Chapter Text
Their new base was one of the replacements the scouts had found in the past—An abandoned junkyard, filled to the brim with jagged, broken items. The worst of it had been swept into piles, leaving thin walkways. It was beneath the junk that the true base lay.
Freshly patched together lights shone on the ceiling, which was supported by many mismatched metal panels welded together. No work was done on this location when Starscream had led the Decepticons, so all of it had to be new. Mecha parted as Soundwave led him to the back of the room, where a particularly bright light shone.
"Decepticons!" Soundwave exclaimed.
The crowd snapped to attention. Ravage wound between Starscream and Soundwave before taking the stage. After a quick glance at Soundwave, Ravage sent a comm, punctuating it with a roar.
[We have spent too long allowing ourselves to be controlled. First by the forged, and now by Megatron and the Autobots! With the blow we dealt tonight, we have supplies to last us longer than it will take for them to recover, but we are not free yet!]
Ravage glanced at Soundwave again. At a slight tilt of Soundwave's head, Ravage stepped back.
"Leadership—not an easy task," Soundwave said. "Decepticons—disorganized for too long."
Soundwave turned back toward Starscream, offering him a hand. Starscream took it and stood by his side. Then, Soundwave raised their hands, light bouncing off of them like the sun off of water.
"A single, authoritarian leader no longer," Soundwave said. "Together—we will lead."
Starscream's optics locked with Soundwave's visor. Slowly, Soundwave released his hand. Both mecha lowered their hands as the crowd cheered.
The optics that stared up at Starscream were familiar. With so few mecha left, they had to be. That didn't stop his wings from itching at the sight, or keep a pang of emptiness from seizing his spark.
He pushed the feelings away. Right now, he needed to speak.
"I will take this position with the zeal I have always had," Starscream said. "It is my sincere hope that we will find freedom, and peace with it. Let us all have a seat at the table—not just the most forceful and underhanded of us."
Ravage let out a yowl, sending a comm along with it.
[Decepticons, rise up!]
The crowd echoed the message. Despite their small numbers, the noise pierced Starscream's audials. His plating snapped close in an effort to avoid fidgeting.
Eventually, the crowd's cheers subsided, and the meeting with it. Starscream tapped a pede, plating starting to tingle. He nearly jumped as Ravage rubbed a cheek against his shin.
[Take a break,] Ravage sent. [Get Soundwave to come with you. I can handle things for now.]
Starscream nodded and turned to Soundwave.
"Soundwave?"
Soundwave tilted his head.
"Why don't you show me our quarters?" Starscream said. "We do have one, don't we?"
"Affirmative."
Soundwave led him through a tunnel. Curtains covered various holes on the side of the tunnel—presumably other rooms. Theirs was toward the end of it.
They moved through the curtain, and Starscream froze. His body burned as if someone had poured molten metal on him. His fans, already on, whirred loudly.
Starscream picked at his arm guards, fighting back a whine. He knew this feeling.
"S—Soundwave—"
Soundwave snapped to attention. He stepped carefully toward Starscream, hand landing gently on his shoulder, and steered him toward the berth. They both sat on the edge.
Starscream leaned into Soundwave. The other mech pulled him close, and he pushed himself into his tape deck. Soundwave's grip intensified. Despite the intensity, it was soothing.
They stayed locked like that until both of their sets of cooling fans went silent. Soundwave was the first to speak.
"Shouldn't have made you," Soundwave said.
"Ma—made me what?" Starscream asked.
"Speak so soon," Soundwave said. "Too close to confrontation."
"It had—had to be done," Starscream said.
Soundwave nodded.
Starscream poked his shoulder gently. "Besides, you spoke. It's only fair."
Soundwave looked away. His helm shifted downward slightly as his fingers traced the lining of his panels.
"Everything—will be better," Soundwave said. "We—will make it better."
Starscream rested his helm on Soundwave's shoulder.
"Yes, we will."
☆☆☆
Starscream watched from the corner of the main room as mecha milled about. On the side of the room, the inextinguishable game of tower fall stood, a small group clustered around it. Surprisingly, this group did not include Skywarp, though Nova Storm was at the edge of it.
The longer Starscream stared, the more he found himself searching for…
He flicked his wings. Why would he expect them to be here? Foolish, foolish, foolish…
Hands grabbed him from behind, which shouldn't have been possible. The world spun. Where was he? Who had—
Purple. Of course.
"Skywarp," Starscream said.
Skywarp glared at him, dentae bared. "You can't just do this."
"Do what?"
Skywarp threw her hands wide. "This! Coming back like nothing happened, taking command again—you just can't!"
Starscream tilted his head. "Why not? No one else protested."
"You don't—" Skywarp cut herself off either a growl of frustration, wings flaring. "You just don't—!"
Starscream's spark hummed painfully in his chest, but he pushed it aside. "Don't what, Skywarp?"
Skywarp burst forward. Starscream didn't have time to flinch before she was upon him, pinning him to a nearby rock.
"What is wrong with you?" Skywarp yelled. "You spent the majority of the war getting kicked around by Megatron, and I tried to support you then! I really did! But you just kept throwing yourself into danger!"
She closed her optics, grip tightening. Then, she snapped upward and started again.
"And Thundercracker! It was like you didn't care! But I kept looking after you, because it was what she would've wanted."
Skywarp's grip tightened even further, the joints between her fingers creaking.
"And then you… it was like you wanted to destroy yourself! You cut your rations, even though you'd always burned fuel faster than us—"
He'd always what—?
"—and you were barely recharging, barely keeping yourself clean, and you kept having your episodes, and I couldn't do anything to help because you wouldn't let me! It was like being in that ship again, picking you up after that fragger slagged you, and I just…"
Skywarp's optics met his, filled with fuzz.
"I thought if I stopped trying, I'd stop caring."
Her grip slackened. Starscream could've escaped easily, but he didn't.
"I just—" Skywarp's gaze fell. Then, she sprang forward, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his neck. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please don't do this again."
Starscream returned the embrace, spark calming. "I'm not. You can't stop me from taking command, but I won't be alone this time."
Skywarp hugged him tighter.
☆☆☆
Starscream roused from recharge early, systems lagging. The room was dark, and he was sandwiched between Soundwave and Skywarp. Soundwave was beneath him, so that wasn't much of an issue, but Skywarp was on top of him, and Nova Storm was on top of her. Ravage laid across all three of them, purring even in sleep.
Even if Starscream wanted to get up, he couldn't. He sighed quietly and attempted to reenter recharge, but his processor refused. He opened his optics and…
Two small lights stared at him from across the room.
[Rumble,] Starscream tried.
The tiny lights crept closer. Starscream received a 'message read' indicator. He rolled his optics.
"Rumble," he said quietly.
Rumble stared at him from the foot of the berth. Then, he hopped up, carefully avoiding the limbs of the sleeping mecha that surrounded him.
"Where were you?" Starscream asked. "Soundwave said you were gone."
"Scoutin' n' stuff," Rumble said. "Bossbot didn't want us on the big mission, so he gave us a li'l one."
So, they hadn't left him after all. They were just assigned an alternative mission, and Soundwave had to speak vaguely to avoid blowing their cover. That made much more sense. How long had Soundwave planned this? And why hadn't he been told?
The light of Rumble's optics caught on the arm guards, and Starscream was immediately reminded why. He hadn't exactly been stable for the majority of the plan. Admittedly, he spent much more time recovering from the impact of his time alone than actually being present while he was with the Autobots.
Rumble looked between Starscream and the sleeping mecha.
"You can join us," Starscream said.
Rumble crawled to his side, tucking himself between Starscream and Soundwave.
"We found somethin'," Rumble said, optics dimming. "Frenzy's still guardin' it."
"Recharge," Starscream said. "We can pick it up tomorrow."
☆☆☆
They met Frenzy deep inside a cave. Surrounded by water was a jagged stalagmite that bore a strange crystal at the top of it. It reflected what little light was in the cavern, almost glittering.
"What is it?" Starscream asked.
Frenzy shrugged. "Dunno. But it seemed powerful."
"Powerful how?"
Frenzy motioned toward the crystal. "Try 'n touch it."
Starscream approached the crystal, pausing when his pedes hit water. The water was cold, but as he carefully placed one pede after another, there was no risk of being swallowed by it. In the darkness, it appeared much deeper than it was.
As he touched crystal, a tingling energy coursed through his frame. He pulled his hand away. The energy was familiar—eerily familiar. He scanned the crystal.
"Spark energy," he muttered.
There was no way. Not on this planet. Starscream's frame was rooted in place. The Autobots—they could never know about this. Starscream pulled the crystal from the stalagmite and turned back toward the group.
"We need to hide this," Starscream said. "Right now."
As he walked back toward them, Skywarp waved a hand."Woah, woah, woah! You can't just say something like that and not explain!"
Starscream clutched the crystal.
"It's emitting spark energy. Nothing that's not a mech emits spark energy unless it can be used to create sparks."
The rest of the group stiffened, Soundwave especially.
"You're saying we could construct more mecha?" Skywarp asked quietly.
"If we have the materials," Starscream said. "But the Autobots could as well, if they got their hands on this."
Skywarp's wings were held wide and high, fiery determination in her optics. "We won't let that happen."
☆☆☆
Skywarp teleported them to the most secure room in the base—one of the few with an actual door. Starscream placed the crystal on a freshly repaired table. Just what kind of life could this create? Forged mecha came from cityformers and planetformers. Warframes came from captured sparks. Drones…
Starscream tapped a pede.
Drones were made from partial sparks—a split off from a living mech's spark, channeled into a focusing medium. It was why they'd not been considered mecha, despite having sparks. They were just half-sparked clones of another mech, placed into a useful body.
The duplication process didn't always succeed, and mecha created from it were prone to more problems than forged mecha, usually related to faulty integration or improper processing. But because of the focusing medium, it could also result in powerful abilities—known as outliers—like those of Skywarp's.
If this crystal could act as a focusing medium, they could turn the tide. An army of super-powered mecha at their fingertips, if only they had the resources. But—Starscream sighed to himself—they weren't here to wage war.
The crystal reflected what little light there was in the room.
How much did Starscream remember of his own creation? Very little came to him, except…
Starscream chuckled. "Shockwave would've loved this."
"Shockwave—would have," Soundwave said.
The scientist had always enjoyed ethically dubious puzzles. Whether it was how much energeon deprivation a mech could withstand before they died or how to force a connection without detection, Shockwave was the mech to tackle it. It was one of the reasons Starscream stayed away from the science department at first, but he grew used to it over time.
Was it twisted to miss the sound of screams?
Starscream turned back toward the group. "This will not leave this room. No one must ever know about it."
"Agreed," Soundwave said.
☆☆☆
Starscream was experimenting with chips from the Emberstone—as they had taken to calling the crystal—when he received a comm from Skywarp.
[You'll wanna see this.]
[See what?] He sent back.
[Just get over here! You'll see!]
Starscream rolled his optics and put his experiments on pause. He made sure to close and lock the door behind him, drawing the curtain in front of it. Then, he headed toward the main room.
His mecha spared him brief glances. The never-ending game of towerfall continued in the corner of the room. Skywarp wasn't there, so where was she?
Starscream ascended to the surface. He was met with a familiar silhouette in front of the setting sun. He reset his optical feed, but the sight remained the same.
"Blitzwing," he said.
Blitzwing stepped closer. "Yes. It is me."
Skywarp stopped scratching behind Buster's ear for a moment to glance at the two of them, a smile on her face.
"Told you that you'd wanna see this," she said smugly.
Starscream sighed fondly and turned his attention back toward Icebeam, who was pulling something out of his cockpit. He offered it to Starscream. Was that…?
"Bumblebee said to give this to you," Icebeam said.
Starscream took Ulchtar gently. "Thank you."
Icebeam dipped his head. He glanced at Skywarp, then turned back to Starscream. He hesitated, smacking his lips.
"I am glad to see you leading again," Icebeam said.
"And I'm proud to lead," Starscream said.
As they led Icebeam into the camp and Skywarp showed him around, a thought lingered in the back of Starscream's processor. Bumblebee had told Icebeam to give Ulchtar to him. In spite of the betrayal, he had remembered and cared. Did he and Knock Out still do movie nights despite having lost the majority of the attendees?
Knock Out. Starscream fiddled with the edges of his arm guards. Who would handle his appointments now? Who would fix his paint job?
Megatron wasn't the only thing he left behind.
☆☆☆
Starscream was sipping his morning fuel—filtered exactly to specifications, because Soundwave truly had been prepared—when his proximity sensors sent an alert. He sighed, not even bothering to turn as the mech behind him loomed.
"What is it, Dirge?" He asked.
"Snow swirls upon the land, bitter and cold," Dirge said. "But crystals gleam beneath the surface."
"So you did find something," Starscream said.
The old warframe had a habit of speaking poetically no matter the situation. It was rare that he dropped the tendency. As long as Starscream could tell what he was saying, he didn't mind. There were much more important things than how Dirge spoke—such as the confirmation of Rumble and Frenzy's findings.
Dirge dipped his head.
"That's good," Starscream said.
Neither the Autobots nor Decepticons had devoted much time to the poles of the planet, dissuaded by the extreme cold. It was a perfect place to search for energeon without risking a fight.
Starscream continued, "Put a team together. Take short shifts. If snow gets beneath your plating, go somewhere to defrost."
It would take extra work—and therefore extra energeon—to keep a mech warm in such a cold environment. Shorter shifts would limit the effects of the cold, even if that meant it would take more time to extract energeon.
Perhaps, it would be worth it to see if one of their scientists could create something to aid his mecha in withstanding the cold. Maybe Tarantulas? Starscream would have taken the project himself if it weren't for the Emberstone. As Dirge left, he drafted a comm to Tarantulas.
When he finally felt it was decent enough to send, he was already being pestered by another mech. Though, as he turned to the source of the presence beside him, pestered wasn't quite the right word. Popshot's fuzzy optics stared into his, a grin on his face.
"Popshot," Starscream said quietly.
"Movie night?" Popshot asked. "You don't seem too busy."
Starscream sighed. "We don't have a working television."
Skywarp appeared beside him with a pop of air, nearly startling him off of his pedes.
"Yeah, we do," she said.
"Since when?" Starscream said, voice coming off sharper than intended.
Skywarp paid the irritated tone no mind, dramatically tipping her hand toward Popshot. "He brought it. We just set it up."
"I suppose I can indulge you."
☆☆☆
By the time the movie began, there were eight mecha in the room. Skywarp and Nova Storm rested on one side of Starscream, with Soundwave and his cassettes on the other. Popshot was the farthest away from him. They were all on the floor, various rags and torn pillows cushioning them. Unfortunately, constructing a cybertronian-sized couch with the resources they had proved difficult.
The movie was an odd one. It starred a young dog with strange dreams. Why did they choose to watch so many movies about dogs? As Buster yawned nearby, he was reminded of why.
Popshot had chosen the movie, claiming to have found it in one of the trash heaps. As it continued, the reason for that became clear—it was a confusing mess. The dog had been a human, somehow.
[Do you understand any of this?] Starscream sent to Soundwave.
[Negative,] Soundwave replied.
Starscream leaned on Soundwave's shoulder.
[Should've let you pick the movie,] Starscream sent.
The dog attempted to kill his past human life's business partner only to realize he had been the one responsible for his own death. Starscream fought not to laugh. What a fool!
Though, the more he thought about it, the more interesting the idea of living multiple lives became. It was something unexplored in the few faiths he had learned of. Starscream was not a religious mech, and even if he had been interested, there was little opportunity for it.
Soundwave slumped against him, visor darkening as he slipped into recharge. On the screen, the dog dug at his own grave. It was horribly corny, which was only outweighed by the strangeness of its premise. Somehow, the dog's family understood this—realizing that he was their absentee family member—and they left him.
The message of the film was clear: value your friends and family.
"He asleep?" Skywarp asked quietly, leaning over to glance at Soundwave.
Starscream nodded.
Skywarp smirked. "He looks kinda cute when he's not staring ominously."
"That's just how he is."
Skywarp raised a brow. "Cute or ominous?"
Starscream rolled his optics and sighed. Despite the show of exasperation he was putting on, she had caught him, and he had to admit she was clever. The group fell silent as the movie came to an end. Popshot loaded the next movie in.
As the title appeared, Starscream's spark hummed uneasily. He berated himself. Why, when he was surrounded by allies, doing something fun, did he feel dread? Red flashed on the screen.
At any moment, the Autobots could find them. Like so many times before, Starscream's joy existed in a careful balance. Safety was a fragile thing, easily torn apart by large, brutish hands.