected.

Turns out, he wasn't. Just weak. Actually... very weak.

"Slag, how much did you take?" he croaked, massaging his neck.

The mech smiled, concentrating on the console rather than looking him. "You'll live. You might be a little weaker for a while, but you'll live. Interesting energon you have, seeker. Tastes... exotic."

Starscream shivered but he tried to maintain control. "Yeah, well, that's the last of mine you'll get. There will be plenty of saccharine Autobots for you to feed on once we get back to Earth." Starscream tried to stand, but he did so too fast and felt his knees give out. He was headed for the floor before he was caught.

"There, there. Take it easy, my food- I mean friend."

Starscream glared irritably. "Very funny, Atmos." He shrugged the gary mech off, immediately going to the console for support. Atmos was just amused.

"I don't remember you being so... independent."

Starscream snorted. "Lots of things have changed. For one, I'm now second in command and Air Commander of the Decepticon army." He stole a peek at the gray mech behind him. He smiled when he saw the surprise on his face.

"Second in command?" Atmos folded his arms.  "You're not a science officer?" he said suspiciously.

"When I finally got back to Cybertron, Megatron decided I would be best put to use in his army. So I joined him." That wasn't quite how it happened. But he wasn't about to explain the whole trial to Atmos and how he was disgraced as a scientist...

"Things have changed," Atmos said, leaning against the console. "And, uhm, when are we going to get out of here? I'm itching to get out."

Starscream turned around. "There's a sandstorm outside, so we have to wait until that's blown over. Then we have to wait until I'm strong enough to carry you since you probably don't have flight-"

"Actually, I do." He turned around showing wings out of his back, demonstrating that in his alt he would indeed have flight.

Starscream staggered for a second. "You... you were a car-alt when I met you last."

Atmos smiled wickedly. "And now I am a hybrid. Techno-organics can change you know."

Starscream narrowed his optics. "Not on command."

Atmos shrugged. "Listen, I'm still hungry. I can't be sated for long, and I had to exhibit all of my self-control not to suck you dry." His fangs glittered a little in the dim light for added effect.

Starscream crossed his arms. "We're not going anywhere until you explain some things." He glared at Atmos. "Did you just absorb part of my make, so now you have flight?"

Atmos sighed. "Fine, but the longer we wait, Air Commander, the more energon I'm going to have to drink." He bared his fangs a little for added emphasis. Starscream tensed, feeling the threat pulse in his own neck. "Because I didn't infect you, I was able to analyze your energon and the little bits of data that are in it that make it yours. And because I'm now Techno-organic, I can manipulate myself into creating certain parts of my body change. It's nothing nefarious, Starscream." He took on a grin that was trying to look like ineffable innocence.

"When's the storm going to be over?" he continued, shifting his weight impatiently.

Starscream was still glaring but seemed appeased. For the moment. "The sensors say about another hour or so."

Atmos sighed exasperatedly. "I'm gonna get hungry again soon."

Starscream leveled his null-rays at Atmos at full charge. "Don't even think about it. You've waited millennia to get fed; you can wait a few fragging days."

Atmos perked up. "Is this 'Earth' that close?" He twitched his wings with anticipation.

Starscream saw the action and was slightly disturbed. That was something he would do. "Uh... No. No, it's lightyears away, but in your absence, our technology has created 'space bridges.' They'll cut the trip dramatically shorter."

Atmos smiled. "Wonders untold."

Starscream said nothing as he absentmindedly felt his neck for the puncture marks.

"Is it time to go? Is it? Isitisit?"

Starscream groaned, allowing his 'companion' to hear his irritation. "Will you shut up already? The sensors said it has slowed down-"

"So let's go!"

"-but it's not completely done yet. I refuse to step out there when there is even an iota of sand swirling. Plus, aren't you forgetting one important de-"

"Starscream. I am going to slagging pull your pretty little head off of your neck if you don't open that door." His voice was a practiced neutral, but there was an odd timbre to it. Starscream could almost feel an echo radiating off of that statement that was ancient and wrong. He had felt it earlier, but it wasn't nearly as palpable. He took a step back.

"...Alright Atmos. I'm opening the door."

He went to the keypad and typed in the key, as he was pushed roughly aside as the door lurched open. Starscream was about to protest when the hybrid blurred out into the storm, moving faster than Starscream could see.

"Atmos! Come back! You don't und-" Starscream called, but his voice was cut off by the swirling vortex of sand and wind.

Atmost could taste the openness. The sky was open above him, currently enraptured by swirling sands, but still he could feel it. It was so much better than that prison he had been in. Oh how much better it was. He spun, slowly, nearly giddy with happiness.

Then he felt a burn. It was small at first; in fact, he thought he might have imagined it. But then he noticed the sands were thinning, and in their place was innocent rays of sunshine.

And it hurt.

"Atmos, get back in here!" he could hear the hoarse color to Starscream's voice, as if he had been shouting the whole time. He thought in the back of his mind that there might be a touch of concern to that yell.

Starscream was leaning heavily on the sides of the door, still weakened.  He started stomping out into the dying storm, putting his servo up to block the sand from his faceplate. "You idiot! Your condition-"

Starscream stopped when he saw Atmos disappear out of the abating sands. Then there was movement behind him, and he turned, looking out of the rising heat into the shady darkness of the facility. There was Atmos, panting and almost hyperventilating as he braced himself against the wall.  His optics glittered in pain.

Starscream stalked back in, closing the door behind him. "Great. Just great. Now we both have to wait until we both have recovered because of your foolishness."

Atmos sat down heavily. He examined his arm and noticed morbidly that it had begun to rust heavily. In fact, much of his left arm was so corroded it was almost unusable. Frag, that was close. Starscream continued to prattle on about his foolishness. In the time they were apart, Starscream had picked up an annoying ability to whine. "Shut up, Starscream. The sunlight slipped my mind."

"...Slipped your mind."

Atmos was trying his best to ignore the incredulous look beside him, but he was finding it was hard to do. He could smell the energon still pulsing through Starscream's system, and he needed more. His body especially craved the energon because of the damage he had sustained from the sun just moments ago. And based on how much of a fuss Starscream was making... maybe he had enough energy to sustain another bite.

He decided then. Now he got to enjoy how much Starscream was going to resist.

"How could it slip your mind?" Starscream had taken a seat now too. He was looking at the corroded patches on Atmos's frame with mild curiosity.

"I needed to get out. But when I was fantasizing about being outside all those millennia in my prison, I had forgotten about that little part of my make-up. You forget that I hadn't been off my home world before you and Skyfire interred me here."

Starscream looked at him with searching optics. He seemed to be debating whether or not the mention of Skyfire had intended to wound him or not. Atmos could still see some of the endearing naivete on Starscream that had led to their first meeting all those years ago.

Starscream shrugged. "Back then, we couldn't control you. You threatened to go back to Cybertron and infect the entire planet. So even if we knew you could have this much control, we couldn't risk it. So sorry we couldn't give you the chance to try out your new limitations." The hard edge was back to his voice.

Atmos nodded. "I always understood why you did what you did. That doesn't mean I liked it or have forgiven you."

"I'm not interested in forgiveness, you half-breed. I only want results."

"Mmmhmm."

"It's been far too long that I have been under his rule and with your help I will finally be able to accomplish what I have failed at every time. That slagger will have no idea what hit him. What are you doing?" he said, eying the mech who was leaning into him.

"Ah. Well." Atmos showed him his arms like it was self-explanatory.

Starscream tried to scramble away, but Atmos grabbed his pede and pulled him closer. "You know I can't self-repair on empty. I have to use other mech's energon to heal myself."

"But I already gave you plenty! Primus, please don't do that again..." Starscream had begun to whine and ended by grasping his neck as if it could stop the mech.

"I just need a little this time. It'll probably knock you out, but by the time you wake up, I'll have built some armor that will allow me to go outside. The binary suns never set, do they?"

Starscream tried to kick Atmos away, but the hybrid held him still. "How do I know you won't just kill me and leave the planet?"

"Starscream," he said scoldingly. "I repay favors due to me."

Starscream sighed. "And you don't know where the space bridges are." Atmos smiled. Starscream tensed even more.

"Now if you tense, it will just hurt more. At least, I think. To be honest, you're only the third mech I've drunk from that survived so I'm actually not quite sure. Let's do a little experiment." He bared two prominent fangs and pulled Starscream's servo off of his sore neck. He bit, hard.

Starscream gasped back a cry and tried to flail out of the grip of his captor, but he couldn't. In fact, struggling seemed to make Atmos clench harder on his neck. He clawed at the hybrid's face, he kicked, he tried screaming, but nothing he did could get the mech off of him. Starscream began to panic when he felt himself weakening, and system warnings told him that there were enough pain readings to send him temporarily offline. Also, he had some kind of fuel leak that should be patched soon.

He groaned and his clawing became less directed and less frantic. Starscream tried one last kick, and then lost the fight completely. "Slag-gher..." he said, before his optics fluttered and then went dark. He had passed out.

Atmos forced himself to stop when he noticed that all of his wounds were healed. As soon as the energon flowed through his veins, he could feel the repair of the damage the suns had done to him. He gently put Starscream down, now looking to the materials he had to work with. Armor that could protect him would take a normal mech days to complete, but luckily he had the power of his "disease" to help him.

Any sun that put out UV light corroded his techno-organic shell, causing pain and presumably death upon too much exposure. Not long after he first contracted the "disease," Starscream and Skyfire had arrived to investigate. They had discovered that the same cells that gave him increased speed and strength also gave him an insatiable urge to bite and drink energon from Cybertronians and this strange aversion to sunlight. To Atmos, it had seemed like a fair trade, and he wanted to make his way back to Cybertron.

Starscream and Skyfire however felt responsible for him, somehow. They narrowly avoided becoming infected themselves, but they had managed to trap Atmos, and build the facility to keep him there.  They had promised to come back with a cure.  Seems they had other things going on.

Atmos tore off panels of metal and started to hew them into a armor that he could wear. It would make him massive, but then he might be able to somehow get back to Cybertron to accomplish what he had originally set out to do. He looked over at the at the limp frame on the ground.

Starscream had no idea what he had just unleashed.

When Starscream woke, this time he could not move. He barely had the energy to open his optics, but he knew he had to make sure Atmos was still there. He looked around the room, noticing that the metal was all stripped in places like someone had scratched the paint off of a wall.

And there was Atmos, covered in the missing metal.

Hey was now jet-black with cyan blue biolights running down his frame, oddly looking like the color of energon.  His helm had large side vents and he had large shoulder pauldrons.  The wings out his back hung off his shoulders now like the beginning of a cape.

Starscream couldn't completely think straight for the lack of energon, but something was really not right. The armor that Atmos was wearing looked like it had taken weeks to create as it was polished black, and fit him perfectly. It even looked like it could bend with him into his transformation mode so that he would not be without protection in his alt.

"Ah, you've awakened."

Starscream grimaced. "Please don't do that again," he said angrily. But it came off very weak.

Atmos opened the visor on his armor. His once yellow optics were now a nice, lush red. "Ooh, sorry. I think I took a little more than might have been comfortable for you."

Starscream was too tired to retort. "I need to get energon..." he tried to get up, but opted for just lying there, silently fuming that he was going to have to be carried.

"I can get you some, but I have to know which way we are going."

Starscream swallowed. This was it. Once he told Atmos where a bridge was, the hybrid could leave him. He was so weak, he'd be stuck like this until he burned off his remaining fuel and then he would probably go offline permanently. Atmos could see the indecision.

"I think you are going to have to start trusting me, Starscream." He quietly picked Starscream up and grinned before he put the visor back down.

Starscream pinged the coordinates and suddenly they were off.

Chapter Text

It was quiet in the morning near the power plant. The sun hadn't broken the horizon yet, but the gray cast sky warned that it was coming. Starscream was sitting on the ground connecting cables, while Atmos took in everything around him.

"Alright, connect those cables over there so we can convert the power into energon." Atmos did what he was told and his optics grew wide with wonder as energon began to pool out of a hose Starscream had created. Starscream filled cubes he brought out from subspace, and drank a few of them hungrily.

"So is this what makes you taste so good? This Earth created energon?"

Starscream wiped some energon off of his face with the back of his servo. He gave a withering look to Atmos. "How am I supposed to know? This energon, no matter its source, is identical in compounds to that on Cybertron. Hence why Megatron is so keen to harness it."

Atmos grinned. "Then it must be you that makes it so good."

Starscream sighed, rolling his optics. "Would you stop it? You said it yourself, you haven't had a drink in millennia; I'm just the first feast after a famine. I'm sure you'll enjoy drinking the Autobots."

"Mmm. A legion of hybrid Autobots. Can you imagine the consequences?"

Starscream nearly choked on his energon. "You're not going to infect them, just drain them dry."

"I don't remember that being part of the deal."

Starscream stood quickly pointing a digit at Atmos. "You will not. Do you realize you'd be helping them? They could overpower us with their strength and speed in a matter of days!"

"Seconds, really. And who says I want to help the Decepticons anyway?"

Starscream nearly screamed in frustration. "You promised you would help me take the Decepticons!"

Atmos laughed. "Alright, alright. Calm down, seeker, I was only joking. It's really easy to get you worked up. How can you operate so wound up like that all of the time?"

Starscream turned on his pede, sulking. He was not to be made a fool of. Primus knows that happened enough with his own faction, so it wasn't about to occur with his own new-forged alliance. "So here is the plan. I present you to Megatron as a gift to the Decepticon ranks. You need to be completely subservient to him and he'll probably give you some kind of test of dedication or something. Just do it."

"But not too well." He blurred out of sight then reappeared behind Starscream.

Starscream threw a glare at the hybrid. "Try to conceal your eccentricities, Atmos. If you don't, I'll abandon my studies on how to change you back because the whole plan will have been shot to the pit."

That wiped Atmos's smile away. "Very well. And what am I to feed on?"

"Try to steal a lone Autobot when you get the chance. You can drain him dry if you want; it doesn't really matter."

"Well then let's go."

Starscream felt unnerved by the hybrid, but he stifled his concerns for the taste of victory close at hand.

They transformed and headed for the Decepticon base.

"I already have soldiers, Starscream. And the last time you brought someone from your past, it didn't work out too well."

Starscream folded his arms angrily. He glanced at Atmos who was trying to do a good job at appearing confused and indifferent.

"I don't understand. I'm doing you a favor by bringing more possible converts to your cause-"

"Spare me, Starscream. You brought him for your own benefit, I just have to figure out what it is."

It was at this time that Soundwave decided to add his two cents.

"Starscream: Explain relation to mech."

"I don't answer to you."

"No, now I'm curious Air Commander. How did you come across him?"

Starscream sighed like this was wasting his time. "I knew him before the war, and that he had disappeared on a planet. You happened to exile me right next to it, and since my navigation was shot, I decided to check up him and see if he was still functioning. He had been in stasis all these years..."

Atmos nodded to add clout, but secretly he was extremely surprised. He and Starscream had not rehearsed this, but Starscream seemed to have the story completely set. He managed to tell just enough truth to make it not quite a lie. Starscream really had picked up a new skill set.

"So you brought him to conspire against me; is that it?" Megatron's gravelly voice cut Atmos out of his reverie.

"No, Megatron. He happens to have some scientific knowledge that I could have an intelligent conversation with, other than the rest of you morons," Starscream was careful to refer to the rest of the room, not including Megatron in the sweep of his hand, "but I would hardly call us friends let alone conspirators."

Megatron trained his gaze to Atmos then. "That's an interesting model of armor you have. What was your primary function?"

"I was originally a dock worker on Cybertron, hence the build. The sorry state of my stasis pod caused some damage to my frame, so I made this armor to conceal the disfiguration."

"So Starscream woke you up, and then you made the armor? In a matter of days?"

Atmos smiled thinly. Megatron was just as suspicious as Starscream, if not shrewder. "Starscream helped of course."

Starscream smiled witheringly. Atmos knew he got the joke, since it was his energon that had fueled Atmos in the making of the armor.

Megatron narrowed his optics then continued. "Very well then. Would you care to prove your worth in two tests?"

Atmos nodded. "Anything you ask, Lord Megatron."

"Tear off his wing."

"Which one?"

"Surprise me."

"Gladly."

He walked over to Starscream who was a second slow on the uptake. "Wait a second- AGAHHH!" Starscream tried to swipe at Atmos but the hybrid had stepped away, holding the piece of metal that Starscream had repaired his wing with.

"Excellent. Starscream, get that fixed."

Starscream angrily grabbed the wing from Atmos and began to stalk off, dripping energon on everything. Atmos was having some trouble trying not to help Starscream stop the flow.

"Atmos, is it? Welcome to the Decepticon army.  Your second test will be against Autobots later. It's easy to tear into Starscream, but we'll see how you do against mechs who are firing back. Do you have weapons?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. I'll let Soundwave show you around."

Starscream pouted in the med bay as the Constructicons made every effort to work on something other than him. He had stopped yelling at them to drop everything and fix him when they threatened to remove his other wing and reassemble him into a car-alt. Lamborghini to be exact. There would be two matches on the Autobot side, actually...

"Alright, Screamer, we got time to work on you now."

"Oh thank you for taking time out of your busy scheduling. It's not like I wasn't bleeding everywhere or anything."

"Yeah, we'll have to get someone to clean that. Can't have your filthy mess all over our med bay," Hook said. Starscream rolled his eyes because the Constructicon was being serious, not sarcastic.

They started to work on his wing, taking pains to jab him in any way they could. Starscream, for his part, was criticizing how they were holding their welding instruments. Hook said he had half a mind to anesthetize Starscream so they could work in peace, when he noticed something on Starscream's neck.

"What'd you do, walk into a giant plug with spikes on it? Let me see that." He tilted Starscream's head away from him so that he could get a good look. "There are some weird scratches here."

Starscream pulled away, putting his servo to his neck. "Would you leave that alone? That has nothing to do with my wing."

"Awfully defensive, Starscream."

"Knowing your repair job, you'll probably try to replace my neck. And then you'll just have to replace my helm. And the 'repairs' will never stop."

"What'd he say?" one of them said, pinching a particularly sensitive cable on Starscream's exposed back plating.

Starscream hissed, and the others laughed. "If you slag heaps are done-"

"Location: Med bay. Repairs accomplished by Constructicons."

Soundwave and Atmos stood in the doorway. Atmos started laughing when he saw Starscream so compromised.  Starscream noticed that Atmos had flared his nostrils and stiffened.  Likely from smelling his energon everywhere.

Soundwave turned around to walk out. "Atmos: Report for Autobot mission tomorrow, 0500 hours." The communications officer walked out of the room, leaving the snickering Constructicons and bristling Air Commander behind. Atmos leaned against the doorway, still smirking.

Starscream growled.  "What do you want, slagger?"

Atmos opened his hands in a symbol for peace. "You did say to do anything he says."

Starscream hissed again as the Constructicons replaced his back plating. "There you go, Air Commander. A perfect repair if I say so myself."

Starscream hopped off the repair berth, ignoring the Constructicons completely. "I should have left you where I found you," Starscream said angrily. He twitched his wings to make sure they really were functional and then strode out of the room toward the wash racks to clean off the energon stains.

Atmos followed. "Come on, ‘Screamer, I had to make it look like we weren't working-"

"WHAT did you just call me?" Starscream had stopped in his tracks and was trembling with rage.

"I heard one of the Constructicons call you that; I thought it was your nickname."

Starscream scowled. "It is not my nickname, though many continue to call me that. And I certainly don't allow new recruits to call me thus." Anyone looking at the exchange might have laughed seeing Starscream threatening the mech that was so much taller than he.

Atmos shrugged. "Very well, Air Commander. I will respect those wishes in the future."

Starscream didn't look convinced but continued to walk down the hallway. Atmos followed behind, now silent.

The Air Commander walked into the wash racks, and stepped into one of the stalls for one of the bigger mechs. He always did this in part because he felt he was worth the extra room and part of him always liked to inconvenience others. The water came out of a spout on top, and he used some solvent to scrub the energon off of him.

He gave a furtive glance to Atmos who was leaning against the wall opposite him, smiling. Starscream twitched an eyebrow in irritation; he was not here to give a show. "What do you want?" he spat.

Atmos grinned, his most insufferable habit, Starscream thought. "I'm hungry again."

Starscream paused his washing for a millisecond. His neck still hurt a lot from last time. "You just ate. You can wait until tomorrow; we'll get you a nice little Autobot you can drink to your spark's content."

Atmos shook his head. "I can't wait that long. Your energon," he blurred and then reappeared right outside of Starscream's stall, "is calling to me." He was staring down at the swirling, congealed energon that ran down the drain. Starscream had flinched to the corner of the stall but noticed the Atmos's attention was diverted.

He pulled up his null-rays and fired a blast straight into Atmos's spark chamber. He fell to the ground, stunned into stasis. Starscream smirked as he lowered his arm, and he kicked the Atmos for good measure. "I don't know if your audios are offlined as well," he said turning off the water. "But you should know that I'm not a free meal you can keep coming back to." He grabbed a microfiber towel off of a rack and started to clean off the water drops off of his chassis and arms.

Once he was satisfied that he was dry and clean, he picked up Atmos's pedes and started to drag him out of the wash racks and into the corridor.

He got far too many waggling eyebrows for his taste, but he ignored them, taking a stiff Atmos to a cargo bay in the back of the base.

There, he found a chair and some chains that he used to him up. He took extra care to make sure the chains were secure, and he couldn't help remembering the last time he tried to seal Atmos up. For all his care that time, he was the one who had undone all of his work.

He frowned and continued to work on Atmos' bonds. It didn't matter if Atmos was a little hard to handle; Atmos was not typical and therefore, logically, unpredictable.  Starscream took that into account by keeping his plan flexible. Part of that plan included taking him out with a null-ray in case he proved surly again.

He had to protect his own strength in any way possible. If someone ever figured out that he was "under the weather" they might not hesitate to finish him off, or, at the very least, figure out there was something wrong with this Atmos character. Then Starscream was back to square one.

He stepped back and appraised his handiwork. He wished he had had a welder, but he wasn't always prone to carry one around. He looked at the stunned Atmos, and he felt a wash of fear take his spark for a moment. It was if his own internal systems recognized the danger held in this creature, this abomination, but his CPU kept rationalizing it away.

For a swift moment, Starscream felt guilty for releasing this thing. He had been so sure years ago that keeping him locked away was the best course of action, yet almost on impulse, he had released him in order to further his own ambition. What would happen if the thing bettered him?

He glared for a moment and walked out. Starscream was not usually plagued with these thoughts of self-doubt, and he was already unnerved enough by the Atmos's presence alone. He stood more upright as he walked. He was Starscream. If the whole universe blew up, he'd at least rule the rubble. That was his right.

Starscream onlined his optics the next morning. As he got up, he stretched his stiff wings, still sore from the repair the previous day. It always promised to be a good day when the Autobots needed shooting.

He walked over to his monitor and switched it on. Surprisingly, the day kept getting better when he looked at both their instruments and those of the fleshlings: the weather was going to be clear over their perceived battle site with no precipitation predicted.

Starscream ambled up and out of his room, making sure he made plenty of noise entering the adjoining room that his wingmates slept in. Thundercracker grunted at the intrusion, attempting to get at least one more ounce of sleep. Skywarp didn't make any noise at all, demonstrating his annoying ability to sleep through anything.

Starscream wrinkled his faceplate. Things were back to normal, but his wingmates seemed to have barely missed him in his absence.

"Get up you lazy oafs. We have Autobots to offline."

Thundercracker onlined his optics, glaring at his Air Commander. "Back so soon?" He slowly began to get up, rubbing his optics.

Starscream glared right on back. "Yes. I had to weld my own wing and infiltrate a million-year-old facility, but yes. I'm back."

"Hey 'Warp, you gonna greet our glorious Air Commander?" Thundercracker asked, stretching.

Skywarp groaned but continued to sleep. Starscream looked like he was about to strangle him, but Thundercracker intervened. "I'll get him up. You go plot something."

Starscream snorted and left, deciding he should check on his prisoner.

But when he arrived, the chains had been broken. They lay scattered on the floor, showing that they had been pulled apart, not slipped off or cut off. Pieces lay everywhere.

Starscream tried not to panic, but his mind was running in several directions at once. First, he spun around checking the perimeter: check. No ambush. Second, he checked his systems for the umpteenth time that he had not been infected and was just waiting in the small grace period before he too became a disgusting hybrid.

Third, he ran out of the cargo hold, heading for his trinemates' room. It was just a hunch, but he was pretty sure. He barged into their room, as Thundercracker was leaning over Skywarp, starting to look worried.

"I-I was just about to comm you-" Thundercracker looked genuinely worried. How quaint.

"Get out of the way," Starscream said, pushing the blue one out of the way. He noticed Skywarp was awake but looked as if he hadn’t slept at all.

"I don't feel so good," he said in a pathetic whisper.

Starscream turned his wingmate's head, gently, to find the two small puncture wounds on his main energon line in his neck. He pretended like he was just testing his neck strength and turned his head the other way. He looked at Thundercracker. "He needs energon; somehow he became deenergized over the night. Probably some kind of glitch. I'll do a diagnostic when I get back from the mission."

"Are we off it then?"

"Well, he's not killing any Autobots soon, and I refuse to work with only part of a trine. I'd rather work alone."

Thundercracker looked like he was about to protest but decided against it.

Starscream had turned to go when he added one more thing. "Also, make sure you lock the doors at night."

Chapter Text

Atmos kept to himself as the Decepticons traveled to an abandoned human military facility in the northwest corner of the continent known as “North America.”  Atmos had been watching the proceedings with keen interest, keeping quiet as he gathered information on his surroundings without the lens of the squeaky seeker.  Starscream was noticeably absent.

He felt a lot older than the other bots here; if not in actual deca-cycles, but maybe in time online?  He found one of the reasons he was constantly hungry was that recharge completely eluded him, so he never had a chance to defrag.  He had had a lot more time to think and plot than his new compatriots.

This whole war wasn’t hard to figure out.  Morals clash, groups rise, resources decrease. Atmos was concerned about the longevity of the Cybertronian race.  If this war continued, it seems the numbers of potential hosts would also dwindle and decrease his likelihood of survival.

But he had thought that proper Cybertonians were somehow superior? Likely from conversations he had from Starscream back in the day.  Primus knows that fragger had likely instilled some of his own biases in his education.

He glanced sideways at Megatron.  He seemed the type not to suffer fools, yet he had a bunch around him.  Soundwave was stoic and loyal, but also seemed easily underestimated.  Starscream was… Starscream.  Competent and brilliant, but often the making of his own suffering.  Did they actually have a chance at winning this war?

Maybe getting a look at these Autobots could give him more information.

They fanned out at the military bunker, trying to stay concealed.  Strategically this was an ambush; some information had been leaked to the Autobots about this being a large source of energon and the Decepticons planned on taking it all by force.  The reality was there was no energon, but just a large contingent of Decepticons waiting happily for the ensuing battle.

The sky darkened for a moment as Starscream arrived late.  Atmos slipped behind a tree an watched him land next to Megatron.

“Starscream! I can’t help but notice you are lacking your trinemates,” Megatron chided as he and Soundwave observed radar for incoming Autobots.

“We don’t need them,” Starscream replied, distracted.  He was looking over the battlefield, likely for him.

Megatron glared at his Air Commander.  “Don’t you think that should have been discussed prior to the battle?”

Starscream paused and then turned to Megatron. “Lord Megatron, this plan was so brilliantly put together by you, I just knew we could conserve some soldiers for the fight.  I will fight in your name twice as hard.  Besides, should things turn against us, they can be here in a matter of minutes.  But things will go perfectly, your greatness.”

Megatron handwaved him off by the end, already done with the conversation.  “It will certainly be entertaining to see you try to actually work hard, Starscream.  And we are also interested to see how this new recruit of yours acts, hmm?”

Starscream nodded slowly.  “Yes, lord Megatron, I think it will be interesting to say the least.  If you will excuse me.”  Starscream walked off towards his planned hiding place.

Megatron watched his Air Commander as he walked off, his optics narrowed.

Atmos blurred away and then settled into the shade of some trees on a ledge and offlined his optics waiting for the battle to begin.  The air was abuzz with organic beings that thrummed in the wet air of this meadow.  He should feel out of place and alien, but he felt oddly at peace.  Right as he felt himself fully relax, he heard a dull wine of a null-ray being aimed at the side of his head.

“Bold, Atmos.  Bold, and stupid.”

Atmos didn’t open his optics, but merely smiled.  “Well, I took your words to heart, old friend.  You aren’t a walking meal, I suppose, and I do have other options.  Don’t tell me you are upset about my choice?”

Starscream groused. “You realize there aren’t that many high-ranking seekers on Earth, don’t you? You took so much energon from Skywarp, he was nearly in forced statis lock.  He is quite a visible absence from this battle.  You could have chosen anyone else!”

Atmos opened his optics, glinting through his visor, and turned towards Starscream.  “I think I made the perfect choice.  Though admittedly, he doesn’t taste as good as you do.”

Starscream hardened his gaze.  “Do you really lack all self-control?  You keep testing my patience, and needlessly putting our whole plan in danger.”

Atmos shrugged. “I am in complete control of myself, Starscream.  You never said anyone was off-limits. I need to feed to be powerful, and I am about to use my powers for you against these Autobots.  Isn’t that what you want?”

Starscream sighed, reluctantly placated.  He was quite… adorable when he was reluctant to admit something.  He then lowered his weapon.  “We need to discuss another possibility, however remote.  It is possible that Skyfire-“

Before he could finish, the battlefield erupted in the sounds of fire being exchanged.  Blaster shots fired past them, and Starscream dove down to avoid being shot. It appeared the Autobots had arrived.

“It appears we will have to continue this conversation later,” Atmos said, jumping down from the ledge and into the undergrowth to start doing his job.

Starscream swore in ancient Cybertronian, then quickly transformed and took to the skies.

The battle was mostly a stalemate, with the Autobots securing a centralized position that was well-fortified inside the bunker.  Large doors for equipment and a giant missile silo made getting to them difficult for most of the ground forces.  Starscream and other fliers were able to drop some well-places bombs inside, but the Decepticons couldn’t get past the Autobots defenses, but the Autobots also could not retreat.

Starscream noticed the lithe figure of Atmos climbing up the side of the missile silo opening.  He signaled for everyone to pause their onslaught for a moment to give him a chance to slip inside.  He frowned as he waited.

Deep in the silo, Wheeljack and Bumblebee reloaded their weapons finding it odd that the barrage from above had stopped.

“Maybe they decided to surrender?” Wheeljack said, hopefully.

Bumblebee laughed darkly. “Yeah sure, I bet Megatron just said ‘You know what, I think we should be pals.’  Cut the slag, Wheeljack, they are just up to something.”

“Excuse me, gentlmechs…”  Both Autobots turned to the darkness to see an orange-tinged visor trained on them.  “You wouldn’t happen to know a bot named Skyfire, would you?”

In sync, Bumblebee and Wheeljack pulled out their weapons and aimed. “Sorry pal, not talking to someone who won’t show their face!” Wheeljack said.

But the visor had disappeared.

“How about now?” came the voice, directly in Wheeljack’s audio sensor.

Both Bumblebee and Wheeljack turned quickly to see the smirking face of this new mech. 

“That… that was fast,” Bumblebee said, changing his aim.

“It is almost as if I… teleported?” Atmos offered.

Wheeljack and Bumblebee exchanged looks, but then made ready for attack.

“Now I’m not sure this is how I want our first meeting to go, but if I could just find Skyfire-“

“Is… everything alright?  I heard my name.”

Atmos turned to the doorway to see said big Skyfire standing there.

Atmos chuckled. “It has been a while, old friend.  Miss me?”

Skyfire was extremely confused and slightly disturbed.  Something about the mech scared him out of his processor.  “I’m sorry… do I know you?”

Atmos frowned.  “How disappointing.  Allow me to refresh your memory.” He grabbed Wheeljack by the back of the neck and lifted him like a doll off the ground.  All of the Autobots were shocked into stillness as the power behind this did not seem possible in the from the mech.  Atmos opened his mouth to reveal his two silvery sharp fangs and bit down angrily on Wheeljack’s neck all while locking optics with the Skyfire.

Skyfire remembered.  His mouth fell open in horror.

He scrambled back the way he came and pulled out all of his weapons, knowing they likely wouldn’t do anything. He wasn’t sure he was being pursued, but he didn’t want to take any chances. His mind raced through the probabilities of what is going to happen, and flashes of his memory from the last time he had seen Atmos.  He shivered and tried to keep it together as he ran.

He had to get to Optimus.  Surely, he would know what to do? He also knew that this might even be beyond what the Prime could fix.  Every fiber of his frame was screaming at him to run, fly, fight, hide- but it was also in a sense of confusion.  The prison had been perfect.  How could this-

And in an instant, he knew.  But he couldn’t believe it.

Starscream received an incoming comm from Soundwave.

“Starscream: Report.”

“Atmos has infiltrated inside the bunker and is attacking from the inside; we have halted our barrage until we know the status of his operation.”

“Report any mechs you find that are low on energon.  Appearance indicate several Decepticons experiencing spontaneous fuel leaks.”

Starscream felt his spark sink in his chassis.  He composed himself enough to reply, “What do you mean, fuel leaks?”

Soundwave did not reply but the sound of gunfire filled Starscream’s audials so he cut the comm.  He had to find Atmos. Quickly.

Skyfire had rounded the bend and put his back to the wall, attempting to hide from his pursuer.  He desperately tried to comm Optimus, but he must have been out of range or the bunker was blocking his signal. It was terribly dark inside and crawling with tiny organic life that tended to live in caves. 

In a last-ditch, fearful effort, he attempted a comm to Starscream.  “Starscream, come in.  It’s Skyfire,” he whispered furtively.  Starscream also didn’t seem to reply.

“Oh, are you two actually still friends after all?” came a deep guttural voice beside him.  

The Skyfire startled and just kept running, despite the cackling he heard right behind him, always behind him.  He tripped once but managed to roll and keep moving.  He finally reached the entrance and ran out, both relieved and saddened that they hadn’t run into any other Autobots along the way.

He ran to a nearby tree to steady himself and quickly turned around to see Atmos within inches of his face.

“I’m so happy to see you again. With Starscream now the whole gang is back together again!” Atmos grabbed Skyfire’s throat and squeezed.

“This can’t be happening-” Skyfire whispered, his optics wide.  He tried to pry the servo off his throat and thrashed as he felt himself lifted off the ground.

Atmos tilted his prey’s head, slowly.  “I so missed our little chats, Skyfire, I had to come and return the favor.  Starscream has been so enlightening, I thought I might check in with you as well.”

Skyfire’s vocalizer sparked in static but he managed to reply, “Starscream was an absolute fool if he released you…”

“Tell me, do you think Starscream was always a fool, or did he become one because he no longer had you by his side?”

Skyfire’s optics became dismally sad. 

“I understand you two had a falling out.  That’s too bad, I think.  He’s so easy to manipulate when he’s alone.”

In a burst of anger, Skyfire grabbed part of Atmos’s armor and pulled. Hard.

Before Atmos could stop him, the Skyfire had managed to pull free a piece of the armor on his shoulder and exposed his frame underneath. Atmos immediately recoiled as the sharp sting of sunlight starting to rust his plating.  Atmos gave an undignified yelp and fell back, releasing Skyfire and trying to hold a hand over his disintegrating frame, but he couldn’t quite cover it up.

Skyfire looked on, panting.  It was good that he was still vulnerable.

The sky darkened as a familiar shape landed next to Atmos. Starscream had what looked to be an old tarp, and gave it to Atmos, who gingerly started to wrap it around his shoulder.  Everyone was glaring at each other.

Skyfire couldn’t contain himself.  “What have you done?!” he cried, perhaps louder than he intended. 

Starscream for his part looked rattled at his former partner’s outburst.  “Well, I’m glad you know what this means then.  You should tell the Autobots to surrender.”

Skyfire wasn’t convinced.  “Starscream, you do not have control of him, no matter what he is telling you.  Null-ray him right slagging now and I will help you put him back in his prison.”

Starscream hesitated for only the smallest of fractions, something that both Skyfire and Atmos noticed.  “Nothing can stop us now, Skyfire.  You are just frightened by the unknown again like some youngling intern at the academy.  This war has gone on long enough, and Atmos his going to help us win it.”

Skyfire shook his head. “You cannot possibly be this disillusioned.  All he wants is to get back to Cybertron, and he will say anything to make that happen.  It is the virus, Starscream- it is absolutely controlling him to infect others, and there is nothing we can do stop him.  You are the one who told me this, all those millennia ago!  What could possibly have changed?”

Starscream sneered.  “While you were in stasis, Skyfire, I survived. I did what I had to.  I didn’t get to keep my ethics or morals- they are the trappings of a peaceful and stagnant society. Take your fear and pass it on to Optimus. We are coming for you.”

He grabbed Atmos’s servo and pulled him into the sky, leaving Skyfire behind.  He fell to his knees as he watched Starscream carry his doom with him.

Chapter Text

A few millennia ago…

Starscream and Skyfire pair had been travelling for a long time mapping the stars and had no particular aim in sight.  It was thrilling finding new forms of life, new compositions of planets.  Starscream was in love with the potential each new planet held, Skyfire loved the sense of wonder he felt with each new discovery.

They made a good team, albeit with occasional disagreements.  At least it made for interesting discussions to pass the time.

“But culling doesn’t account for the trajectory of civilization that could be lost.  You might be deleting a brilliant mind that would help propel them into a more civilized age where they wouldn’t have to cull in the first place.”

“Early civilizations don’t change overnight, Skyfire.  And if they don’t have the resources to survive, or there is some kind of disease that cannot be stopped, then culling can actually be the moral choice.  The needs of the many outweighing the few.”

Skyfire frowned.  “It has to be more nuanced than that.”

Starscream chuckled at his partner, still so idealistic. “So where did they say this new being might be located?  I thought they said this planet was teaming with Cybertronian descendants out here, but my scanners are only seeing ruins.”

Skyfire also did a sweep.  “I heard them say the same thing, but they also said that it had been some time since the last contact.  They have likely moved on from this colony to settle elsewhere.  The planet has a thick atmosphere which keeps it quite warm despite being in the shadow of another planet for most of its cycle.  I imagine their star rises only once a deca-cycle, leaving the planet quite dark and not great for energy-hungry Cybertronians.”

“Interesting.  Care to get a closer look?” Starscream had already gunned his much-faster engines and was pulling into the atmosphere.  Skyfire chuckled and followed at a safer speed.

Starscream landed on a cliff and was kind of delighted by what he saw.  Despite the low amount of UV-light the planet got, the planet had a lot of thick, inky-purple and blue organic foliage that stretched far beyond the horizon.  The planet was dimly lit by its sister planets in the sky, with an orange planet, a turquoise planet, and a magenta planet lazily moving across the sky.  Glowing pits of blue-methane were the only light-sources.  It was hauntingly beautiful, in an ethereal kind of way.

“So this is a planet of night, then,” he said bending down to investigate the ground.  He ran his blue servo over the dirt of the cliff, and to his surprise, tiny beings jumped out of the way of his hand.  He produced a storage cube and managed to catch some of the creatures in his cube, and he sent it to sub-space for analysis later.  He pulled out a datapad and started to record his observations as Skyfire joined him.

“I think I saw some ruins right below here.  They almost look like Iaconian architecture from the sky.”

“Ah, pretentious and ornate?  Pity,” Starscream snarked, as he recorded the air-pressure and the air composition.

“You have such strange aesthetic opinions, Starscream.  I mean, when you think about-“

“You need to leave.”

The voice shattered their calm, and both Starscream and Skyfire nearly jumped at the intrusion.  Starscream click on his null-rays but did not aim them at the newcomer. 

It was grounder bot of Cybertronian descent that had bright yellow eyes and a wild look on his face.  The mech spoke an ancient and bastardized version of Cybertronian, but it was not difficult to understand him.  He wore a thick metal collar around his neck that looked roughly fashioned.  A fashion choice? A ceremonial garb?  Starscream’s mind clicked away at the possibilities.

Starscream calmly turned his servos upward in his best universal greeting.  “Greetings, friend.  We are explorers here to observe the universe.  We mean no harm or disrespect.”

The mech regarded them, and then seemed to rake his optics over their wings.  It made both of the scientists feel very uncomfortable under the gaze.  The grounder then audibly sighed.  “You really should leave.  This place is cursed.”

Starscream narrowed his optics.  “Cursed,” he repeated, confused at the translation.

The grounder looked impatient.  “Look, maybe you should just come with me to our camp.  You don’t want to be out here when the planets set and total dark comes.  That’s when he comes.”

Starscream was morbidly fascinated by the words pouring out of this mech’s mouth.  He thought he was understanding but it was like some words held a deeper meaning than he was expecting.  He made a small, imperceptible look to Skyfire.  He was likewise as confused and inclined his head slightly, indicating that they should check it out.  Starscream shrugged slightly.  Your choice, then.

Skyfire smiled.  “We would be honored to see your camp.  We have things to trade and can provide for ourselves, so please don’t put yourselves out.  Is your camp very large?”

The grounder turned, indicating that they should follow.  “There is only twelve of us left, so no, not very large at all.” He started walking.  Starscream put his arms out, indicating that Skyfire should go first.  Skyfire chuckled and followed down the ravine.

“My name is Skyfire, by the way.  This is my partner, Starscream.  We hail from the planet Cybertron,” he said, as congenially as he could to the back of the mech.

The mech nearly stopped in his tracks, but then seemed to regain his composure and continued.  “I’ve not met any mechs from Cybertron, originally.  We were all created out here in this quadrant, possibly by Cybertronians as the legend goes.” 

“Our race likes to expand,” Starscream said, eyeing the dense canopy of foliage above them. 

“My desgination is Terrikos,” he said.  “Tell me, do you intend to return to Cybertron at some point?”

Skyfire felt a light touch of a servo on his back, knowing it was Starscream asking him to tread lightly.  “We do, but not right away,” he offered, hoping it was as vague as Starscream wanted.  Starscream was often paranoid, but Skyfire had come to rely on that same self-preservation instinct.  Not all cultures they encountered had been friendly.

Terrikos sighed.  “Pity.”

They entered the camp if you could even call it that.  The most primitive of forcefields surrounded a series of hastily made berths and outdated computer equipment that had been clearly salvaged by someone who didn’t really know what they were doing.  The other bots where in various stages towards going offline.  They looked under energized, and like they had been dealing with haunting horrors for many, many cycles.  They too wore the strange collars around their necks.

Terrikos offered them a broken, dingy cube with some kind of pearlescent green liquid inside.  “Please take some organica, if you need it.”

Skyfire numbly took the cube, knowing that he didn’t want to appear rude.  Starscream could barely hide his disgust. 

“What is the energy source of this… organica?” Skyfire asked, curiously.  He dipped a small dipstick in to pull some readings. 

“Many, many eons ago, we drank energon that we compiled from the methane pools.  Over time though we found that this was not sustainable and the energon was quite low-grade to sustain us.  Our scientists developed a new kind of energon from the organic matter here on the planet,” he said, lovingly caressing a gargantuan, tubular root connected to a tall, violet tree that towered above them.  We found we had to filter the organica heavily to be able to consume it, but it was quite palatable.”

Starscream did not look convinced and Skyfire suppressed a smile. 

Terrikos sat.  “This organica might not be very fulfilling,” he said. “We found that only raw, unfiltered organica was of high-grade consumption, but that led to other… complications.”

Skyfire furrowed his optic-brow but handed the cube back to Terrikos.  “I am quite energized, friend, thank you.  What kind of complications?”

Terrikos became very grave.  “Without filters, the organica definitely fueled us well.  We saw a huge increase in our technology, and we thrived.  But then many started to get… sick.  Very, very sick.  Our scientists could only think that something in the organica degraded our fuel lines, and many of us developed spontaneous leaks.  Then, entire cities vanished almost overnight.  We didn’t hear any communication from them and over time we discovered they just disappeared.”

Starscream and Skyfire were silent at this revelation.  They had encountered decaying and dead planets before, but it seemed this was a lot more rapid of a decline than they had been led to believe was possible.  The list of likely culprits for a collapse made them nervous. 

Starscream pursed his lips.  “Before, you mentioned a ’he,’ didn’t you?  When things get dark?”

Terrikos seemed to shiver.  “Yes.  The beast.  Something else emerged while our civilization was collapsing around us.  Some kind of creature that had immeasurable speed and strength that attacks us only when the sky planet is at its darkest.  It is why we gathered together here, to try and fight it off together.

“Hence why I told you to leave.”

Skyfire looked to Starscream and whispered, “We can’t just leave them here to die,” he said, furtively. 

Terrikos apparently overheard.  “Could… you take us with you?  Get us off-world?”

Starscream frowned.  “I’m afraid we couldn’t take all of you.  We would have to make trips,” he said, looking to Skyfire.  “And I’m not sure this is a good idea.”

Skyfire pulled Starscream aside. “One moment, friend,” he said to Terrikos.

“Skyfire, please don’t do what I think you are going to do,” Starscream pleaded.  “This sickness could be a virus or contagion.  Our protocol from the academy would be to quarantine them, not to spread it to other planets.”

“But that would be condemning them to die. We are scientists, not executioners! And I can take at least a couple of them- maybe 3 or 4- to that planet nearby.  They can peacefully quarantine there with much better energon sources, and then we can inform the previous planet of bots of their location!”

Starscream smirked fondly.  “I’m surprised you thought this through so much already.”

“I am fascinated by this organica substance they created, and I don’t want the technology they developed to go to waste.  There could be a new discovery in their latent memories, just waiting for us to find it!”

Starscream nodded.  “I will agree to this plan, but only after I get a look at this beast he keeps mentioning.  It sounds like it could be a techno-organic.”

“... But the environment to create one would have to be perfect,” Skyfire said, thinking of the possibilities.

“I agree.  We’ve only heard rumors of them thus far, and I think that the way these bots were consuming this… this… energy source, they might have made the conditions exactly right.”

Skyfire’s blue eyes glittered happily in the dim light.  “This is going to be dangerous,” he said, smiling.

Starscream smiled back.  “Of course it is. It’s us.”

Chapter Text

They both went back to Terrikos and explained the plan.  They wanted to try and get a look at this beast for scientific purposes, then they would help Skyfire off the survivors to another planet for quarantine.  Terrikos explained that this was an acceptable plan, and that he would gladly be their guide to try and find the beast in his lair.

They traveled during the brightest of the “day” which was still quite dim and rested at night taking turn recharging.  Out of habit, Starscream and Skyfire never recharged at the same time, though they stayed close together.  Terrikos was fitful in his recharge, clearly out of fear.

They talked often of Cybertron; of the social structure, the technology, the rituals.  Terrikos was a rapt listener and asked a lot of questions of the scientists who were happy to have such an interested pupil.  He occasionally asked them about if they thought the fuel-leak problem his friends had developed could be cured.  Skyfire was hopeful, but Starscream cautioned against optimism.  Cybertron honestly held the most minds that could help develop a cure, and it was very far away.

Terrikos also snuck glances at them when they were affectionate with each other.  It was just a small hand hold, a brush of a kiss, a touch on the cheek.  Skyfire would usually catch him staring and then looking away.  Starscream would smile and shrug whispering that they were good looking mechs in love; of course he would stare.

Along the way it became clear that Terrikos was out of fuel.  He tried to not let it show but he was sluggish and zoned out often.  Skyfire offered him some of their energon without hesitation.

“It is so… beautiful,” he said, admiring the faint purple glow.  “Is this what all of you drink back on Cybertron?”

Skyfire nodded.  “Yes, and you could make it too with the right environment.  It is likely not viable here.  I hope you are okay to leave your ancestral home,” he said quietly.

Terrikos took a sip.  “I think so,” he began.  “I am just happy that we have a path-“ as he spoke, his voice became raspy and his vocalizer started to static in distress. He dropped the cube and flailed his arms wildly to wrap around his throat, as his intakes surged with panic.

“Whoa what-“

Starscream scowled but went to the mech and stuck his hand in Terrikos’s throat to initiate a purge.  He turned the mech’s head to his side and allowed him to purge fluids.  At the same time, he surreptitiously took an energon sample from the fuel lines inside the mouth of their guide.  Hoping Terrikos didn’t notice, he threw the sample into subspace and patted the back of the prone mech.

“There, there,” he said.  “That was our fault for not watering it down.  It was likely too rich for your systems to take.”

Terrikos had a distant look on his faceplate as he wiped his mouth with the back of his servo.  “That is likely it.”

“Can we help you collect organica, instead?” Skyfire offered.

Terrikos shook his head and smiled. “No, thank you.  I’ll be right back after getting some.  Don’t leave without me!”  He jogged off into the forest.

Starscream watched him leave, then quickly began running scans on the sample he had taken.  “Starscream! That was not right to do without his consent,” Skyfire scolded.

“Bet you want to know the results though,” he said, smirking.

“Of course, but it is the principle of the thing.”

Starscream studied the petri dish and noticed that on a molecular level, the grounder’s cells reacted in a strange way to his Cybertronian cells.  They almost reach out to his servos as they poked in the dish.  On a whim, Starscream scraped off some shavings from his arm and let them sprinkle into the petri dish.

His cells were overcome by Terrikos’s and converted.

He quietly threw the sample back into subspace.  He pulled out the sample he had taken earlier of the little creatures.  Where there once was maybe fifteen tiny-flea like organisms, there was now just one fat creature in the middle, clearly having consumed its brethren.

Starscream couldn’t help but remember that Terrikos was the only bot that seemed fully functional back at the camp.  Skyfire watched his colleague in mute observation, and opened his mouth to say something when a terrible cacophony of noise stopped him.

Very distant screaming halted their thoughts.  Starscream immediately looked up and ground his denta in frustration as the canopy was too thick here to jump into the sky.  Skyfire threw him frightened optics.  “We have to get out of here,” Skyfire said quietly.

“Yes, we do,” he said, grabbing his servo and running. 

“Wait, what about Terrikos?” Skyfire said, his step faltering.

Starscream pulled Skyfire with a pleading tug.  “We can’t wait for him,” he said firmly.  “We have to get to the sky and out of here.  I don’t believe that spontaneous fuel leaks are actually their problem,” he said as they crashed through the undergrowth.  “Remember the collars?”

Skyfire looked confused.  “The collars are an attempt to stop the fuel leaks?”

“Yes, as in that is where they are being drained.”

Skyfire audibly groaned.  “Of course, the beast is cannibalizing on their energon lines in their necks.  They are wearing the collars to try and prevent it.” Skyfire postulated.

They both power-jumped up a cliff with a large waterfall to get a better vantage point.  They did this without speaking, a testament to their ability to work in tandem after so many years.  They had been in other scrapes that were dire, but nothing compared to this.

Starscream tried to remain calm.  They both had weapons if need be, but Starscream was definitely more apt for combat.  But Skyfire gave him a searching look and, he probably saw signs that even Starscream was rattled.  Imperceptible hitches of his wings, small tremors in his servos, his optics wide and searching.  Starscream knew that if he started to panic, Skyfire would be shortly behind.

“This… is pretty bad, isn’t it?” Skyfire said running a hand over his helm.

Starscream took his optics from the horizon to look at him.  He tried to keep his face steady as he spoke.  “We might be a little beyond planning for immediate survival,” he said.  “If I’m right, this thing brought down an entire civilization.  We need to move towards containment.”

Skyfire was quiet, looking like he was processing through the words.  They were scientist explorers, but there was a and underlying directive to all of that: to find and discover new things for the enrichment and betterment of Cybertron.  The pair were not above interfering with younger civilizations and planets if it achieved their goal.  So Starscream was implying they had to stop this at all costs.

“For Cybertron.”

“Yes, for Cybertron.”

Starscream pulled out some cluster bombs and handed them to Skyfire.  “I think we should reenact our situation on Felostroma Prime,” he said, smiling wickedly.

Skyfire reached for the bombs, but clenched his fist trying to steady the shaking of his servos.  He smiled wryly and took the bombs.  “It barely worked then, what makes you think this is any better?”

“Because I’m Starscream,” he said as he jumped down the cliff and started running into the overgrowth.

Skyfire smiled fondly and began to run in the opposite direction.

Starscream ran, trying to make as much noise as he could.  He wanted to put as much distance between him and Skyfire before the beast decided to come after them.  He slowed down to cycle his intakes and think.

They knew this creature was likely a cannibal. He had likely just eaten the mechs back at the camp.  It was now out of food and out of options.

There was also Terrikos to think about out here, and they honestly didn’t have much information on him that they could trust.

Unless.

Well of course. There was no beast, per se.  Or at least Terrikos and the beast were one and the same.

He heard some movement behind him and slowly turned around.

Terrikos was suddenly there, stock-still, his optics a light orange.  “I’m glad I found you,” he said, staring quietly.

Starscream stared back.  “I am too,” he said, trying to keep his faceplate impassive.  “You managed to survive the beast.

Terrikos froze.  His optics searched Starscream for a moment and then he sighed, his visor glinting.  He quietly took off his collar.  “What happened to Skyfire?” he said dropping the collar to the ground.

Starscream watched the mech carefully.  “I sent him to go get help from a planet nearby.  We heard screaming,” he said.

Terrikos nodded and put his hands behind his back and began walking.  “Well… this is awkward,” he said, chuckling lightly.  “I suppose the pretense is over, isn’t it?”

Starscream clenched a servo.  “I don’t see the point anymore, either.”

Terrikos nodded.  “Look, I really am happy to see you, and I do not want to harm you.  You should know that,” he pulled out his servos in an open gesture, like how Starscream had greeted him before.  “And I did tell you to leave.”

“That is something that confuses me, Terrikos.  Your… food resource was running so low, but you still gave us a chance to depart without you.  That seems counter-intuitive.”

“You might find this hard to believe,” Terrikos said, “but I don’t enjoy killing other bots.  I have not enjoyed dismantling every piece of my home, destroying everything I knew.  But I find that if I get hungry enough… I don’t really have a say in the matter anymore.”

Starscream considered this and might have felt a pang of pity for the mech if his spark was not pulsing so hard in his chest.  He understood instincts were like subroutines.  Sometimes you could overcome them, but often you cannot defeat your own programming.  “So you would have allowed yourself to go offline and let us go?  Why is that choice now gone?”

Terrikos sighed.  “It also appears that every time I feed, I become less… of myself.  I don’t want you to leave now.”  He took a step forward.

Starscream tensed and took a step back, silently cursing himself as he did. 

“I think you should know something else, too, in the spirit of honesty.”  In a blur of movement, he was suddenly right in front of Starscream, about mere inches from his faceplate. 

“My real designation is Atmos.”

Starscream gave a panicked cry in fear, not able to process how fast the mech had just moved.  He pulled up his null-ray and fired multiple shots at the space where Atmos once stood but was no longer there.  Wide-opticked and terrified, he felt the icy tendrils of fear seize his intakes and refuse to let go.

Terrikos, or now Atmos, appeared beside him instantly.  Atmos clenched a fist and punched Starscream in the chassis, knocking the air out of his intakes, stunning him as he doubled over in pain.  Then Terrikos balled his fist and clubbed his prey on the back of the head sending Starscream into the ground with immense force.

Starscream reeled from the burst of pain to the back of his head but he wasn’t done yet.  He rolled and acrobatically flipped out of the way, holding his damaged stomach as it sparked from the impact from the strong bot.  Primus that hurt.

He glared at the mech angrily.  “I thought you said you didn’t want to harm us,” he spat.

“Right, I don’t want to, but if I have to…” Atmos shrugged.  “Unfortunately, it may become unavoidable.  When I feed on a mech, there is a transfer of data, and they become infected with the very thing that has done this to me.”  He then shrugged his shoulders.  “Sadly though, it seems no one can survive the transformation!  Perhaps a full-blooded Cybertronian will fare better?”

Starscream felt his plating begin to crawl with disgust.  “You will never leave this planet,” he spat.  “Not as long as my spark pulses in my chest.”

Atmos leered.  “YES you understand then now.  That’s the idea! MY SPARK IS DEAD.  I have been so lonely, Starscream!  You and Skyfire could join me and be mine forever…”  He leaned forward preparing to charge with a crazed look on his faceplate.

“Sl-ag,” Starscream said, turning on his turbo-thrusters and jumping as high in the air as he could without hitting the foliage of the trees.  He landed on a branch and tried to calm his intakes.

To his horror, Atmos was at the bottom of his tree and was rapidly climbing at a disturbing speed. 

Starscream pulled out a blaster gun from subspace and aimed it down the tree.  “I didn’t want to have to do this either,” he said.  He fired three shots at practically point-blank range at the helm of his attacker.

Starscream had managed to hit Atmos square in the optic, and his shoulder, and in a stroke of luck, his spark chamber.  With a gargled cry, the mech released his hold on the tree and fell about 100 feet in the air on his back.  He was perfectly still when he landed.

Starscream inspected the damage from his perch, magnifying his optics on his victim to confirm that he had perished.  The mech’s internal circuitry and spilled out of him on the impact, and the scorched marks from his blaster still smoked on the frame. 

Starscream lowered the gun as a wave of nausea overwhelmed him.  His knees threatened to give out.  Though later he would look back on this moment with a sense of disgust for his former weak self, at the moment he could not believe he had just killed another being.  He covered his mouth with his servo, watching the offlined mech below him.

After a little while processing what he had done, he jumped down from his perch, landing more than a little roughly because of the damage he had sustained.  He comm’ed Skyfire to find his location, saying that he thought the threat had been averted.

Until he heard a sputtering laugh.

Starscream slowly turned with abject fear to the mech he had just offlined.  His optic that had spilled out all of his internal wiring was being pulled back into his body like a wire being coiled up after use.  The scorch marks started to dissolve as if they were being burned off in sanitizing fire. 

What Starscream saw before him did not compute.  It should not be possible.  It was abhorrent, frightening.  And at the very deepest part of his spark, he absolutely was intrigued, which scared the pit out of him.  He swayed on his feet, then fell backward, catching himself only slightly on his servos.

“Do you not think,” came Atmos’s staticky vocalizer, “that knowing what I had become would drive me to a similar attempt?  To try and stop myself?” Atmos’s optics were quickly draining from light orange to a pale yellow.  His one optic stared at Starscream with almost pity.  “I cannot be offlined.”

Starscream’s jaw became slack as he tried to comprehend.  But he found he could not.  Error messages popped into his vision as he struggled to process all of this, but instead something deep in in his CPU just broke, ever so slightly.  He heard the faint static of Skyfire trying to hail him. 

Finally, after a few moments, he pinged Skyfire back.  “I failed. Please save yourself.  I will greet your spark with Primus in the future.”

Atmos held a delighted grin as he propped himself up from the ground and began to crawl over to Starscream.  His frame was still self-repairing, as his eyes continually drained of color.  “Now I can’t promise this won’t hurt, Starscream,” he said gently.  “I will do my best.  And this might result in your termination.  But I have to feed.  All this repairing has drained me of my last meal and I need you.”

Starscream watched dumbly, frozen in place by an overwhelming sense of doom.  His frame had begun to tremor slightly.  Though every part of his processor was telling him to get up and run, he found his limbs unable to be moved.  He was paralyzed and could not comprehend what was about to happen.

“I really am sorry,” Atmos said, mournful.  “I really wanted to keep you both around longer.  You’ve been more than kind to me, and you don’t deserve this.  You both are so attractive… I wanted to try and seduce you at some point.”

Atmos reached his pedes and pulled, bringing Starscream sickeningly close to the stronger, faster mech.  Something about this lurch did finally snap him out of his stupor, and Starscream began make overtures to escaping the clutches of the monster about to consume him.  A well-placed kick did nothing.  Rising, panicked cries escaped his vocalizer as he became more and more desperate. 

Atmos opened his mouth to reveal the fangs.

“NO!” Starscream cried, hyperventilating and attempting to train his null-ray on the beast, but Atmos merely knocked it out of the way, laughing. 

“I promise to try and save Skyfire.  I will do my best,” he whispered, leaning down towards Starscream’s neck.

In a blast of white light, force and explosion, the two mechs were finally separated and fell on opposite sides of the clearing.  Starscream knew what the sound of his cluster bomb sounded like, and dimly felt both relief and anger that Skyfire had come back to rescue him. 

Skyfire landed heavily with a fierce look in his optics and he trained an obviously improvised weapon on the grounder.  He stood in front of Starscream in a protective fashion.

“Are you alright?” Skyfire called over his shoulder.  He dared not remove his optics from the creature who seemed to be snarling in frustration before him. 

Starscream muttered “Affirmative,” but didn’t sound entirely convincing.  “No thanks to you,” he said, smiling.  The truth was that the cluster bombs did more damage than Atmos had done, but at least he was still alive and still himself.  Atmos didn’t look like he had fared better.

Precious rivulets of organica flowed out from his veins and he looked far more beast-like than a bot of Cybertronian make.  He had taken substantial damage to his legs and was glaring at Skyfire with the most hatred Starscream had ever seen.  To his and Skyfire’s horror, though, he did start to self-repair, albeit slowly.

“What- oh Primus,” Skyfire said.  He steeled himself and aimed his weapon at the creature and fired a single shot of a purple-blue beam.

It shot clear through Atmos and caused instantaneous rust where the beam had hit.  A look of surprise came over his face as he fell.  The self-repair looked like it had been stopped in its tracks.

Skyfire lowered the weapon before going to his friend.  “I’m glad that worked.”

Starscream did not take his eyes off Atmos’s now-still frame.  “How did you do that?”

“UV rays.  I figured I would give it a shot.  I was waiting for you and ran some more tests on the flora here, and found it had an extreme aversion to UV wavelengths.  If it was partly the planet that created… this beast… then he might have the same weakness.”

Starscream closed his optics.  “You figured it out too.  No beast, just… him.”

“I should never have left you.  I knew you would fall apart without me.”

Starscream smiled thinly, far too tired to argue.  “I fear that may not keep him down for long.”  He fired up his null-ray and blasted the Atmos for good measure.

“What now?” Skyfire said, quietly.

Starscream considered the question and then finally concluded.  “I suppose we might need to fulfill his wish to leave this planet, after all.”

Chapter Text

Present Day…

Atmos and Starscream flew silently away from Skyfire on the ground and went back to the rendezvous point for the Decepticons for after the battle. Atmos knew Starscream was furious, but he wasn’t quite sure how to manipulate him at this point. When Starscream was talking, he was easy to push. When he was silent, Atmos wasn’t sure what he was thinking.

He looked up at his would-be-warden-turned-savior.  He had changed so dramatically from the naïve horrified little scientist who had taken him on back in the forest of his home world.  Atmos had never felt more drawn to a creature before as that moment that he almost was able to turn Starscream.  The intimacy of it- his future victim staring at him with terrified pools of red optics, his sputtering and hyperventilating vents, and even the smallest amount of defeat in his eyes- all of these details had stayed with the Atmos and had fed his mind while incarcerated.  He wanted Starscream.  But he wasn’t quite sure how, yet.

Despite about a quarter of their compatriots complaining of spontaneous fuel leaks, they were all still functional and this could effectively be called a victory for the Decepticons.  It seemed the same fuel leak was also present in the Autobot forces, but more widespread.

Megatron was actually pleased.  “Is it actually possible that you just didn’t full energize yourself before we started?”

Ramjet nodded meekly, “I mean it is always possible, Lord Megatron.”

“Soundwave, investigate this phenomenon when we get back. See if it is something we can take advantage of.”

He saw Starscream and Atmos arrive.  “It seems you two work well together- I have heard that both Wheeljack and Bumblebee are in critical condition.  Interesting.”

Starscream was lost in thought to respond.  Atmos replied for both of them. “Thank you, Lord Megatron.  It is an honor to prove my worth to you.”

Starscream perked up.  “Lord Megatron, may I have a word?”

Megatron, in a rare bout of magnanimity, agreed.  Starscream pushed past the other Decepticons and met Megatron at the front. 

Atmos attempted to appear disinterested but strained to hear the conversation. He found he could not over the other conversations happening around him, he found it hard to concentrate.  Still, he was able to hear bits of it.

“My lord Megatron, I encountered something during the battle that I wanted to make you aware of.”

“Spit it out, then.”

Starscream sighed.  “Skyfire attempted to contact me, raving about some kind virus from our past has reappeared.  I took a moment to try and have him explain himself, but I found him… quite raving mad.”

Megatron furrowed his brow.  “That seems… odd.”

“Odd indeed.  He accused me of many things, only which… some are true, of course.” He smiled conspiratorially.  “But this was so out of behavior for him, I thought I should tell you.  He insisted that he was going to have Optimus speak with you.  I’m not sure he isn’t being put up to some kind of Autobot plot, because he is not intelligent enough to come up with this himself.”

Megatron nodded.  “Stranger things have happened.  I will eagerly await this conversation if it happens at all.”

Starscream walked back to stand next to Atmos as Megatron began one of his rousing victory speeches.

“What was that about?” Atmos whispered. 

Starscream kept his faceplate impassive.  “Insurance.”

Atmos folded his arms and looked around at the idiots cheering dramatically as punctuation to Megatron’s speech.  Then he locked optics with Soundwave, who had been staring at him.  After a few disturbing seconds, the tape-deck looked away.

Atmos hardened his jaw.  He did not like the look of how things were going.

Starscream disappeared once they had arrived back at the Decepticon base.  Atmos was slightly disappointed as he had wanted to talk more about the battle.  He also needed a nightcap of energon to take the edge off his shoulder.  And… he had grown accustomed to his seeker.

Slagging pit of a mech, Skyfire!  Atmos managed to slink off without anyone noticing and shaped his armor back into place.  It was always that damned Skyfire who got in his way.  The one who had figured out his weakness, the one who had officially taken him down, the one who had stood between him and… Well, anyway.  He dared not ask for repair from the Constructicons in case there were too many questions that he didn’t want to answer, so he sulked as he shaped his shoulder.

Eventually Starscream called him to meet, and Atmos readily obliged, trying not to sound too eager.  The meeting place was a storage room in a dimly-lit hallway of the Nemesis.

When Atmos arrived, he was greeted by a null-ray warmed up and ready to fire at his face.  He smiled wryly.  “Is that any way to tell me what a good job I did?” he said sweetly.

Starscream frowned.  “We will discuss your performance today, after you have fed.”

Atmos nearly shivered with excitement.  “Don’t tell me you are offering yourself to me?”

Starscream hardened his jaw and threw his chin over at the center of the room where some energon awaited in a cube.

Atmos clucked his glossa against his fangs.  “Starscream, you know I don’t drink high-grade from a cube,” he chided, malevolently.  He took bold step closer and let the null-ray poke his chassis.

Starscream stood his ground and let his null-ray whine louder for emphasis.  “I know that. It’s not from a cube, you parasitic techno-filth!”

Atmos then noticed the hastily patched wound on Starscream’s wrist, right above his servos where another thick junction of energon veins throbbed with the precious energon he sought.  Atmos shrugged.  “It’s not nearly as intimate a ritual, but I suppose it will have to do.”  He walked over and picked up the energon cube, swirling it like a fine wine.

“Hmm, smells of great ambition and desperation,” he said, sipping through a smirk.

Starscream held his tongue.  He watched as the sagging shoulder of the techno-organic seemed to fill back in, instantly healing him.

“Today… was foolishly reckless,” he began, slowly.  “I believe we need to discuss the terms of our arrangement again.”

Atmos shrugged and leaned back.  “Today was more of a… tasting. To see whom I liked best.  Pity that I didn’t get to taste Skyfire; his taste is still a big mystery to me.  Will he be sickly sweet? Naively sour?  Bland as his personality?  One of the things I dreamt of during my incarceration was knowing what you two tasted like.”  His eyes glittered as he sipped.

Starscream frowned deeply.  “That was a risk, going after Skyfire.”

“But it is allowed?” he asked, searching the faceplate of Starscream.

Starscream continued as if he hadn’t heard the question.  “He knows you are vulnerable to sunlight, and he can pass that information on to our other enemies.”

“It is one thing to have the knowledge, and another to be able to do anything about it.”

“Still,” Starscream swirled the high-grade in his own cube. “I don’t like too many variables being introduced to the equation.”  Atmos thought Starscream looked uncertain on how to proceed, as if his confidence had been slightly shaken.  “How often do you actually need to feed?  I was under the impression that it was once a few day-cycles, but you consumed enough energon today to fill a swimming pool.”

Atmos took a seat.  Somewhat sated from Starscream’s energon, he felt less obstinate.  At least, for a moment.  “It will depend on how much I use my powers.  Healing, speed, fighting all dramatically increase my rate of consumption.  But based on how things are going, I need to feed… at least three times a day.”

Starscream’s optics went wide.  “Three full drinks?”

“You wanted a super-soldier, this is the price.  But no, half drinks such as this could sate me.”

Starscream absentmindedly rubbed his patch on his wrist.  He did not seem happy about this new information. 

“How is it you fed on the Decepticons today, but no one saw you?” 

Atmos took another sip.  “This was originally how I used to feed, remember?  Strike quick at night, not let them know it was me.  I can covertly feed.”

“I’m afraid that Soundwave is getting suspicious,” Starscream said.  “He is a telepath, and I’m not sure you have the training to resist having your mind read.”

Atmos frowned a little at that.  Starscream was right, he didn’t know how to do that. And based on the third-in-command’s stare-down earlier, it was safe to say that he was a problem.  But a telepath? Now that was interesting.  He would have to figure out a way to take a sip of his energon later…

“Will you teach me to resist it?” Atmos asked.

Starscream frowned.  “I supposed I have to.

“Well, Megatron was pleased with today, so we can slowly begin our next stage of the plan.  Keep draining the Autobots on the battlefield, and we can keep ensuring our victories.  Megatron will become complacent.  And then, when he is most off his guard, you will drain him-“

“And turn him..”

“-and I will assume comm- WHAT. NO. No no no.  No turning Atmos.  You can’t.”

“Can you imagine how unstoppable Megatron would be? Or what about you? Why rely on my powers when you could do it yourself?” 

Starscream opened his mouth but hesitated.  The thought had crossed his mind, more than once.  But something held him back.  Perhaps a revulsion of having to feed off mechs? Knowing his very molecules would be forever changed and sullied by techno-organic matter?  The weakness of UV-rays?

All of these reasons had led him to the same conclusion.  This was not a line he wanted to cross.

“Tempting, but then I wouldn’t have any need for you.  And I so do enjoy your company,” he replied.

Atmos tried to hide his disappointment.  He knew Starscream was being facetious, but it did occur to him that Starscream was his only “friend” right now.  Maybe survival wasn’t the only thing he needed to be thinking about.

Starscream finished his energon.  “I think it would be best if you avoided feeding on Decepticons within the Nemesis as there are eyes everywhere here.  I can give you some of my energon once a day in this arrangement,” he said, indicating the cube.  “Otherwise, you can feed on whom you wish.”

Atmos wasn’t exactly asking for permission but kept that to himself.

“How about one more sip, before I go? I won’t make it hurt.”

Starscream didn’t react, just sighed.  “I know you have fed, so why do you still push for more?”

Atmos was beside him in an instant before he could raise his null-rays.  “I will always…” he used the back of his servo to caress Starscream’s cheekplate, “push for more.”

Starscream just continued to have an unreadable expression on his face.  Atmos felt his own intakes hitch slightly at how bold he was being.  And Starscream wasn’t stopping him?

He leaned in closer, lightly grasping the other’s mechs chin.  “I have always…” he started, searching Starscream’s optics for any sign that he should continue, but still he held an inscrutable expression. 

The moment had passed.  He leaned back and let his servo fall to his side.  “I suppose I just want more, Starscream, after being locked up for so long.”

Starscream stopped staring at Atmos and stared down at the table as if he was contemplating something.  A slight frown painted his faceplates as he slowly stood.  “I can’t afford to be weakened in the Nemesis,” he said.  “You will have to wait.”  Starscream turned toward the door to leave.

Atmos furrowed his optic-ridge with slight confusion.  Wasn’t Starscream second-in-command?  Was he… worried about someone here?

But before he could ask, Starscream had left through the open door.

Atmos stared at the door for a moment, then smashed the table in a blur of absolute rage.

Skyfire was looting Wheeljack’s failed experiment pile with such fervor, he drew quite a bit of attention.  He was also swearing in ancient Cybertronian, and the creativeness of these oaths drew an optic-ridge of some of the other Autobots.  In his arms he held a few items that he thought would be useful and kept digging.

He had nearly been forcibly removed from the med bay over his intrusions into Bumblebee and Wheeljack’s condition.  He kept double and triple-checking their energon, analyzing it through every possible test and computer he could get his hands on in case it was a false-negative.  But every test had shown that they were not infected.  Just deenergized to the point of forced-recharge.  No permanent damage.

Ratchet had been suspicious and then angry when the Skyfire did not explain himself.  Skyfire had just said that he was concerned for their well-being… and while he was, he just wasn’t sure how much more he wanted to explain right now. 

Until he heard a familiar voice behind him.  “Skyfire, you wanted to speak with me?”

Skyfire stopped digging and turned his helm over his shoulder to confirm who had been speaking.  He threw all of his items into subspace and climbed down from the tower of junk.

Optimus waited patiently for the Skyfire.  He offered a hand to help the flier down, and after regarding it for a moment, Skyfire accepted.

“Thank you.  Is there somewhere we can go in private?”  Skyfire felt the room go a little icy quiet.  There were not meant to be secrets in the Autobot ranks.

But Optimus understood as Skyfire was not built as an Autobot.  He fit in well-enough, and had certainly helped with their cause, but there was always an element that kept him separated.  He imagined he was going to learn more about this today.

“Of course, right this way,” he said, leading the way.  Skyfire’s wings twitched at the stares, but he moved forward with purpose.  If anyone could help him stop this madness, the Prime had to be the bot.

They came to a meeting room, and as Skyfire sat down, Optimus close the door.  With his back to Skyfire, he said, “I suppose this has something to do with Bumblebee and Wheeljack.  I am curious as to why you aren’t being forthright with what you know.”  It wasn’t an accusation, but it did smack of surprise and maybe disappointment.

Skyfire frowned.  “I understand, but I’m still trying to process what is happening as I can’t possibly believe that Starscream is this fragging stupid.”

That earned more surprise from the Prime as he sat down.  Skyfire was usually so mild-mannered.  He also had not really offered any intel or stories of Starscream, despite their past.  The Autobots had pleaded with him for any weaknesses he could offer about the Decepticon’s second-in-command, assuring him that Starscream would not hold back in doing the same on their side.  Still, Skyfire had remained resolute and asked them to respect his wishes.

“We have tried to tell you-“

“That he changed.  I understand that.”  The Skyfire groused, folding his arms.

Prime was not used to be interrupted by a subordinate, but he understood there was a deep pain here.  “What are you comfortable telling me about the situation we are in?”

Skyfire considered the question and sighed.  “As you already know, Starscream and I used to be scientist explorers for now ancient Cybertronian Command before the war.  We charted maps, found sources of energy and other resources, found rare spatial phenomena…  And in our travels, we came across one thing that we vowed to keep secret from everyone.  We found a techno-organic being that harbored a virus that threatened all Cybertronians.”

Prime’s optics watched carefully as he process this new information.

“The being… named Atmos, apparently, had completely decimated his planet of inorganic life.  The virus that likely developed inside him gives him many abilities such as super-strength, speed, self-repair, and possibly immortality.  The trade-off is he can only refuel using energon that comes from inside a bot, and a terrible aversion to sunlight.”

Prime thought immediately to Megatron, his faceplate turning grave.

“We knew someone would not understand the threat this creature holds.  He can’t be reasoned with as he is driven completely by the virus to infect and spread.  We built a prison to contain him on a planet where the sun never sets and placed so many buffers and fail-safes to prevent anyone releasing him.  It never occurred to me, in my wildest nightmares, that Starscream would willingly release him.”

Optimus regarded the mech sadly.  It was like the Skyfire was losing Starscream all over again.

“I know you all have told me that Starscream has changed, but you don’t understand.  Atmos almost killed Starscream last time we saw him.  I arrived and only just was able to subdue Atmos after a lot of damage.  And he was relatively new to his powers.  Starscream knows the threat that Atmos poses, not just to the Autobots, but the Decepticons as well.  All Cybertronians are in danger here.”

“The only way it might make sense is when you factor in Megatron,” Optimus offered.

“Megatron? What does he have to do with this?”

Optimus nodded as he shifted in his seat.  “One major factor that has changed in Starscream’s life is Megatron.  Everything that Starscream does that seems counter-intuitive is usually in a bid to wrest control of the Decepticons from him.  I would wager that Megatron is not aware of the true nature of this Atmos, and Starscream is trying to use him in a way to give himself an advantage.”

Skyfire’s faceplate fell. “Like he did with me.”

Optimus sighed.  “It is clearly a desperate move.  But Starscream could be arrogant enough to think that he can control the situation.  He’s not entirely incompetent at his schemes, and he really could do terrible damage to the Autobots and Megatron before this plan blows up in his faceplate.”

“But why,” Skyfire said, pounding his servos into the table.  “He has to know that Atmos will kill him… or worse.”  His optics went back and forth as if he was searching the table for the answer to his question. 

“I can’t offer you an explanation that will fit with your vison of who Starscream used to be.  I can tell you that after millions of stellar cycles under Megatron’s abuse and manipulations, I can understand why he might try to do this.”

Skyfire looked at Prime with sad optics.  “It… pains me that he suffers.  It shouldn’t anymore- I’m not sure he deserves anything anymore after the atrocities he has done.”

Prime sighed deeply.  “It is my sincerest hope that every bot is not beyond redemption.  Keep your hope alive too for your friend, but do not underestimate what Starscream has gone through to arrive where he is.”

Skyfire nodded slowly.  “There is a minor bit of hope that Starscream might know he is in over his head.  He may still turn on Atmos and we can avoid anything catastrophic.”

There was a soft knock from the shared washracks.  “Enter,” Starscream said as he threw back a cube of high-grade.

“I hear congratulations are in order,” said Thundercracker said as he waited in the doorway.

Starscream said nothing but started pouring himself another glass.

Thundercracker had been around the Starscream to know mood shifts were as common as the changing eddies of the wind, but this was a rare one that he didn’t usually see.  Starscream would usually take every opportunity to gloat in victory.  Taking the implied invitation, he walked in and seated himself on a couch in the middle of the room.

Starscream offered him a glass, and the Thundercracker almost refused but decided to indulge anyway.  “How… is Skywarp?” Starscream asked, attempting indifference.

“He was fine after he energized.  I’m sorry we couldn’t be there, especially after it was nothing.  But it sounds like you had other help anyway…”

Starscream grabbed the bottle of high grade and set it down on the table, while taking a seat himself.  “…yes.  Atmos.”

“So what is your play, then?  Anything we need to be aware of?” Thundercracker looked into his cube, swirling it slowly and sipped.  The idea that there was an angle was just assumed between them.

Starscream didn’t even pretend, either.  “Atmos… is a risk.  A risk I thought I had calculated.”

Ah.  There it was.  Starscream was beyond his depth.  But he wasn’t exactly asking for assistance, either.  He needed somerthing else, apparently, but didn’t know how to voice it.  Now that was a scary thought.

“Why do you always get yourself into these situations…” Thundercracker rhetorically asked with a hint of chiding.  He felt like the high-grade had already loosened his glossa, and he might have already overstepped.

But Starscream didn’t react.  “I thought…” he began, uncomfortably.  “I thought I knew what he wanted.  I thought I knew what pressure to apply…” he said as he trailed off in thought.

“Well then you can try and figure out other things to entice him with.”

Starscream looked almost morose.  “That’s the thing, I am pretty sure I already know what he does want,” he said quietly.

Thundercracker looked confused.  Leadership of the Decepticons?  Death of someone? Wealth, fame, glory?  What could possibly conflict Starscream so much-

Oh.

“…but you aren’t willing to give him what he wants,” he replied, more of a statement than a question.

Starscream looked extremely uncomfortable and drank more.  “I… I’ve done it before,” he offered.  “For… other pursuits.”

“And how did that work out for you?”

Starscream looked even more depressed.  “It is one thing for the occasional dalliance.  I am not above that as you both are aware…”

“Intimately aware,” Thundercracker said drolly.

That earned him a small glare, but the other seeker continued.  “But he is… possessive.”

Thundercracker turned incredulous.  “Atmos wants a relationship with you?  Does he know what he is getting himself into?” he said.

Ah, but that hurt Starscream.  He was able to quickly cover up that insult by looking away, sulking.  “I don’t doubt he has an idolized view of me after the time we have been apart.  And I know I would disappoint him.” Like everyone else.  “But he is a little more dangerous if spurned.”

Thundercracker then understood where Starscream was.  He did not actually think the mech was his equal, and therefore entertaining the idea of something was something his pride could not accept.  But the mech was more powerful than Starscream was letting on, and possibly less stable too if Thundercracker knew how dangerous his schemes often were.

“You… are allowed to have lines you don’t cross for power, Starscream.  You can walk away from this choice.”

Starscream hesitated. “But this has been the closest I have ever been, Thundercracker.  He can help me achieve my goals.”

Thundercracker leaned back in the seat and looked at his Air Commander.  They had never exactly been friends, but they did look out for each other.  Maybe a little closer than simple faction loyalty.  It had always struck Thundercracker that he often found outside help to his machinations and didn’t always look to his trine to back him up.  He had always assumed it was because they weren’t as competent or devoted as he would have liked.  But maybe it was his way of protecting them from his self-destructive nature.

He wasn’t sure what to say.  “We would protect you,” he said, solemnly.

Starscream opened his mouth to say more but then Skywarp walked in.

“You guys are drinking high-grade without me,” he said in shock.  “Oh, and that is ‘Screamer’s secret stash! Gimme here,” he said swiping it from Thundercracker who was about to pour himself more.

“Don’t call me that,” Starscream growled glancing once at the Thundercracker.  The wall was back up.  And the unspoken plea to not bring this up in front of their third trinemate.

“You never share your high-grade,” Skywarp whined.  “And you get the fragging best stuff!  I think I can call you whatever I want for being so selfish.”  Thundercracker was already starting to laugh.

Starscream used a servo to pinch his nose-bridge in annoyance.  “Skywarp, acquiring the best energon does not automatically mean I have to share,” he spat, holding open his servo for the glass.  “You can have one glass,” he said grabbing a cube.

“But Thundercracker got two,” he said, pouting.

A crackling noise interrupted their reverie. “Starscream: report to control room,” came the metallic monotone from Soundwave.

Starscream’s animated annoyance only increased.  “Acknowledged,” he replied.

He stood, able to mask his over-energized state masterfully.  “Uh-oh,” Skywarp giggled, as he poured himself a heaping glass.

Thundercracker looked concerned.  “Should you go in your…”

Starscream held up a servo cutting him off.  “In my perfection? Obviously so,” he said striding out the door.

Thundercracker watched him go sadly.  Skywarp had become uncharacteristically silent.

“Why doesn’t he ever talk to me about this kind of stuff?” he asked, mulling over his stolen high-grade.

Thundercracker turned to him, smirking.  “Probably because you are a fragger who listens at doors when he shouldn’t,” he said, playfully punching Skywarp on the arm. 

“I’m… worried about him.”

Thundercracker sighed.   “He’ll be okay, ‘Warp.  He always is.”

“Megatron, to what do I owe the enormous pleasure,” Starscream said, strolling into the control room.  In the room were Megatron, Soundwave and some of his cassettes.

“Ah good, my second.  Would you kindly explain yourself to Optimus Prime for me?  He’s telling quite an interesting tale about our newest recruit,” he said, his optics dancing in dangerous mirth.

Starscream turned and saw Optimus Prime’s visage scowling on the screen.  A quick glance at the glorious leader told him that this was a taunting game to embarrass Prime, not any kind of real danger.

“I assume Skyfire told you some interesting stories,” he said gravely, as if he had been caught.

Prime remained impassive as ever behind that cryptic faceplate of his.  “Yes, and maybe filled in some gaps on your history as well.”

Ah. Trying to bait him.  Starscream allowed his optics to flare in anger for a moment, then decided to take advantage of it.  “Well… I supposed you caught me.  Megatron, I have neglected to inform you of something crucial.”

Megatron smirk faded slightly.  “Well, go on then.  We are all waiting.”

“Well, you see,” Starscream began in mock-nervousness.  “You see, Skyfire and I used to interface.”  Rumble immediately burst out laughing. Even Megatron snorted. 

“Quite a bit.  And well, he was into some very kinky slag, in the exact definition of the phrase…”  Rumble was on the floor at this point and Frenzy was there with him.  Starscream was trying to hold down his own laugh too as he saw the distressed look on Prime’s face.  Megatron was slapping his own knee at this point.

“Megatron, I thought you would take this seriously,” Optimus said, closing his optics in frustration.

“Oh I do Prime.  Starscream… were you both properly wearing… baffles?”

Starscream stifled a laugh too.  Rumble and Frenzy were absolutely lost to the world in laughter. 

Prime just cut the feed which made most of the Decepticons in the room just start laughing harder.  “That,” Megatron said, wiping away a small tear, “was the highlight of this victory.”

Starscream took an exaggerated bow.  “I’m glad my performance pleased you, lord Megatron,” he laughed.

“Soundwave, allow me a moment with my second,” he said.

Soundwave had been very silent during this exchange, something that Starscream had noted.  Not that he expected him to laugh along with them, but he really was bringing down the mood.  He ushered his cassetticons out, who were just repeating lines from that little exchange, laughing hysterically.

Without an audience, Megatron’s mood began to slowly fade.

“I will never tired of embarrassing Prime,” he said standing from his throne and going to his own energon cabinet.  He poured two cubes and indicated that Starscream should take the other one.  Starscream didn’t hesitate, though internally he groaned.  Megatron’s high-grade was blackout territory, especially after his previous drinks.  But refusing the drink was not wise either.

“But he did give an interesting story, Starscream.  One that I think is truer than you were letting on,” he said sipping his high-grade.

Starscream tried to remain impassive, but he did hesitate slightly.  He tried to cover up the give-away by drinking the energon he had been offered.  He felt the rush of high-grade warm his systems as those same systems warned him that he was more than a little inebriated at this point.

“Well, I’m not sure I can properly defend myself without knowing what was discussed, lord.”

Megatron nodded.  “Something about this virus you mentioned, but that Atmos was the source of it?  And that he was a threat to all Cybertronians?”

Starscream rolled his optics.  “Atmos bested some of their best bots, so Prime would have you do away with your new, super-strong soldier.  That’s… novel.” He drank another sip.

“I’m sure that is all there is to it,” Megatron said, unmoving.  “But… still. Intriguing.  A virus that can make my soldiers more powerful… I know no matter how many ways I ask you I won’t get a straight answer from you so I will just have to figure it out myself.”

Starscream sipped sullenly.  He was going to have to get Atmos out of there.  The techno-organic could not fall into the hands of Megatron.

“Of course, I know that Prime is withholding some information.  But why would Skyfire get involved in this plot?”

“Well of course.  He’s still obsessed with me,” Starscream said, slurring his words a little.  Internally he cursed.  There’s no way Megatron didn’t know he was drunk now.

If Megatron noticed, he gave no indication.  “Ah, an old lover’s triangle.  How… base.”

Starscream’s faceplate knitted into confusion.  “Triangle?  With Skyfire?”

“It might have escaped your attention that Soundwave is a telepath.  I’ve been having him look into Atmos’s mind for some time now, and he reports that our newest recruit is besotted with you.”

Starscream nearly dropped his cube, muttering “Slag” under his breath.  Megatron now gave him quite the stare.

“You weren’t aware?” He asked.

Starscream’s helm was spinning at this point and could not imagine why he was having this kind of conversation with the tyrant.  “I… I suppose I only recently found this out.”  He tried to think quickly of what was happening, but his processors had slowed to a crawl.  He reverted to his usual arrogance.  “I’m sure there are plenty of bots who would like to ‘face me, Megatron, but I’m not sure what this has to do with what you are bothered about.”

Megatron’s optics glowed dangerously in the dark of the control room.  “I would hate to lose the most promising new recruit we’ve had to the cause because you were being a tease.”

Starscream felt like he had stepped in purge fluid.  “Are you actually suggesting-“ he screeched, “I- I can’t believe what I am hearing!” he said, throwing the empty cube against the wall. 

Megatron almost looked amused.  “I’m sure you had this grand plan of how to use Atmos to take me down,” he said, nearly chuckling.  “But maybe, he will be the one to tame you!  Primus knows how I’ve tried, Starscream.”

Starscream was cycling his intakes, loudly.  “Megatron, this isn’t funny,” he snarled.

“And best of all, if he’s busy fragging you, you will have very little time to scheme my dear second-in-command.  Imagine how quiet it will be around here!”

Starscream moved to attack Megatron, going for his neck.  Megatron batted him away into the wall like he was an errant insecticon.  Dazed, Starscream crumpled to the ground.  He then gingerly touched the back of his helm where it had contacted with the wall and winced.

“Come at me like that again, Starscream, and I will end you.” 

Starscream glared, using the wall to brace against as he stood.  “You are absolutely insufferable, Megatron,” Starscream spat. 

“Then why are you still here?” Megatron turned his back on his second-in-command, suddenly bored. 

Starscream clenched his servos into a fist.  “You are mocking me, and I.  Will.  Not. Stand for it! I am your second-in-command, and I will be treated with respect!”

Megatron had closed the distance between them far too quickly and punched his Air Commander in the stomach.  “Such hypocrisy,” he said punching again.  Starscream was doubled over in pain but still glaring at him.  Starscream attempted to push him back to give himself space to get away from the wall, but Megatron merely brought his knee up into Starscream’s stomach again, making the smaller mech hit against the wall a second time.

Megatron angrily slashed Starscream’s wings, to Starscream’s desperate cries of despair.  Starscream was cowering, with his servos up in a placating gesture.  “Mercy, Megatron, please,” his vocalizer cracked.

Megatron suddenly looked like he was done.  He sneered at the groveling jet-alt on the ground and then walked away.

Starscream sat on the ground, sparking from his damage and feeling small drips of his own energon well out of his wounds.  How had it all gone so wrong?  They had been laughing together a moment ago.

He picked himself up, wincing.  Without another word, he slipped out of the control room and pinged Atmos to meet him in his quarters.

Chapter Text

Skyfire had stormed out of the communications room as soon as Prime had cut the feed to the Decepticons.  He didn’t know why he thought it would be different: that suddenly Megatron would be reasonable and willing to listen?  And Starscream would just give up his stupid plan because they were accusing him of something?

Megatron had not looked surprised in the least when they had hailed him.  That was an indication that Starscream had already set the narrative… because of course he did.  But interestingly, it did seem that Megatron was interested in the information and treated it somewhat credible.  That could at least upset some of Starscream’s plans.

But who had a worse plan in mind?  Starscream or Megatron?

In the short term, the looks he was getting as he walked down the hallways was an indicator that what Starscream had said was already crawling over the audios of every Autobot in the Ark.  He didn’t really care if there was teasing or the waggling of an optic-ridge.  But it did put him in an uncomfortable spotlight that he didn’t care for in all of this.  He was getting thrust too far in front of this story, and he didn’t like it at all.

He received some comms from Optimus as he made his way to his lab, but the Skyfire ignored them.  He renewed his work to try and develop a weapon for when the rest of this insanity started.

After a couple of cycles of wandering the base alone, Atmos was excited to receive a comm from Starscream, asking to meet.  He actually felt relieved that Starscream wanted to talk again.  He had been cursing himself for how he behaved and wanted to make sure that he hadn’t scared the beautiful seeker off.

Atmos had not really put much thought into categorizing his feelings for Starscream, as it had been part of his internment that it was Starscream’s face that was always there to mock him, cajole him, and even just talk to him in the dark.  But when he attempted to move on him, and Starscream’s reaction?  It froze his dead spark even more.  He wasn’t ready for Starscream’s rejection.

When he arrived, he was more than a little shocked to see Starscream attempting to repair himself.  He was cursing as he used a torch to smooth out his plating but based on his movements was also clearly drunk.  Despite his injuries, Starscream looked like he had just recently washed, and from the smell of the wash-racks, he had been covered in energon just previously.  Smart little fragger.  He was learning.

“This… is unexpected,” Atmos greeted.  In more ways than one.  Starscream was both injured and drunk and had willingly allowed himself to be in the same room with a mech he that had nearly killed him a millennia ago.  This was either idiocy or a sign of deep trust.

He walked in and started looking for more supplies to help repair him.

“Skyfire used Optimus to get into Megatron’s head,” Starscream said angrily.  “He’s on to us.” Starscream growled in frustration.

Atmos’s face darkened.  He had learned a long time ago that the key to survival was observing the situation and waiting for the opportune moment.  But Starscream burned so brightly, constantly on the threat of annihilation.  This small politicking was so important to him, but Atmos could not be bothered to care.  Except he didn’t want Starscream offlined yet.  And Megatron did this to his second-in-command?  For merely a rumor?

“So, what is our play, then,” Atmos said, pulling out a pair of tweezers to help get under some plating where a wire was clearly shorting out.  He knelt on the ground in front of Starscream to get a better angle.

He heard Starscream’s intakes whirr in alarm at the proximity but said nothing.  He rubbed the back of helm where a self-repair job was evident.  “The expected play would be for you to leave the Nemesis that way he can’t get his hands on you.  They likely expect that and have increased the rosters of guards to look for you to attempt to sneak out.”

“Why does Megatron want to get his hands on me?” he asked.

Starscream paused for a moment.  Atmos noticed and allowed Starscream to formulate his lie.

“Prime and Skyfire told him that you possess power; power that Megatron does not want to share. He will kill you and take it from you, somehow.  So, first, he’s going to try and figure out what makes you special.  But maybe there is a way to hide your condition a little longer before we are ready to make a play.”

Atmos smelled the deceit, but he didn’t let on.  “And how do we do that?”

“Let me introduce you to a little midnight snack called the ‘pretenders.’”

Starscream had taken Atmos to where the Pretenders slept in stasis in the deep nethers of the Nemesis.  Down there, there was hardly any lighting, just the ambient glow from computer screens.  Atmos was able to drink from them without them waking, but they tasted quite bitter likely from being in stasis for so long.  He didn’t care for the taste.  Megatron had apparently decided to keep them in stasis to conserve on energon as he didn’t really have a use for beings who could turn into organic monsters.  At least not yet.

Starscream leaned up against the wall to support himself as he was still inebriated and in pain.  At least Atmos was getting a meal that wasn’t him for a change.  Atmos walked over to him when he was finished.  “Interesting leader, this Megatron you follow,” he said looking at his clenched servo. With some effort, he was able to change it to the arm of a hairy, mammalian beast.  It seemed it worked.

Starscream looked on at the change with some interest, but then flicked his eyes slowly to optics of the other mech.  “What makes you say that?”

“Keeps part of his army under stasis because he can’t afford to feed them, left the planet he wants to conquer, beats his second-in-command after a victory… Take your pick.  I’m a little confused by your choice.”

“You think that being with the Autobots is a better choice?  They are so self-righteous and hypocritical… it was really no choice at all,” he said, trailing off in thought.

Atmos frowned, picking up on the double meaning.  “Were you… forced to join the Decepticons?”  He moved slowly to lean on the wall next to Starscream.  Carefully.

Starscream shrugged exasperatedly.  “There’s never a choice with Megatron, Atmos.  It’s always his way or the barrel of a fusion cannon highway,” he replied, bitterly.  “And I don’t appreciate your judging tone.”

Atmos was taken aback.  “Judging,” he repeated.

“Yes, judging! You keep acting like you above all this petty squabbling of us mortals.”  You sound like Skyfire, he thought, bitterly.

“That’s not- how could you think- listen, you aft-head, I was just asking a question.  I’m trying to understand.  I’m like a sparkling over here thrown into this war and so far you haven’t explained anything that makes any sense!”

“That’s right, the country-bumpkin back-water planet mech with a fragging super-powered parasitic DEFECT is just so slagging confused about power,” Starscream shrieked. 

“Whose fault is that, Starscream, that I don’t understand the grand politics of my Cybertronian ancestors.  I’ll wait, but in case your inebriated senses can’t come up with it, it has something to do with you and that accursed Skyfire,” he spat back, poking a digit at Starscream’s chassis.

Starscream pulled off the wall to get in Atmos’s face.  “Don’t you dare talk about him,” he growled.

“I can’t help it that the specter of that giant shuttle casts a shadow on all of our interactions, Starscream.  In a way, you two made me who I am,” he replied just as angrily.  Starscream might have heard that spark-rumbling echo attached to Atmos’s words if he wasn’t so buzzed out of his processor.  “And besides, what do you care? You clearly don’t care for him anymore-“

Starscream had taken a cheap shot by sucker punching Atmos in the stomach, but he didn’t care.  The air had been knocked out of the mech, and that was all that mattered to him.  He then threw his weight into a kick that made the taller mech stagger back.  Starscream almost lost his balance in the act, but it was worth it.

Atmos wrapped his arms around himself, trying to calm his tremors of rage that were building.  “So still carrying a torch for him, is that it?” he said, glaring.  “You have a really fragging weird way of showing affection.”

Starscream snarled in rage and drew up his null-rays, aiming at Atmos.  “He made his choice!” he cried, sounding as if he was being strangled. 

Atmos’s faceplate softened at that.  His anger dissipated.

Starscream huffed his vents for a few more moments than crumpled on the ground.  He had such anguish in his spark as he lowered his weapon.  “He made his choice, and it wasn’t me,” he said, his vocalizer cracking in pain.

Atmos went to Starscream in a flash and gently embraced him as if he were made of glass.  Starscream sat there staring up at the ceiling.  He felt Atmos make a soothing hum, and Starscream felt himself relax slightly.

Distantly, Starscream thought that he probably could not give Atmos what he wanted.  He wanted something of his own to possess and control and seek him out for affection.  Starscream had walled off that part of himself long, long ago.  But if this flash of vulnerability was enough to manipulate Atmos, then it would have to do.

They sat there for moments until he felt a surge of heat and desire from Atmos’s energy field.  It felt prickly and dangerous.  He felt Atmos grasp his chin with his servo to turn it towards him.  “I’m choosing you…” he said sensuously.

Starscream thought it would be better to let this happen.  Things would likely be better.  It was all a big game after all, what did it matter if he lost part of himself in the process?

Suddenly both mech’s optics dimmed as they received a comm from Soundwave. 

“Starscream and Atmos: report to the control room.  Immediately.”

Atmos growled and nuzzled the faceplate of Starscream.  Starscream allowed this but did not reciprocate.  “Just when I had you, right where I wanted you,” he said with just a small amount of frustration coloring his vocalizer.

Starscream felt… nothing.  But he knew how to play the part.  “We should not keep them waiting, no matter how much we may… want to.”   Atmos huffed his vents in desire.  He slowly let his prey untangle himself from the embrace and stand. 

Starscream felt himself lifted off the ground and in a blur they moved quicker than should have been possible.  They had arrived at the bridge in a matter of seconds.  “I want this over as fast as possible,” he said, huskily into Starscream’s audios.

Starscream tried to silence a tremor in his servo as he pushed the button to enter the control room.

“Ah, here they are.  Just the mechs we were looking for,” Megatron said, standing next to Soundwave.  “Did we interrupt… you?” he said, with a disgustingly lewd look at Starscream.  It had not escaped his noticed that they had arrived together.

“No interruption, Lord Megatron.  I was just assisting Starscream with repairs to his frame,” Atmos said neutrally.  Starscream said nothing but gave a haughty glare at his leader.

Megatron’s smile stayed for just a minute too long.  “Yes, well, Soundwave and I had been going back over our medical files, and Starscream: you are way overdue for a physical.  And Atmos, we have no files on you whatsoever.  So, Soundwave here is going to do a little energon test…”

“Wouldn’t Hook be more suited to this mundane task?”  Atmos asked with curiosity.  He knew it was a risk and borderline insubordinate, but he wanted to see more of how Megatron reacted.

Starscream looked like he was swallowing panic.  Megatron delighted in his suffering.  “Of course.  But we might want to keep the results between us,” he said. 

Starscream and Atmos shared a look, but Atmos just smiled.  “Of course, lord Megatron.”

Soundwave pulled two needles out of subspace.  He quickly walked over to the two mechs and held out a servo for their arms.

“Is this completely necessary-“

“Are you declining, Starscream?” came the dangerous reply.

“No, my lord,” Starscream mumbled.  A prick of a needle, and energon flowed in through the needle to a tube and attached vial.  “Just not a fan of needles.”

Soundwave then walked over to Atmos and heled out a servo to take energon from his frame as well.  It occurred to him why Starscream had given him the choice of energon snack in the “Pretenders.”  He now had the ability to change his form on the molecular level.  He easily localized some energon he had taken from the Autobots earlier and moved it through his veins without contaminating it to the location where the needed went into his arm.

Starscream gave him a small knowing glance, and Atmos was once again immensely impressed.

Megatron sat upon his throne.  “While Soundwave in analyzing the results, I think we need to have another little chat…” he said eyeing the two mechs before him.  “Starscream, you and Atmos mentioned you had met before.  Yet why did I not find a single journal entry related to him in your report to the academy?”

Starscream stiffened.  “You were crawling around in my former journals?” he said, his voice offended.  “You had no right to go snooping-“

“They were not difficult to acquire, and I have every right to your life, past, present, and future.”

Starscream crossed his arms in a huff.

Atmos smiled while clenching is denta.  “I imagine I wasn’t mentioned because the last time we met… well let’s just say it was embarrassing for Skyfire and Starscream.”

Megatron narrowed his optics.  “Elaborate.”

Atmos rolled his shoulders a little, feeling unfamiliar tension in his joints.  He wasn’t used to being put on the spot like this.  “The truth is when Skyfire and Starscream found me, I wanted to go with them, back to Cybertron.  Skyfire was too dedicated to the mission and refused,” he lied, “but Starscream had tried to… help.  Unfortunately, I didn’t take the news well and did attack them.  It did not go well for them.”

“And then, Starscream forgave you and you have moved on from your past grievances,” Megatron said, suspiciously.

“You were looking under the wrong name,” Starscream said.  “You should have looked under ‘Terrikos.’”  Starscream sounded tired.

“Ah, my original designation,” Atmos replied, sweetly.  He was still smiling.  Starscream’s face looked blank.

It appears Starscream was more prepared for this turn of events than Megatron had originally thought.  Atmos resisted smiling.

“Results: Normal,” said Soundwave next to them.

“Excellent,” Megatron said, unperturbed.  “Now that we know you are the picture of health; we need you to go on a mission.  Immediately.”  The two mechs before him looked surprised but said nothing.  “It appears the Autobots are testing some kind of weapon in the desert of Nevada.  You two plus the rest of the Elite Trine will perform recon, and either steal the weapon or destroy it.  Soundwave will give you the coordinates.

“I expect nothing but excellence from you both,” he said, dismissing them with a wave of his servo.

Starscream scoffed and stalked off, and Atmos inclined his head towards Megatron before turning to go. 

“You have aligned yourself dangerously, Atmos,” Megatron said.  “I wonder if he will rub off on you, or if you can bring him in line for me?”

Atmos turned his helm slightly.  “Starscream cannot be contained,” he said over his shoulder.  “But he can be heavily distracted.”

Megatron actually laughed at that as the mech walked away from him.

Starscream was angrily walking back to his quarters, but he said nothing to Atmos.  Not that he expected him to say anything; they were being scrutinized, and Atmos understood that they had to tread lightly.

Starscream knocked on the door beside his quarters.  He heard some movement inside, and then a sleepy blue clone of Starscream answered the door.  He seemed surprised to see the second-in-command glowering at his door.  “Starscream,” he said simply.  “It’s the middle of the night…”

“We have orders,” Starscream said, which immediately got the blue seeker standing up straighter.  “The… four of us.”  The other seeker peeked out of the doorway and saw Atmos.  He inclined an optic ridge, somewhat unimpressed.

“Greetings,” he said sweetly.

The blue seeker seemed like he was at least a polite mech and nodded.  “Thundercracker,” he said with a servo on his cockpit.  “And I gather you are Atmos?” He gave a nod to confirm.  Thundercracker then turned to Starscream again.  “How long do we have?  Skywarp hit the high-grade pretty hard after you left,” he said rubbing his own optics, clearly in a similar situation.

“I’ll get him,” Starscream said, pushing past Thundercracker in agitation. 

Atmos moved slightly to peak in the room.  Thundercracker noticed and frowned while crossing his arms across his chassis.

“Wake up, ‘Warp, we’ve got bots to offline,” Starscream had said loudly into Skywarp’s audios.  The black seeker splayed out on the berth stirred with a scowl and turned over on his side, weakly pushing his commander’s face away.  Starscream squawked at having servos touch and push his faceplate.  Flaring in pent-up irritation, he bent down and picked up Skywarp around the waist and pulled him from the berth towards the washracks.

“What the FRAG-“Skywarp said angrily as his vision flipped upside down.

“We have no TIME for this,” Starscream said, venting from exertion.  He hauled his flailing subordinate without much deference across the room and shoved him into the showers, turning on the water by kicking up his pede to the switch.

“ACK COLD- THE FRAG STARSCREAM,” Skywarp cried in frustration.

Starscream almost grinned as he held the black seeker under the water to wake up.  But then he narrowed his optics.  “Wait, how much of my high-grade did you have?”

Skywarp smirked and then stuck out a glossa. 

Starscream shoved him in exasperation and then left.  “You have 5 kliks to meet me in the hangar.  Autobots have some kind of weapon test happening now, and we have to go immediately.”

“How’s he gonna get there,” Thundercracker said throwing a thumb at Atmos.

“He can… fly,” Starscream mumbled. 

Thundercracker narrowed his optics.  “What, are you a triple-changer?”

Atmos shrugged as affably as he could.  “Something like that.”

 “Alright, we’ll be there.”  Thundercracker was radiating suspicion but said nothing more.

Starscream left without another word towards the hangar.  Atmos followed, feeling the optics of the blue seeker staring at his back as he left.

Troublesome.

Chapter Text

They set out, flying in trine formation with a fourth into the night sky.  They transformed into root with thrusters only to try and approach stealthily as they got closer.  Starscream found an abandoned building that was not too far where they could see the Autobots had gathered and were playing with something that looked close to a rail-gun or a large tank.

The four Decepticons gently dropped out of the sky to crouch and watched in the quiet night as Wheeljack and Perceptor worked on the weapon, while Ironhide and Jazz talked, occasionally looking to the sky.

Starscream didn’t like that they were looking for seekers, or at least flightframes.  It was almost as if they were expected.

“‘Warp, how do you feel about playing some cat and mouse?” he asked, his optics flicking to his trinemate.  The grin on his faceplate told him all he needed to know.  Starscream chuckled.  “Try and at least get Jazz out of there, I hate that guy,” he said irritably.

Skywarp nodded and warped into the sky, transformed and jetted in as loudly as he could getting the Autobot’s attention.  Starscream turned to TC and Atmos.  “Atmos and I will attempt to be the next distraction.  TC, I need you to get to the weapon and destroy it.”

“You don’t want to try and get it for ourselves?  We don’t even know what it does.”

Starscream tried not to let his irritation show.  “It’s too big to transport, and frankly, I don’t want to find out what it does because we’ll likely be at the receiving end of it.” 

Thundercracker nodded slowly, and then turned his gaze to Atmos.  “Good luck,” he said lowly.

Starscream and Atmos jumped into the air and transformed going in a different direction than Skywarp.

Thundercracker watched the pair fly off, huffing his vents.  Starscream was not making it easy to help him, it appeared.  Something about this whole mission was off; from the emergency send-off, to the late-night meetings with Megatron, and even Atmos.  He could have sworn he was a car-alt.  But now, he clearly had wings and looked more and more seeker every time he saw him. 

Suddenly, Jazz, Ironhide and Wheeljack transformed and abandoned the weapon to repel the Decepticons, leaving only Perceptor still working on their project.  Thundercracker alighted into the air as silently as he could and landed a short distance away from the back of the weapon, priming his sonic canons.

Suddenly he was greeted with the barrel of a blaster trained on him from someone emerging from inside the weapon itself.

Skyfire.

He looked… almost manic.  He had a steely cold gaze that was trained on Thundercracker, and the blue seeker felt a cold chill run down his spinal struts.  He slowly put up his servos in a placating gesture and cleared his vocalizer.  “Would you believe me if I told you I just wanted to talk?”

“Not for a moment,” Skyfire said, unclicking the safety on the blaster and moving his optics to the sight down the barrel, trained on Thundercracker’s helm.

He tried again.  “I’m running around on my side lacking some key information, Skyfire, and I’d like to know what the frag is going on.  I’m not asking you to trust me, I’m just asking about… Atmos.”

Skyfire’s plating ruffled, like he was fighting a shiver.  “What has Starscream told you?”

Thundercracker checked the skies to see if he could see his trinemates.  “…not as much as I had hoped he would share.  Just that he’s dangerous and possessive.”

Skyfire removed his optics from the sight of the blaster and looked... concerned.  “…Possessive?”

Thundercracker pressed his glossa against the inside of his cheek.  “It’s fragged up, Skyfire.  I don’t understand it.”

Skyfire put his gun down, looking like he was thinking.  Thundercracker thought he looked tired and angry, but now he saw also that he was worried.  The thought did nothing to still his own anxiety about the situation.  “This weapon is meant help us capture Atmos.  It hurts him, specifically.  He has a weakness to UV-rays.”

Thundercracker put his hands down.  “I… will try and line up the shot for you.”  He hoped that Skyfire would avoid shooting Starscream, but he knew about their difficult past.  He would have to risk it.

Thundercracker transformed into the air and went to go try and get the strange mech’s attention.  Somehow.

:When we return…: Atmos purred in Starscrean’s comms.  :…will you allow me to show my devotion to you?:

Starscream was numb.  :Let’s focus on the mission first: he said.

In a surprising bout of good timing, some Autobot decided to start shooting at them.  :Bank left, we can try and get around them- wait, what are you doing?!:

Atmos had done a flip and was now barreling right at the Autobot who had fired on him.  Starscream was cursing as Jazz cocked his helm to the side and lined up a shot right down the nosecone of the strange, new, dark jet.  The weapon hit, and Atmos transformed right as he was about to crash, holding his side. 

Starscream flew in, trying to provide cover fire.  Jazz managed to roll away from Starscream’s barrage and train his weapon on Atmos who didn’t even give the Autobot the courtesy of putting his servos up.  Instead, Atmos began walking and advancing on Jazz.  The saboteur balked a little and just kept firing.  He hit Amtos’s wings, then his side, his legs.  Nothing deterred him from his menacing walk.

Starscream transformed and landed a little distance away, but by that point Atmos had reached Jazz.

Jazz had attempted to dash and transform away, but Atmos had caught him by the shoulder and was lifting him up, his legs dangling.

“Atmos!  Stop!” Starscream cried running over.  “Don’t let anyone see you idiot,” he said again.

 “No one is around, Star,” he said, grinning malevolently.  Some of his wounds had started to heal.

Starscream stopped advancing.  “Don’t… call me that,” he said lowly.

Atmos looked over his shoulder.  “I don’t yet have that privilege?” he said slightly disappointed.  “Very well.”

He looked back to Jazz.  “Shooting at us was pretty foolish, Autobot.  I think you need to make it up to me,” he pulled Jazz up against his chassis. “Personally.”

He slowly leaned in and painfully bit into Jazz’s necklines, hearing Jazz sputter with a small, strangled cry.  “What the frag-“ he said scrambling to try and peel Atmos off of his shoulder.  Still, the mech held firm.

Starscream watched with a modicum of sympathy.  It did hurt, especially if you didn’t understand what was going on.  Just watching Atmos feed actually made his own neck ache. 

Eventually, Jazz went limp and Atmos tossed his frame aside on the ground like discarded scrap.  His mouth had slight glisten of wetness in the dark on his lips and fangs.  He turned around with a triumphant smile at the smaller seeker watching him with a glare. 

“I told you not to do that!  What if Thundercracker or Skywarp-“

Atmos had suddenly appeared directly in front of him, their chassis almost touching.  Starscream snapped his neck up to look at the taller mech.  Atmos was grinning.

“But they didn’t,” he said, taking a single digit and tracing over the tips of Starscream’s wings delicately.  He seemed to delight in Starscream’s involuntary shiver.  “I have half a mind to just whisk you off this battlefield this very moment.  It would certainly be more entertaining,” he said, his optics a deep red behind his visor. 

Starscream pulled away from the touch and turned his back on Atmos.  “We still have a mission to complete,” he snapped, feeling his vocalizer stutter.  He turned to jump into the air, but Atmos caught his wrist and stopped him.

“Atmos-“

Starscream stopped talking when he caught the look Atmos was giving him.  It was intense, far-reaching, and it scraped against his spark. 

“I get the sense you might be leading me on.”

Starscream’s fuel tanks were stabbed with fear.  He swallowed thickly and tried to relax in Atmos’s vice-like grip.  “Leading you on? What do you mean?”

Atmos pulled Starscream close, still holding his wrist up high above his head.  “Do you know how often I thought of you, and that moment we shared before you imprisoned me?  How I longed for you to give me that look again?”

Starscream was confused, trying to recall what Atmos could possibly be talking about.  But then it struck him, and horror crept into his throat.  He remembered being on the ground, wounded, as Atmos advanced on him to try and drink from him the first time.  Starscream had thought he was about to die.

“The look of… fear?” he asked, incredulously. 

“No, Starscream.  The look of submission,” he purred.  “I want you to give me everything you are and be mine.  You said you would be, all those years ago.”

Starscream furrowed his brow.  “I… don’t think I ever said that to you Atmos,” he whispered.

Atmos tilted his helm.  “Didn’t you?  Oh, maybe that was the fake you that kept me company in my prison.  You two are so much alike.”

Starscream’s processor was reeling at this admission, and he felt his thrusters prime to try and escape.  Atmos was far more unstable than he had realized.  He gently tried to pull away, but Atmos held him firm.

“I need to know if you are just using me to get what you want, or if there is something here.  Something for me, Starscream.”  His voice was calm, friendly even. But Starscream felt the tremor in his voice, the part that spoke of the other and the dark.

“I-I don’t know Atmos,” he breathed.  “I don’t know if I can give you what you want.”

Atmos hummed thoughtfully.  “I think that is the first time you’ve been truly honest with me.”  He leaned down and planted his lips on Starscream’s forehead in a kiss.  “I will wait then.  But not for much longer,” he murmured into Starscream plating. 

If he noticed that Starscream was beyond disturbed, he didn’t act like it.

Atmos released him and Starscream choked back a sob as he tried to get his venting under control.  He shakily turned and jumped into the air to transform, with Atmos closely behind.

Thundercracker saw them jump back into the air and jetted over to them.  There was a definite tenseness to Starscream’s form as he flew, but TC thought that might be because TC was not where he was supposed to be.

:Skyfire made me: he commed in their open channel.

:Skyfire?: he heard another voice say.  Must have been Atmos.  :So, he’s down there now?:

TC was not nearly the lord of machinations his trinemate was, but he found that having Starscream in his life had given him the ability to recognize the opportunity to manipulate when it arrived.  :Yes, inside the weapon.  It’s like a tank:

The air was thick between them as if a decision was being made.  :Atmos, don’t-:

But the sleek black jet had already taken the bait.

Chapter Text

:Let him go, Starscream: TC said in a private comm.

:You- What did you do?!:

Thundercracker pulled in front of Starscream, blocking him and slowing him down.  :I’m trying to help you, you idiot:

Starscream shrieked in frustration as he saw Atmos yet again go flying into danger despite telling him to stop.  Skyfire was down there and knew exactly how to damage Atmos.  He was going to get hurt.  In fact, this whole weapon was probably designed for him-

Wait.  Why did he care?

He had just been… menaced by Atmos making a declaration for him.  He had been thinking he had made a mistake waking him up.  He… could let Skyfire take care of him.

He saw the weapon powering up, and it was as if time froze for him.  He imagined Atmos being ripped apart by the beam and looking at Starscream as he fell with a look of despair.  Something inside him told him he would hate that look and hate himself for letting it happen. 

He dove without thinking.

Starscream was numb.  He didn’t understand what he was doing.  His processor leapt to explain it by thinking about trying to save his chance to win leadership of the Decepticons.  Or that he couldn’t let Atmos fall into the hands of the Autobots.  Finally, his processor showed him the moment when Starscream had cried that Skyfire had made his choice.  But then Atmos said he chose Starscream.

Ah.  That was the problem.

Thundercracker was yelling into his comm, and now Skywarp was too, having joined the party.  Still, he threw his thrusters up to the max and dove, quickly catching up to Atmos who was slower in the air.  Starscream transformed into root-mode and hit his shoulder into Atmos’s wing so that the black jet was thrown off his trajectory.

Right as the weapon fired.

It hit Starscream instead. That was indicative of about how his life had gone to about now.

It was a high-caliber bullet that didn’t go through him but lodged inside him and seemed to shatter inside his chassis.  He felt the burn of it, the searing heat, and then the wave of blinding pain that accompanied it was… too much.

Far too much.

His thrusters disengaged and he was falling.  Starscream never fell, this was absurd.  His helm tipped backwards so that he descended helm-first.  His optics barely registered how quickly the ground was approaching, and his audials only slightly heard the rush of wind.

The ground stopped approaching, and he realized he was being held.

His vision was filled by Atmos’s faceplate.  This mech’s visor was close to him and he could see his optics right behind them, wide with concern and shock.

Starscream couldn’t blame him.  Starscream was just as surprised as he was.

Then he swam into the void of unconsciousness.

“NO!” cried Skyfire as he saw the UV irradiated bullet lodge into Starscream’s chassis and explode.  He couldn’t explain what he had just seen.  That Starscream… Starscream of all mechs would literally take a bullet for someone… and for… Atmos?

Skyfire saw Atmos catch him and hold him like a lover, cradling him gently against his chassis. 

Skyfire’s thrusters engaged of their own accord.  He gained altitude and was pushing as hard as he could to reach them.  He saw Starscream’s soft look at Atmos, and the techno-organic in turn looked affectionate before Starscream’s frame went limp in his arms. 

Skyfire pushed harder.

Then slowly, with terrible anger, Atmos turned his visor and stared directly at Skyfire.  The Skyfire grimaced at the look of pure hatred on his faceplate, but he could not stop now.  Atmos pulled Starscream’s lifeless frame closer against himself and then-

Disappeared.

Skyfire cried out in rage.  This could not possibly be happening.  Everything had gone so wrong so quickly.

Thundercracker appeared beside him.  “Where did they go?!” he shouted sweeping his sensors around.

“I don’t know,” Skyfire said mournfully, scanning the skies himself.

“You weren’t supposed to shoot him,” Thundercracker hissed, rounding on the Skyfire.

“I know, I wasn’t-” Skyfire said, his vocalizer cracking.  “It would have hit Atmos if… Starscream…” Skyfire couldn’t speak anymore.  He put his servo up to his helm, trying to think quickly.

Skywarp appeared.  “What the slag is going on?” he asked, looking at the Skyfire with suspicion and then training the same look at Thundercracker.  “Is someone changing sides again?”

Skyfire ignored the jab.  “Thundercracker, Skywarp, listen to me.  Atmos is extremely dangerous, not just to Starscream.  But to everyone.”

“What do you mean?” Skywarp said with some nervousness tinging his vocalizer.

Skyfire struggled to find a way to explain this without possibly tipping off Megatron.  But it was also clear he needed their help.  “Atmos has a disease.  It gives him heightened speed and strength but makes him vulnerable to sunlight and he can only refuel with the energon from inside a Cybertronian.”  Some parts of this tale he left out.

Skywarp narrowed his optics.  “That sounds like a vampire.  You been watching the squishy historic documentaries as well?  This planet is so effing fragged if that Edward guy ever grows a pair-”

“Skywarp.  Those were movies for entertainment, not the history channel.”

“Same difference,” Skywarp said shrugging.  “So why did Starscream bring in this vampire-… you know what.  Nevermind.  Stupid question.”

Skyfire’s comm crackled to life.  :Skyfire, this is Ironhide.  Mind telling us what you and two of the elite trine are discussing up there?  Mighty curious.:

Skyfire groaned.  “We share a common goal now,” Skyfire said aloud, locking optics with Thundercracker.  “Atmos has taken Starscream hostage and knows about the weapon.  I’m trying to arrange a temporary truce.”

“Oh really-” Skywarp began, cheekily.

“Can it, ‘Warp,” Thundercracker said.  “We’ll do what we can to help find them and take Atmos out of the picture.  But Megatron can’t know.”

“I agree completely,” Skyfire said, maybe a touch too quickly.  He searched the skies.  “I don’t even understand how he just disappeared.  It was more than just speed; it was like he teleported.”

Thundercracker gave Skywarp a look, but the black seeker just shrugged.  “What’s the likelihood of Starscream surviving that hit?” Thundercracker asked, his optics training on the Autobot Skyfire.

Skyfire bit his lip.  “It wasn’t meant to kill, but I was trying to get through Atmos’s armor.  Starscream is much slighter of build. If Atmos can get him repaired…”  But Skyfire wasn’t sure what Atmos planned.

“You should return to the Decepticons,” Skyfire continued.  “It’s possible he went back there.”

Thundercracker nodded.  “An encrypted channel is about the best I can do to contact you.” He pinged the connection and transformed to leave.

Skywarp gave Skyfire one last look.  “This is bad, isn’t it,” he said with a frown.

Skyfire frowned.  “It’s not good.”

Skywarp turned to go.  “He asked TC for help earlier tonight.  He knew he was in trouble.”  Skywarp then transformed and followed after his trinemate.

The Skyfire dropped his helm a little and exvented, cursing Starscream and also hoping beyond hope he was alright.

Atmos was panicking.

He had teleported as many times as he felt like he could before his processor was going to fry.  Starscream was still limp against him and was still bleeding profusely.  Atmos had attempted to staunch the flow of energon, but he realized that the weapon that had wounded Starscream had a kick of UV to it.  It hurt to touch the wound.

Atmos flicked on his thrusters and flew through the air as fast as he dared while holding Starscream close against him.

He found an old airplane hangar that was being used to store old earth planes in, judging from the layer of dust.  Their metal chassis reflected Atmos’s cyan biolights and the glow of his red visor in the darkness.

Statscream was unfortunately rousing.  He twitched in Atmos's arms and then whimpered.

"I know it hurts," Atmos said.  "Just a moment," he murmured into Starscream's audial. 

Atmos laid him down on the ground and started to assess the damage.  The bullet had exploded inside Starscream’s chest leaving bits of UV irradiated shrapnel inside Starscream's abdomen.  Luckily, Atmos had taken the medical kit from Starscream’s berthroom into his subspace. 

He had begun to realize Starscream was a magnet for injury.

He found some tweezers and with unnatural speed picked the shrapnel out of his body.  He tried avoided touching it directly, but it had happened anyway.  His servos became covered in rust spots and they burned achingly.

The last bit of shrapnel gone, he worked and sealing up Starscream's lines.  He relied on knowledge here he had memorized from datapads left for him to read during his imprisonment and maybe even some of his life before all of this-

No.  Shut that away.  Terrikos was dead.

Starscream opened his pained optics meeting Atmos's visored ones.  "You should put yourself into stasis," Atmos said softly.  “It was a UV bullet that exploded inside you, but I’ve managed to get the shrapnel out."

Starscream was just wincing in pain as if he hadn’t heard the suggestion.

“Why did you do this?”  Atmos finally asked as he removed his servo and kept patching up Starscream.  His servos ached from pain as he worked to repair Starscream’s internals.

Starscream leaned his helm back.  “I don’t have a good answer for you,” he said, his vocalizer strained.  “I’ll tell you when I figure it out.”

Atmos cracked a smile despite the sentiment not being quite what he wanted to hear, but again Starscream was telling him the truth, and he appreciated it.

The hardest part was reattaching Starscream’s energon lines in his abdomen.  The more he worked, the more he felt his own thirst increase, and he felt his fans kick on with anticipation. His systems were telling him to just drink Starscream and be done with it since he was right there and already at his mercy and he just needed a little sip-

He stopped what he was doing and backed away slowly from Starscream, trying to calm his ventilations.  He was rapidly losing control of himself again, just like he had back before he had been imprisoned.  Atmos thought he was better than this, he had spent millennia practicing control over his thirst.

But maybe this was thirst tinged with something else.

Starscream watched him with concern, though his optics were still heavily dimmed with pain.  “What’s stopping you?” Starscream asked bitterly, correctly surmising the problem.

Atmos turned his helm away as his optics would not pull away from Starscream’s neck.  “I can’t trust myself to stop,” Atmos replied through clenched denta and fangs that were just a little more pronounced than usual.

Starscream stared at him.  “You’ll stop,” he said carefully.

Atmos tried to just wait, just pause, just wait, wait, wait-

Atmos moved almost involuntarily and was now on top of Starscream on all fours, looking down at the dark faceplate that had haunted him for millennia.  Starscream was still afraid, he could see, but still he looked up at Atmos, giving cautious permission with his optics.  Atmos leaned down to Starscream’s neck and kissed where the energon line was.

Starscream invented in a quiet gasp and clenched his servos but remained still.

Atmos wanted to crystalize this moment.  It was everything for him.

Maybe it wasn’t submission he was looking for.  He was seeking someone to trust him, even when he couldn’t trust himself.

It had been so long.

As gently as he could, he sunk his fangs into Starscream’s neck, sucking gently at the energon he found there.  This had always been just an attack on those he had tasted before, but now, this was more than that.  It was intimate.  It was a covenant between them; a pact of trust and understanding.

Starscream actually relaxed beneath him.  Perhaps he had made it relatively painless like he had hoped.

He was elated when he was able to stop and pull back from Starscream’s neck after only taking a little bit.  Starscream had a tired look on his faceplate but did not seem in danger.  He met Atmos’s optics and while there was still pain there from his injuries, there was something else.

Atmos smiled as Starscream slipped into forced stasis so that he could continue to work on fixing his seeker.

Chapter Text

Atmos noticed Starscream was waking up.  He was holding him with an arm draped around his waist and his back and wings up against Atmos’s chassis.

“How are you feeling?” he purred into Starscream’s audial.

“I’m fine,” he said, his vocalizer sounding like gravel.  He winced.

“Liar.”

Starscream huffed his vents.  “Why are we not back at the base?”

Atmos shifted next to him and sat up, looking down at Starscream.  “I’m not taking you back there.”

“What?” Starscream said, indignant.  “I’m a Decepticon, Atmos, my base is where I belong.”

“No. You don’t belong in a place where the leader regularly beats you,” he said, the optics behind his visor flared for a moment in brightness.

Starscream sighed.  “Is that what this is?  You’re rescuing me?” he said mockingly.

“Don’t give me that tone,” he said as he got up and walked away to check outside.

Starscream sat up, despite his frame protesting angrily.  “I don’t need you to rescue me Atmos, I’m perfectly fine to take care of myself-”

Atmos had blurred and appeared in front of the seeker on all fours, his faceplate a breath away.  “Like how you took care of yourself after Megatron beat you?  Like you saved yourself from falling to your death after being hit by an experimental weapon?” he whispered angrily.  “How is it you haven’t died already?”

Starscream lifted his chin in defiance.  “Let me rephrase.  I don’t want your help, Atmos.  It comes with a price tag that I’m not sure I feel like paying.”

Atmos scowled.  He brought his servo up and roughly grabbed Starscream’s chin.  “Would that be your energon you don’t want to pay with?  Or your frame?” he said, quirking an optic-ridge.

Starscream huffed his vents again, trying to pull his chin away, but Atmos only tightened his grip.  “Both,” he spat, his optics glaring.

“As if you could stop me,” Atmos purred, brushing his nose against the seeker’s.  Starscream’s intakes hitched a little, which only made Atmos smile harder.  “Actually,” he said, pulling his knees closer to rest on either side of the seeker’s hips.  “I think you owe me quite a bit of currency.”

Starscream’s optics narrowed.  “Not. Interested,” he groused, still unable to move in the vice-like grip of the mech before him.  Starscream attempted to push Atmos off.

Atmos grinned.  “I’m not above bribing you,” Atmos said removing his clawed servo from Starscream’s chin.  “In return for your affection, I will kill Megatron for you.”

Starscream stopped pushing.  He didn’t meet Atmos’s optics, but stared down at his lap, thinking.

Atmos was patient.  He would wait for all of the stars to burn out if he had to.

“I thought that was already our deal,” Starscream said quietly. 

Atmos tilted his helm a little.  “I believe the deal was that I would be under your authority and do as you say.  Not quite the same thing.  This would be more... immediate.”

“And a fine job you did there, Atmos!  How do I know you kill him once you get what you want?” Starscream said, looking up at him with an edge.

“How do I know you would hold up your end of the bargain if I killed him first?  You haven't exactly cured me yet.”  He smiled.

Starscream’s optics were full of the inner struggle he was going through. The seeker was incredibly attractive, and Atmos dimly wondered if he had been given this choice before, and how he had chosen.  He exvented heavily, and gave Atmos a tired look. 

“On one condition,” Starscream said quietly, and dare he hope… huskily?

Atmos could barely stop the word “anything,” from escaping his vocalizer.

“I-If I ask you to stop, I need you to do so,” Starscream said, pulling his optics up slowly across Atmos’s frame until settling on his visor.  “There is a little bit of a power discrepancy between us.”

“Gladly,” he replied.  “But I do want you to be a somewhat active participant as well.”  Starscream had clenched his jaw and gave the smallest of nods.

He leaned his helm in to slowly start kissing Starscream’s neck.  The kisses were gentle, barely touching, but Atmos felt his lips burning, searing on Starscream’s warm plating.  “Anything you prefer or don’t enjoy,” he asked, pulling out his glossa to tease the cables on Starscream’s throat.

Starscream was clenching his servo a little and his optics were trained on the ceiling.  “I… don’t mind the… biting,” Starscream finally said, and Atmos could feel Starscream’s faceplate radiating heat from some embarrassment.  The techno-organic pulled back a little at that, trying to not make the seeker feel more humiliated after the admission, but he had to acknowledge it in some way.

He… hm.  He liked it?

“Anything else?” Atmos purred.  His servo traced down the outside of the seeker’s cockpit before resting on the seeker’s abdomen.

“I prefer my valve,” Starscream said, a little rushed.  “And… nothing permanent.”

Atmos smiled, nodding.  “We are compatible then,” he replied.  He lightly grabbed Starscream’s wrists and slowly pulled them above his helm.  “I enjoy dominating,” he said demonstrating what he meant by holding Starscream’s wrists carefully.  “Would some of this behavior be acceptable?”

Starscream’s red optics were a little wider than usual as he looked up at Atmos, but he nodded mutely.

For a moment, Atmos just enjoyed looking down at Starscream, savoring the anticipation.

With one servo still pinning Starscream’s wrists, Atmos's other servo came down to gently lift Starscream’s chin with one digit.  He bent down and kissed the object of his affection reverently.

Atmos melted as he felt the seeker slowly respond.

He gripped the chin harder and kissed deeper, earning a gasp from Starscream.  How long he had hoped he could kiss him in this way, and how much this was everything he had hoped for.  Starscream smelled of iron and energon, and it excited Atmos to know that he had the seeker pinned beneath him.  Weakened.  Willing.  His.

Gently he bit the lip kissing him back, and he felt Starscream stiffen as a small amount of energon welled out against his glossa.

Atmos growled deeply.  He shifted and stopped straddling Starscream and moved to the side.  He removed his servo from Starscream’s wrists and wrapped his arms around him by the small of his back, drawing him up off the floor to gather in his lap.  Starscream was clearly trying not to resist, but his frame was tense. Maybe it was a subconscious fear that made him react this way?  Some kind of base coding that recognized that something about Atmos was dangerous to his being?

Atmos locked his lips against him again, and his glossa entered Starscream’s mouth.  Starscream returned the favor, his optics closing as he kissed Atmos.  His arms hesitantly reached up and wrapped around Atmos to hold on and draw himself closer.

Atmos could feel the heat coming off Starscream’s frame.  He was so alive, so vibrant.  He craved it.  He desired it.

Starscream gasped again.  Atmos’s fangs had extended out a little and nicked Starscream’s glossa.

“I won’t kiss you if I keep getting wounded,” Starscream murmured.

“You said you didn’t mind the biting.”

Starscream wrapped his legs around Atmos’s waist and squeezed.  “I do like the biting.  When properly applied.”

Atmos’s servo snaked up to the back of Starscream’s helm and pulled it backward, so that Starscream’s throat was bared.  Starscream exvented harshly and tried to maintain his gaze with his blazing optics.  Atmos leaned forward and ran his tongue across the cables and lines that were now exposed and heard Starscream whine at the attention.  Or was it anxiety?

Atmos held Starscream with his arm supporting his back, while his other servo traced down his cockpit, down his abdomen, then lightly, with a ghost of a touch, caressed his interface panels.  He removed lips from his neck, and whispered, “Will you open for me?”

Starscream glared at him as best he could as his helm was still pulled back.  “Make me,” he said, arching an optic-ridge.

“Are you sure you want that?”

Starscream’s glare hardened, and Atmos realized that Starscream was having trouble allowing himself to acquiesce.  He wanted Atmos to take more control.

The thought increased his arousal dramatically, and he growled.

His digits pressed against Starscream’s panels, rubbing at the seams of the codpiece.  He could hear Starscream’s intakes increase and his attempt to stifle a moan.  He bared his denta in a small hiss and his optics were dimming in need.

It seemed Starscream was an incredibly stubborn mech.  He was clearly in a state with his sparkbeats accelerating and his faceplate flushed, but still his panels remained closed.  His servos scrambled against Atmo’s armor, trying to scratch him, push him away, and pull him closer at the same time.  His face was screwed into something tight, not completely enraptured but also not completely a grimace.

Atmos’s own need was pressing against his panels and he was quickly growing frustrated.  He bared his fangs against Starscream’s neck and slowly pressed them against the protoflesh he found there.  He didn’t completely bite, but Starscream definitely felt the fangs touch him as he shivered and tried to turn away.

He extended his fangs more and bit down on the neck slowly.  Starscream whined, but wrapped a servo around Atmos's neck, almost encouraging the bite.

Atmos wondered if Starscream was becoming addicted to being bitten.

He released the neck, licking the energon off his fangs.  “Your panels,” Atmos growled, pressing his digits harder against the codpiece.

Starscream whimpered then and obediently retracted his interface panel.  Atmos could feel the wet valve now on his lap and his servo wasted no time in touching it.  Starscream’s mouth was now open, and he was panting a little.

Atmos reverently lay Starscream down onto the ground.  He removed his servo from his helm and Starscream took the opportunity to look down at Atmos’s panels, seemingly surprised that his were not retracted yet.  “Patience,” Atmos said, delighting in the slightly hungry look Starscream gave him back.

He was now over top of Starscream and he leaned down to kiss him again.  Starscream was less hesitant this time, and seemed to welcome the kiss, tilting his helm to fit better.  Atmos pulled back, and Starscream chased his lips a little before settling back down with a small pout.

Atmos then pulled back onto his knees and positioned himself between Starscream’s legs.  He leaned down slowly so that his face was down between Starscream’s thighs and nuzzled his anterior nose with his nose, holding onto his knee to keep him spread apart.

Starscream flinched with surprise.  “What-”

Atmos used his glossa to lick a stripe of oral lubricant onto the valve before him.  He could taste Starscream, and he could feel Starscream’s thighs twitch.  There was a faint gasp from him and Atmos smiled.

He hummed and then flicked his glossa against the anterior node.  Starscream gave a strangled moan.  He gave Atmos a look of surprise mingled with want and watched him with wide optics.  Atmos continued to lick, maintaining his gaze with Starscream.  It was powerful between them, and Atmos could barely contain his excitement.

He felt the compelling pull to bite at that moment.  He pulled away from Starscream’s node, and instead lovingly sunk his fangs into the inside of Starscream’s thigh.  Starscream cried out then, writhing a little under Atmos’s fangs.  The look in his optics was now twinged with some fear.  He tried to sit up and push Atmos away from sucking on his thigh, but his efforts were weak.  Atmos was easily able to push him back with his free servo into relaxing again.

The compulsion to bite had passed and he went back to licking and lapping into Starscream’s valve.  Starscream moaned again and had brought his servos up to hold the sides of his helm in ecstasy.

“I thought-” Starscream gasped.  “This is not usually what mechs mean when they say they want to dominate me,” he rasped.

Atmos darted his tongue inside Starscream’s valve.  “What better way to dominate you than force you to take pleasure?” he said.  “Remember to tell me to stop if I need to.”  He gave Starscream a pointed look.

Starscream shook his helm slowly.  “No, stopping.”

Atmost went back to tasting him.

Starscream raised his hips to increase the pressure Atmos was putting on his valve.  Atmos hummed appreciatively to begin sucking in earnest.  He used his servo to brace up and cup Starscream’s aft, so that he would stay in that position.  That made Starscream throw back his helm with a broken moan, tinged with static, overloading on Atmos’s tongue.  Starscream quivered as the aftershocks of his overload reverberated in his valve.

Atmos pulled back and took stock of his prey.  A little bit of energon stained his thigh from the puncture marks there.  Starscream’s helm was tilted to the side coquettishly and he was struggling to catch his vents.  His optics were still trained on Atmos, watching him warily, but he looked blissful and relaxed finally.  His wings were beautifully fanned out underneath him, and they twitched a little.  Atmos gently let his aft go down to the floor, giving it a tight squeeze.

He leaned over Starscream and retracted his interface panel.  He reached down and pumped his own spike, the cyan biolights on it blinking rapidly.  Starscream invented harshly, seeing the lust on Atmos’s face and tensing.  At first, Atmos just rubbed his spike against Starscream’s valve opening, coating it in his valve lubricant.  Starscream was practically writhing now, watching with dim optics and his mouth hung open in need.

Atmos then grabbed his spike and coaxed his glistening head into Starscream slowly.  It was a tight fit, and Starscream needed time to adjust based on his keening whine.  Atmos pulled back a little then thrust in more.

“Atmos!” Starscream cried.

Atmos lost himself then.  He started to thrust in earnest, barely hearing the broken moans below him.  Starscream tried to use his claws to scrape at him, but Atmos grabbed his servos and held them above Starscream’s helm, pinning him back.  He felt Starscream attempt to resist in his grasp, but Atmos had no trouble holding firm while his spike invaded the clench of his valve.

Starscream wrapped his legs around Atmos’s waist, pulling him closer and hilting him fully inside.  Atmos continued his punishing pace and could feel his servos bruising the metal under his servos.

Starscream could probably sense that Atmos was about to overload and smiled smugly up at him.  This triggered something in Atmos, and he wanted to bite him again.  Instead, he pulled out, eliciting an indignant squawk from Starscream.  Atmos roughly flipped him over to his stomach, pressing his helm into the ground and lifting his aft up against his spike.

He found his valve again and continued his thrusting with renewed vigor.

Starscream was moaning still, his servos clenching and scrambling on the ground, trying to find purchase.  Atmos growled and his thrusts became harder and stronger.  He grabbed one of Starscream’s arms and twisted it behind his back, drawing a mewled cry from Starscream’s throat.

Starscream overloaded again, his frame trembling and clenching harder around Atmos.  That finally drove Atmos to his own overload.  He grabbed him around the waist and gave one final hard thrust.  He overloaded with moan, and filled Starscream to the brim with his transfluid, feeling it spurt out of him and even drip out of him and down his thighs.  He paused there, panting, letting the overload wash over him.  The warm frame of Starscream beneath him was shivering in pleasure and exhaustion.

He pulled out with a grunt, inspecting his frame for the scratches and dents Starscream had managed to give him in the throes of their lovemaking.  Starscream’s knees collapsed, unable to hold himself up anymore and he lay there panting and spent on the ground.

“Are you alright?” Atmos asked quietly with concern.

Starscream nodded emphatically, still panting.  Atmos chuckled and lay down next to him and draped his arms around him.

“That was everything I had hoped it would be,” Atmos purred against the spent frame of Starscream.  Starscream was still trying to calm his vents and trembled.  “I had imagined it so often while I was imprisoned.”  He ran a digit across Starscream’s back between his wings.

Starscream tried to push himself up, but his arms wouldn’t cooperate.  Atmos then realized he had been too rough with him as he was already recovering from his wounds.  He felt guilty. He gently pulled Starscream up and helped him turn so that he could at least lean against the wall.  Starscream didn’t utter a sound or resist the help.  His servos shook a little, and Atmos held them for a time, rubbing the backs with his thumb.

Starscream’s optics looked distant and maybe a little unfocused.  He wasn’t looking at Atmos; he just stared into nothing as if processing the threshold they had just crossed. 

Atmos wondered if he already regretted it.

He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Starscream and held him in an embrace up against his chassis, pressing a kiss to the top of his helm.  “I apologize.  It was too much.”

Starscream quietly shook his helm, leaning his cheek against Atmos’s chest with a brief smile.  “It was a lot.  Not too much.”

Atmos nodded.  “Regardless.  I was far too eager.  I… didn’t expect you to ever say yes.”

Starscream closed his optics.  “I didn’t expect I would either.  Or take a bullet for you for that matter.”

“Why did you say yes?” Atmos wasn’t sure he actually wanted to hear the answer to this.  “I know my condition repulses you.”

Starscream said nothing for a time, but his optics opened to stare off into nothing.  Atmos held his vents, waiting for an answer.    

“Why me?” Starscream asked quietly.  “Why did you say you chose me?  I don’t understand you Atmos.  I imprisoned you for millions of years.”

Atmos considered the question.  Atmos's had felt himself drawn to Starscream and Skyfire when they had first landed on his planet.  They represented hope to him, but it had turned into so much more. 

“I needed to be imprisoned,” he said after a while.  “I needed to be stopped.  You did it.  You outwitted me even when my entire planet couldn’t stop me.  And… you are the one who came back.”

Starscream sighed.  “Skyfire is the one who would have returned first, given the chance.”

“But he didn’t.”

Starscream looked up at him with pain in his optics.  “He would have.  The accident prevented him from doing so.”

Atmos knit his brow in confusion.  “Accident?”

Starscream’s wings drooped a little behind him.  “Not terribly long after we left you, we came to this exact planet.” Starscream sighed.  “Back then, it was covered in ice.  We underestimated the strength of the storms… and I lost him.”

Atmos frowned.  “Lost him?”

“In the snow and ice.  I lost him.”  Starscream was very still now and remained quiet for a few moments.  This… was surprising to Atmos.  When he knew them on his home planet, and even as they dragged him across space looking for a suitable prison for him, he had known the pair as extremely close.  He had known they were dedicated to each other with their soft looks and caring touches.  He had been jealous of their relationship, and wanted a piece of it for his own.

Those precious moments that he had seen had fueled him while imprisoned. 

“That… must have killed you,” Atmos said sadly.

Starscream relaxed against Atmos more.  “More than you know.”

“Then what happened?”

Starscream snorted.  “Fragging war happened.  I finally made it back to Cybertron, alone.  No one cared that he had been lost in the ice, not when Megatron was getting the whole planet to revolt.  The Seekers chose the Decepticons, and therefore so did I.  Eventually, I made it up through the ranks. War was almost won on Cybertron, and then we left to pursue the Autobots.  Ended up here of all places.  We keep trying to find sources of energy to help fix Cybtertron but the Autobots keep interfering.  Eventually, I was able to find Skyfire again.”

Atmos pushed his lips against Starscream’s helm again.  “And then he chose the Autobots.  After all you went through.”

Starscream sagged more, his face contorting.  “But of course he did, Atmos.  I didn’t give him much choice.  The kind, dedicated, and curious shuttle scientist hadn’t aged a day when we woke him up.  He could never had been a Decepticon.  I still forced him to choose anyway.”

Atmos understood then.  Starscream had been faced with the reality of how he had changed, and then tried to force Skyfire to deal with it.  The tragedy of their situation must have hurt them both deeply.

“So you were… also alone for much of my imprisonment.  On your way back to Cybertron.”

Starscream’s optics were distant.  “I almost went back to you to ask you to kill me.  Poetic justice or something.”

Atmos said nothing.  He wasn’t sure he would have ripped Starscream apart or asked to make love to him. 

He still wasn’t totally sure what he ultimately wanted.

The urge to bite flared again.  He didn’t need the energon; he had taken plenty from Starscream’s thigh and neck.  In fact, he could tell Starscream was very weak and likely would not do well if he bit him again.  Still, the ache in his fangs was annoying.  He felt able to control it, and decided to focus on Starscream's needs instead.  He unsubspaced an energon ration he had received at the base, but of course had not taken.  He offered it to Starscream, who took it quietly and drank without comment.

“You would have rather died than live without him.”

Starscream finished his cube and looked into the bottom of it, now empty.   “But.  Ultimately, I endured.  I still endure.”

“Do you still want him?”

Starscream turned his helm to look at Atmos then.  He was in so much pain, Atmos realized.  It was a turmoil of millions of years culminated into a failed reunion.  Starscream must have been so excited to have Skyfire back in his life. 

Something like how Atmos had wanted them.

“I don’t know what you are asking,” Starscream lied, breaking the gaze.

They sat there for some time in silence before Starscream’s frame relaxed and he fell into recharge.

Chapter Text

Skyfire had been interrogated more times than when he had first defected to the Autobots.

Just being seen talking to Thundercracker and Skywarp in the sky had made all of the Autobots extremely wary, despite proving himself over and over with them.  He knew what they were thinking; the old flight-frame prejudices ran deep, especially in Autobot circles.  It didn’t help they were aware of his previous… entanglements with Starscream.  Talking to his trinemates had spurned Prowl and much of the rest of command into anxiety.

It didn’t help Jazz was unconscious.

He answered the questions the same way.  The weapon would have worked, but he missed, and… Starscream got hit instead.  No, he did not think Starscream was dead.  No, this was not planned.  No, he was not planning to join the Decepticons. No, he was not conspiring with Thundercracker or Skywarp.

Most of the questions actually were “no.”

He was trying to keep his temper in check.  He didn’t have time for this.

As soon as he was cleared, he immediately went back to work creating UV weapons and traps that he could use to capture Atmos and subdue him.  But the idea of using lethal force was becoming more and more…

Palatable.

He was having trouble recharging.  Every time he shuttered his optics he saw Starscream falling out of the sky with that soft look of disappointment on his faceplate.  Skyfire thought he had no right to care about Starscream; he had tried to wall off that part of him once he had decided to go against Starscream’s commands in the arctic.  But he was aware enough to know that his obsession with stopping Atmos wasn’t entirely due to the techno-organic’s danger to the Cybertronian race.  He could… admit that.

Some part of him would always care about Starscream he supposed.  He couldn’t abandon the feeling even though he had tried.

He didn’t dare contact Thundercracker right away.  Skyfire knew he was being watched carefully and his communications were likely being monitored.  Even if the channel was encrypted, he didn’t want to risk it.

Wheeljack had tried to come by and talk to him.  He was concerned that Skyfire was obsessing.  His usual work in the science bay was mounting up.  Skyfire had just hardened his jaw and said he would get to it.

He was so angry, and he really didn’t understand why.  Starscream knew the dangers that Atmos posed, but he still released him and now he was paying the consequences for it.  Skyfire was worried that the next time he saw Starscream, he would either be dead or… worse.

A monitor beeped nearby.  Atmos must have wandered close to one of his scanning devices he had placed out near energon sources that were in the same vicinity as where they had tested the weapon.  Skyfire had assumed that Starscream would need energon from the wounds he had sustained, and Atmos would likely go and get it. 

Skyfire grabbed his UV gear and stalked out of the Autobot base.

It was time to go hunting.

Thundercracker and Skywarp were walking quickly to the throne room.  Starscream and Atmos had yet to return to the base, and Thundercracker knew that Megatron was going to want to know why.

Thundercracker had submitted his report outlining the details, but he knew Megatron would want to hear it from their own lip components.  “Just… let me do the talking,” he said to Skywarp who was practically vibrating with anticipation.

“He’s gonna know-”

“Know what?  Nothing we submitted was false.”

“Yeah, but it’s not everything either.”

Thundercracker rolled his optics.  “Megatron doesn’t need everything,” he whispered.  “Just… try and be quiet, ‘Warp.”

They entered the throne room with Soundwave watching them closely.

“Ah yes.  I suppose the mission was a failure then,” Megatron said stoically with a datapad in hand.

“Yes, Lord Megatron,” Thundercracker said with a bow.  “We were not able to retrieve the weapon or destroy it, and Starscream was wounded in the battle.”

“Fatally?”

“…likely not,” Thundercracker added with a shrug.  As if he didn’t care.

“Yes.  Likely… not.  You’re telling me Skyfire shot at him?”

Thundercracker tried not to hesitate.  “Yes, my Lord, it was Skyfire who shot him.”

Megatron’s faceplate flickered with amusement.  “Not what I asked.  Your twisting of words needs work, Thundercracker.”

Thundercracker felt a chill descend down his back but didn’t comment further.  Skywarp shifted at his side. 

“So Starscream was shot, and not fatally.  How bad was it?”

“He… fell out of the sky, my Lord.  It was bad.”

“And fell in a heap on the ground, presumably.”

Thundercracker’s optic twitched.  It was all in his report, which Megatron was holding in his servo.  This kind of scrutiny was not something Thundercracker experienced from Megatron.  Starscream usually took up most of the attention.

“No, my Lord.  Atmos… caught him.  Then disappeared.”

Megatron’s light smile deepened.  “I see,” he said casting a conspiratorial look to Soundwave.  “Interesting.”

Thundercracker was angry then but not really sure why.  He ground his denta in an attempt to keep his voice quiet.

“Well.  If Starscream does return, make sure to inform me immediately,” Megatron said, dismissing them with a wave of a servo.

Thundercrakcer and Skywarp bowed and left the room.  Once they crossed the door, Skywarp breathed a held vent.

“Slag, Thundercracker, Starscream is insane to try and mess with Megatron as often as he does.”

Thundercracker frowned.  “I think it might be more of a mutual provocation than I had originally thought,” he replied quietly.

Atmos smiled up at Skyfire with a ridiculous grin.  “You caught me.”  His voice was kind of surprised and amused at the same time.

Skyfire had been able to set a trap, knowing Atmos was stalking around Autobot energon warehouse.  While Atmos had been able to avoid a UV bullet, he had not been able to avoid a UV-irradiated net.  Skyfire had shot it out of a spring-loaded gun and pinned Atmos to the ground.

Skyfire frowned.  “Where is Starscream?” he said, menacingly.

“He’s where he wants to be,” Atmos replied easily.  Even though he was pinned and bound up in the net, he seemed like he was in complete control.

Like he wanted to be captured.

Skyfire raised his gun, training it on Atmos’s face.  “Atmos.  You aren’t in control of yourself.  We can get you the help you need, I promise.  Please,” Skyfire said desperately.  “Please tell me where he is?”

Atmos’ smile faded.  “… do you actually care?”

“Of course I care!" Skyfire's voice cracked.  "Despite everything… he wasn't supposed to get hurt.  Even you; the weapon wouldn’t have killed you.  I just wanted a chance to… stop you.  But if I can analyze you in a lab, I might be able to reverse this for you, Atmos.  No one deserves what happened to you.  Not even you.”

Atmos pulled back with confusion.  His orangey red optics were glowing through his visor and watching him carefully.  “Such sentiment.  I’m surprised.  But then again, I suppose we do have more in common than I originally thought."

Skyfire really didn't like the friendly tone.  It made him think again that he didn’t mind his precarious situation.

"What do you mean?"

"Both of us have been out of the main theater of things for so long, haven't we Skyfire?  Forced to wake up into a war we have nothing to do with and now forced to fight in it."

Skyfire considered these words carefully.  It was true.  Skyfire had been trapped in the ice for almost as long as Atmos had been trapped in the prison.  Skyfire had at least been in stasis.  He couldn't imagine what it would have been like to be awake for it all.

"We were going to come back for you."

"So I've… heard," Atmos replied, carefully.   

 Skyfire knit his brow in confusion.  “He told you that?” Fear gripped his spark.  “Atmos, is… is Starscream okay?”

Atmos watched Skyfire carefully.  “He’s wounded, but he’s alive.”

“Did you… turn him?”

Atmos’s mouth twitched.  “No.  I have not attempted to turn anyone.”

Skyfire breathed a sigh of relief.  He desperately wanted to believe Atmos, and for some reason he thought he could.  He lowered his gun.

“Take me to him.”

Atmos tilted his helm.  “That would require you… releasing me.”

Skyfire frowned.  As much as he hated to admit it, he knew this had been likely.  “I will let you go if you take me to Starscream.  I need to know that he is alright.”

Atmos watched him again for a moment.  “It is truly sad what happened to you two.”  Before Skyfire could ask what he meant, Atmos said, “I accept your terms.”

Skyfire carefully walked over to him and released the UV bindings.  Atmos shrugged them off, inspecting some of his protoflesh where the bindings had seared and rusted the upper layers.  Atmos then stepped close to him, causing Skyfire to flinch.

“I will need to touch you,” Atmos said with a smile.  “We will be teleporting.”

Skyfire frowned as he forced himself to relax.  Atmos smiled wilder and reached out to grab Skyfire’s wrist and pull him close as they disappeared into nothing.

When they arrived, they were inside a hangar.  Atmos clung to Skyfire for a klik longer than was strictly necessary.  Skyfire went to push him off, but in an instant Atmos had jumped away with a laugh.  Skyfire narrowed his optics, not sure what game Atmos was playing at.  Last time they had seen each other, Atmos had been downright murderous towards Skyfire.  Now he was almost… playful.

He looked around the dim and dusty hangar.  He then saw Starscream on the ground on some tarps.

Skyfire threw a glance at Atmos who was just watched him as he leaned against the wall, folding his arms across his chassis.

Skyfire walked quickly to Starscream and knelt down beside him.  He checked him for wounds and found that he had been patched up pretty well.  He still looked a little rough with some dented metal in some places, but he seemed to just be in recharge.

Starscream stirred and onlined his red optics, noticing Skyfire.  His optics went wide, and he looked around the room before settling on Atmos.  He glared at him but said nothing before turning back to Skyfire.  “Why are you here?”

“I needed to know you were alright.”

Starscream softened a little.  “I’m fine, Skyfire.  I have this under control.”

He looked so tired.  Exhausted, actually; it was as if he hadn’t recharged in days.  Skyfire didn’t think it was just related to his wound.  There were fresh puncture marks on his neck.  Upon seeing Skyfire’s gaze, Starscream moved a servo up to cover them.  “It’s under control.”

“Like slag it is,” Skyfire said angrily.  “You were drinking from him while he was wounded?” He threw his glare to Atmos who looked amused.  Skyfire’s wings flared back, making him look larger than he already was.  He saw Starscream wince.  “I’m going to fragging rip your fangs out of your mouth,” he spat.

“Sky,” Starscream said, sitting up. The old nickname came out almost on accident and it wrenched Skyfire’s spark to hear it.  “Skyfire.  His servos were wounded when he was repairing me from the UV bullet.  I gave him permission.”

Skyfire didn’t want to be placated.  He grit his denta and stood, staring at Atmos.  “What is this?  What do you even want anymore?  I don’t understand what is going on.”

Atmos blurred and appeared next to Starscream, wrapping a protective arm around him.  The familiarity made Skyfire’s tanks lurch.  “Starscream and I have come to an agreement,” he said, looking up at Skyfire with a smirk.

Skyfire frowned.  “What could you possibly have agreed on?”

Starscream sighed and gave Skyfire a weary expression.  He did not shrug or push Atmos off, which only further unnerved Skyfire.  “He’s going to kill Megatron for me.  And we’re going to end the fragging war.”

Maybe Skyfire was supposed to be surprised or elated.  He just sagged.  “I feel like I have heard this song somewhere before, Starscream.”

Starscream frowned.  “It’s going to work this time.  You know how powerful Atmos is.”

“At. What. Cost.”  Skyfire knew he was radiating rage.  He was beyond upset.

Starscream clenched his jaw.  “…nothing I am not prepared to give,” he replied, quietly.

Atmos turned his helm and leaned his face into the side of Starscream’s helm, nuzzling it.

Skyfire felt his spark break. 

“Starscream…” he said sadly.  But Starscream’s optics had hardened.  He saw some sadness there too, but also an acceptance of the way things were.

“I… I will help.  I want to stay and help,” Skyfire heard himself say.

Atmos’s knowing smile made him want to punch something.  This was clearly what he had wanted all along.

Starscream looked stricken.  “Forgive me if I’m… suspicious,” Starscream drawled.  “I’ve asked for your help before.”

“The cause is more worthy now.  The sooner Megatron is out of the way, the sooner Atmos can be on his way too.”

Atmos grinned bigger now and gave a small kiss to Starscream’s cheek.  Starscream turned slightly to give Atmos a small, unsure glance.  “I think he is well-motivated,” Atmos purred, his optics not straying from Skyfire.

“You’re wounded,” Starscream said, noticing the marks on Atmos’s arms and frame from the UV net.

“He’ll live,” Skyfire said.

Atmos showed Skyfire the damage.  “These won’t heal until I feed.  The UV net also burned through my stores of energon.  I’m quite peckish actually.”

Starscream looked slightly uncomfortable for a moment, weighing something in his mind. He then turned his helm, baring his neck to Atmos.  Atmos looked fondly at the neck and had begun to lean in.

“No,” Skyfire breathed.  “No, if you require energon you can drink from me.”

Starscream blanched.  “Absolutely not,” he said, his voice stern.  “I agreed-”

“I’m also allowed to make these decisions for myself.  Atmos, drink from me.  We’ll get you repaired and get you back to killing Megatron.  Then we will cure you.”

“Mechs, mechs, there is plenty of me to go around,” Atmos chuckled.  He gave Starscream a kiss on the neck, which made Skyfire almost choke.   “But I think I will drink from Skyfire.  I’ve been dying to know what he tastes like.”

Atmos was unnervingly slow in how he stood up and then walked towards Skyfire.  “You might want to take a seat, Skyfire.  You wouldn’t want to faint from that height.”

Skyfire slowly sat down on the ground watching Atmos carefully.  He walked like a mech who was getting everything he wanted, and no one could stop him.  Starscream watched him too, looking increasingly nervous.  “Skyfire, you don’t have to do this.  I can handle him.”

Skyfire kept his optics fixed on Starscream even as Atmos had closed the distance and was now standing in front of him.  “Let me help,” he said.

Atmos was on him in a flash.

Skyfire recoiled when he felt the fangs sink into his neck, painful and quick.  Atmos was practically in his lap, embracing him with a hold around his chassis that was tight.  He felt so cold against Skyfire, it was almost a shock.  He could hear him sucking on his neck and rapidly Skyfire was weakening.  His arms that were trying to push Atmos off eventually fell to his side and his optics fluttered a little. 

Starscream yelled out something, but Skyfire couldn’t quite make it out.  Starscream was struggling to get to his pedes but was clearly having a bad time of it.  He looked so worried, and it pained Skyfire to see him like that.

Atmos was holding him up now.  The hold slackened a little and Atmos gently let him lay down backward while still sucking at his neck.  Distantly, Skyfire thought he was now being incredibly gentle. 

Things settled into a warm quiet, and then there was only darkness.

Chapter Text

“He had better be alright,” Starscream croaked, cradling Skyfire’s helm in his lap.  His voice was hoarse from the yelling.

Atmos chuckled.  “I admit I was a little rough in the beginning.  But I got excited.”

Starscream pursed his lips into a tight line.  “I didn’t want him involved,” he said sadly, stroking Skyfire’s helm. 

“He got himself involved.  For you.  Trying to save you from me,” Atmos said with a smile.  “Wonder why he never thought to save you from Megatron.”

Starscream clenched his jaw.  “Atmos,” Starscream said.  “You’re trying my patience.”

To his surprise, Atmos actually did quiet down.  He merely sat there watching Starscream with a knowing look.

Starscream sighed.  “Skyfire doesn’t know about Megatron.  Not really.  Everyone thinks they understand what it is between Megatron and I, and he’s probably let the Autobots fill him in on the gaps. But even if he did understand, there wouldn’t be anything he could do because I’m not leaving the Decepticons until I lead them.”

Atmos sighed.  “Megatron is going to kill you in the end.”

Starscream slowly looked up from Skyfire and locked his seething optics with Atmos.  “Do you doubt your own abilities then?  Because he can’t kill me if he’s dead, Atmos.”

Atmos stared back, tension running in his lines.  Oh, he was irritated with Starscream.  How quickly the honeymoon phase was over.  It was only a matter of time. 

Atmos exvented angrily.  “No.  I will kill him for you.”

“Good,” Starscream said.  He had given up enough to get where they were now, and he wasn’t going to stop just because of some techno-organic’s misplaced concern.  “Let’s go back now,” Starscream said, gently laying Skyfire’s unconscious helm on the ground.  “No use waiting any longer.”

“You are still quite weak-”

“I can heal back under the tender care of a real medic,” Starscream spat as he stood.  He swayed a little and clenched his jaw as his chest still slagging hurt.  The pain galvanized him. 

So did the prone form of Skyfire laying on the ground.

Atmos was beside him in an instant, holding him.  Starscream hissed and tried to push him away.  “I don’t need your help-“ but then he did, because the pain in his chest increased and his helm began to swim. 

He almost blacked out again, and he realized he was worse off than he had realized.  He wasn’t healing right.  That thought made him panic a little because the only thing that had changed was his… closeness to Atmos.  Atmos said he was able to control his condition from affecting other mecha, but he also had reason to lie about it.  Was the constant feeding a problem? 

Starscream… hoped not.  Surely not.  He had begun to realize he liked the wave of euphoria that followed after Atmos’s fangs sunk into his lines, and it wasn’t a terribly bad experience-   

Atmos was saying something to him, stroking his cheek and looking into his optics.  Starscream could barely make out the words as he squinted, weakly falling deeper into Atmos’s grasp.  His odd concern was almost touching if it wasn’t still terrifying to be this close to him.

After a few minutes of silence, Starscream was finally able to get a hold of himself.  “I don’t want you to drink from him again.  Just me.”

“I can’t promise that.”

“Please, Atmos.  Please,” Starscream said, his voice raw.  “Please don’t hurt him.”

Atmos clenched his jaw.  “I don’t plan on it.  I’ve grown attached to him as well.  And I know how much he means to you.”

Starscream closed his optics, choosing to ignore the idea that he had anyone he cared about like that.  If he did, he could be hurt.  He was done being weak.  “It’s time to leave.” 

He pushed out of Atmos’s hold and began to walk out of the hangar with a limp, rushing before he changed his mind.  He planned to send an anonymous comm message to the Autobots telling them of Skyfire’s location and telling them to bring a medic once they were in the air.

“We’re just… leaving him?” Atmos said looking over his shoulder.  “I rather hoped we would get to keep him.”

Starscream bristled.  “We’re going back to the base to kill Megatron.  We don’t need Skyfire for that.”

Atmos gave one more lingering look to Skyfire which made Starscream anxious.  Atmos had been nearly ready to kill Skyfire not too long ago… what had changed his mind so quickly?  As far as he was concerned, Skyfire was still the biggest threat to Atmos that existed because of his understanding of his weaknesses and his misplaced concern for Starscream’s well-being.

Though Atmos’s words from earlier did bother him.  Why did Skyfire suddenly care about him?  Was it some kind of odd jealousy that he had something developing with Atmos?

Something.  He internally seethed.  Starscream didn’t have the mental capacity for this right now.  He was consumed enough by the plots and machinations of his goals; he couldn’t afford to be distracted by… whatever this was.

Skyfire groaned and began to rouse. 

Starscream could have just punched something at that moment.

“Star?” he said weakly, pulling a servo to his helm.  “Primus, how much did he take?” he muttered to himself.

Starscream almost snorted.  He had said something similar the first time Atmos had fed off of him.

“How are you feeling?” Atmos asked, smooth as silk.  Starscream glared and him and took a few pained steps back towards Skyfire to try and step between them.

Skyfire sat up and looked at him.  “I’m… fine- were you leaving?” he asked angrily.  “You can’t-“

“We are going back to the Decepticons,” Starscream replied tiredly.  “I don’t think you would exactly be welcome there.”

Atmos shifted a little beside him and Starscream shot him a glare.  “Don’t.”

“I was just thinking.” Atmos had tilted his helm with an annoying smile.  “Perhaps we could take him prisoner?  It might make Megatron more likely to accept us back without too many questions.”

Starscream wanted to strangle him.

“I wouldn’t be opposed.  Given that you help me escape when the time comes,” Skyfire said, thoughtfully.

“NO ONE IS TAKING ANYONE PRISONER,” Starscream screeched.  “You are going back to the Autobots and forgetting about this… partnership or whatever you two have dreamed up.  You will only get in the way.”

Skyfire sighed and gave Starscream that look of disappointment again.  The same one that didn’t do things to him, of course.

“Skyfire.” Starscream’s voice was pleading now.  “I’m fine.  I have this under control.”

Skyfire’s look deepened and he shifted his gaze to Atmos.  “Take me prisoner with you then.  Curry favor with Megatron.  Then when you are ready to move forward with your plan, I can assist.”

Starscream was losing control of the situation.  If he only just felt less weak, they would be listening to him.  “This is not happening-“

Atmos placed a heavy servo on Starscream’s shoulder.  “Consider him a back-up plan.  If he were to suddenly get free from the brig, there would be an emergency to try and find him and get him back, right?  It would be a perfect distraction.”

Skyfire nodded.  “And if you don’t take me with you, I’m going to ruin your plans as best I can.”

Starscream growled in impotent rage.  He was being manipulated by these two mechs and he knew he couldn’t stop them. 

“Megatron is going to assume this is a trick.  He’s going to hurt you.”  Starscream’s voice was raspy, and he thought just a little too soft for his liking.

“I can handle Megatron,” Skyfire said with an edge.

Starscream was just so tired.  He didn’t have the time or energy to convince them to take Megatron more seriously.  He was also trying to step around the issue of why he wanted to protect Skyfire in all of this, because he wasn’t exactly sure himself.  And it appeared Atmos was going to go around him to involve Skyfire for some (likely nefarious) reason, so he might as well acquiesce.

“Fine.  Just- fine,” he said, exventing.  His helm was swimming again and he swayed on his pedes but managed to catch himself.

Skyfire was standing weakly and trying to get to him.  Atmos was also stepping closer to him.

How quaint.  He had two mechs who wanted to help him and he wanted neither of them.  He waved them both off with an angry huff.  He turned on his pede to angrily exit the hangar.

Atmos pulled out some stasis cuffs and showed them to Skyfire.  “Let’s bring you back in these and then we can figure out things from there.”

“At the very least… you are going to protect him, right?” Skyfire asked.

Atmos’s red optics were shining through his visor.  “I am going to protect him with my life,” Atmos replied quietly.

Skyfire swallowed.  “Then, at least on that, we can agree.”

The stasis cuffs clinked into place on his wrists, and he allowed Atmos to drag him out of the hangar.

“And so, you have returned to me.  With a gift,” Megatron said smiling from his throne.  He was all grins and denta up there, looking down on them with something akin to amusement.

But it was more predatory than that.

“I was wounded, Mighty Megatron.  But Atmos managed to find the culprit and decided he would make a good apology gift,” Starscream replied with as much obsequience as he could pour into his tired vocalaizer.

“Apology?”

Atmos smirked.  “For being away for so long and failing the mission.”

Megatron removed his servo from under his chin to lightly tap the armrest of his throne.  “I’m quite pleased with this gift, actually,” he replied, giving Starscream a significant look.  “If we can’t have the weapon, then then creator of the weapon is almost as good.  You would do well to learn from Atmos’s thinking on this, my Second.”

Starscream grit his denta, more for show than anything else.  “Of course, my lord,” he replied with a pained bow.

“Go to the infirmary then,” Megatron said with a wave.  “I am no longer amused by your wincing.”

Starscream nodded and turned.  “Come, traitor,” he said to Skyfire.  “Let’s get you to the brig.”

“I think he will stay here a few minutes longer,” Megatron said, lifting his chin in a dangerous smile.

Starscream internally cursed.  He couldn’t let Megatron know he was nervous about leaving Skyfire alone with him.  He shrugged and turned, giving Atmos a significant look.  “I await your next orders then, my lord.”

Starscream turned and left in a huff.

Chapter Text

"Ah, Air Commander.  So glad you could make it back-" Hook began with obvious sarcasm.  But he stopped.  "…Starscream?" he said with odd concern.  His optics were wide behind his visor, looking over Starscream's frame with disgust.

Starscream was swaying again.  "I'm sure it's fine, Hook, just- just… get me patched up." His voice got quieter and quieter as he let himself fall into a medical berth.

"You look like absolute slag," he heard Hook say irritably.  And it was quite rude of him; of course he looked like slag- why else would he be in the medbay?  "What happened?!"

"Pierced by a UV high-caliber bullet," Starscream said matter-of-factly.  "Atmos patched me up."

Speaking of Atmos.  Starscream sent a hurried comm to him, asking what was happening in the throne room without him.  There wasn't a response.

Hook pulled out a medical scanner and took some readings on Starscream's damage.  "Your healing has stalled," he said, pulling out some nanites.  He began to do an infusion of enriched energon, and Starscream realized it was serious.  He didn't usually use such precious resources on patients.

He honestly felt fine, though.  He was tired, of course.  He was in pain, but it was more of a dull ache than anything else.  He didn't feel as bad as Hook was reacting, and he frowned.

"Maybe… an infection?" Starscream asked quietly, squinting.  

Hook looked at him.  "Do you have reason to believe you might be infected with something?" Hook asked suspiciously, even as he was drawing a vile of his energon from his veins.

"I… am not sure."  He didn’t quite recognize the frightened timbre of his voice.

Hook sighed.  "You are always the hypochondriac."  He threw the sample into a centrifuge analyzer and went back to examining Starscream's frame.  "You… had an interesting couple of days, didn't you?"

Starscream noticed Hook’s glance at his interface panels, perhaps noticing the scuff marks, and chose not to dignify that with a response.  "Just get me back in working order," he growled.

Hook arched an optic ridge but went back to patching him up.

Starscream commed Atmos again, and he didn't answer.  He balled his fist in anxiety.

Hook made a weird face when he got to Starscream's neck.  "You… uh want me to buff out those bite marks?" he said, clearly trying to hide his amusement.

Starscream quickly clamped a servo on his neck and tried to hide the rising heat from his faceplate.  "N-no!" he said with anger.  The thought of losing those bites sounded… horrible to him. 

He dimly thought Atmos would be upset.

Wait.

Why did he… care?

He slowly pulled down his servo from his neck and stared into the middle distance.  What the frag was going on?  He was changing… somehow.  He didn't think he was becoming like Atmos per se, but something about this didn't… feel like him.  He commed Atmos again, desiring him to be nearby.

Again.  WHY.

:You alright?: came the terse reply.  :You've been spamming my comms, Starscream.  I'm taking Skyfire to the brig.:

Starscream sighed in relief. :He's… alright?:

He heard Atmos sigh.  :You are pathetic, darling,: Atmos said with amusement.

Starscream shifted in the berth, choosing not to rise to the bait of Atmos's irritating pet name or his irritating adjective to describe him.  It was enough that he had finally answered his comms.  He would have told him if Skyfire was wounded. 

:Do you care if I am alright?: Atmos asked with delight.  He was probably smiling, the fragger.

:No,: he replied angrily.

There was an entertained laugh that came through his comms.  Starscream wanted to end the call forcefully out of spite but never quite got around to it.

:Did you still need something?: Atmos sounded smug, and Starscream had to bite back an annoyed growl.

:…We need to discuss the next phase of the plan.  Meet me at my quarters.:

:…Of course.:

The comm ended, and Starscream threw his helm back in the berth, looking up at the ceiling.  “Check my processor, too,” he called to Hook.

Skyfire walked to the Decepticon brig without giving Atmos any trouble.  Though Atmos had been standing perhaps a little closer to him than was strictly necessary as he escorted him, he kept his mouth shut.  Atmos was radiating arrogance.

“You know,” Atmos said quietly against his audial.  “I find this situation incredibly erotic.”

Skyfire rolled his optics.  “You seem to think of little else.”

“I can’t help it; I’m a little pent up after millions of years without a partner.”

Skyfire winced a little, knowing those words were meant to sting, and they did.  As much as he disliked Atmos, and as much as he thought he was still dangerous to everyone’s health, it had never sat well with him that they had locked him away for so long.  Skyfire realized that his accident probably compounded the issue, leaving Atmos forgotten about in the grand scheme of things.

“And seeing you cuffed- well.  I kind of like it.”

Skyfire’s guilt evaporated.  “You are insufferable.”

“Funny; Starscream has said pretty much the same thing.  But I think he’s coming around.”

Skyfire clenched his jaw.  “Coming around to what, exactly?” Skyfire asked through his denta.  “And why are you telling me?  I don’t care what you two do.”

Atmos laughed so hard, he almost fell over.  “Oh, please, tell me another lie, that one was so good!  Next, you are going to tell me you don’t find him the least bit attractive, and you don’t care if I ruin him-”

Skyfire had tensed, and the energon in his lines had turned to ice.  He looked down at Atmos with a fierce glare that made him stop talking.

Atmos’s mouth erupted into a wide smile. His optics were blazing behind his visor. His denta could be seen through his hollow cheeks, and it made for a gruesome sight.  “I’m only teasing, Skyfire,” he said lowly.

Skyfire sighed.  “I’m not in the mood.”

Atmos nodded.  When they reached his cell, Atmos gently pushed him in.  “You’re quite attractive when you are protective.”

Skyfire’s face heated, and he looked away from Atmos angrily.  “Go flirt with someone who cares.”

Atmos cocked his helm to the side, closing the door to the cell.  “I’m willing to share him.  In fact, I think I really want to share him with you.  He desires you so much, Skyfire.”

“Please stop talking,” Skyfire said, frowning.  His optics were pained and sad.  “I’m serious, Atmos.  No more teasing.”

Atmos stared at him for a long time and then cocked his helm.  “I’m not teasing,” he replied.

Skyfire stood angrily, and he rushed to the bars to try and grab him-

But Atmos was gone in a flash.

Starscream finally made it back to his quarters, tired and aching.  Hook had managed to patch him up well, and the enriched energon had helped him jumpstart his internal healing process.  But Hook hadn’t found anything wrong with Starscream and said he was just under fuelled. 

Starscream wished that Hook had found something wrong with him.  At least then he could explain the strange, anxious ache that was lighting his energon lines on fire.

He decided that he just wanted to lay down and try to get some uninterrupted rest.

But Atmos was waiting on his berth.

He exvented harshly, his servo flying to cover his spark.  “Damn it, Atmos,” Starscream muttered.  His spark was spinning harshly in his chest.  He wasn’t scared; he had just… been surprised.

“You told me to meet you here.”  He was amused and curious.

Starscream rolled his optics.  “I meant… later.  I didn’t expect you to jump at my commands; Primus knows you’ve had trouble with the simplest instruction in the past.”

Atmos grinned.  “You alright?  You were in the medbay for a long time.”

Starscream unclenched his servo from his chest and glared.  “Fine,” he said flatly.  He went into the room and sat down heavily at his desk. 

He pulled out a polishing cloth to try and polish his armor after Hook’s ministrations.  Hook was a perfectionist, so his frame was put back together, but his finish and paint had been marred in the process of his repairs.

Suddenly, there were servos on his shoulders, tracing down the front of his chassis from behind.  They seductively ran down the seams of his armor.

“Atmos,” Starscream said irritably.  

“Starscream,” Atmos purred into his audial.  “You seem tired.  Maybe I can help?”  

Atmos leaned his face into Starscream’s neck, mouthing his lips over his bite marks on Starscream’s frame.  Starscream shivered involuntarily.

“I-I am tired,” Starscream said quietly.  “I just want to recharge.”

Atmos stopped, then kissed the bite mark before pulling back.  “Of course,” he said easily.  He leaned down and physically lifted Starscream from the chair.  Starscream gave an irritated cry of frustration as he was carried to the berth like a mech on his conjunxing-day.

“Atmos-” he said tiredly.

“Relax.  I’m quite sated,” Atmos said gently, putting Starscream down onto the berth with great care. 

Atmos smirked and leaned over him to kiss him on the forehead.  Starscream trembled a little at the proximity and the icy cold feel of the kiss.  

When Atmos pulled away, Starscream’s vents suddenly hitched, and he reached for him.  The movement was so swift and involuntary that it even surprised him when he suddenly was holding Atmos’s wrist in his servo.

Starscream didn’t want to speak.  He didn’t want to say that he wanted Atmos to stay.  He didn’t want to say that he had grown slightly fond of waking up next to someone, and if it had to be Atmos, well, then it might as well be Atmos.

And the thought of him leaving hurt.

He… didn’t have time to figure this out.  He was too tired.

Atmos was a slagger, though, and was not moving, patiently waiting for him to explain.

Starscream slowly released the wrist and looked up at him.  “I think you should stay here,” he said quietly.  “I’m still recovering.”

Atmos tilted his helm and smiled knowingly.  “I’m not sure my presence will aid in your recovery.”  His optics brightened behind his visor.

Starscream swallowed.  “I need- I need protection,” Starscream said, suddenly confused and lost and feeling very, very odd.  He held up a servo to his helm as it began to spin.

“Protection?” Atmos pressed, leaning closer.

“I- don’t trust Megatron,” he said, but the words felt slurred.  “I trust you more, and I want-” he stopped and felt himself listing as he began to fall over.

Atmos caught him.  “You alright?”

Starscream blinked wearily.  The strange feeling in his processor had abated, and though his helm ached a little more than before, he felt a little back to normal.  Atmos searched his optics with expectation as if he needed confirmation of something.  Starscream distantly thought it felt like Soundwave had been pawing through his processor, but rather than the surgical precision of someone who knew what they were doing, it felt like someone had taken a hammer to his firewalls.

“Did- did you-?”

“Don’t worry about it.”  Atmos gently pulled Starscream against him as they both settled into the berth.  Starscream opened his mouth to argue but found he didn’t have the strength to care.

Atmos’s frame was always so cold, but it was the kind of cold that was refreshing.  It was the kind you seek out in your berth when the room is too hot.  He didn’t mind the closeness as something about it felt… right.  But Atmos’s wandering servo on his hip was less appreciated.

“Stop it,” he said.  “I’m actually quite-” 

Atmos had leaned down and started to kiss him.  Starscream tried to bite his lips and glossa at first, which only made Atmos chuckle as he kissed him harder.  Starscream growled and kissed back angrily as if kissing more would make Atmos stop his affections.  

But soon, Starscream was being overcome by Atmos’s mouth, and he began to weaken in his protests.  He was tired, but he had a lick of charge running down to his array, and he found the kisses were more pleasant than he had originally thought.  It seemed Atmos could be sweet when he tried.

Starscream’s face started to heat with arousal.  He hated himself a little for it, not wanting to desire Atmos, but he couldn’t deny how powerful he was and his ability to make Starscream feel weak. 

Because that was something that he liked now.

Starscream liked to cede control.  Not have it stolen from him.

Starscream’s valve began to lubricate, and he knew he was done for.  He reached for Atmos, clutching him closer, scrambling for more of his coldness.  Atmos hummed lowly, and the sound resonated in Starscream’s chassis, making him kiss more fiercely.

There was a small creak as Atmos pressed harder against his still-aching frame, and Starscream couldn’t hide his wince.  He was lightly pleased when Atmos pulled back, looking concerned.  “I’m afraid you will have to actually be gentle with me this time,” Starscream murmured. 

“I can do that,” Atmos purred.  “I can do whatever you want.”

Starscream wanted to mull over those words for a moment.  He had said something similar during their tryst on the tarp, and Starscream found himself starting to believe it.  “Then frag me slowly,” he said.  “I want to feel-”

Atmos plunged his glossa back into Starscream’s mouth and kept kissing him until Starscream vents quickened.  Then he retracted his panel and began to rub his pressurized spike against Starscream’s thigh.  Starscream eagerly retracted his own panel and cheekily reached down to grab Atmos’s spike and pump it a few times in his servo.  Atmos groaned, pulling out of the kiss and then moving his hips so that his spike moved against Starscream’s palm. 

They had locked optics as Atmos grabbed the back of Starscream’s neck to push their foreheads together.  He continued to grind his shaft into Starscream’s servo, and he squeezed around the base, earning a growl.  Starscream smirked and lifted his chin defiantly and then let the spike head press against the entrance to his valve. 

Atmos paused, his breath holding.  Then with unrelenting strength, he slowly pushed his hips so that his spike slid into Starscream.  Starscream gasped, throwing his helm back as he was filled, feeling every node and caliper stretch around the spike entering him, and it felt so slagging good.  He reached his arms up and wanted to wrap them around Atmos’s shoulders, but instead, he felt Atmos grab them and hold them above his helm. 

He seemed to like this position.  Starscream squirmed, trying to free himself, but Atmos’s grip was firm.  “Relax,” Atmos commanded.  “And take it like a good little seeker.”

Well, if he wanted Starscream to relax, those were the wrong fragging words.

He bucked his hips, and Atmos gave a little choked noise.  “I- thought you wanted to be fragged slowly,” he ground out from his denta.

“I like to change my mind,” Starscream replied casually.  He clenched down on the spike and bucked his hips again.

Atmos growled and began to thrust into Starscream with punishing thrusts.  Starscream started to make little noises that gradually grew louder, and he was surprised to hear Atmos join him.  Starscream tried to thrash out of the hold, but Atmos held firm and continued to frag him ruthlessly.  It got a little too intense at one point, and Starscream stopped struggling and spread his legs wider in surrender. 

Something changed, and Atmos’s optics glowed.

Starscream was distantly aware that he might be in danger.  Some fear was creeping up his neck, but the pleasure building in his valve was making him increasingly helpless.  Atmos had a dark look on his faceplate, and it felt like he wasn’t actually there behind his optics.

Starscream whimpered, still incredibly aroused but also frightened.  “A-atmos?”

Atmos’s optics still were distant, and his hips were thrusting with renewed vigor.  Starscream didn’t know what to make of this, but when Atmos shifted his hips to a different angle, he started to hit his ceiling node, and Starscream’s reluctant overload came shortly after.  Starscream gave a moaned cry as he came, and he closed his optics.

Atmos’s low wings flared, and he gave a few more thrusts before pushing Starscream deeper into the berth and then coming inside of him.  His optics gradually dimmed, and he fell forward, finally releasing Starscream’s arms.  Starscream shivered from weakness, and the last vestiges of fear fled as Atmos started to look more like himself.

Atmos was panting heavily, his optics not meeting Starscream’s, even as Starscream stared at him intensely.  “What- what was that?” Starscream asked irritably.

Atmos flicked his optics to Starscream, and then he looked away, pulling out of him.  Starscream winced at the sudden emptiness in his valve.

“I got carried away,” Atmos replied.  “Apologies.”

Starscream swallowed the scathing retort he had thought up.  He closed his panel and tried to move his arms, but they hurt trying to bring down at his sides.  He huffed his breath and winced as he tried again and finally got them to move.  “You seem to do that a lot in the throes of passion,” he observed instead.

Atmos rolled off him and was clearly still thinking deeply.  Starscream was a little disturbed; Atmos was incredibly confident about himself, but that's not what he looked like now.  He looked worried or confused.

Atmos then turned and nuzzled up against Starscream’s side, saying nothing.  It was almost like he was seeking comfort from Starscream.  From him.  Like Atmos was the one that had just been fragged deeply by a hard spike and was still recovering from being near death and letting a techno-organic parasite bite him-

Starscream was too tired to be offended.

He wrapped an arm around Atmos's back with a huff of his vents and laid his chin on top of his helm.  He slipped into recharge quickly after that.

Atmos's lips were in a tight line as he just stared forward at the steady rising and falling of Starscream's chest.