As I'm writing this, I just want you to know that I have Tripod in the chair behind me (tabby cat, three legs, green eyes) and Opal (Dwarf Netherland rabbit, albino) in a laundry basket at my feet. In case this does not get posted due to Tripod and Opal tagteaming me because somehow I've offended them by mentioning them in this fic, I love my little FanFiction stalker BookieAngel (Yes, I've noticed you favoriting the fics with no rhyme or reason... I see you spamming my gmail. It's funny as snot, and I crack up every single time. I feel like Megatron watching Starscream!). I love you all who put up with the flops, the maybe-flops, and the good stuff I actually post. I thank you all for not pointing out my many speeling mistakes that show up from time to time. (Like that one. That one was intentional). X3 Now let's see if this can actually go somewhere. I mean, who doesn't love the Seeker trine? Anything that sounds weird/doesn't seem to go along with anything else you've read, it's probably based off a roleplay I had with a friend or six.
Starscream woke up, blinking at the sun that filtered through the curtains. He stretched and yawned, slowly standing up and walking to open the curtains.
Vos was beautiful at dawn. The Seekers below were shuffling around, greeting others with a yawn and a nod. The Seekers flying gave others more room than necessary. There was only a quiet hum of engines. Seekers were relatively quiet...
Someone should have told the Queen.
"Starscreeeeaaaaam! Get your brothers up now!"
He called down the massive flight of stairs. "Coming, Carrier!" He momentarily wondered what Skywarp had done, and then wondered if he had done something. He shrugged and walked into Thundercracker's room. "Baby Blue?"
Thundercracker was already up, fumbling around the room with his cape. Starscream sighed and tapped his brother's chin, making the littler Seeker look up at the ceiling. "It's a hook and loop. You feel the hook with your index and thumb on one servo, feel the loop with the same digits on the other servo, and you loop it."
Thundercracker smiled and nodded, hugging his brother before he walked out after him, the red fabric flowing behind him. Starscream snagged his own purple cape on the way to check on Skywarp.
The last brother was snoozing under a mountain of sheets. Starscream flicked on the lights and marched over to rip open the curtains while hooking his cape on. "Skywarp, wake up and get ready. Carrier wants us."
"Five more minutes," came the sleepy reply.
"Five minutes from now, Sire will come up these stairs and haul your aft out of berth, now come on!"
Thundercracker watched silently, looking at Starscream, who gave him a sigh and a nod. They started pulling the sheets off until their brother was revealed.
He groaned and covered his optics. "Come on, Starscream..."
"No, you come on. I gave you a warning, now this is me enforcing it." He sat his brother up, wiped the crust forming around his brother's optics (Primus knew why Skywarp had "bad optics"), then fastened his cape on. "And don't fall back to sleep."
Starscream stood at the top of the stairs before his brothers ran up and came up behind him, settling on either side side of him, Thundercracker on his right, Skywarp on his right.
The Queen purred up at them. "Look at how beautiful you precious Princes are! Honey, look at them!"
The King came around and looked at his sons, smiling a bit. "They look decent."
Starscream sighed and walked down the stairs, keeping Thundercracker from running down the stairs. They had passed the I have to run wherever I gotta go stage. Skywarp's pede touched the bottom of the stairs first, then the brothers settled at the massive table, all clustered around one end while the King and Queen sat on the other end.
No one else refueled with the royal family.
Starscream sat directly across from his father. Skywarp was on his right, Thundercracker on his left.
The Queen purred as she refueled on a pink-ish cube. It wasn't High Grade, but it wasn't regular Energon either. It was a mix that kept her alert, but full, and slightly tipsy.
"I remember when you three were tiny," she said suddenly.
Yes, when they were tiny, they still had to sit where the brothers sat now, even when they wailed and begged to be held. Servants that had long ago been let go tended to them.
The King grunted as he finished his cube and he waved a servo for another.
"I also remember trying to name you," she continued. She smiled. The Energon had obviously gone to her helm. "The other two were easy. Your father listened to me then, but you, Starscream? Impossible! That wasn't even supposed to be your name."
Starscream flinched. "It wasn't?"
Skywarp snickered until Starscream kicked his shin. Then he whimpered into his fuel.
"No! I had a cute name all picked out, and I tried to tell your father what it was after you were born and out of me, and Skywarp was coming out. The stupid medics wanted to know what your name was so they could band you in case there ended up being exact triplets and we couldn't tell who from who. He heard Star alright, but whenever I tried to tell him the last part of your name, Skywarp moved just a little more closer to the medic and his wings scraped along because they unfurled mid-push and it was torture. Pure torture to get you out, Sky, my dear." She pointed an accusing digit at Skywarp, who pouted. "But your sire thought it was funny how I'd say Star-ahhhhhhh! so he called him Starscream."
Skywarp wrapped his arm around Starscream's shoulders. "It suits him."
"And it suits him because he wailed louder than anyone. He spooked the two split-sparks next to his crib in the room where they keep the sparklings, I forget what it's called..."
Starscream lowered his optics to stare at his cube. He finished it, then got up. "I'll be out and about," he said slowly.
Skywarp jumped up. "Yes! Let's go to the Pits!"
Thundercracker swallowed the rest of his cube and waved for another, but he held it. Starscream thought he would drink it on the way to the Pits.
The Queen looked up. "Isn't that in Kaon? You know how much we hate Kaon... There are pleasurebots and homeless Seekers all around. I don't want you three mixed up in them."
Skywarp took his carrier's servo and patted it. "I promise, my dear carrier, we will behave as the Princes you have raised us. In the name of the King!" He hugged his sire's neck and he laughed when the larger Seeker's wings fanned against his body. He could always get his creators to step back for a couple moments so the brothers could slip out into the streets.
Starscream herded the smaller brother out of the palace before the Queen or the King could change their minds. Skywarp followed them shortly afterwards, Energon candies in his servo.
"Here you go, Thundercracker. Ready?"
Thundercracker nodded and took the candies. With his load, they couldn't transform and minimize their trip by three minutes. So they marched out of Vos and down to Kaon, greeting the Seekers they passed until the sour grounders became most of the population. Starscream kept Thundercracker close.
"There's the Pits," Skywarp said as he pointed. "I'll find our seats. Starscream, do you want to take Thundercracker down to the gladiators to visit?"
Starscream raised an optic ridge, but nodded. "Is that why you have all those candies? And the cube? Thundercracker, if you get caught..."
"I won't," he promised and he walked with his brother, smiling up at him. Then he led his older brother down into the arena and to one of the closest cells that held a purple and silver mech. "Hello!"
Starscream put a protective servo on his brother's shoulder, pulling him back even as he unwrapped a candy and dropped it within reach of the gladiator. He pouted down at it when an official turned his helm to see what was going on.
"He won' hurt 'im, Prince," the official said. He walked up to the bars and shook them, creating an awful sound that made Starscream's optics water and audios ring. "He's locked up tight, 'e is."
Thundercracker looked up at his brother, then walked to a door. He waited until the giggling femmes already inside walked out, then he pulled Starscream in.
It stunk. It was dark, cold, and it smelled awful. Unicron himself would cringe at the state of these cells. Starscream waved a servo in front of his face, gagging softly, but Thundercracker walked right to one of the cells and offered a candy. The yellow and silver mech slowly crept closer and took it. He was only partially armored.
"These are the pleasurebots. Sometimes, when they get too many, they send a servoful of these starving bots out into the arena and watch them tear them apart." Thundercracker looked at him sadly. "And we can help them, you know? Mom and Sire, they can shut this place down, but it brings in so many credits..."
There was a soft purr. Starscream turned and watched his brother run to the only femme in the room.
At one point in time, she had been blue. Now she was silver and bruised, one optic damaged and the other could barely be considered operational. Thundercracker gave her the cube. "She's going to be let out to fight soon. They think she's too old. She's been in here since she could walk around. Do you know she's only a few days younger than us?"
Starscream ushered his brother towards the door. "That's nice, Thundercracker, really...I'll talk to Mom and Sire about them shutting this place down." He glanced back at the femme, who blinked and mouthed thank you. He nodded at her. She shifted and limp wings came into view. That was what made Starscream put his pede down. Seekers were considered royalty, not bought pleasures!
He sat down next to Skywarp and had his arms crossed through the entire match: a femme against a mech five times her size. The mech won before the femme could even get her servos up.
Starscream walked in silence out of the Pits, his brothers beside him. "We are getting that place shut down," he growled.
Skywarp and Thundercracker nodded.
"I was hoping you'd see Megatronus," Skywarp said. "He's not like the other gladiators. He tries to reach out to the audience, to the mech or femme he's fighting. He was even prodded with an Energon prod when he refused to fight a youngling they took out of the back room and he's still fighting!"
Starscream looked at him. "We will talk to him later, I guess... But we need to tell Carrier about what Thundercracker and I exactly saw in that back room."
"It's awful, isn't it?" Skywarp sighed and he looked down at his pedes. "Did you see the Seeker femme?"
Starscream gave a slow nod and his optics narrowed. Then he walked up the stairs and into the dining room. "Carrier, Sire, I need to speak with you both."
They blinked at him.
"I need you to shut down the Pits of Kaon."
This'll be continued. This is basically Starscream's life with his trine before the war and then when he first started listening to Megatron to the point he's Megatron's second against Optimus' Autobots. How do you like it so far, guys? X3