Chapter Text
“Confounded Megatron.” He growled. “Confounded Skywarp!” he hissed. “CONFOUNDED TREES!” with a quick swipe of his null rays, several were taken down as if it were nothing.
It didn’t need to be said that Starscream wasn’t exactly having the best of days. Though really, by now, it had become a regular occurrence: another mission to collect energy, another intervention via the Autobots, another completely justified complaint and observation of that old fool’s failure to lead them, and subsequently, another beating.
Just another Manic Monday. He had heard the Earth song once, and even now, it refused to leave his processor.
Though, one may ask, how did the purple and black seeker fit into all of this? Well, it was a simple fact that, had it not been for him going in too early and gave themselves away, perhaps this whole thing wouldn’t have gone awry! And even more, it was HE who gave Megatron leverage to use him as an example of how if the Air Commander couldn’t keep his own trine in check, so what hope would he have in leading the Decepticons as a whole?
Yet that wasn’t it. Oh no.
Then, one of those fragging Lambo twins had to go and land a shot right on one of his thrusters, sending him spiraling downward, crashing right into this dense collection of exotic flora. Where he was exactly, he knew not, yet it was clear that, given that the skies were clear of either Skywarp or Thundercracker, he might be stuck here for a while. Unless he wanted to try and swim.
It was all so unfair! Every part of this was just…gah! He raised his null rays and released shot after shot of violet, hot energy, slicing through trunks and the tops of trees, whatever they could hit, visualizing the face of Megatron on every single one of them.
She stirred when she heard the first of…whatever was happening nearby. Yet it was only when she felt the vibration of something quite large drawing near her location that she was jostled wide awake. “By the gods, what the- “another vibration nearly dislodged her from her place on the thickened branch of the tree, the only thing saving her from falling being her lower half tightening itself around it. What in the world was going on?! Whatever the case, she was beginning to believe that it’d be in her vest interest that she go and get out of here!
Though, it was only when the row of trees in front of her fell did she see the one causing all the noise and chaos. As well as seeing a bright, hot light of violet come her direction.
“AHH!!!” Starscream paused in his tirade upon hearing the scream, his anger far from subsiding, yet confusion took ahold of him now. From what he could gauge, said scream was female and assumedly human, though where had it come from? “Ooooh…” the source of the scream now seemed to be moaning in pain, the seeker’s red optics searching for said source, he then looking down and seeing, to his shock, the form of a young woman on the ground. The fact that any humans lived amongst this dense rainforest was bewildering.
Said young woman appeared to bear hair of dark brown and tanned skin, said hair long and hanging freely. On each side of her head, just above her…pointed ears lay blooming lotus flowers. Pointed ears…last time he checked, that wasn’t exactly a feature many of this planet’s flesh creatures had. And when she looked up at him, he could tell that something else was off about her. Her eyes were a vivid Peridot, the pupil a blackened slit akin to that of one of those domestic cats the humans kept…or a snake. Snake…around the sides of her face and neck appeared to be small speckles of yellowish green. Or…where they small bits of scales?
“Ow…” she moaned again, trapped underneath the tree she had formerly been resting in. “H-Hey!” she yelled, whether from the pain or shock, she didn’t know, but the words tumbled from her lips. “What do you think you’re doing?!”
Starscream didn’t say a word, his optics focused on something that wriggled and writhed on the other side of the shot down tree. Pushing it upward, he took a step back, seeing this human female for what she truly was. She bore no legs. She bore no legs…in place of them was what appeared a snake’s tail, green stripes and diamond shaped patterns of gold lining it from its tip to the base of her spine, the scales appearing to merge with her skin save for a few here and there around her mid back and shoulder blades, a select few coming to her shoulders themselves. She seemed to bear no clothing or covering of any sort, though she seemed to bear no visible nipples, scales covering that portion of her breasts, the underside of her tail able to star from her pelvis.
Suffice to say, the Air Commander was taken aback by what he was seeing.
“Hey!” she spoke again, jostling him from his shock, albeit just a bit. “What do you think you’re doing, going around slicing down trees?! Stop it!” though upon the seeker standing up, the snake woman seemed to realize just how much larger he was compared to her. “Um…please?”
So, she knew how to speak. All the better for him. “And on whose authority do you demand this of me?” he questioned, folding his arms, a smirk coming to his features.
She had just gotten herself killed. She knew it. “Um...m-mine, I guess?” yep. Definitely killed. “Or...rather, the very jungle you’re currently destroying for no reason!”
“Your authority, or your ‘precious’ jungle’s means nothing to me, fleshbag!” the Air Commander retorted, though despite this, he continued to examine her.
“Who…” she began, clearly fearful of him. “I mean...what are you?”
Starscream smirked. “What a trite question to ask me.” he then gestured his null ray in her direction. “It depends. As of now, I’m heavily considering to be your death.”
“Wh-What?!” she gasped, slithering back up against a tree. “W-Wait! No-” she didn’t get another word out before she felt the tip of his cannon ram into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her before she felt herself being lifted upward, she reflexively clinging on for dear life. Seeing as she was secure on his weapon, Starscream surveyed her closer.
“Though, that may depend if you satisfy my curiosity. May.” he emphasized. “Though, given we ARE in the midst of introductions, allow me. Air Commander Starscream of the Decepticons, Prince of the Skies, and soon to be conqueror of this revolting planet!” Decepticons, Air Commander, what? What in the world was he talking about? “Now,” he centered his red optics on her. “I’ve answered your question. Now, answer mine. What are YOU?”
“Wh-What am I?” she asked. “But...but what’s a Decepticon-ah!”
“I’m asking the questions here!” Starscream snarled. “Now, answer! What manner of hideous creature are you?”
Hideous?! Well...nevertheless, he was the one with the weapon. A rather...BIG weapon at that. “I…” the snake woman stammered. “Well...it depends.”
“Depends on what?”
“Which version you want.”
“Which version? What nonsense are you talking about?” he brought her closer. “Do NOT try my patience you...thing!”
Hideous, and she was now called a ‘thing’. Such a gentlemen, this one. Still, again, she had little ground to make any reasonable threat against him. “In some lands, I would be called a Lamia, though the legends surrounding her don’t exactly describe me or my kind.” Lamia...the seeker had heard such a term before. A mission regarding a hydroelectric power plant in a distant country in Europe. Greece, he believed it to be called, Laserbeak having gained intel on the location. Needless to say, the country had quite the extensive history, especially that of monsters and gods. For humans to have believed such things surprised him, let alone how they held such a presence, even today. “But…” the snake woman continued. “Here, you reside in the far east. And here, my people are addressed as the Naga.”
Naga...now that he had never heard of. “Tell me then, what is the difference between the former creature and yourself?”
“The Lamia was a tragic woman cursed by a scorned goddess.” she explained. “We Naga, on the other hand, were considered just a level below gods and goddesses ourselves.”
Starscream smirked. “An overgrown worm like you was once considered near divine? Primus, how is it that humans are the dominant species on this planet?”
Another lovely title. Still, she continued. “We were the keepers and guardians of the rivers and streams, of treasures that men would slay their own brothers for.” she went on, as if to counter the seeker’s insult. “We shielded prophets and holy ones from the rain and storms, and, from what I have heard thus far,” she finished, “Unlike you, we are protectors and friends of man.”
Starscream scoffed. “Then you’ll share the same fate as your ‘friends’, as well as their planet.” he tilted his arm, removing her from his canon and taking her in his opposite hand. “It’s just occurred to me that I haven’t gotten your name, my dear.”
“A-Abeesha.” the dark haired naga answered.
The Air Commander continued to survey her. “Curious thing you are. Hideous, but curious.” indeed, a hint of his scientist background was beginning to shine through. He turned her, flipped her over, watched as her tail wound itself around his digits to keep herself from falling.
“C-Careful!” Abeesha pleaded. “You’re handling me too rough!”
Starscream simply smirked. “Tell me, Abeesha, are there any more of you?”
It was then that he noticed her expression growing solemn, biting her lip. “...barely.”
‘Well, they’re about to lose another.’ he was about to tell her, yet stopped himself. True, her life mattered not to him, yet what difference did it make if she lived or died? Besides, it’d just be more fuel he’d waste, and should he even attempt to try and get back to the Nemesis, he was going to need as much as he could manage to save. Assuming that Skywarp and Thundercracker weren’t going to show up sooner or later. By the Pit, where were they?!
It was then that he felt Abeesha’s tail lightly curl around his wrist, she having adjusted herself to a more comfortable position in his hand. “You know…” he was puzzled. Even if it wasn’t by much, she sounded a bit more...confident than before. “It seems that you’ve had quite the day.” she told him. “A rather bad one.”
Starscream huffed. “And what business is that of yours?”
“None. But I am right, yes?” she leaned on his index finger, lightly rubbing it. “The stress and tension is just radiating off of you.” it was then he noticed a small smile come to her face. She was planning something...but what? Really, what could she do against him? Either she was bluffing or was outright mad. “Given you’re studying me, there IS one thing that we Naga are also known for.”
Again, what was she doing? Still...what was he cautious for? “Fine. Enlighten me then. What ARE your kind known for?”
“Oh, it’s not much.” she closed her green eyes. “Just…” then, she opened them. “This.”
Then, to the seeker’s bewilderment, something about the once terrified naga changed. Or rather...only one aspect of her changed, yet in that, it seemed she herself had undergone a transformation. What once held green eyes with slit pupils now contained a series of intricate, circular patterns emerging from where a barely visible pupil rested. Mainly composed of pastel colors, patterns pulsated and waved, never staying the same for more than a few seconds at most, and whilst the colors perhaps repeated, as well as the patterns, they were doing so at a steady enough rhythm to where each transition was seamless. The patterns were formed in such a way to where a small sight Starscream had caught in the corner of his optics came to mind. He had seen such a thing before, something from a nation called India he believed. Mandela, they were called. Regardless, whatever they resembled, let alone her ability to produce them, wasn’t natural. “What in Primus’ name?” he questioned, stepping back a little, though after the sudden shock, he began to observe her eyes curiously. “What are you doing?”
Abeesha mentally sighed. She possibly had one chance to get this right. “Helping you.” she answered him calmly, though she was anything but internally. “And giving you a demonstration on one of the talents we naga are capable of.”
It was then, as he continued to watch, that Starscream became aware that, his previous trepidation had begun to decrease. Dare say, it was nearly eroded completely, his intrigue of what he was seeing increasing. Dare say, it actually was growing into a desire to observe them closer. “It…” he began, all the while continuing to watch the ever flowing, ever changing mandelas. “There’s more to it than that, and you know it. You…” he found himself pausing again, puzzled as to words seemed to be slowly evading him. Speaking of which, why was his processor becoming so fuzzy? “What are you...doing?”
Ok, she had him a bit. Though only a bit. She needed to keep playing her part. “I’m also providing you a service.” the dark haired snake woman assured, resting her upper half on his thumb. “All the trees that have suffered from your rampage is more than indicative that you’re QUITE frustrated.”
Frustrated? What was she...well...now that he thought about it...yes. Yes, he had been. The fury that he had experienced before hadn’t come back to him, as if it weren’t allowed to, yet...it couldn’t have something to do with the patterns...her eyes. But...he was aware of just how bad a day he was having. Again though, nothing to do with the patterns...or her eyes. It was then that Starscream began to become aware that something was wrong. Whatever was going on...whether it was her eyes or not, there were alterations occurring in his processor. Alterations that were forgien, yet all the same, his sense of danger hadn’t been fully heightened. “That’s…” still, he was still aware enough to protest. “That’s none of your concern.”
“No, it’s not.” Abeesha admitted, maintaining her balance as she felt herself being brought closer. “But it’s true, is it not?” she questioned. “You’re overcome with terrible stresses brought on by unbearable hardship.” it was faint, just barely there, yet she was seeing the beginnings of her patterns reflecting in his large, red optics, said optics widening as if to better absorb her own eyes. “In fact, if I may be so bold, it seems you’re no stranger to these things, yes?”
“N-No…” Starscream found himself admitting freely. Wait...had he just said that? “What...what are you doing...to me?”
“As I said, helping you.” the naga assured, her voice suddenly very, very tantalizing to hear. He wanted more. He needed more. A part of him still alerted him that this wasn’t natural, yet that part was being clouded and hushed by the incoming waves of warmth that came his way. He felt his legs beneath him begin to weaken, as if everything felt as if it held an immeasurable amount of weight. “Bring me closer.” she urged gently. “Your arm looks like it’s getting heavy.” Heavy...yes. Heavy. Steadily setting himself down to a sitting position, Starscream brought Abeesha closer to where she was able to slither onto the top of his neckline, right above his windshield centered on his chest, she then drawing closer to his face, her gaze inescapable now. “There now. Isn’t that better?” she cooed, taking her hand and lightly rubbing the underside of the seeker’s jaw, he shuddering a bit at her touch.
“...yes…” he answered, voice low and little more than a satisfied sigh.
“Good. You realize now that I’m here to help you, yes? You know that now, don’t you, Starscream?”
“...yes...yes, I...do. Now…” the way he spread and spoke his words didn’t exactly flow, yet he couldn’t care less. Anything that was outside of Abeesha, he couldn’t care less about. He felt himself leaning back, the thickened trunks of the trees behind him supporting his form, letting him slip further and further away.
“Yes, you do. Good to know.” Abeesha smiled. “Much better than knocking down all those trees, right?”
“Y-Yes. Much...better.”
Well, as long as he was so agreeable…”Speaking of, you gave everybody here quite a scare not too long ago. And all those poor trees…” she gave her voice a saddened tone.
“I...apologize.” Starscream moaned, completely out of it.
“You’re forgiven.” Abeesha assured him, taking a moment to survey the enraptured seeker she had in her thrall. Despite everything that had occurred earlier, she couldn’t deny that seeing him in such a dazed stupor was...actually kind of adorable, a satisfied smile on his lips. Still, she wasn’t doing this simply out of any sense of enjoyment...no matter the strange stirrings that came over her at the moment. If anything, it was a miracle she had gotten this far. She needed to amscray as soon as possible. “Everything is all right now. None of that matters. Nothing matters but being rid of all that nasty tension.” she drew closer to his lips, lining them with her hands. It felt amazing to Starscream. She felt amazing. Everything about her was amazing. “Ease up.” she urged him. “Let it flow from you...let it ALL leave you.”
“Mmm...yesss….” Starscream moaned, leaning back further, slipping further and further to the ground.
“Good…” her voice echoed in his head. “Relax, dearest Starscream. Relax. Relax for me...relax...relax…”
How long she continued to whisper such lovely messages to him, let alone remain in his presence, he knew not, yet even if she had left hours later or in a mere moment, the seeker would’ve never known. Abeesha was his universe, his light, his reason his very spark beat. All that had driven him mad before was but a distant memory. Skywarp...no, that didn’t matter anymore. He was over it. Megatron...eh, since when did he EVER care about what that old fool thought? And while he was at it, frag Prime too. Frag all the Autobots. Frag everyone and everything that didn’t have to do with her and the euphoria she had so graciously given him.
“Relax…”
Her voice continued to echo her gentle command in his mind, the sky above him, along with the sight of her steadily blurring and meshing together, the colors and blackness becoming one until all that composed of the outside word escaped him, sealing him in a realm of tranquility and stillness.
Bliss. Pure, unadulterated bliss.
“...hey…”
But wait…
“...is he…”
Voices...but...from who?
“Hey!” wait a moment. That sounded...familiar. “Hey, c’mon!”
Where had he- “OOF!” a sharp kick to his side jolted the red and blue seeker from his blackened haven, the world outside coming back to him, along with the sight of two bearing a frame akin to his own standing above him. One bore armor of black and violet whilst the other bore black and deep blue. They also held lighter colored faces compared to his, yet they all shared the same, reddened optics.
“See?” the purple seeker chuckled, looking to the blue one. “Just took a little nudge.” the blue one simply shook his head.
“Sk-Skywarp?” Starscream began, finding words able to roll off his tongue more easily. “Thundercracker…” yes. He...he had crashed here. And he had been…”Well…” he began to rise. “It’s about time you got here! Do you know how long I’ve-” though just as he got to his feet, he felt his legs give way, Thundercracker rushing in to catch him.
“Hm.” the blue seeker noted, looking to the setting sun. “Rather convenient location. Considering you could’ve sunk into the sea.
“Hey, I’D like my own little corner of paradise than dragging a bunch of cubes back to the Nemesis!” Skywarp added in, this earning him a glare from both of them. “Hey, just trying to get you to see the bright side!” and this earned him a punch to his shoulder. “Hey!”
“What’s wrong? It’s just a ‘little nudge’.” Starscream huffed, feeling his legs regaining strength again. “Besides, NOTHING on this planet could be considered paradise.” his optics then turned to the sky above, the sight of it brought several questions to his processor. The horizon above was awash in shades of orange, violet, and magenta, the colors only being exemplified by the bright glow of the setting sun. Well...nothing on land was paradise at least.
“Still,” Thundercracker spoke. “What were you doing before we arrived?”
“What are you talking about?” Starscream questioned.
“It didn’t take THAT long to find you, especially with me,” Skywarp clarified. “But when we DID find you, you seemed kind of...out of it.”
“Out of it? In what way?”
“I don’t know. Just...not all there. Like, you were in recharge, but not entirely. Kinda like some sort of weird dream state.”
Dream state...their commander pondered this. Indeed, much of what had occurred before now completely escaped him. Just what HAD happened the last couple hours? His hand then rose to his temple.
“Are you all right?” THundercaker asked, puzzled and, despite the usual coldness in his voice, concerned. “You haven’t had any damage to your cerebral chamber on the way down, have you?”
“I’m fine!” Starscream snapped. Really, why couldn’t he remember anything?! It frustrated him!
‘Relax…’
He froze.
“Starscream?” THundercracker’s voice broke through the small bit of calm that came over him.
“It…it’s nothing.” The air commander assured. “Just…get me out of here.”
Skywarp grinned. “And I just so happen to know a shortcut!” Starscream didn’t even get a chance to protest, he taking the other Seeker by his shoulders and flying upward.
“N-No! No shortcuts! NO SHORTCUTS!!!” Starscream shouted as the two flew off in the distance.
Thundercracker sighed, knowing full well that whatever the other Seeker had in mind, it’d get them all in trouble, assuming Starscream didn’t have a ‘session’ with Megatron awaiting him when they got back. He then took off, leaving the dense collection of flora.
Abeesha peeked her head out from the treetops, watching the three go off into the sky. There was more of them? Lovely. Still, at least they were leaving now. And despite the trouble that Starscream caused before, he and the others looked rather…majestic as they flew. Though, if she were asked, she’d prefer to not have to deal with him or anyone else like him in the near future. But…with that said, actually putting her powers to use was…somewhat empowering. To hold power over a larger, assumedly more powerful being…a blush came to the Naga’s cheeks.
Maybe…maybe she wouldn’t mind the jet paying another visit.
Albeit, one where not as many trees were taken out.