HEAD'S UP:

I've seen Predacon Rising by now and how Sentinel would react if he saw Elita the way she is now. Even though his reaction was slightly surprising and not exactly what I expected, I'm still continuing this story and making him act the way I figured he would, even if it's not exactly canon. Please don't correct me about it since I am aware that he was like "EW!" and "You're no Elita! Elita died!" That's all I wanted to say. Now to continue this fic after months of vacation.

CHAPTER 12

Starscream descended toward the parking lot with Blackarachnia clinging to him neck and Prowl dangling from his grasp. He could make out the Autobots below, scurrying like the little insects they were. He could also make out the blue idiot who seemed obsessed with Blackarachnia for some reason. He couldn't understand why the Autobot acted the way he was but he resolved to find out one way or another.

She is going to tell me what that's about, he resolved. Even if I have to force her to.

"Let's get this over with," Blackarachnia said after a moment.

That's what he'd been thinking. If only to get rid of the Autobot weighing him down. He turned his head and grinned at her. "Exactly what I was thinking." then tipped over and quickly covered the rest of the distance

"Let's get this done as quickly as possible. The last thing we need right now if for the Autobots to be after us as well."

"Well they'll be after us either way," he pointed out. "We will have their key. But don't worry. We can take care of both them and Megatron."

She doubted it but didn't say anything.

When Starscream's feet touched the ground he let go of Blackarachnia who removed her arms from around his neck and stepped back. He considered dropping Prowl but decided against it. Doing so might remove any advantage he had at the moment. He couldn't afford to let that happen, even if Prowl seemed to be coming around. Don't wake up now, you stupid Autobot!

He noticed the blue Autobot rushing toward them with the other Autobots not too far behind. By the look on the blue ones face he sensed trouble. He felt Blackaarchnia grasp his arm and tense, as if she was waiting for him to take off if they got too close.

Well they weren't going to get close. He raised his arm and aimed his nullgun at the blue robot. "That's far enough!" he shouted.

The Autobot stopped in his tracks. He wouldn't come any further, not with Starscream's gun trained on him, but that didn't mean he would keep quiet. Before he could speak,though, Optimus came up behind him and hissed. "Don't say anything."

"You don't order me around," Sentinel snapped, turning to his former friend. "I don't want that Decepticon touching her, even if she is a filthy organic."

"Half organic," Optimus pointed out. "I think they call it techno-organic."

"Whatever."

"What do you intend to do?" the other Prime argued, keeping his attention. "You don't want him touching her but I don't think you want to touch her either. "

"I want to talk to her," Sentinel shot back. "I don't have to touch her to talk."

"What if she wants to touch you?"

The look on Sentinel's face told him all he needed to know. Optimus sighed and shook his head. Nothing good would come through either out come. The other Prime wasn't happy that Elita was with Starscream but he also wasn't happy with her current form either. If he did speak with her about what happened he wouldn't want her coming near him. It was a lose lose situation but Sentinel didn't seem to realize this or he just didn't care. Was he considering that they might be able to help her like Optimus has suggested to her months ago? Somehow that didn't seem like something Sentinel would do. It probably never even crossed his mind.

"Let me handle this," Optimus said. He stepped around Sentinel before he could respond. Optimus planted himself between his comrades and the Decepticons. He held up his hand, letting the key dangle from its string. "I have what you want!" he called.

Starscream felt Blackarachnia tense and shot her a warning glare. It would be best if she stayed where she was and didn't act too eager. She seemed to understand and stepped back as if to say "The floor is yours so don't blow it, or I'll make you regret it later." He didn't doubt she would. Starscream turned to the Autobots and grinned. "Good," he said. "Now throw it here."

Optimus hesitated. "Not until you release Prowl," he said.

Starscream looked down at Prowl. "Oh, I'll let your friend go," he promised. "But only if you give me the key."

Prime wasn't going to give in that easily. For all he knew Starscream would take the key and fly off with it and Prowl. "Let Prowl go and then I'll give you the key."

Starscream laughed. "You think I'm that stupid, Autobot?" he asked. "If I let your friend go, you won't give me the key."

Optimus didn't say anything.

Starscream made a face. 'There is nothing else I want from you but the key," he told him, his voice taking on a reasonable tone. "If you give it to me I will let your friend go. I won't need him anymore." he put out his hand. "So now that you know that much give it to me."

"Don't do it!" Sentinel hissed, grabbing Optimus arm. "He's lying!"

Optimus looked at him. "No," he said. "I think he's telling the truth."

Sentinel gaped at him. "Are your wires crossed?!" he demanded. "He's a Decepticon! Decepticon's never tell the truth."

"You'd be surprised on just how honest they are."

"Optimus-"

But he wasn't listening anymore. He stepped close to the pair and said. "Fine. Here." then he lifted his arm and threw the key.

It landed at their feet. Blackarachnia reached down and picked up the key. The look on her face was full of excited anticipation. Starscream grinned at Optimus.

Optimus frowned. "I gave you what you wanted," he said. "Now give me Prowl."

Starscream looked down at the cyber ninja then back at optimus. "Here you go." then he chucked him right at the Autobot."It was a pleasure doing business with you!"

Optimus didn't even have time to move out of the way. Prowl's body slammed into him and knocked him over. He fell back and smacked into Sentinel who had rushed forward as if he was going to interveen with the exchange. All three Autobots slammed to the ground.

When Optimus looked up he saw Starscream and Blackarachnia shooting into the sky, the seekers crazed laughter echoing after them.

Sentinel shoved the other two Autobots off of him and scrambled to his feet. He watched the pair fly away with a look of utter disbelief. He'd been so close. "This is your fault!" he shouted at Optimus.

Optimus was busy setting Prowl free but he looked up just long enough to say. "My fault!?"

"Yes, your fault!" Sentinel started pacing back and forth and waving his hands. "If you hadn't been so willing to bargain with him I could have-"

"I couldn't let them hurt Prowl," Optimus shot back.

"He would have been fine."

The other Prime frowned. He was about to argue with that point but decided against it.

The stasis cuffs fell off. Prowl's optics flickered then activated. He sat up, rubbing his head. "What happened?"

"I'll explain later," Optimus told him.

Sentinel was still ranting. "You don't realize how important this was!" he was saying. "If you had just stalled them for ten minutes I could have turned this whole situation around! Don't you care that this could help the Decepticons? That this could give Megatron all the power he needs?"

"Sentinel," Optimus cut him off. "I didn't even know you cared about Sari's key. "

"I do care! It's very important that we keep it out of Decepticon hands and you just gave it to them!" Sentinel turned back to him. "and aside from that; you let that Decepticon fly off with Elita!"

"It was her choice," Optimus protested. "She's not going to come back, until she's ready."

Prowl, who had been listening to their argument asked. "Who's Elita?"

Optimus looked down at him. "It's a long story."

Starscream and Blackarachnia came down a good distance away from the plant. Immediately upon landing Blackarayochnia broke away from Starscream, still holding the key. "I finally got it back," she said, smiling. "Now I can-" a hand reached over her shoulder and yanked the key out of her palms. "Hey!" she exclaimed, turning to face Starscream. "Give that back!"

"Not so fast," he said, putting up a hand to hold her back. "You're not the only one who wanted to use the key, remember? I also have reasons for wanting it."

"They can't be too important," she protested. She tried to grab it. He held it over his head, out of her reach. "Just give it to me! I promise to give it to you when I'm done with it."

He still refused to hand it over. "I don't think so," he said, his voice taunting. "I think I'll use it first then give it to you when I'm done." he dangled the key in front of his face. The AllSpark fragment on his forehead started to glow. He grinned. "Yes, I think I'll be using this first."

"No!" she shouted, lunging for it. "Give it to me! Now!"

He pushed her back. She fell to the pavement. "My aren't we desperate," he said, looming over her. "It won't hurt you to stay that way a little longer. Besides; it suits you better than whatever you might have looked like before."

She scrambled to her feet. "How would you know?" she snapped.

He grinned. "I just do."

He was making fun of her. She started to retort then decided to try another tactic, one that would work. She let her hands drop to her side and sashayed toward him, plastering a seductive smile on her face. "Is that a compliment?"

Starscream gaped at her, at a loss for words. Her sudden shift in emotion was making him nervous. He stepped away from her. "No!" he insisted. "It wasn't! I was insulting you."

She just smiled. "Oh," she said, putting out her hand and tracing patterns on his chestplate. "I think you're lying."

He opened his mouth to protest but, before he could say another word, she covered it with her own. Starscream, taken by surprise, widened his optics and fell back a few steps, nearly falling over. He had no expected this kind of reaction for his insults. What in Primus?!

When she broke the kiss a short time later he was breathing hard and his expression had changed. She grinned up at him then turned and walked away, before he could comment.

He stared after her, raising his hand to rub the top of his head. "Wha-" That's when he noticed that the key was gone. "Hey!" he shouted, running after her. "You tricked me."

She turned back to him, grinning. "All's fair in love and war, Screamer," she taunted, holding the key up and letting it sway back and forth. "You of all people should know that."

"Why you!" he raised his arm and would have blasted her if his arm wasn't suddenly encased in a cube of ice. "What?!"

he looked around for the person responsible, half expecting Blitzwing. To his surprise he spotted Lockdown, decked out in new mods. "You again!"

Blackarachnia turned around. She too spotted the bounty hunter. "How'd he survive my venom?" she demanded.

Lockdown heard her. "I've lived through worse," he told her. "This time I won't let you get close enough to try that again."

She looked at Starscream. "I changed my mind," she said, stepping toward him. "Let's stay together. At least long enough to take him out."

Starscream grinned. "Exactly what I was thinking." he shot into the air. "Not!"

"Starscream!" she yelled at him.

He swooped down and grabbed her up, throwing her over his shoulder. "Just kidding."

She pushed herself up and looked over her shoulder at him. "You jerk!"

He frowned up at her. "You can yell at me later. First let's teach this bounty hunter a lesson he won't soon forget." he changed position and dived at Lockdown.

Lockdown aimed the freeze ray at them. Starcream jerked to the side, avoiding the blast. 'Too slow," he taunted, flying low over Lockdown's head so he had to duck.

"HEY!" she screamed, nearly falling off. "Watch it!"

"Oh I'm so sorry," Starscream said, grinning at her. "Why don't you help me?"

"Help you?" she looked confused. "Help you how?"

"He loosened his grip on her body and let her drop. "Distract him for me!"

"Starscream!" she yelled, flipping over.

"Good luck!" he called down to her.

She jerked around and landed on her hands and knees. She lifted her head and glared up at the jet. Of course. Leave me with the hard jobs! I'll het you for this, you dirty coward! She stood up and faced Lockdown who had spotted her and was running toward her.

"I guess your boyfriend abandoned you," he said, smirking.

She glared at him. He's not my boyfriend. Right now she could let his words distract her. She got a feeling he wouldn't be so gentle with her this time. She braced herself. "Come to me, you jerk."

Sentinel wasn't about to stick around with Optimus and the others anymore. He had more important things to do than hang around with a load of malfunctions. So, without even a good bye, he transformed into his vehicle mode and took off before Optimus could stop him.

"Shouldn't you go after him?" Prowl asked, watching the other Prime drive away recklessly.

"No," Optimus told him. "There's nothing I could say or do that would make a difference." he helped the ninja mech to his feet. "Come on. Let's get you inside and have Ratchet take a look at you."

"Megatron's after them as well," the cyber ninja said as they headed back into the plant. "He sent Lockdown to capture them."

Great. Just what we don't need. "I'd better go after him after all." he said after a moment. "The last thing we need is for him to run into Lockdown."

"You'd better go now," Prowl agreed. "I'm fine. I can go the rest of the way myself."

Optimus hesitated a moment then nodded. Prowl was right. "I'll be back later," he called over his shoulder as he transformed and took off after Sentinel.

Jazz had been called in by the Council. He knew exactly what this was about.

Ultra Magnus stood on his platform, looking down at the white Autobot who looked nervous. "Jazz," he said. The other Autobot lifted his head. "It has come to my attention that you know Sentinel was going to leave the planet."

Jazz nodded.

"If that is true, why didn't you stop him?" Magnus demanded.

"I told him it wasn't a good idea," Jazz told him. "But you know Sentinel. He does his own thing. He won't listen to me because my rank isn't as high as his...."

"That is no excuse," Alpha Trion spoke up. "You should have tried harder."

Jazz was silent. He had no idea what to say. There was nothing he could say. Of course Sentinel knew that his actions were irrational but it was a mystery why he was even acting that way in the first place. Was he that desperate to get Starscream back? He should have known this wouldn't sit well with the Council, especially now. "I honestly can't see how I am being held responsible," Jazz finally said. "It wasn't my decision. Sentinel knew the consequences when he left."

"True as that may be you still should have done more to stop him," Magnus said. "So until Sentinel comes back and can explain himself we're putting you on temporary suspension." he raised his hand, stopping any argument. "You may go now."

Lockdown's hand turned into a chainsaw. He swung it at Blackarachnia who dodged the blow and tried to get behind him. If she could she would have the advantage. Unfortunatel,y he was wise to her tricks by now and wouldn't let her leave his field of vision.

She jumped away when he tried to hit her with the chainsaw and chanced one glance at the sky. Starscream seemed to have vanished. I knew it! He's going to leave me here to deal with this annoying son of a glitch by myself!

Lockdown was feeling confident. Blackarachnia wasn't as much of a problem by herself. "I guess you're all alone."

"You should really stop saying that prematurely."

"Huh?" Lockdown looked over his shoulder. A blast of energy hit him in the face, knocking him off his feet and sending him flying. Blackaarchnia watched him fly through the air and crash into the ground. This time he didn't get up.

Blackarachnia looked up at Starscream who came flying out of the sky, grinning like a nutcase. 'Took you long enough," she commented.

He didn't even look like he was sorry. "Oh, I'm so sorry," he said sarcastically. "I saw something and got distracted."

"Like what?" she demanded, putting her hands on her hips. This had better be good.

The seeker pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. "Him."

"Who?" she looked around him and saw who he was talking about. "Oh no, not again."

He grinned at her. "Looks like Lockdown's not the only person we have to deal with."

Before she could comment, he grabbed her up and shot into the sky. He heard the other person transform as well and then heard a loud angry voice bellow. "YOU ARE NOT GOING TO GET AVAY FROM ME!"

Blackarachnia spotted Blitzwing in his jet mode, giving chase. "Is everyone out to get us today or just people we don't want to run into?" she demanded.

"Sure looks like it," he said. "But at least it's not Megatron. What do you think we should do about it?"

She could sense he already knew what he wanted to do about it but she said anyway, just so they could get it over with. "Let's take care of it," she told him.

He grinned. "Exactly what I was thinking." he threw her into the air. She screamed as she plummeted.

Blitzwing, noticing her falling decided to take care of her first and flew after her. "Time to go swuash, halfling!" Random cackled madly.

Now that Blitzwing was distracted Starscream saw his chance and flew up behind the triple changer. He aimed both his nullguns at his thrusters and fired. The blasts met their marks and exploded. Blitzwing started to plummet in the opposite direction. "I'm falling! HAHAHAHA!"

"Well that takes care of him."

"STARSCREAM!"

Opps. He'd almost forgotten about the femme. He changed course and dived. He found Blackarachnia hanging from a flag pole that she's been fortunate enough to grab onto. She glared at him as he hovered in front of he, looking a bit sheepish. "Don't ever do that again," she ground out through clenched teeth.

He opened his mouth to respond when suddenly a flying projectile came flying out of nowhere and nearly hit him. He dodged to the side just in time. A shield smacked into a wall and remained stuck there.
"You stay away from her!" a voice shouted from below.

The two Decepticons looked at the ground. They saw Sentinel Prime standing below them. He looked angry. "Not him again," Starscream grumbled. He was getting real sick of seeing that stupid blue Autobot. He looked at Blackarachnia. "That guy sure took your break up pretty hard, didn't he?"

"We never broke up!" she shouted at him. "He's not my boyfriend!"

He made a face. "Then what is he?"

"A pest." was the instant reply. What was with Sentinel anyway? Appearing at the worst possible times.

Stascream didn't look like he believed her. "Why does something tell me something else?" he asked, putting a hand on her face.

"Are you listening to me, you filth Decepticon?" he shouted. "and keep your hands off of her!"

Starscream glared down at him. "This guy is really getting on my nerves," he growled. "I should teach him a lesson." He looked at Blackarachnia. "That is in case you-"

"No!" she cut him off. "Just do it already!"

He sighed as if she was assigning him a hard task. "If you insist." he turned from her and lunged down at Sentinel. "Okay, Autobot. Come and get me!"

A/N

I'm not sure how I'm going to end this one but I do intend to. I just don't know when that will be. I just hope they're in character, even though I know Sentinel's not really... not by Hasbro's interpretation but I always had a slightly different take on people's personalities.