Transformers Armada: Starscream's Requiem

by Legofan


Chapter 5: Ivy

Following just behind the Queen, Starscream passed through the threshold of the large door separating the massive dining chamber from the comparatively bland hallway. Standing as sentries at either side of the doorway were his ever present and ever quiet guards. Dread Wing sat across the hall from the doorway, sitting down and half asleep. However, he quickly recollected himself and made himself presentable at the sight of his Queen.

“It's been a tiring day for me, Starscream,” Chrysalis said, turning to face him. “I am going to retire early. If you need anything, Dread Wing will ensure that it's provided.”

“I will, your highness,” agreed Dread Wing. With that, Chrysalis left them. “She wasn't looking too well,” Dread Wing noted when he was certain she was no longer in hearing range. “Mind telling me what happened in there?”

Starscream began to head off in the direction of his room, answering while Dread Wing caught up. “We talked, I broke a chair, and we're on good terms. The details are private.”

“Very well,” Dread Wing conceded. “Is there anything else you'd like to do while we're out, or would you like to return to your quarters now?” he inquired.

“Seeing as I lack the means to get any more accomplished, I have no reason to be anywhere but my quarters.”

“Alright, your quarters it is,” affirmed Dread Wing. He stepped ahead of Starscream, leading him and the two guards through the tunnels to Starscream's room.


After a short silent walk, the four of them made it to Starscream's room. “Is there anything else that you may need from me, or will you be fine for a while?” asked Dread Wing as he entered.

“I'll be fine. I'd like some privacy,” dismissed Starscream.

“Very well. In that case, I will head off to my own room and check up on you first thing when I wake up.” Dread Wing's short horn suddenly began glowing a dark, forest green, and the door to Starscream's room took on a similar aura as it opened. “Good night.”

So he has telekinetic powers? Should keep that in mind. “Good night, Dread Wing,” he answered, passing through the open door which lightly closed behind him. Having nothing left to do, he sat himself as comfortably as possible on his rock mattress and engaged his sleep mode.


Honestly; there are better ways to get me up than poking me, thought Starscream as he booted himself up at a changeling's incessant prodding. After the extensive process had completed, he stirred, and the changeling stopped.

“Oh good; you aren't dead,” said the changeling, confirmed to be Dread Wing when Starscream looked up. “You weren't responding to anything for a while there; thought you had maybe died in your sleep.” Dread Wing's tone was tired and grouchy. “Wouldn't have wanted to see that; there's been too much of that going on already.” The changeling followed up with a hefty coughing spasm.

“Are you well?” Starscream asked his tired friend. Is he my friend?

“No, I'm not feeling great, to be perfectly honest,” admitted Dread Wing. “Couldn't sleep at all, my wing's starting to hurt again, and I believe I may be becoming ill. Oh, not to mention that I'm starving and may only have a few days left to live. Other than that, I'm fine and dandy!” By the end of his description of his condition, Dread Wing was nearly shouting angrily.

Starscream gave him a cross look. “I was just concerned for you're well being; no need to get aggressive. I don't handle aggressive individuals well.”

“I-I apologize,” said Dread Wing, lowering his head shamefully. “There was no need for that. There's just been a lot of pent-up stress about the Hive, and I haven't vented mine. Not that that excuses what just happened, just...forgive me, please?”

Softening his expression, Starscream replied, “Fine.”

“Thank you.” Dread Wing raised his head, evidently relieved and actually looking somewhat excited. “Is there anything on your day's agenda, Master Starscream?”

Master? Never been called that. Has a sort of...no; sounds awful. “Please; no titles, Dread Wing. Makes me feel uncomfortable.”

“As you wish.”

“To answer your initial question, there was nothing I had planned. Finding a way to fix myself would be nice, but until I can think of a way to do that, I might as well enjoy my time here.” He gave Dread Wing an odd look as his companion smiled gleefully and almost leapt in place. “Did you have something on the agenda?”

Dread Wing nodded quickly. “I do, in fact. I've got someling I would like to introduce you to, if you're fine with a bit of socializing. She might be able to help you repair yourself, too. Doctors tend to be able to think creatively, after all.”

“If you knew Red Alert, you'd redact that,” Starscream mumbled. “Yeah, sure; introduce me to this changeling.”

“Right this way,” Dread Wing announced, hopping and spinning in place with the help of his wings. “Ow,” he complained immediately after doing so. Then, he made towards the doorway of the room, only to be stopped a couple of steps in by another violent coughing fit.

“You're not sounding well,” Starscream commented from behind him.

“Ah, changeling scales,” cursed Dread Wing. The leg he had used to cover his mouth during hit fit was splattered with globs a some green gooey substance that simply stuck to his other foreleg as he tried to brush it off. After a minute of struggling, he managed to get it all accumulated into one ball of goo at the end of his hoof. “We'll dispose of this at our earliest convenience,” he assured.

The two of them finally left Starscream's room, not surprisingly finding the same two guards from earlier standing by his door. I'll get their names eventually. They traveled through the Hive's tunnels, Dread Wing eventually coming across a can to dispose his secretions in built into one of the tunnel walls. The path they took wound a lot, and unlike on the trip to the dining hall from the evening prior, the walls had obvious but plain doors and rooms sprouting from its sides. Additionally, the four of them passed other changelings, who gave Starscream curious but otherwise unassuming glances, almost as if they had already been told about his presence and his good intentions.

“This is one of the Hive's living areas,” informed Dread Wing upon noticing Starscream looking around as opposed to directly ahead of him. “There's three total in the Hive. This one is the least populated, and your quarters are on the very outskirts of it; you're essentially isolated, but that's not really a bad thing.”

A buzzing sound could be heard echoing down the tunnel, slowly amplifying as the group went further. “It's the closest one to the Hive's social center and clinic. Back when we weren't dropping like flies by day, the social center was an absolute flurry of activity. It was where each Hive member would collect their food, get assignments from overseers, hang out when off-duty, and trade for items accumulated during gathering outings. And that resulted in a lot of noise.”

He was speaking loudly now; not quite a shout, but not necessarily an indoor voice either. The buzzing sounds had grown louder, but added to the cacophony of sounds were the sounds of changelings barking commands and the moaning of suffering patients. “Those days are past us now, but since we started starving, the clinic has been the source of activity, and it's equally as noisy. Thus, those who can tend to avoid finding a dwelling spot in this area. For the most part, it's only the doctors and nurses who occupy the rooms we're passing.” Dread Wing swung his head around, looking solemnly from doorway to doorway as the sounds continued to get louder.

“But...no amount of medical expertise will-” he was interrupted by another wrenching coughing outburst, “-no amount of medical expertise will fix our predicament.” Dread Wing turned and looked up to Starscream. “It's nice to know you're on our side, though.”

“Did Chrysalis tell you that? I don't recall having done so myself.”

“Oh, she told the whole Hive. Everyling knows that you intend to help us. I would bet that you'll be received as some sort of celebrity, or hero, or something of the like.”

Starscream gave an exasperated sigh. “No, no, that's not what I wanted. I was hoping to rid myself of attention, not draw it.”

Dread Wing rolled his eyes. “You're an alien, Starscream. Unless you were to seclude yourself entirely, it's kind of unavoidable.”

“That was my original intention upon arriving here,” Starscream mumbled in response. Unable to think of anything else to say on the topic, Starscream let the four of them continue in silence, which was broken by Dread Wings after a few seconds. “We're nearly there; only about another minute.

And indeed, after about another minute of traversing more winding passageways, the four were presented with a massive stone door, easily three times Starscream's height, and wide enough for the group to stand in the threshold with room to spare. Like the Hive's other doors, there were no decorative elements to the door; it was merely a set of stone slabs on hinges.

“Wait here,” Dread Wing shouted over the absurdly loud noise being produced from the other side. “I'll see if we can't get her to come out and away where we could actually speak.”

Starscream agreed with a nod and watched as the doors swung open, encased in the same dark green aura that encased the changeling's horn. Dread Wing stepped through, and Starscream caught a glimpse of a row of hospital beds, each occupied by a changeling, some with nurses tending to them, other without. Then, the door slammed shut, leaving him and the two guards who had yet to speak waiting for Dread Wing in silence.

It wasn't long before he reappeared, following behind another changeling who wore a stethoscope around its neck. “So we can talk without shouting and straining ourselves,” Dread Wing shouted to Starscream, being again interrupted by more coughing, “I'm going to take us to the social center. It shouldn't be too populated right now.” He took the lead and lead the group through a short series of hallways, eventually leading to the social center.

A set of door identical to those that lead to the clinic separated the five of them and the social center. Dread Wing opened it with his telekinesis and allowed everyone to pass through before closing it behind him. The social center was comparable in size to the hall that Starscream and Chrysalis had dined in, despite the lack of actual dinning. Across the room from the doorway was a long counter, likely for the distribution of Hive resources, though it now lay unattended and gathering dust. Small chairs lined the perimeter of the the rest of the room, with a few round tables occupying the center of the chamber.

And that was really it. Obviously, changelings had a thing for function over form. Like Dread Wing had suspected, the room was mostly vacant. Of the five tables occupying the center of the room, only two had users, who were engaged in conversation or in playing card games. They payed little heed to Starscream's presence.

Slowly, the door creaked closed behind them, shutting out the resounding sounds from the clinic once closed completely, finally leaving them in comfortable quiet. “I still don't know how you manage to keep your head after being in there for several hours each day,” Dread Wing commented, directing it towards the changeling he had brought with him from the clinic.

“We've been over this, Wing, it's because we're given ear protection and because I'm just incredibly awesome. Now let's sit,” the doctor changeling said as she pushed him towards the tables by his rear.

“Please, not with others around,” he requested, leading them to the nearest table. The two guards split off from the group, however, sitting themselves at an adjacent one, sitting together in silence. Meanwhile, Dread Wing and the doctor each took a chair for themselves while Starscream, not wanting to break another chair, opted to sit on the floor.

“Well Starscream, let me introduce you to Ivy,” Dread Wing said, indicating with his hoof to the now named Ivy. “She's the Hive's head doctor and the medicinal manager. If there was anyling in this Hive you might have a chance to patch you up, it'd be her.”

Ivy scoffed. “Ugh, really, Wing? One important thing you kind of forgot to mention.”

“Oh, and what would that be?” he asked her, smirking.

“You're a pest, you know that?” she asked him rhetorically before diverting her attention to Starscream. “He seems to have forgotten to mention that I'm his marefriend. Since you're new around here, I think I'm obligated to inform you that if you hurt Wing, you deal with me. That's a battle noling would win.”

“It's a pleasure to meet you too,” Starscream muttered.

“I was joking,” she said. “It really is an honor to meet you. Haven't heard much about you except that you're some robot alien guy who's injured but still intends to help us out. Like Wing said, I'm the head doctor. I'm very precise with my magic, so even if I have no idea what's wrong, it should be considerably helpful in getting you back into shape.”

“In case you haven't picked up on it yet,” Dread Wing said, turning to Starscream, “she's going to help you fix yourself...whatever that entails.”

Turning to face Ivy, Starscream said, “I appreciate the offer, Ivy. But...don't you have other patients to deal with?”

“Yes I do,” she agreed. “But really, what can I do to help them? Unless we can get a source of nutrition, we're all screwed. Why prolong that and make them suffer longer? Believe it or not, Starscream, but you've become the only hope for the Hive's survival.” She pointed a hoof towards him. “You have to get to your top condition so that you can help us. I'd rather spend my time helping the one thing that has a chance to help us live as opposed to letting us die more slowly and painlessly, but die nonetheless.”

Starscream couldn't argue against that logic; he would've done the same in her position. “So tell me, Ivy, what do you propose-” Dread Wing coughed again, but was too late to cover his mouth. The same gooey secretions from before spewed from his mouth and all over the table.

“I...I'm sorry,” he said, embarrassed and ashamed. “I'll clean that up.” He got out of his seat and began looking for something to clean the table top with.

“As I was saying,” Starscream tried saying again, “what do you propose we do to get me working again?”

“First thing's first; let me see your injury. I would like to know what exactly I'm dealing with.”

“Alright,” he said, moving to the side of the table and sitting on his rear before leaning back and spreading his legs, giving the doctor a good view of his wound. She laid herself before him between his open legs and brought her head in close to get a good inspection of the wound.

She used her telekinesis to move some of the broken wires around, humming thoughtfully to herself. “All mechanical,” she thought aloud. “I guess it's good that you've got no fluids in you; we probably wouldn't be able to replace those. I'm no engineer, but you appear to have a lot of broken wires here. If these wires act in any way similar to a biological organism's nervous system, I'm going to assume there's a substantial amount of pain resulting from this, as well as some sort of inability to control a part of your body?”

From across the room, the two of them could hear Dread Wing having another coughing fit. Starscream leaned back further to peer around the table and make sure the changeling was fine. The changeling's coughing stopped after a few seconds, and he resumed making his way towards the table, towel draped across his back.

Returning his attention to the doctor, Starscream answered her question. “The pain only comes when large currents go through the broken connections. I still have full control, but I'm unable to perform certain actions due to the risk of sending too much electricity through and causing permanent damage.”

“I see,” replied the doctor, who continued to toy with Starscream's insides. “How much of the damage needs to be fixed in order for you to be able to access these strenuous functions?” she asked, looking up to him.

“According to my system diagnostics, there are about four primary wires that must be reconnected, which will stop the electricity from arcing. There's also a couple of servos that need to be realigned, but aside from that, all other damage is essentially negligible.”

“Ivy, what are you doing!?” Dread Wing angrily yelled, having finally reached the table.

“It's not what it looks like, dear,” she answered. “Nothing inappropriate is going on; I'm just checking out his injury.”

“Oh,” he said after peeking over the table and seeing that, indeed, nothing inappropriate was going on. “It, uh,” he started awkwardly, ”it kinda looked like you were getting a little intimate with him from my perspective.”

“It the table clean yet?” she asked, suddenly changing the topic.

“Uh, no. I'll do that now.” With that, Dread Wing removed the towel from his back and began furiously rubbing the table clean.

“He's just jealous 'cause he and I haven't gotten that far yet,” she joked before returning her focus back to Starscream's wound. “Alright, so what kind of material do we need to fix those?” she asked.

“Some sort of insulator that we can wrap around the broken wires as well as an adhesive to keep it in place,” he answered. “It would be preferable if the insulator could be easily molded into a variety of shapes, just in case the need arises.

She looked back up to him. “Would a glue stick act as a proper adhesive?”

“Um, no.”

“Well, then I'm stumped,” she admitted, a sour look crossing her face. She pushed herself up away from Starscream's wound, having seen enough of it for the time being. “I don't think the Hive is well stocked on any type of adhesive fit for what you need. And even if we were, I don't know where I'd go to find it. Perhaps we'll need to find a substitute.”

Starscream sighed. “Perhaps.”

He shifted to a less exposing posture and returned to his place at the table. Ivy did the same. At the same time, Dread Wing wiped the last of hie secretions off of the table top. The towel was covered in the green slime and was hardly recognizable as a towel. “I'll be right back; gotta dispose of this,” he said, leaving the table.

The table's two remaining occupants sat in silence, each pondering possible solutions to the situation, although, without knowing what resources the changelings had available to them, Starscream figured that his insights would be useless.

Dread Wing returned a couple of minutes later. Immediately after returning, he had another fit of coughing, once again splattering the table in slime. “Buck my life...I'll get another towel.”

“Alright, what is this stuff anyway?” Starscream asked, trying to brush some that had gotten on his arm away, although he was more successful in smearing it around and getting his brushing hoof stuck to him.

“It's one of natural weapons,” Ivy explained. “Glands in our mouth produce a chemical that, when mixed with our saliva, create that substance. We can spit it out or use our magic to launch it at our prey. When it sticks to our prey's feet, it effectively immobilizes them, letting up steal their love exceptionally easily.”

Starscream continued to struggle with the slime on his arm. “I see. But it's a nuisance if it gets everywhere,” said Starscream, finally separating his arms. Ivy decided to finally help him, ripping the secretion off of him with her magic. She rolled it into a small ball and placed it lightly on the table.

He looked at the ball she had made quizzically. “Is it conductive?”

“I don't know,” she answered. “I don't see how-” Her expression lit up, as she had undoubtedly come to the same conclusion as Starscream had. “I would imagine that, since saliva is an ingredient, that it is conductive. I'll run some tests on it to confirm that. If it is, I'll see what I can add to it to make it an insulator.”

“Thank you very much, Ivy.”

“No, thank you for solving this little problem for us. How did I not think of that?”

Dread Wing finally returned with a fresh towel. “I'm back,” he announced. “And if that happens again, I'm flipping this table.”

“Wing, I'm going to need your help with something,” Ivy said, turning to face Dread Wing. “We think we know how to get Starscream back in working order, and I'm going to need you to provide me with some of your secretions for some chemical testing.”

“Why can't you use your own?” Starscream asked curiously.

“A changeling can only produce some if they have proper nutrition, or as a symptom of certain sicknesses. And in case it wasn't obvious, I'm undernourished and Wing is a little sick,” Ivy answered.

“Thank you for the profound diagnosis, doctor,” Dread Wing commented sarcastically.

“If it'll be any help,” Starscream began, ignoring Dread Wing's comment, “I can draw up some simple schematics for you while you test the secretions. I would make sure to only point out the things that need fixing. It would make the repairing process much simpler if there were something that we could both reference.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea,” replied Ivy. “Wing, be a dear and bring Starscream to his room along with some paper and drawing utensils. When that's done, come to me in the lab so we may begin our research.”

“It will be done, Queen Ivy,” said Dread Wing, giving her an exaggerated and playful bow.

“Off with you, drone,” Ivy said, playing along and gesturing towards the large set of doors.

Standing back up, Dread Wing walked over to Ivy. He gave her a light kiss on the cheek before going towards the door, Starscream in tow.


After leaving the hall, Starscream and Dread Wing walked in silence. The two guards also accompanied them, but stayed back a respectable distance. Their walk was a few minutes in before Dread Wing started conversing. “Well, that was Ivy. I was unsure how you'd get along with her, but everything seemed to turn out fine. Any thoughts you'd like to share about her?”

“From what I saw of her, she's smart and knowledgeable, but also respectful, and therefore respectable,” he answered. “It's hard to find anyone with a better set of traits. I'd say you're lucky to have her.”

“She'd be happy to know you said that,” Dread Wing replied. After a few seconds of thoughtful silence, Dread Wing continued. “What about you? Do you have a special someling, or did you back where you were from?”

“No. I've never had anyone care for my well being, except until the last few weeks of my old life. Even then, it was only a simple friendship with a human child. Regardless, she was my first and really only friend, Even if I will never see her again, I will treasure what I've learned from her.”

Dread Wing looked ahead solemnly. “Only one friend? During your entire life? Where you came from must have been one incredibly messed up place.”

“It was. It likely still is.”

“Does that make Ivy and I your second and third friends, then?” Dread Wing asked curiously.

“I don't...I don't know,” Starscream admitted. “This topic makes me a little uncomfortable. I'd appreciate if we were to change it.

“Oh, yes, of course; I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I'm sorry.”

The topic never changed, though. Instead, they walked the remainder of the way to Starscream's room with no further conversation. Once Starscream was situated, Dread Wing left to find him some paper and drawing utensils. Upon doing so, the changeling promptly returned. With somewhere to be, though, Dread Wing departed offering a quick farewell, which Starscream returned. Now alone, Starscream went about his self-assigned task, accessing his schematic files and copying them onto paper for Ivy.