Something I wanted to put together for a long time. In case this gets confusing:

The narrator is speaking now

The story

Author is speaking

Hope that helped a tiny bit! Always open for suggestions. I'm making this a Seeker legend and story dump x3 Enjoy~

Cybertron had great cities, including Iacon and Kaon and Vos. Less is known about the latter except a few facts. For example, if you were not a Seeker, you were not allowed within the gates. It was also common knowledge that Vos had Kings and Queens sit in the palace in the middle of the grand city surrounded by black fencing. If you passed at a certain time, says another drunk mech twirling his High Grade in his cube, you could see the royal Seekerlings playing for just a short while under the supervision of a Keeper, or the royal caretaker which was most often an officer. Onixblade was one of the favorite Keepers, and she Kept several royal lines.

Another mech would tell you that Onixblade died many years ago, before the Last Princes were even born while three more would say that she would lay down with the King, and another drunker mech than the first would say she herself carried the Last Princes.

But rumors are rumors, and it is time to lay them to rest.

Settle in, child, for I know the tale.

Starscream was the first born. He was favored by the King, adored by the Queen, though there were two more on his heels, always on his heels. He loved his littler brothers, but he would be King when, if, the time came. He was adored because he held the most promise, the largest wings on record for a Prince. He was of pure royal blood, and his features displayed it, which was a relief to the King.

The King was of mixed blood. His sire was the great King Nebulan, who was purest out of his trine. He was the only mechling in the trine, and he laid down with the Queen, a pure royal. But she was unable to produce, and so he turned to his sisters for help. One was beautiful gold and purple, but a healthy trine was not carried by her, and so he turned to the youngest, who received all the bad genetics: short, clipped wings, wide optics, and fraying claws. But she carried three trines for her brother so he could have an heir to pick. Since they were born in secret, and Primus knows they were not keeping track or score, he got to pick, and thank Primus for that. The first born of every trine, the one that was supposed to be King, died. The second borns died next, until it was only little Nebulan, who was the purest of all nine Seekerlings, left.

Starscream's carrier was pure. Her line has always been paired with royalty, and she was the first-born of Nebulan's time, born three solar cycles after the King, according to his lying sire.

After Starscream, there was Skywarp, and holding onto Skywarp's pede was a tiny blue sparkling. Every trine has its runt, and Thundercracker happened to be last born, and the most submissive out of his brothers. He allowed himself to be bullied for room, in and out of their carrier.

Now, Onixblade did, in fact, Keep that trine. She was still young, though she Kept three royals before Starscream's trine. When a Keeper died, a new sparkling was chosen to take her place, raised with the Seekerlings, but kept apart and set with more responsibilities than anyone could imagine. The Keeper slept with the servants, ate with the royal trine, and was not allowed to play with them. They were born and bred to observe the Seekerlings, nothing more.

She was grand, with large wings and glittery black armor that reflected the stars. She looked royal, and she was.

If the King is unbonded to his Queen, Kings will lay down in the servant hall. It was a common fact the Queens were told, and so most of them bonded with their King. Most of them. Royal Keepers like Onixblade often happened, and were immediately snuffed out if they messed up just once or even very slightly, but Onixblade was favored for her work with the royal trines.

Starscream proved to be trouble, and often required more than one swat to the helm, one Onixblade was allowed, but not supposed, to give. She herded the Seekerlings with such care that mechs often saw as carrier protectiveness, but she was fond of her job and wished to continue serving the royal line.

Skywarp was more trouble than Starscream, but he did his troublemaking out of sight, usually with his warping abilities. His favorite prank was to push his brother down the stairs when he started at the end of the hall. He was overly fond of his younger brother, and so Thundercracker was spared from his brother's antics.

When the King and Queen were kept busy, Onixblade kept the Seekerlings distracted. Though royal Seekerlings are usually handed off to the Keeper to imprint, some Queens and Kings hesitate, desire to be called Carrier and Sire, or simply forget. Starscream's creators were, in fact, called Carrier and Sire. And they were missed.

Thundercracker was hardest to soothe. He was young, dependant, not like his stubborn trine leader or his tricky brother. He would often cry for his brothers, refusing to be soothed by the Keeper. He wanted his Carrier, and sometimes she made room for her creations, and sometimes she could not.

And then came the day that Starscream was old enough to be trained as King.

What? You did not know Starscream was meant to be King? Well, you couldn't have thought that his ramblings about being leader were merely for attention! Oh, you did. Well, our dear Starscream was meant to lead Vos, take his sire's place, but things took a wrong turn or six. Take another High Grade and sit back, my dear listener. We still have time...

See, since Starscream was first born, he was meant to be King. That is how it has always gone. If he had died in the first months of his life, he would have been treated as though he didn't exist and swept under the rug, Skywarp placed as trine leader while an adopted Seekerling filled the hole in the trine.

To be trained as King, your sire had to make you better in every possible way, and that often killed the first born, and seen as a sign from Primus that the Seekerling was no good. The King had to leave his young son in the gardens for three days, whatever the weather, which supposedly taught the Seekerling to stand tall even in his darkest hour. The next task was fasting for as long as possible under the observation of a medic and the Keeper, in case she got any ideas about failing her job. After the Seekerling was placed back on a diet of Energon (Starscream lasted seven weeks without refueling, but his wings drooped and his optics were dim), they were set in a dark room, seperate from his trine. Up until that point, Skywarp and Thundercracker had been there for him to pat his wings and helm and pull his servo as they drug him along. Starscream was checked up on after three days, and rushed to the MedBay.

Seeker bonds are special. They are literally born with a bond already strong and in place with their brothers, and if that bond is stretched, limited, or broken, the Seekerling quite literally cannot survive. It took years for Nebulan to recover from the loss of his entire trine, and though Starscream lost his trine for three days, it was still a long time and the same amount of pain.

I know what you're thinking. Why the harsh treatment? Why didn't anyone step in and stop that? Well, child, you have to remember, if you weren't a Seeker, you weren't allowed in Vos, so when Optimus came to be Prime, he was allowed to speak to the King and Queen through the bars with a voice amplifier so they could hear him from the palace. They heard every other word.

And, besides, even if you did know, which only Keepers and royalty did, you would have had the same mindset: It is for the good of Vos. If you were a fragile Seeker, your first instinct would be to survive. Kings that did not know how to go without Energon, without shelter, and without contact from his family were useless. The Energon was supposed and always meant to go to the needy, and so the Kings fasted regularily, first starting when they were Seekerlings. Kings had to be able to function no matter what happened, and so their tasks became a What If game preparing them for the future.

Oh, still not happy? Well, good news to you. Vos gets burned down to its base a day before Starscream is of the age to be King, but first, Starscream gets to meet a mech and fall in love.

Skywarp followed the Pits of Kaon. That was what he adored. Had he not been royalty, he would have probably jumped right into the Pits to be a gladiator. His favorites were ranked on posters in his personal quarters: the ones closest to his berths were his favorites, further from it, the less he liked them, but one mech was his absolute favorite gladiator, no matter who stepped into the ring: Megatronus.

Royalty was hardly allowed out of the palace, and rarely let out without their Keeper. Keepers Kept until all royal lines died or until she did, no exceptions. She could not carry, could not be with a mech, and she could not have given herself over to one, so there were no reasons she would leave the palace except to breathe, stretch, and escort. Her life was dedicated to the Seekerlings, and so when Skywarp got special permission from his creators to go to Kaon with his brothers, Onixblade padded after them.

It was their first time out of Vos' gates. Thundercracker clung to his brothers and Skywarp led the small group of Seekers into the great city of Kaon, Home of the Pits.

(I know you see where this story is headed, but keep an open mind anyway.)

They sat front row, the first four seats you came to when you walked all the way down to the ring, and that was no easy feat. Onixblade was out of breath, and Thundercracker was asleep on his pedes, but Skywarp was trembling in exictement. Starscream remained...indifferent. And then he saw the mech.

He stood when the Pit boss announced that the royal Seekers were in the Pits, and he welcomed them down into the arena to "bless the gladiators", since Kings were known to have special gifts of blessing. Onixblade was an unexpected addition, and instead of slamming the gate in her face like he wanted, the Pit boss took her servo and helped her down to the sandy floor.

Starscream walked straight to the first cell, Skywarp always on his heels with Thundercracker in tow. The mech inside was also indifferent, and then he found Starscream still gazed at him with wide optics. He bared his denta at him, but it was a weak warning.

"Open it," Starscream growled.

The Pit boss hurriedly both told the King-in-training no, and then fumbled with the keys.

"Don't you know who this is? This is Megatronus, the most feared gladiator in the Pits!" And then the lock struck the sand.

Onixblade was scared of failing her bosses, the King and Queen. Their creations were to be kept safe and sound, and somehow, she didn't think they would let her off the hook if a gladiator mangled their sons on her watch. So she jumped in the way and bared her denta in a warning when the mech stood up and charged them, blowing the cage door off its hinges. But he was underfueled, and so he fell to his knees.

Skywarp watched with betrayed optics and he rounded on the Pit boss while Starscream guided the mech to his pedes, dismissing Onixblade's fearful chatter. Skywarp still complained about the gladiator's so-called "top-notch" living quarters and regular feeding schedule. And the audience had once assumed that Starscream was the loudest. That opinion was soon changed after that.

Megatronus was weak, wounded, and nothing of the gladiator that the royal Seeker trines had heard about. If Starscream was tall enough, he could have seen the injection sites around the mech's neck, where sloppy medics injected the gladiator with a coding that made him stronger and deadlier for just a short while, long enough to kill the opponent and for the Pit boss to earn some credits.

Thundercracker found a door in the side of the Pits, and that revealed a darker side of the Pits: pleasurebots.

Now, everyone thinks that Optimus Prime tore down the Pits and ended it forever, which he did, but few know that Starscream ended the public shows. He had no idea about the private shows with pleasurebots and a few gladiators the Pit boss managed to save with the promise that I will take them to their homes, Pit boss' honor.

Megatronus was set up in a nice home in Kaon, Starscream funding him with enough credits to buy Energon of all sorts, possibly a new home if he wanted it, and better armor to cover his scars. Some pleasurebots were saved, placed in the servant hall, placed in asylums, laid to rest six feet under Cybertron's plating...

I apologise. I desire a moment to breathe. Come outside. Fresh air is good for us, you know? That's better. Here. Another High Grade. No, I do not drink, but thank you for offering. Now, where were we? Ah, yes...Starscream falling in love...

The King-to-be met with Megatronus often, always accompanied by his Keeper. They became fond for each other, rubbing up to each other gently and often reaching for the other's servos while they walked and-

Ah, I see you have fallen asleep...Come along, then, wake up. Come back tomorrow and maybe I will tell another story. What happened to Starscream and Megatron during the war, you ask?

Well, Starscream clung to his love even through the war, and Megatron was confused to why a Seeker would clutch his servo. While Dark Energon coursed through his veins, he beat his beloved to do himself pain, reminding himself of why he should have died in the Pits.

How do I know this? Well, child, I will let you figure it out.