Fire in the Sky
folder
S through Z › Transformers (Movie Only)
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
7
Views:
2,448
Reviews:
12
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
S through Z › Transformers (Movie Only)
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
7
Views:
2,448
Reviews:
12
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I don't own Transformers: I make no money doing this.
Burn In
(AN: Oh dear. Prepare to either grab the kleenex or hate me. Or both. Two more chapters after this to see if I can pull off beautiful/tragic.)
******
Burn In
He saw Skywarp and Thundercracker as he landed, running out to him. He dropped to his robot mode. “Skyfire?” he asked, as they pulled him into a hug.
“We couldn’t come escort you,” Skywarp was saying. “They wouldn’t let us.”
“Not yet,” Thundercracker responded to Starscream’s question. “We got back within a cycle of each other. Been a bit more than that and now you.”
“He should be back! He was taken before I was.”
Thundercracker shrugged. “We aren’t dropped all at the same distance,” he said, in his voice of solid common sense. “Probably just take him longer to traverse.”
“And more time to think up a good story that’ll kick ours to pieces,” Skywarp added, grinning.
Thundercracker was probably right, Starscream told himself. As the weakest of the quaterne, he always did worry too much. They’d always told him that. “Everyone else?”
“Three others not back yet. No one’s willing to call them lost. Yet.” Skywarp said, hinting that neither should Starscream.
Starscream tried to ignore the sick feeling. “Skyfire.”
“He’ll be fine,” Thundercracker insisted. A little too strongly. Starscream could hear the worry in his voice.
Starscream looked around. “No one is here. Why is no one here?” He had expected—something. Their trainers, at least.
“They’d be waiting for cycles,” Thundercracker said. “Time enough to congratulate us later.”
“We’re here,” Skywarp said. “That’s all that matters.”
“Yes,” Starscream said, but he couldn’t help but feel the knot of worry and fear swell from his chassis to his throat. He felt cold, even through the heating his passage through the atmosphere had given him. He looked down and saw his hands shaking. Skywarp noticed too.
“Low on energon, huh? Let’s get you some.”
“No, I am fine.”
Thundercracker gave him a friendly buffet in the back of the head that almost sent him sprawling. “Nonsense. It’s a long flight. It’s draining. Now be mortal like the rest of us and accept some help.” Skywarp caught him before he fell, grinning at him. “Knew you would do it,” he whispered, proudly.
Starscream jerked upright. He felt…hot. Burning. Was this a symptom of energon depletion? No. Not like this: his plates burned, like an atmospheric re-entry. Only worse. He touched himself, but his hands read his temperature as normal. But still—hot. Unbearable. Scorching.
“Oh no,” he heard a voice behind him. He forced himself to look. A distant orange-white smudge in the sky. Coming in too fast, too hard. “He needs to pull up,” someone else said. Starscream became dimly aware of a growing crowd—full fledged Seekers and lesser flyers—the intersystem flights who never had the courage to take the Navigant—growing and rippling with horror. “No comm,” someone said. “Navigant candidate.”
Starscream clutched at Skywarp, unaware that his talons were scraping gouges in Skywarp’s armor. He tried to speak, but he couldn’t get any words to come. He could only watch with everyone else as the orange smudge grew and glowed red, then white hot. He felt like his armor was going to melt. Like his processor was overheating. He couldn’t walk; he couldn’t make out where he was. Was he standing on the launch platform or was he tumbling through the sky, a white-hot ball of pain and fear? He felt his internal systems run cold with blind terror, but his surface seemed scorching hot. He half expected to see his paint blacken as he stood, eyes fixed on the burning star. “Skyfire,” he choked. He felt Skywarp’s hands tighten over his shoulders, felt Thundercracker grab his other arm.
Then the burning star burst across the sky in horrible silence, the exploding pieces seeming to travel in agonizing slow motion from the distance. Starscream shrieked, his mind and his heart tearing themselves apart, dying.
With Skyfire.
And then he knew nothing.
******
Burn In
He saw Skywarp and Thundercracker as he landed, running out to him. He dropped to his robot mode. “Skyfire?” he asked, as they pulled him into a hug.
“We couldn’t come escort you,” Skywarp was saying. “They wouldn’t let us.”
“Not yet,” Thundercracker responded to Starscream’s question. “We got back within a cycle of each other. Been a bit more than that and now you.”
“He should be back! He was taken before I was.”
Thundercracker shrugged. “We aren’t dropped all at the same distance,” he said, in his voice of solid common sense. “Probably just take him longer to traverse.”
“And more time to think up a good story that’ll kick ours to pieces,” Skywarp added, grinning.
Thundercracker was probably right, Starscream told himself. As the weakest of the quaterne, he always did worry too much. They’d always told him that. “Everyone else?”
“Three others not back yet. No one’s willing to call them lost. Yet.” Skywarp said, hinting that neither should Starscream.
Starscream tried to ignore the sick feeling. “Skyfire.”
“He’ll be fine,” Thundercracker insisted. A little too strongly. Starscream could hear the worry in his voice.
Starscream looked around. “No one is here. Why is no one here?” He had expected—something. Their trainers, at least.
“They’d be waiting for cycles,” Thundercracker said. “Time enough to congratulate us later.”
“We’re here,” Skywarp said. “That’s all that matters.”
“Yes,” Starscream said, but he couldn’t help but feel the knot of worry and fear swell from his chassis to his throat. He felt cold, even through the heating his passage through the atmosphere had given him. He looked down and saw his hands shaking. Skywarp noticed too.
“Low on energon, huh? Let’s get you some.”
“No, I am fine.”
Thundercracker gave him a friendly buffet in the back of the head that almost sent him sprawling. “Nonsense. It’s a long flight. It’s draining. Now be mortal like the rest of us and accept some help.” Skywarp caught him before he fell, grinning at him. “Knew you would do it,” he whispered, proudly.
Starscream jerked upright. He felt…hot. Burning. Was this a symptom of energon depletion? No. Not like this: his plates burned, like an atmospheric re-entry. Only worse. He touched himself, but his hands read his temperature as normal. But still—hot. Unbearable. Scorching.
“Oh no,” he heard a voice behind him. He forced himself to look. A distant orange-white smudge in the sky. Coming in too fast, too hard. “He needs to pull up,” someone else said. Starscream became dimly aware of a growing crowd—full fledged Seekers and lesser flyers—the intersystem flights who never had the courage to take the Navigant—growing and rippling with horror. “No comm,” someone said. “Navigant candidate.”
Starscream clutched at Skywarp, unaware that his talons were scraping gouges in Skywarp’s armor. He tried to speak, but he couldn’t get any words to come. He could only watch with everyone else as the orange smudge grew and glowed red, then white hot. He felt like his armor was going to melt. Like his processor was overheating. He couldn’t walk; he couldn’t make out where he was. Was he standing on the launch platform or was he tumbling through the sky, a white-hot ball of pain and fear? He felt his internal systems run cold with blind terror, but his surface seemed scorching hot. He half expected to see his paint blacken as he stood, eyes fixed on the burning star. “Skyfire,” he choked. He felt Skywarp’s hands tighten over his shoulders, felt Thundercracker grab his other arm.
Then the burning star burst across the sky in horrible silence, the exploding pieces seeming to travel in agonizing slow motion from the distance. Starscream shrieked, his mind and his heart tearing themselves apart, dying.
With Skyfire.
And then he knew nothing.