Clipped Chapter 21

Heavy gunfire lit up the air as the autobots found themselves surrounded by not only vehicons, but Dreadwing and Megatron as well. Starscream locked optics with Optimus Prime, and both knew the plan was on. Racing forward together, they left the group and headed straight for Megatron, who prepared a shot from his cannon at their approach.

Once they were satisfyingly apart from the rest of the autobots, Starscream lunged to his side and struck some random parts of Prime, trying not to laugh at how the other tumbled to his knees from hits that literally did no damage. The semi was a gifted thespian. “Lord Megatron, I present you Optimus Prime, leader of the accursed Autobots,” Starscream cried out, ‘securing’ his ‘catch’.

The seeker could hear sounds of disbelief from his, dare he say friends, behind him and glanced back. All of their expressions held disbelief and anger, but Arcee caught his optics the most. She looked utterly broken and thoroughly furious at what appeared to be his second betrayal. He turned back to Megatron, plastering on the most self-proud expression he could, as he bowed his head.

“I have conditions, or course, master, but you couldn’t ask for a more rewarding present!”

“Starscream, you never cease to amaze me with how fickle your loyalty is,” Megatron laughed before requesting a ground bridge. He didn’t want to waste time with securing the hostage, so giving up this fight to the vehicons, even when they would surely fail,  was a consequence he was willing to take. “Dreadwing, assist our ally Starscream on hauling Prime to the Nemesis.”

“Starscream, we trusted you...! How...?”

Optimus’s words almost caught Starscream off guard, but the seeker easily spun,” How could you really be fooled by my plot of joining you? All I wanted was power, and I knew that you wrapped up in a bow would be a good first step to reclaiming it.”

“How could you do this to us?” Bulkhead called angrily.

Starscream painfully cried out,” With pleasure!” as he hefted Prime through the green portal with Dreadwing. He had known that the others would hate him, and hadn’t been foolish enough to believe it wouldn’t hurt... but the words cut him deeper than any sabre ever could.

As he was pulling his comrade onto the Nemesis, Megatron joined them through the ground bridge before it cut out.

“I believe I have a pretty good idea of your demands, and I’m willing to accommodate the application for second in command,” Megatron said,” but you better be careful what else you ask for after the treachery you have wreaked upon our side.”

With a bow, Starscream said,” Why, master, the only other thing I request is one hour of torturing this jerkaft before you get your servos on him. You would not believe the humiliation he let me suffer as I infiltrated the autobots.”

With a thoughtful grin, Megatron said,” I’ll give you half an hour at the most. I want him fresh for my turn.” He would humor the traitorous wretch for this one request, but only because he didn’t plan on letting Starscream live past today. The seeker had crossed him one too many times, and he didn’t intend to let him get away with that. He would pay with his spark, but Megatron would afford him the luxury of one last gift since Starscream had given him such a nice one.

“Your kindness is too much, master.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that.”

He watched the leader of the decepticons stalk off. "Neither would I," Starscream whispered with a hint of a sadistic smirk. Finally he would have his revenge, but his smile fell as he realized the revenge didn't matter anymore. Optimus laid there, trying to seem as useless as possible, and Starscream grabbed the forearm and twisted it behind his back and lifted up so he could walk him to a room. Remembering to keep up appearances, he growled," C'mon Prime, I haven't all day.”

Dreadwing followed as the pair began to walk along with the pair on their way to the torturing chamber and commented,” He seems too compliant.”

“I crippled his systems. The mech was a fool to confide his sensitive areas,” Starscream said, trying to add a convincing snicker. He was actually pretty pleased with his laugh, which boosted his confidence in his acting. “But he’s probably planning something, so keep a close eye on him.”

“Of course.”

The two walked Optimus Prime through the Nemesis, and Starscream was glad that Dreadwing kept silence and went along with his recently received power. That made this whole procedure so much easier. When they reached the torture chambers, Starscream turned to the decepticon and smirked, asking,” Could you ask Knock Out to start setting up for his newest patient? When I’m done with him, he may need critical care if he’s to be played with by Megatron.”

A deep scowl tore through Dreadwing’s expression at being asked to do something so menial, but he merely asked,” Do you really think it wise to leave only yourself with Optimus Prime?”

“Oh, I’m not concerned.”

With a nod, he departed, willing to follow this traitor only because Megatron decreed it and he would follow his master’s every command. Starscream led his partner into the chamber and whispered low,” Soundwave won’t be listening if Megatron doesn’t suspect me.” Saying those words were hard to say with a serious tone. After all, it was that eavesdropping jerkaft that had caused so very many problems for Starscream in his pursuit of power. However, if Soundwave believed what he said, it would be helpful to throw Megatron off his game. He stared directly into Prime’s optics, passing along exactly what his internal monologue had confirmed. The other knew exactly what he planned, so he began feeding the false plan,“ I need you to head to Megatron’s quarters while I head to the bridge. You ready?”

“Yes, I believe only them having many guards stationed on the bridge could hinder our strategy.”

The seeker’s optics lit up with amusement at the other playing right along with. “Alright, I think it’s time we go.”

Opening the door, he took off for his duty, leaving the Prime to his own devices. All he needed to do was distract Megatron, and the silver bot was sure his leader could manage the task. He headed for a main terminal and opened his side to attain the very important disc. Pressing a few indentations, it unfolded into spiked hardware that contained numerous cables that could plug to the computer. Knowing time was of the essence, he immediately started maneuvering through security and trying to open his program he’d carefully constructed with the Nemesis in mind.

“What are you-”

Starscream turned his head and shot down the vehicon before it had the time to discern he was an enemy. He couldn’t waste time. As he typed the required sequences, many things rushed through his central processor, among them, the poem by Langston Hughes that Arcee’s human had to analyze so long ago. “What happens to a dream deferred?” The seeker whispered to himself, looking around.

“Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?” He had tried so long, put so much effort towards becoming the leader of the decepticons. Was it all worth it? With a dry chuckle, he whispered,” Wonderful, I’m reciting human poetry now...” What choice words would Airachnid have for that?

Still, the mech felt compelled and continued,“ Or fester like a sore-- and then run?” He had suffered so much pain because of his insatiable lust for power and willingness to do anything to achieve it, and now he was going to throw everything away for the autobots.

“Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over-- like a syrupy sweet?” His claws continued inputting data and clearing codes. In order for this to work, it had to manually be set into motion. He couldn’t save himself, but he’d be able to take out the Decepticon’s base. Maybe that could make up for everything he’d done, redeem himself slightly.

His wings drooped as he thought over his life and wondered if anyone would truly miss him. Would Arcee? “Maybe it just sags like a heavy load,” He said in a louder register, feeling dreadfully cold at seeing the screen light up with his virus at work.

Arcee had told him that day when he suffered Airachnid’s wrath that he wasn’t allowed to die, and she’d seemed to truly be upset as he faded out. She had laid beside him through the night he awoke, and had confided that she had feelings for him-- but after all he had done, would his passing really leave that big of an impact?

With the final sequence completely typed in, Starscream finished Langston’s poem,” Or does it explode?” It wasn’t the perfect metaphor, since as he entered the data, the whole of the Nemesis was caught in an implosion.

~~
~~

Optimus Prime realized what was happening as a severe force pulled him towards the lower region of the ship. Fortunately for him, he was close enough to Megatron to grab onto the other’s alt mode as the leader of the decepticons attempted to flee his imploding ship.

“Let go of me!” He cried out angrily as he felt the weight of his enemy pull him back. He couldn’t support both of them in this horrendous vacuum, not that he wished to anyways. The mysterious implosion lasted little to no time, but his ship was no longer beneath him and Optimus wasn’t letting go.

Prime dragged them both down until he was low enough in altitude that he felt comfortable to drop to the ground. It was a long fall, but his pneumatic shocks took the brunt of it and he rolled into a transformation so he could continue driving and come to a stop at his own choosing.

“Optimus!” Bulkhead called out as the red and blue semi came into view. “We thought you were done for!” He received an elbow from Arcee and he muttered,” Jus’ sayin’...”

“Where is Starscream? Has he landed yet?”

Bumblebee beeped questioningly, wondering why they should care about the traitor.

Optimus Prime quickly explained,” It was a ruse; we used it to distract Megatron as he used a device of his making to explode-” Gazing up at the ship, a large portion of it compressed into a wrinkled ball of heavy metal, he corrected himself,” implode the Nemesis.” Several small explosions sounded in the background as the warship descended.

“H-He didn’t betray us...?” Arcee asked with poorly concealed joy. Something catching her eye, she pointed to the sky and shouted,” Look! I think we just found him!”

Starscream whistled through the air, descending with little control. He was in his jet mode, but with how warped all of his limbs and wings had become from the implosion, he could do little but marginally steer himself. After the Nemesis imploded, numerous small explosions had ejected the seekers body, and gravity won, dragging Starscream towards the Earth. He was beyond confused however... The implosion was supposed to have left the whole of the Nemesis in a twisted piece no more voluminous than a third its original size, but as he looked up, he saw a mostly functioning ship.

Bulkhead leapt into action, chasing down where the seeker should about land. How close to the edge of a cliff it was left the bot on edge. “I gotcha’!” He shouted up at his friend, reaching for the other as he quickly approached the ground.

Starscream tried to lift up as he saw the incoming cliff, trying to slow down enough that he could better swerve away from the incoming gorge. Instead, he began spinning completely out of control.

He cursed as he missed the cliff and now was going to fall a near mile further at an alarming speed-

Large servos gripped his tail wings in a way reminiscent of how Megatron had once stopped him from fleeing in an attempt to spare his life. Though this time, it was to keep him from plummeting and save his life. His plating violently scraped against itself and the ground as Bulkhead swung him down into the ground behind him. “Ugh, sorry for the rough landing, Screamers,” The bot said as he looked back at the seeker he just saved, but in doing so, smashed like a wrecking ball.

“I-if I’m still functioning, I must have failed,” The jet concluded with a glitching vocalizer, it having suffered mild damage in the sequence of events. “The Nemesis... still...”

“This little trick of Optimus and yours almos’ got ya’ killed,” The olive bot said, clumsily shifting around to get a better look at the other. He wasn’t a medic or anything, but the seeker did not look to be in very good shape.

“The plan never was for me to make it out online; it was to make a difference and take out the Decpticon headquarters...”

Disconcerted by the other’s words, he tried to overlook the silver bot’s apparent suicidal tendencies, and asked,” Can you transform?”

“I don’t think I should find out,” He bitterly laughed in pain.

“Up ya’ go, we’re getting back to base,” Bulkhead grunted as he hefted the jet up and onto his shoulder. “For such a skinny guy, you got weight.” Despite saying this, the bot didn’t even seem encumbered as he walked back towards the other autobots who were on their way towards him.

“A little over nine thousand kilograms, though I think I lost quite a bit of that in the last little while...”

That received a laugh and cordial,” Yeah, pretty sure you’re right.”

“You idiot!” A very distinct voice rang out,” How could you lie to us? And then try to blow yourself up?” Her anger caught up in her vocalizer as she saw him being lugged around on Bulk’s shoulders rather than walking. “Starscream...?”

With a laugh, Bulkhead assured her,” He’s fine, just got a few dings in’m.” The larger autobot didn’t want to see more of Arcee’s shocked and broken gaze, and Starscream’s vocalizer already sounded better.

“Yes, because a few dings is all you receive from surviving an implosion,” Starscream said with a deadpan voice.

Bumblebee cheerfully assured Starscream that Ratchet wouldn’t have any problems with taking out even severe dings, and Starscream couldn’t help but feel a little warmth at the other trying to make him feel better. However, instead of warm words in return, he simply grumbled in response.

“Ratchet, requesting a ground bridge at my coordinates,” Optimus Prime alerted their science officer. It didn’t take long for the group to be heading through the green portal, Bulkhead still carrying Starscream over his shoulder.

Giving the group a speculative glance, he asked,” Didn’t go as planned, I take it?” Optimus had warped metal that couldn’t be achieved through just fighting, and the seeker remained in jet form having to be towed around by Bulkhead. Something went awry.

“No, it went spectacularly,” Starscream snapped. “I don’t know that I can transform without causing internal injury, and I really don’t feel like any more bedrest.” He’d had enough serious injuries this metacycle to last him a vorn.

With a snort at the other’s short temper, Ratchet started scanning his recurring patient and sighed in relief. “With a little help, you should be able to transform just fine, and we can straighten out the warped plating easily enough.” He tagged on something about the seeker being a wimp, but denied it when questioned.

The next hour was devoted to Ratchet working with Starscream and unfolding mechanism by mechanism, a slow process that required simple but indefatigable helping correct each piece before allowing his patient to extend more.

Arcee came by Starscream as Ratchet went to attend to Optimus whom had much less serious warping. Crossing her servos, she bluntly said,” What you did was stupid.” He looked up from his seat on the medical table.

Furrowing his orbital ridges, he muttered,” You’re welcome. I incapacitated their warship.”

“But nearly at the cost of your life! It wasn’t a necessary action, we could sabotage them in much safer ways, with everyone working together,” She gritted out.

“What do you want? First you say that I’m abandoning you if I don’t put our team first, then I sacrifice myself to do a wonderful service for them and you’re still not happy!”

Arcee stood there quietly and averted her gaze. “I want you to be a good autobot, but I don’t want you to be a glorious, offline autobot,” She finally whispered.

Wincing as he thought of this, Starscream quickly tried to apologize, but was cut off by Arcee,“ You don’t have to say sorry, just try not to be a lugnut in the future.”

Her tone was lighter again, and Starscream smiled weakly. “I’ll do my best.”