Where There's A Spark part 13

"Those slagging glitch-mainframed idiots! They intentionally gave vague directions!"
Starscream flew in a tight circle over Detroit. The Autobots had agreed to a cease-fire, but insisted that any talk of a truce, an agreement, had to be done at their base. They had provided coordinates, but that wasn't much help in densely-packed Detroit. He couldn't tell which building concealed their base, which was sort of the point in the first place.
"Human - Skyler," Starscream corrected himself exasperatedly at her flare of resentment, "you've been to the Autobots' base and know what it looks like."
"Not from the outside! And why would I recognize it from the air?"
"Scared I'll drop you?" he sneered. "You can use my optics."
Skyler didn't answer, choosing to merely glare at the monitor bank.
Starscream sighed. "The sooner you locate their base, the sooner I can land."
Well, she couldn't argue with that logic. Skyler allowed her awareness to fuse with his.
There were several visual overlays, displaying things like wind speed, air temperature, altitude... Skyler tried not to notice that last one.
Something caught her attention and she focused on it. The zoom increased, revealing the mysterious object to be the leafy branches of a tree poking through a crumbling roof. There, she thought. That one. Then she pulled her mind away. It felt like the barriers between their minds were nonexistent, and there were things Skyler did not want him to know. But she'd risk it for a short time, if it meant getting back on solid ground. It was only the second time they had ever done that, but she hated the feeling. Skyler hated even touching his mind. It was pervasive, a slow, roiling undercurrent below the surface of his thoughts; mine. Possessive.

---

Starscream transformed and looked down at her.
Skyler hunched her shoulders. "I'm not going anywhere," she muttered.
He stared at her for a little longer before saying, "Then come on."
When they entered the base's main room, the resident Autobots were already assembled. Optimus Prime raised an optic ridge in a query.
Starscream stepped a little to the side, revealing Skyler. "Before we start, I want to make certain one thing is clear; I am not joining you Autobots," the Seeker huffed indignantly, crossing his arms over his cockpit.
Prowl's lip components twitched slightly, hinting at a smile. "There are a few conditions."
"What kind of 'conditions'?" Starscream sneered.
Prowl looked pointedly at Skyler. "There's a reason it's called the Guardian Bond."
Realizing what the ninja-bot was implying, she glanced sharply up and Starscream returned her glare.
::What? He can't mean...Oh, no.::
:: Oh, yes,:: Starscream sneered. ::It appears we will be spending quite a bit of time together::
::Joy,:: she said flatly, to his great amusement.
Starscream focused on Optimus again and snarled, "Fine!"

---

Starscream looked around the room approvingly.
"So...this is the Autobots' base."
Skyler had to sprint to keep up as he walked off to investigate the hideout. As much as she loathed being with him, she feared being left alone even more.

---

Organics walked so slowly.
"Hey! Put me down!"
Starscream stopped walking and looked at her. "No." He watched as Skyler tried to pry his servos off.
She glared. "Let me go you - " Skyler rattled off a long stream of curses and expletives that would have made any sailor proud.
Starscream just waited. Eventually her rant wound down and she, breathing hard, said flatly, "Let. Go."
He smirked. "Ask politely."
"No!" Skyler kicked him and started struggling again.
Starscream waited for her to realize the inevitable truth: she didn't have a choice. It was entertaining enough that he didn't mind waiting.
Finally she sighed. Gritting her teeth, she said, "Please...urgh. Please let me go, Starscream."
"Much better," Starscream purred, loosening his grasp.
Skyler moved to jump down, but Starscream stopped her. "Just where do you think you're going?" he asked sibilantly.
"I - you - " she stammered. "Augh!" Skyler yelled, kicking him again when she realized she'd asked to be let go, not necessarily set down.
Laughing, he set her on his shoulder.
Skyler froze. Ah! Not good!
Starscream turned his head to look at her, sneering, "Scared?"
"Of heights," she said in a small voice.
::This is your fault, you know,:: he pointed out.
::'My fault'? How is this my fault? You started this, with your brilliant 'grab a hostage' scheme!::
Starscream's optics narrowed and he stopped abruptly. Skyler let out a shriek as she slid off his shoulder, even though she didn't fall far before he caught her.
::I have had enough of your insolence, Skyler,:: he growled, tightening his grip slightly to drive his point home. ::Any other choice you could have made would have resulted in you going offline,:: he added, placing Skyler back on his shoulder.
::If that means 'dead,' you're just proving my point. I would not be here.::
:: Do you enjoy arguing?::
::No, but I enjoy proving that you're wrong and I'm right.::
Starscream glared. ::You are extremely irritating.::
::So you've said,:: she commented dryly.
He continued walking. All Skyler could do was concentrate on hanging on.
Finally he looked at her, irritated. "Do you want me to carry you instead?"
She didn't have to think about it. "Yes."
"Yes, what?" he prompted.
This is humiliating! "Yes, please," she said, annoyed.
Starscream lifted his hand up and she stepped off his shoulder.
What the hell? One servo was stroking her back. Skyler tried to edge out from underneath, but his grip tightened.
Finally she realized what Starscream was doing. He was petting her!
"Stop that!" Skyler snapped, trying to squirm loose. Starscream loosened his grip and she shrieked in terror, hanging on as tight as she could.
"What's wrong?" Starscream sneered. "Can't make up your mind? First you want me to let you go, then you want me to carry you, next you want let go, and now you've changed your mind again!"
She looked at him, assorted emotions vying for dominance in her expression; shock, fear, sadness.
His Spark lurched unpleasantly. What was that? Starscream could sense her fear, but this time, for some reason, it didn't amuse him.
Not wanting a repeat of whatever had happened to his Spark, Starscream just carried her normally as he explored the rest of the base.

---

An hour or two later...
Well, this is boring. Skyler had gotten bored and decided to explore the base on her own. But that had grown old. Things looked a lot different from ground level, rather than however-the-heck-many feet she had been in the air.
She'd left Starscream in the base's largest room, which looked like a rec room. Or 'living room', if you preferred. And, in one of the corners, there was a large electronic system. Skyler didn't know what all it did, but there was some sort of surveillance system. Starscream had been interested in it, barely sparing her a glance when she wandered off. She'd only stayed long enough to determine that the security camera feeds were not located within the building.
Skyler stopped just before the door opening to the main room. She wanted to get past without Starscream seeing her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in. I can't stand here forever. Just go quickly. Peering around the corner, she saw that Starscream's attention was focused on the various monitor. Just go.
Skyler started walking. Almost... She was so close...
::There you are.:: He had turned and was looking right at her.
Skyler blanched. There was a dangerous glint in his optics that she didn't like. Starscream smirked, showing his sharp teeth.
::Now, then...:: His optics glowed a little brighter. ::...come here.:: It was followed by a tug, yanking her towards him. It was the same thing he'd tried to do earlier last week, back in the clearing.
Her eyes widened but she didn't react fast enough this time. No! She had no choice; there was only one option: Forward. The compulsion ceased when she was standing next to him.
He smirked down at her, then extended a hand.
It was obvious that he wanted her to climb on. The only reason Starscream wasn't forcing her was so she could learn the 'lesson' that it would be much easier to do what he wanted.
Gritting her teeth, Skyler walked the last few steps. I hate being right. Starscream lowered his hand a little more and tilted it slightly. Easier. Carefully, he closed his servos around her and lifted her up.
::Good girl:: he purred, ::See? You are learning.:: She didn't reply.
Skyler was utterly disgusted and felt like screaming because of it. It was all just a part of his egocentric power trip and she would endure. He stopped soon enough.

---

Skyler had fought the entire way across the room, the strain evident. ::No!:: she protested.
::Yes,:: Starscream sneered.
There was a flash of helpless rage and she jerked once, but there was no other sign of her struggle. Good.
He allowed her to stop a short distance away. Skyler glared furiously at him, loathing in her eyes.
Hatred was good; Starscream knew how to manipulate with it. He wondered just how far he could push her.
She looked at his hand unhappily, then stepped forward.
Skyler did so out of her own free will when she didn't have to (it wouldn't have made a difference, but she didn't have to) and so plainly didn't want to. For a nanoclick, he'd been sure she was about to turn and run. She had certainly been afraid of this new demonstration of his superiority.
He was impressed; she knew full well what it meant and hated it. Starscream revised his impression of the human.
The Seeker picked her up gently; he did not want to accidentally hurt her, especially now that she was becoming more obedient. The little organic despised him, which was utterly precious.
It was a pity, but he only thought he'd be able to manipulate her like this once. Catching her by surprise was the only reason it had worked at all.
Starscream enjoyed her shudders of revulsion when he touched her but was severely disappointed when that was the extent of her reaction. Skyler said nothing and managed to keep her mind shielded. Which was unfortunate; he wanted to learn what she was hiding from him. What he didn't know could hurt him, especially where the Autobots were concerned.
The soft flesh felt so strange under his servos. He stroked her a few more times, then stopped before she got too upset. After all, she had followed orders (albeit reluctantly).
He thought back to when they'd Bonded and she had snapped that he got his way, regardless. She didn't know how true that would be, but Starscream didn't think either of them would have imagined this. Unfortunately, he didn't think he'd be able to order her around like that again; it was very difficult and she would be waiting for another attempt, able to shut him out before he could take control.
Bored, he toyed with the Autobots' scanner. It was surprisingly accurate and also scanned inside the building.
Skyler was too scared to sit on his shoulder, which irked him (like he would ever accidentally drop her), so he held her in his hand. She didn't say or do anything, other than flinching whenever his other servos moved too close.

---

She hated that she couldn't stop him from yanking her around like a damn marionette on a string (almost literally now). Hated feeling grateful that he'd saved her when Megatron, Lugnut, and Blitzwing attacked. Hated knowing that the only way she'd stay safe was to remain with Starscream, tolerating both the Autobots' (and Sari's) judgment and Starscream's demonstrations of his power and her inferiority (even if he wasn't hurting her anymore). Hated that he apparently only had two volumes: growl and screech, both of which hurt her ears. Hated being treated like a pet and praised for obeying him.
Most of all, Skyler hated that when he'd landed in front of her earlier in the morning, she'd been so damned pleased to see him. Utterly irrational. At the time, she was angry (he just showed up, rude and demanding), upset (preferring to avoid camera-bots), and irritated (why couldn't she forget her strange tie to him?). But mostly angry. Still, she was so pathetically happy to hear his grating voice.
Yes, he saved my life today, but that was after the bizarre...gladness. When Starscream had ordered her to get the AllSpark fragment, he'd saved her from Megatron as well. But that situation was entirely his fault. And right now, so soon after he'd overrode her free will (only temporary, thank goodness), she was having a hard time staying angry.
Like when he'd drained her energy to heal himself, she was more exhausted than irritated, but even that didn't last long.
So is it just relief when my expectations are worse than his actions? Possibly. Every time she'd had contact with him, she'd been more or less terrified of what he could have done. Then relief was an understandable reaction.
To her surprise, Skyler realized that when she had climbed inside the jet, she had done so for the first time. She felt...uneasy, to say the least.
Another, separate, realization was an unpleasant one. Being kidnapped by Megatron had nothing to do with being kidnapped by Starscream or their resultant Bonding.
Even more unsettling, if Starscream hadn't forced her to Bond with him, she and the Professor would still be working on that "Space Bridge." Whatever his reasons had been, she was only safe and free (from Megatron at least) because of the magenta Harrier. And not merely because he'd felt that rescuing her was important, but because he'd forced...coerced...tricked her into Bonding with him (supposedly she had to have been willing...he hadn't been lying, but maybe he was mistaken). Starscream had saved her three times now and, as much as she wanted to, there was no denying it.

---

"Did you have fun?" Bumblebee grinned cheekily, plainly enjoying being able to needle a high-ranking Decepticon.
They both glared; Starscream because such a young, untested bot was mocking him and Skyler because he thought her pain was amusing.
She felt a flicker of Starscream's amusement when he realized she had the same opinion of the smaller yellow bot. The flicker deepened to a silent chuckle when Skyler realized they actually agreed on something!

---

Skyler brushed her teeth, relieved that her brother's psychotic kitten had a tendency to gnaw on toothbrushes. She'd put it in her backpack to keep the bristles out of Spooky's mouth. I don't want dead mouse breath. Spike may not mind that stupid cat licking him, but that's just gross.
She slung her backpack over her shoulder and headed down a nondescript hallway to Sari's room. The Sumdac child didn't need it anymore since her dad was back, so she'd offered it to Skyler.
Its frame is just a tire, but that's better than Dad's couch. Still, pink? It will just have to -
Skyler realized there was someone behind her a split second before she heard a vicious snarl. "Going somewhere?"
She spun around quickly, but before she could run or even see who spoke, something massive and heavy dropped over her, pinning her to the base floor.

---

"Going somewhere?" Starscream hissed.
He enjoyed Skyler's shock and subsequent panic when he trapped her. It was a crude sort of trap, merely his cupped hands, but none the less effective for it.
:: Don't you dare scream,:: he ordered.
::I wasn't going to!:: she replied indignantly. Then, ::What are you doing?:: She ran her hands across his interlocked servos, searching for an opening.
::You did not answer my question.::
::It's late; I'm going to sleep. What did you think I was doing?:: Skyler was irritated, but there was a definite undercurrent of fear. It pleased him.
::If that is the case, you were going the wrong way.::
::No I wasn't! Sari's room is over...um...:: she turned around, disoriented and unable to see.
::True, the child's room does lie in that direction.::
::Then what - ?::
::My room is elsewhere.::
She froze, paralyzed by fear.
Starscream took advantage of her immobility to scoop her up, making sure she was still trapped.
::Wha- you- your room?::
::Yes, 'my room'. You agreed to this deal also.::
::What deal? I didn't agree to anything!::
::I am upholding my end of the Autobots' bargain, but you must contribute also. How am I supposed to protect you unless you are with me?:: he said innocently.
Skyler's thought processes were still disrupted. :: But...but you...you don't have to do this!::
::That may be, insect. But if you think that I will simply allow my pet, who has already defied my will, to roam unsupervised, then you are sadly deluded.::
She quit looking for an exit and huddled in a corner, shivering.
Starscream overheard a quickly stifled thought. ::The Autobots? What makes you think they'll do anything? They didn't act when you told them about earlier!::
::No, I didn't!:: she protested.
She thought he was calling her a coward. Starscream had just assumed that she would run to the Autobots that he hadn't bothered monitoring her closely. When the expected lecture from the self-righteous bots hadn't come, it had puzzled him. He opened his servos to look at the girl.
Skyler flinched. A clear, thin liquid seeped from her eyes. She had done that earlier, the first time he had petted her. Is something wrong with her? Starscream didn't want to ask the aged Autobot only to discover it was nothing. He'd find out what he could before going to Ratchet and avoid looking unnecessarily foolish. He set her down on the berth.
::Stop cringing,:: Starscream said in disgust, ::you're fine. I have no reason to harm you.::
:: Other than for your twisted amusement,:: Skyler muttered.

---

Skyler stood up slowly, hoping the soft rubber soles of her sneakers wouldn't make noise on the metal table.
Quiet. Keep breathing slowly and evenly, as if you were still asleep. She was fairly close when Starscream's hand blocked her path. Skyler turned and glared.
:: Do not make me track you down in the middle of the night,:: Starscream snarled, optics glowing brighter in his fury.
Make you? As if! she thought angrily.
Starscream dragged her back, away from the edge. He set her near his arm-joint so if she tried to go anywhere, she would have to climb over him to do so.
He used a servo to force her to look him in the optics. ::I want you to promise not to try to leave again.::
::Like that will stop me,:: Skyler spat.
:: Oh, but it will,:: he smirked, ::because I know just how much you hate lying.::
She felt sick to her stomach as she said, ::Fine. I won't...go anywhere.:: The last part was especially hard to get out. Skyler could feel the sting of tears pricking at the corners of her eyes.
It wasn't as if the Decepticons, or even Starscream, were known for being particularly truthful, but damn it, he was right; she wasn't going to go back on her word, even if she'd given it to a Decepticon. Starscream had a low enough opinion of humans already.
Now that was a weird thought. Did she really want to impress him? Prove Starscream wrong; certainly. But impress him?

---

Starscream watched as his diminutive Partner went to sleep, the inefficient organic version of entering stasis mode. The irritating little pest was still blocking her mind, leaving only communication and a faint hint of emotions open. She had been thinking intently about something, but it wasn't related to any plans for escape. And even that had been dulled when Skyler tried to leave. Very clever. He'd almost completely missed her sneaking off. But what was with that clear liquid again?
Stymied, the (former) Decepticon second-in-command resorted to a last-ditch measure: the human internet.
Crying is shedding tears as a response to an emotional state in humans ... emotions such as fear or anger.
Well. That explained it. She still didn't want to accept the inevitable. But it was a strange way - this leaking of fluids - to express unhappiness.
There was much he didn't understand about organics. For example: humans. The Autobots stuck with their sentimental 'freedom is the right of all sentient beings' foolishness, but most of the civilians (and even a large number of the soldiers) were completely afraid and even disgusted by the creatures. Why, then, should the inhabitants of this planet fascinate the Autobot team so?