Chapter Text
The Titan’s Grave
Ion Storm had only visited Megatron’s private bunker a few times over the past decades. The reasons he had had been during an emergency when GHOST had nearly caught himself or Thundercracker. Not the best of scenarios to be invited over to a ‘friends’ place. Back then he hadn’t even considered Megatron a friend. In his mind he was only tolerated because he and Thundercracker were close friends. He’d never been to the place on his own before and never without Megatron’s permission. He knew that Kiloton was nice but the smaller bot took his job as protector of the Decepticon archives seriously.
The bot was small but clever and knew how to outwit and outclass many bigger bots twice his size. Kiloton was nice… to a point. If you pushed him too hard or you disrespected his hospitality then one would get a very different side to the smaller servant class bot. That and Megatron himself would pulverise anyone who harmed his small friend. There was also that.
“We’ve never been this far out north east,” Alex Malto murmured as he stared out of his cockpit and down at one of the Great Lakes that stretched out below its surface roiling like a furious sea. “The only way to get out this far is by boat.”
“Even ships do not come near where we are going,” Ion Storm informed the Maltos as Robby started drumming his fingers against his dashboard. “Megatron’s bunker is a fortress. It is protected by what he could gather from the remains of his Titan friend, Trypticon. He called it his home long before he joined GHOST.”
“Titan friend?” Robby asked, confused. “I’ve heard of a titan before. What are they?”
“Titans are city sized Transformers,” Alex explained excitedly. His face fell and he gave a sad sigh as he reflected. “I wish I could have met one. They’re ancient and said to serve the Primes themselves in the times before life exploded on Cybertron. Some people even believed that they predated the Primes.”
“And Megatron had one as a friend? That’s kinda neat,” Robby replied as he stared out at the lake beneath them.
“Yes, Trypticon was our Flagship, the Nemesis, sometimes Trypticon Station if we were based somewhere for a length of time,” Ion Storm revealed as he rocked his wings. “An energon crisis slowly starved him to the point he could no longer fly. An altercation with Omega Supreme left him fatally wounded and he perished. Megatron was devastated. We all were.”
There was a moment of pause and silence from the two humans.
“I’m truly sorry, Ion,” Alex consoled and Ion gave a soft hum in return.
“Thank you,” Ion Storm softly. “Megatron’s bunker holds many relics and secrets, but most important of all it is the last resting place of the Titan Trypticon. It must be respected. Megatron will not tolerate disrespect to his friend’s memory.”
“I understand,” Alex acknowledged the seeker. “I’ll be sure to make sure that the others know as well.”
“I am glad,” Ion Storm vented a sigh of relief at his words. “Because I do not want to incite the wrath of Megatron, good turn or not. I’ve seen what he did to Starscream when he stepped out of line.”
“What is it between Megatron and Starscream?” Robby asked with a frown. “Megatron always gets riled up whenever Screamer gets mentioned. He doesn’t do it for anyone else.”
“It’s… complicated,” Ion hesitantly explained. “It’s also private so I’m not telling you fleshbags anything.”
“Aw no!” Robby complained but Ion only huffed as he began to slow, approaching their destination.
“And if I were you kid, I wouldn’t ask Megs or Starscream about it either,” Ion warned the kid. “Some things are kept private for a reason and it would be rude to ask.”
“But–” Robby began but Alex tapped him on the shoulder.
“Ion is right, you should not go asking people about their personal life, especially if they are not comfortable sharing it,” he warned his son.
“Yes, dad,” Robby pouted and Alex sighed.
“We’re here,” Ion’s voice chimed as he slowed to a hover. Alex and Robby looked up, their conversation forgotten as a huge towering monolith standing upon a large rocky island in the centre of the freezing great lake loomed up ahead.
“It’s huge!” Robby shrieked as Ion slowly descended to the ground.
“Wait, why is–” Ion suddenly began to ask as he popped his cockpit open to allow Robby and Alex to climb out and jump down on the ground.
A howling, freezing wind blew across the island as Robby immediately ran to his father for an embrace to keep warm. Waves from rough waters of the lake crashed and thundered against the edge of the island.
“This is the worst!” Robby whined as the seeker transformed behind them, his focus on the small brown transformer that stood before the monolith patiently waiting. Behind him, set into the huge concrete structure were two enormous doors upon which Cybertronian script was carved.
“‘Here lies the remains of the Titan, Trypticon. Loyal soldier. Fierce warrior. Friend to all true Decepticons,” Alex read aloud, slowly translating the text. His eyes widened as he realised. “It’s a gravestone.”
Ion said nothing, his face grim as he stared up at the words carved deep into the granite. Instead he walked forward, approaching the small figure still standing before the monolith. Alex and Robby followed, desperate to get out of the weather.
“Hello Ion Storm!” The small brown coloured bot greeted the seeker with an energetic wave. “I will admit, you are not the person D16 told me to wait for.”
Ion Storm stopped in his tracks and glanced down at Robby and Alex before looking back at the small brown bot.
“D16? You mean Megatron?” Ion asked, confused. “He hasn’t been called D16 in millions of years.”
“The message I received was from the commlink he used as D16 back when we were cogless,” the small brown mech explained. “I ran it through several security protocols and it was definitely sent by Megatron. Perhaps he does not want Soundwave getting a hold of information? But that would not make sense considering who he told me to wait for.”
“Soundwave has been taken hostage by Shockwave,” Ion Storm said grimly. “Shockwave is attacking Megatron’s human allies and we have reason to believe he will attack the Autobot base next.”
The little brown mech’s golden optics widened in horror at the seekers words.
“Oh dear, oh dear me,” he mumbled, frightened. “It is no wonder Megatron sent me to await Ravage.”
“Ravage?” Robby asked, confused. “Soundwave’s cassette? But I thought that Ravage was a prisoner in the Autobot base.”
Ion Storm chuckled.
“Oh little one, you’ve very much mistaken if you think that a prison cell can hold Soundwave’s cassettes for long,” the Seeker rumbled amused. “The Cassettebots were Megatron’s most effective spies for a very good reason.”
Before the conversation could continue, the sound of loud thrusters echoed over the island and the group gathered turned to look up as a large shadow stretched across the clouds like a terrifying omen. The dark grey storm clouds parted and the massive bulk of Skyfire’s frame descended onto the island with surprising grace and agility as they watched. Skyfire had barely opened his cargo hold when Thrash came barrelling out in his alt mode with Mo whooping in delight.
Thrash circled the group a few times before skidding to a halt beside Robby and Alex, Ion Storm looking incredibly annoyed, his arms now crossed over his chassis as the rest of the Maltos disembarked from Skyfire. Hashtag immediately pulled out her camera as Jawbreaker stared up at the monolith towering above them.
“Young ones, this is a special, sacred place,” Ion Storm snapped at the newcomers. “It is to be treated with respect. Put those devices away and still yourselves. This is the grave of a titan!”
“Ion Storm is right,” Alex turned to the Terrans as they gathered around. “We are here as guests and we must be respectful of this place. It holds a very special meaning to Megatron and the Decepticons. They will not approve of us trashing it.”
“What even is this place?” Jawbreaker asked, his face filled with awe as he continued to stare up at the monolith.
“This is the final resting place of Trypticon, the Decepticon Titan,” the small brown mech explained with a gesture toward the inscription on the granite. “Perhaps more commonly known as the Nemesis.”
“The Nemesis was a Transformer?” Nightshade asked, their face an expression of awe.
“Indeed they were,” the small mech nodded his helm with a small smile. “Megatron and Trypticon were good friends, he built this place after the war and recovered his remains to honor his friend and stop his technology falling into the wrong hands.”
“And considering everything I’ve heard about GHOST, he was right to do so,” Ion Storm scoffed. “I shudder to think what would have happened had those nasty little fleshbags got a hold of a titan.”
The seeker and the strange mech exchanged a glance as Thrash stepped forward, eyeing the brown mech suspiciously.
“No offence but who are you exactly?” Thrash asked of the small Mech, staring at the Decepticon logo on his chestplate. “I’ve never seen you in any of the comics.”
Despite Thrash’s harsh tone, the strange mech laughed heartily.
“None taken,” he smiled down at him. “You wouldn’t have seen me in the comics. They depict the Transformers War and I was never a part of it, being a civilian.”
“A civilian Decepticon!” Alex exclaimed, lighting up at the prospect of learning a new perspective of the war.
“A civilian?” Robby asked skeptically.
The brown mech nodded. “I never approved of the war. I asked Megatron to not involve me and he respected my wishes, only moving to protect me if I was in danger. My name is Kiloton.”
“Kilotron?” Jawbreaker asked and Kiloton laughed.
“Kilo-ton,” he corrected with a wide smile. “I have been friends with Megatron since he was D16 and cogless. I was his nurse when he was a cogless gladiator and followed him to Kaon when he founded the Decepticons.”
“Nurse?” Thrash laughed but he quickly covered it up when Mo elbowed him in the leg.
“Yes, I am a nurse,” Kiloton confirmed, not at all offended. “And you all must be the Maltos that Megatron speaks of so highly. May I ask your names, newcomers?”
“I am Nightshade! My pronouns are they and them,” Nightshade stepped forward with a bow.
“I’m Jawbreaker!” The Dinoterran waved at Kiloton excitedly, eliciting a chuckle from the nurse.
“I’m Hashtag!”
“And I’m Mo and this is Thrash!” Morgan waved up at Kiloton brightly. “It’s nice to meet you Mr Kiloton!”
“Charmed, my dear Mo!” Kiloton extended a digit towards her to which she gratefully accepted and shook. He straightened and looked at the visitors before noticing the humans shivering from the cold. “Perhaps we should step inside, I understand that this weather is not particularly welcoming or tolerable to organic lifeforms.”
“Please,” Alex pleaded as his teeth chattered, attempting to curl in on himself for warmth.
Kiloton turned and waved a hand towards the huge granite doors which slowly began to creak open, the hiss of hydraulics and heavy solid metallic thunks of the huge bulkhead behind the stone echoing over the rocky island.
“Please, come inside,” Kiloton invited. “And welcome.”
“You’re all fools!” Knockout seethed as he stormed into the medical bay, Elita, Dorothy and Twitch standing beside the berth where an unconscious Frenzy lay. “You brought one of Shockwave’s sleeper agents into your base!”
Elita gave a frustrated vent and shook her helm.
“Don’t you think I tried to warn Optimus about that?!” The Pink Autobot snapped back, annoyed. “The damn fool has a bleeding spark, of course he was going to risk the security of the base even with Megatron here–”
“Stop it! Stop arguing!” Twitch shouted angrily at the two bots arguing with each other. She hovered between them before floating up in Knockout’s face and glaring at him. “Frenzy is dying! She needs help! I promised Soundwave I would protect her!”
Knockout looked taken aback by the little Terran Drones statement.
“Soundwave actually agreed to letting Frenzy–?” Knockout began stunned at the revelation. Soundwave never let anyone near his cassettes if he could help it. The fact that Soundwave had actually agreed to allow Frenzy to spend time with the Terrans was a huge improvement for the possessive guy. But that wasn’t important right now. “It doesn’t matter right now! If I try to remove the sleeper agent from Frenzy it could kill her. Or if Shockwave sees me tampering with her circuits, he could pull the plug on her! You think I want to incite Soundwave’s wrath even if I had no intention to kill her?”
“But I promised!” Twitch exploded at him, bashing her forehelm into his causing him to wince in pain. “I promised to help and protect Frenzy! You have to do something! Anything!”
“Twitch!” Dorothy attempted to call the distressed Terran to her as Twitch began to sniff and cry. “Twitch, you should not have hit Knockout with your helm!”
“But Frenzy!” Twitch cried out desperately, hovering down to her mum.
“I know you’re upset but you cannot go around hurting others!” Dorothy scolded the Terran. “Knockout is simply trying to explain the situation! You do not attack him for doing his job!”
“But I promised Soundwave!” Twitch protested, angrily trying to wipe the tears that were slipping down her face. “I’m sorry, Mr Knockout but- but Frenzy! I just want to help her!:
Knockout watched the young terran crying before exchanging a look with Elita whose expression appeared to be a mix of sympathy and worry.
“Do you have a ‘Zero Room'?” Knockout asked the Autobot and Elita nodded.
“On one of the lower levels there’s a meeting room lined with lead and completely sealed by signal blockers. It is not a medical room but it could work if you want to stop Shockwave from sending signals to Frenzy,” Elita explained with a frown.
Knockout nodded to her and vented quietly before turning to look back at Twitch.
“I can use it to try and remove the sleeper code from Frenzy,” Knockout told the Terran he peered at him through tear filled optics. “But I will tell you this right now. Although I have done it before, it’s been some time since I performed any medical procedure on a cassettebot. I cannot guarantee that I will be successful.”
“But, you’ll still try, right?” Twitch asked hopefully, approaching the surgeon with a renewed hope in her optics. “Please?!”
“I’m coming to be completely honest with you… er, what was your name again?”
“Twitch!”
“I’m going to be completely honest with you, Twitch,” Knockout continued. “It’ll be difficult and there’s a high chance that Frenzy may offline, but I will try. For you. But also so Soundwave doesn’t, y’know, try to rip the panelling off of me.”
“Oh thank you! Thank you!” Before he could react, Twitch had lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Knockout’s neck in a hug, burying her face into his shoulder.
“O–kay…” was all the surgeon could reply as he stood awkwardly, unsure of what to do while Twitch hugged him.
“I’ll inform Optimus Prime and put the base on high alert. If necessary we’ll need to move Megatron into the lower bunkers and seal off the entire base,” Elita nodded to the others before looking at Frenzy. “Good luck, Knockout.”
Without another word, the Autobot second in command stormed off, purpose in her giant and strength in her step.
“Yep, I’m gonna need it,” the Surgeon muttered to himself as Twitch finally let go of him. “I’ll do my best, little drone.”
“Megatron calls me Little Bird!” She protested and Knockout rolled his optics.
“Of course he does, he always liked cyberbirds,” he rumbled as he moved closer to examine Frenzy. “Probably why he was able to tolerate Lazerbeak for so long.”
Twitch gasped as she zoomed down to her mother, a pleading look in her optics.
“Can we visit Megatron?” She asked desperately. “I haven’t seen him since… the accident.”
Dorothy was silent for a long moment before moving her gaze to Knockout, the surgeon pointedly avoiding her gaze.
“I’m– not sure that’s a good idea Twitch,” Dorothy reluctantly said and Twitch folded her arms across her chest.
“Why not?” She pouted angrily.
“Megatron's mind has… broken,” Dorothy explained, her voice full of pain and regret. “He’s lost a lot of his memories. He may not even recognise you, Twitch.”
Twitch’s optics widened in horror and tears threatened to spill out of them.
“Twitch, this is not your fault,” Dorothy quickly reassured her young Terran. “I need you to understand that. Megatron has had issues for a long time.”
“But… But he–” Twitch mumbled, unsure how to feel about the information.
“Twitch, it is not your fault, alright?” Dorothy reassured the therran, gently grasping both of her shoulders.
Twitch did not speak for a long moment, staring at the floor in front of her before looking back at her mother.
“I’d still like to see him, if that’s okay?” Twitch finally nodded her helm, her resolve strengthening as she spoke. “I don’t care if it upsets me, I’d rather be upset in the moment than live in regret.”
Dorothy nodded, a kind smile playing about her lips.
“Alright, if that’s what you want,” Dorothy aliterated and Twitch nodded, amber optics gazing pleadingly at her mother. Dorothy turned to Knockout who was leaning over Frenzy, scanning the little bot diligently. “Is Megatron allowed to have visitors?”
“He is,” the surgeon confirmed not turning around to face her. “But he might be conked out right now. I’ll let Breakdown know that you’re coming.”
“Thank you Knockout!” Twitch exclaimed brightly, jumping up and down excitedly.
“Just make sure he behaves himself and doesn’t pull any more stupid stunts!” Knockout pleaded with the Maltos. “That mech is going to make me rust into an early grave, I swear.”
Dorothy chuckled. She knew that feeling all too well.
“I completely understand how you feel,” she empathised and Knockout shook his helm.
“He used to be a lot worse, believe it or not,” he revealed.
“Oh, I believe that entirely,” Dorothy laughed.
~~~
“This isn’t healthy Soundwave,” Starscream spoke to the Audiobot who had his back turned to him as he tried to fix the old broken down communications hub in the Quintesson ship that the High Guard had recently downed.
“Soundwave does not understand what Starscream speaks of,” the Audiobot growled out as his helm disappeared into the wall paneling of the ship.
“You're trying to replace Scion with Megatron,” Starscream stressed, a critical look in his optics. Soundwave froze and slowly pulled his helm out of the electrical panel and turned to look at Starscream. Starscream didn’t need to see Soundwave’s optics to know that he was currently being glared at.
“Soundwave is NOT trying to replace Scion with Megatron!” Soundwave denied the accusation.
“Soundwave–” Starscream began but he was quickly interrupted.
“Megatron is nothing like Scion!”
Starscream raised a brow at that and gave Soundwave a skeptical look.
“He’s almost the exact same frame,” Starscream pointed out, still undeterred even when Soundwave was inching closer to him, his EM Field radiating anger and fury. “Sure, Scion was purple but hey, that was just his sire’s genes coming through. He’s ambitious and impulsive just like Scion was. If one didn’t know any better one would think the two of them were brothers!”
“Starscream will be silent!” Soundwave shouted, his tone furious and the anger radiating from his field like the flames of the slag pit.
“Soundwave…” Starscream frowned, his faceplates morphing into an expression of deep concern. “I’m your friend, I care about you. I know that you still miss Scion and Kilotronyx, even after all these cycles. But using Megatron as a ‘replacement’ to try and ease the pain of their loss is… it’s not good, Soundwave.”
“Starscream will cease acting like he knows what’s best for Soundwave!” Soundwave screamed, shoving the Seeker away from him.
“I’m not trying to!” Starscream snapped, slapping Soundwave’s servo away from his chassis. “Soundwave, I’m trying to help! Please! You can’t keep living in the past, trying to make things go back to the way they were! Megatron isn’t Scion or Kilotronyx! You need to–”
Starscream didn’t even have time to react before Soundwave threw a haymaker punch square between Starscream’s optics, sending him crashing against the wall before sliding down it with a horrid metallic squeal. Starscream reached a servo to his forehelm, his digits stained with energon as he stared in shock up at Soundwave.
Soundwave had never laid hands on him before. Not once.
“What the frag, Soundwave?!” Starscream yelled at him. “What’s gotten into you?”
“Starscream will cease questioning Soundwave’s choice of partners!” Soundwave fumed, his servos still clenched in anger.
“I’m just trying to look out for you, you stupid audiobot!” Starscream shouted at him as he rose to his pedes, his vents hissing as his lines began to heat up. “Kilotron asked me to protect you after she left in the Requiem! That means I’m gonna tell you things you don’t want to hear!”
“Kilotronyx is dead!” Soundwave howled back at him, stamping his pede like a spoilt sparkling. “It no longer matters what Kilotronyx ordered you to do!”
“Then why do you keep trying to replace her?” Starscream argued. “Why did you give away her Fusion Cannon to that stupid, impulsive brat! She gave it to you, not him!”
“Shut up!” Soundwave roared, lunging at Starscream but the Audiobot was stopped when Skywarp suddenly put himself between the two of them with a flash of red lightning.
“Hey! Knock it off Sounders!” The purple seeker snapped at him, an angry snarl on his face. “What’s with you? Why have you been so weird since we defeated Sentinel?”
“Starscream insults Soundwave’s clan!” Soundwave seethed, still trying to push through Skywarp to attack Starscream.
“No, Starscream simply wants to stop Soundwave from making dumb aft decisions!” Starscream mockingly sneered. His mocking sneer immediately fell when Soundwave suddenly gave a tremendous roar, throwing Skywarp aside and lunging at Starscream.
Starscream shrieked as Soundwave body slammed him through the wall of the ship, metal shrieking and crunching under the weight of the two transformers as Soundwave slammed Starscream into the ground.
“You know I’m right, Soundwave!” Starscream snapped back up at him, despite Soundwave sitting on his chassis making it hard to intake air. “Sometimes you need to hear the truth and it hurts. But you’re my friend. You’re like a brother to me! And I don’t want you to get hurt when you realise that you and Megatron are only using each other to plug up some gaping wound in your spark!”
“I said Shut Up!” Soundwave roared in Starscream’s face. “You will not mock Soundwave!”
“That’s enough!” A booming voice roared and Starscream froze, his spark suddenly feeling cold and fearful as a huge shadow slowly enveloped both struggling mechs.
Soundwave stopped and raised his helm, looking straight up into the faceplate of Lord Megatron, his blood red optics glaring down on both of them with an unamused expression. Behind him, Shockwave and Blitzwing watched on, Blitzwing looking on with amusement while Shockwave looked intrigued.
“Explain yourselves,” Lord Megatron demanded, his arms crossed over his chassis.
“Lord Megatron, I was–”
“Starscream insulted Soundwave’s clan!” Soundwave snapped, jabbing a digit into Starscream’s face, almost poking out his optic.
Lord Megatron frowned, his optics narrowed as he glared down at the two mechs.
“Get off of Starscream, Soundwave,” Lord Megatron ordered impassively, gesturing for the Audiobot to remove himself. “Regardless of our relationship, I will not tolerate you attacking a fellow lieutenant over an insult, Soundwave. It is not a good look for us.”
“Soundwave… understands,” Soundwave reluctantly spoke as Lord Megatron turned to Shockwave and Blitzwing, waving a dismissive servo.
“The both of you are dismissed,” Lord Megatron barked at the scientist and the triple changer.
“Yes sir,” they said in unison and parted ways, Shockwave glancing back at them with a curious optic as Megatron towered over the two errant lieutenants.
Lord Megatron folded his arms across his chassis and frowned at the Audiobot and Seeker before him.
“What is this about, exactly? I expected better from the celebrated warriors of Cybertron. And yet I find the former leader of the high guard and a champion of Megatronus Prime himself squabbling like sparklings,” He snapped distastefully, glancing between the both of them with an irritated look. “It won’t be long before Quintessons or the Primes forces come snooping around here and we cannot waste time on petty arguments. I once looked up to you, was told stories about your deeds and I find myself disappointed. So explain yourselves. Now.”
“Starscream takes issue with Soundwave fraternising with Lord Megatron!” Soundwave snarled before Starscream could say his piece. “Starscream confronted Soundwave while he was working. Insulted Soundwave’s clan! Insulted the former leader of the High Guard!”
Immediately, Starscream’s servos clenched into fists as he felt a heat build within his energon pump and fill his lines with rage.
“I would never insult Kilotronyx or her sparkling!” Starscream snarled angrily. “What I do take issue with is the both of you using each other to fill an empty void in your sparks! Soundwave with his younger brother, and you, Lord Megatron, using Soundwave to replace your little friend, Orion Pa–”
Almost immediately Starscream found himself flat on his back, his helm ringing and his optics sliding in and out of focus as his frame still vibrated from being slammed into the deck of the ship.
“You dare not say his name in my presence!” Lord Megatron roared, his fusion cannon, no, Kilotronyx’s Fusion Cannon transforming out of his arm and pressed so hard against his faced that Starscream was sure that it would dent. “Tell me right now why I shouldn’t blast your helm into atoms!”
Starscream struggled against the weight of the fusion cannon pressed to his face but his processors were so paralysed with fear that he couldn’t compute, he could not think of anything to say.
“WELL?!” Lord Megatron bellowed as Starscream winced, closing his optics tightly and whimpering as he heard the cannon begin to whine and drone, charging up for a shot.
To Starscream’s surprise, it was Soundwave who came to his rescue.
“Lord Megatron, please,” Soundwave urged, pulling the cannon away from Starscream. “Your cannon firing may attract the attention of enemies. Starscream also holds strategies and information that Megatronus Prime himself passed down. It is unwise to destroy him.”
Lord Megatron glared down at Starscream for a long moment before glancing at Soundwave, his impassive face staring back and his EM Field coiled tightly around him only projecting a cold indifference.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Lord Megatron retracted his cannon and stepped back from Starscream, a sour and annoyed look on his face.
“I’m still considering whether or not you are still worthy of keeping alive, Starscream,” Megatron hissed, looking between the two of them. “Whatever quarrel the two of you have will not get in the way of my plans or there will be consequences, is that understood?”
“Yes, Lord Megatron,” Starscream and Soundwave answered in unison.
Satisfied with the response, Lord Megatron turned pede and stalked away, the sound of his heavy pedesteps slowly fading away as the Seeker and Audiobot watched on in silence.
Eventually, after a few tense minutes, Soundwave moved to leave but not before turning back to address Starscream.
“Soundwave does not care for Starscream’s opinions on his relationships,” the Audiobot bluntly stated before moving off to return to the communication console where Starscream had first confronted him.
Starscream sighed and picked himself off of the floor with a slight wobble, the beginnings of a throbbing helmache starting to pinch at his temples.
“Yeah, yeah, I know Sounders,” Starscream humphed, brushing the dirt off of him. “But you must know that you and Megatron… that’s not going to end well, right? Please tell me you know that, right?”
The Seeker received no answer and he shook his helm, which he instantly regretted as his dizziness got worse and made him want to purge his tanks.
“You’re all damn fools,” Starscream hissed, under his breath, skulking away as his pedes loudly stomped through the hallway.
~~~
Nova Storm and Skywarp’s constant pinging slowly wore down as Starscream continuously tried to avoid them. He wasn’t exactly in the mood for Skywarp’s attitude or Nova Storm’s smothering right now. They were the last two that he wished to discuss his old flame with. Skywarp would be judgemental and start being nasty about him having an ex who happened to be an autobot. And Nova Storm, as good as her intentions were, tended to interfere where she had no business in doing so.
Finally, after a long while, the pinging slowed and eventually ceased with a disgruntled message from Skywarp calling him a coward and Nova Storm leaving him a message saying that she hoped he was well and that Ion had invited them to stay with himself and Thundercracker.
Stay… Stay? How could they head back to relax when they had an emergency on their hands?!
Granted, they did not know Soundwave as closely as he did. They had not been assigned by the Lord Protector herself to guard Soundwave and his younger brother. He knew of course that she had only done so because Starscream had been far too young to be an active member of the High Guard.
She had given him a ‘cushy’ job, being barely an adult. Not that it was at all ‘cushy’. No, Soundwave was a silent brooding statue most of the time that creeped around and freaked everyone else out. It was no wonder that the kid didn’t have any friends. His younger brother however could not be more diametrically opposed to Soundwave. He was raucous, loud and impulsive. He had passion, was an ambitious little bitlet and Starscream loved him. He loved both of them dearly as Soundwave had to have grown on him. The Audiobot was equally as passionate and ‘loud’ as the young Scion but in his own special way.
Offering to create a new voice box for Soundwave with his scientific skill showed him a completely different side to Soundwave. He was loyal and passionate and he would die for anyone who showed him affection or gratitude. Starscream found himself inseparable from the two Fornax sparkling from that point. He was an older sibling to the both of them.
He still was, even after Scion was long since gone and Soundwave… oh Soundwave…
He should have never gotten into a relationship with Megatron. Starscream had warned him yet the Audiobot refused to listen. He knew that Soundwave getting attached to Megatron was a bad idea. He could see it from a mile away but this was Soundwave. Soundwave who only had him as a friend and was failing to see that he was trying to replace the grief he felt for the loss of Scion with that of Megatron’s affection. Megatron himself, a broken bot, cast away by someone who had been so close.
At first he had liked Megatron. His fire reminded him of Megatronus and of Scion. He was loud, impulsive and inspiring. Any mech could see that the klik he had refused to kneel before Sentinel. He loathed admitting it, but he had liked the damn idiotic buffoon.
For a while.
That feeling had been mutual for a while too. At first Megatron had respected him, sought his console even if he had beaten his aft in front of the entire guard. Megatron had still sought out Starscream’s advice, his intelligence and his strategies. They had not been friends but they had at the very least been amicable. And Starscream was more than willing to keep Megatron close, especially considering he was an extremely powerful D-Class.
One more powerful than Kilotronyx, Scion and even Termagax. Oh that sneaky, guile scientist had fooled most but she hadn’t fooled Starscream. Perhaps… Megatron was even more powerful than Galvatron.
Yet, he once again had to stick his nose in where it probably shouldn’t have been.
Soundwave and Megatron. Two lost sparks who had suffered tragic losses and gravitated to each other because of it. They had tried to fill the empty space in each others sparks and in the end, their relationship imploded causing the collapse of the Decepticons and their entire cause.
Starscream had tried to stop them. He had tried to warn them but no one listened to him. No one ever listened to him.
Except that clever, young Terran who for some reason found a sliver of goodness in him. One he wasn’t sure even existed anymore. At least, he didn’t believe that it did.
Starscream gave a frustrated yell and threw himself into a violent barrel roll, spinning himself to try and shake his frustrations out of him. All it did was almost make him descend into a flat spin. With a frustrated snarl he leveled out and tried to gather his wits about him.
He once thought of Soundwave as a brother. Soundwave and Scion had been so close. The three of them had gotten up to mischief. They had been inseparable.
He knew that Kilotronyx had chosen him to guard her sparklings with the hopes that Soundwave would finally be able to make a friend. He had also been an outcast in the high guard. A high born scientist from the city of Vos wasn’t exactly going to fit in with the mostly warrior frames that hailed from places like Tarn and Kaon.
He was grateful though, it meant that he could learn to fight from Megatronus Prime himself. He had grown from a meek little Wing Princeling to a powerful and formidable fighter. One who in the absence of Kilotronyx had risen to lead the High Guard and stride onto battlefields beside Megatronus Prime himself.
He had felt unstoppable. Yet, the absence of Skyfire…
It left an ache in his spark. He had joined the High Guard to protect him, to protect someone who he had believed to be his conjunx, only to fail, unable to do anything but watch as Skyfire left him for Iacon. Left for that ill fated expedition to what they now knew as Earth.
And when he had found him again, frozen in the polar ice, Megatron had–
“That doesn’t matter now, that doesn’t matter now!” Starscream found himself screaming at himself. “Stop thinking about it! It doesn’t matter!”
Starscream transformed into his root form, his servos clenched as he let out a scream of frustration. If only he could raise Quintus’s titan–
“Screamer?” A familiar voice he hadn’t heard in an age suddenly called to him and Starscream froze, his cheek plates burning in embarrassment as he heard the familiar jets of a fellow seeker. “You– you okay?”
Starscream frowned to himself before turning to look back at an old friend who had once been a part of the Elite Trine. His brother in arms.
“Didn’t think you cared about me anymore, Thundercracker,” Starscream scoffed and Thundercracker looked hurt at the accusation.
“Of course I still care about you Starscream,” Thundercracker tried to reassure him but Starscream only pouted in reply. “I left because of Shockwave, I didn’t agree with what that crazy mech was doing. He’s worse than Termagax ever was.”
Starscream didn’t look convinced but his expression softened.
“What are you doing out here anyway? Shouldn’t you be off with your writing pal, Megatron?” Starscream sneered at the blue seeker.
“Hot Rod’s gone missing,” Thundercracker bit his lip in concern.
“The idiotic little flame Autobot?”
“That’s him,” Thundercracker nodded. “He spent a few days with Soundwave but then went missing.”
“Soundwave?” Starscream spluttered in surprise and Thundercracker shrugged.
“Yeah, it’s weird and I don’t get it either,” the Seeker murmured looking out towards Autobot base. “Well, if you’re all good, I need to keep moving. Hot Rod’s not going to find himself.”
Liar.
Starscream knew in an instant that his old trinemate was lying. Thundercracker had never been good at it. He was always too honest.
“Right,” Starscream decided to play it off. “No need to worry about me. I’ll just go and find a way to get Sounders out of Shockwave’s claw. You know how it is.”
Thundercracker nodded with a smile and transformed back into his robot mode.
“If I find anything, I’ll let you know,” Thundercracker acknowledged. “I know that you and Sounders were close once. Good luck!”
Without another word, Thundercracker blasted off into the distance, his wing tips leaving trails in the sky.
Once, Thundercracker had said. They had been close once.
Hopefully, when this was all over he could do something about that. And maybe he could win back Skyfire while he was at it too.
Starscream narrowed his optics, watching as Thundercracker slowly became a speck near the horizon.
He felt a pull deep in his tanks, telling him to investigate the ex-Decepticon. His instincts, pointing him in the direction of his old trine mate despite his need to assist Soundwave.
Considering his options for a moment, Starscream finally made his decision.