Many thanks to Meowsap and EeriIri, my lovely betas!

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Skywarp stared down at Starscream's rigid form, not quite able to grasp what had happened. One moment the air commander had been sitting next to him, and the next he was on the floor. The teleport tilted his head as Starscream spoke, frowning. His voice was strange. It was smoother, lower, and less harsh. He reached out towards his wingmate in confusion. "Screamer…? What…?"

Starscream shied away from the touch, jolting into a crouching position. His stance was wary, his optics fluctuating.

"Slag! What a freak show…" Rumble was doubled over with maniacal and unrestricted laughter. His energon cube fell out of his hand and spattered on the floor.

Starscream's optics brightened, and for the first time Skywarp noticed that they were no longer red, but green. "Pardon?" The air commander straightened, gazing fixedly at Rumble.

Rumble let out another spasm of laughter. "I said freak show."

The barrels of Starscream's null rays lit up and fired a blast at the small mech before anyone had time to shout out a warning.

Skywarp smiled. Bar brawls were fun. He turned to Starscream, fully intending to congratulate him on his joke, but a halting gasp made him look behind. Rumble was on his knees, spluttering, a trail of energon running down the corner of his mouth. The cassette's hands were clutching a gaping hole in his chest, his fingers wet with the fluorescent lifeblood. It was then Skywarp realized that there was no way in hell Starscream's null rays were set on stun.

A humming sound filled the temporary silence. The air commander was charging his weapons, unprovoked.

Skywarp's optics dimmed in confusion as he turned to face Starscream. His spark missed a pulse, and he froze. The soft glow of the null rays was now directed at him.

A smile of pure malice contorted the seeker's pale face.

Skywarp took a step backwards, his body comprehending was his mind could not. "Starscream, what the slag are you doing?"

His startled question was answered with laserfire. The teleport was stunned. He hadn't thought that Screamer would actually shoot, and now it was too late to maneuver out of the way. Skywarp had resigned himself to taking the shot, when a firm grip clasped one of his wings and pulled him backwards. As a result, the blast merely grazed his shoulder. Even with that slight brush of contact, Skywarp could tell that the wound was extensive. He turned quickly to see who his benefactor was, not really wanting let Starscream out of his sight for more than a few seconds.

Thundercracker didn't meet Skywarp's optics. He was focused entirely on their rogue wingmate. "Aren't we a little low on personnel to be killing?" he asked dryly.

Skywarp laughed uncertainly. "Be serious, TC… Starscream wouldn't kill one of us! He's just… a little more violent than usual."

The blue seeker's optics narrowed. "Says the mech who just got shot at with null rays on their highest setting."

"You were not meant to move. Please stand your ground." Starscream leveled his weapons, face expressionless.

"Is he kidding? He wants me to let him shoot us? Ha." Thundercracker leapt forward and rammed into Starscream's shoulder, sending his newest shot astray into the growing crowd of spectators. It caught Ravage in the side, sending the black mech skidding.

A slow smile manipulated Starscream's lips; he looked almost pleased.

This gave Thundercracker pause, but a retaliatory punch landed caught him in the chest before he could consider it. He fell backwards, slightly confused. That punch felt different than normal. The fist was shaped differently, and the strike didn't match the air commander's usual style.

Starscream pinned his wingmate to the ground, aiming at his head. The glow gave the seeker's face a brief purple sheen.

With extreme difficulty Thundercracker managed to lift one of his legs and kick the air commander off of him. Starscream adjusted his sights to account for TC's standing position, and it was then that Thundercracker thought he noticed a connection. If he dodged this shot, the blast would hit someone in the crowd… and if he remembered right, Frenzy had been just over his shoulder…

Soundwave unconscious in the hall, Rumble and Ravage shot… Was he targeting the telepaths? His null rays would definitely be lethal if they hit any vital systems.

A shriek dragged him back to reality.

Starscream's form grew still. His optics grayed slowly, his null rays darkening with them. He took a halting step forward, and then fell in an almost graceful arc, his back smoking.

Behind him stood Megatron, fusion cannon still raised, looking less than pleased.

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Starscream had been in the void for only a few minutes, but was already bored out of his mind. "Or in my mind, technically…" he muttered to himself. He wondered if Skywarp would make good on his pranks this time. "If he does, I'll kill him," the seeker decided bitterly.

"He shot me."

"Who? I want to send them flowers." Starscream didn't even look up when he heard the voice. He had expected it to come eventually.

"Him." The voice's normally bland tone was shaking, angry. "The one we hate. The one we must terminate. He shot me."

Hoping against hope that by 'we' he only meant the two of them, Starscream said "I don't know about you, but I hate a lot of people. Let's try a name shall we?"

"Megatron."

Starscream sat bolt upright. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, are we dead?" He knew from experience that unless you were Prime, you only survived Megatron's shots if he wanted you to. The seeker paused in his panic. "Wait a second… Why did he shoot us? I mean shoot you?"

"I… temporarily let my guard down. I did not foresee his interference."

"Yeah, that's yet another thing I hate about him." Starscream shook his head, and then he realized what the voice's words implied. "No…" he murmured in sudden horror. "You… you were on the outside? You saw Megatron? You…" He broke off, fighting to come to terms with the depth of that information. "You left the void? How? This is in my head!" He tapped his temple. The seeker's voice was becoming steadily more hysterical. He had been possessed, puppeted, and hehad not even noticed.

"I may leave when I choose."

"The slag you can!" he shrieked. "I am no one's little marionette!" He could accept being insane; what he could not accept was someone controlling him. It was unthinkable. If Starscream could have viciously murdered the voice he would have. And then he would have cut up any body there might have been into tiny pieces and thrown them into the upper atmosphere, but sadly…

"I'm afraid that you lost all say in the matter when you created me."

"Yeah, well I uncreate you!" he snapped viciously. "And I sincerely deny creating you in the first place. I'm not the kind of mech that makes up voices to have random arguments with. That's what I have Skywarp for." On a preconscious level, Starscream knew that he was babbling, but that's what he did when he was on the edge of true panic. It also put off the time when he would eventually have to think about what was happening to him. This was a habit that earned him a cold shoulder from his wingmates, and beatings from Megatron, but in the present situation, it seemed entirely appropriate.

Starscream stopped talking, abruptly. He could feel a pulling sensation in his spark…

"I will see you soon. They are pulling you away from me."

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Soundwave watched in silence as the traitorous seeker's optics lit up dimly, as if in a daze. In contrast, Megatron's red optics glowed stronger. The communications officer did not envy Starscream's luck at the moment. Across from Soundwave and Megatron, Skywarp and Thundercracker looked torn between being relieved that their wingmate had awoken and extreme guardedness.

Starscream stirred and sat up groggily.

At that movement Soundwave thought he could sense an after image, as though part of the air commander had stayed in recharge. This confirmed it. Starscream must have been the seeker who had given off the strange energy signature, the one who had been able to use telepathy against him. Against him! But this simply was not logical. Starscream had never shown any clairvoyant abilities in past… Why now? Soundwave knew a possible reason, but he'd need a specialist to be able to verify it. For the moment, perhaps mere observation would suffice.

"Explain yourself."

Starscream's head shot up at the sound, as if he had just become aware that he was not alone. Upon seeing that the speaker was Megatron, he laid back down and scowled. "Oh Primus, not you. Can't a mech have some peace while he's recovering?"

Skywarp and Thundercracker flinched. Soundwave didn't blame them. Now was not a time to practice insolence with their leader. Soundwave could feel the waves of hatred circulating between Megatron and his second, and could tell that it was taking a great deal of self-control for Megatron not to simply shoot and handle the fallout later.

"You can either explain yourself now, or I can just assume you've committed treason as per usual. In my present mood, the latter does not assure your recovery. Which would you prefer?" Megatron's voice was deadly soft. His optics glowed a fraction brighter.

Skywarp whispered something to Starscream that would have been inaudible to most mechs, but Soundwave understood. "Choose 'explain yourself'."

Starscream crossed his arms, looking sulky, and asked "What exactly am I explaining?"

Soundwave answered first. "You nearly fatally wounded Rumble and Ravage, and from countless accounts, I understand that you were also trying to deactivate your wingmates." Anger began to take its course through Soundwave's body. Two of his cassettes had almost died, and he had been unconscious, completely powerless to stop it. If his suspicions were correct, the seeker was responsible for that as well.

"I… What?" Starscream turned to look at Thundercracker and Skywarp, searching for confirmation. At their silence he turned back to Megatron. "I have no explanation," he said evenly. "I… I don't even remember." He averted his optics. Soundwave could tell that the air commander knew he sounded ridiculous.

Megatron sneered. "Typical. Always so eager to revolt, but when you fail… you become the very picture of modesty."

Starscream jerked back, ready to retort.

"Silence! Do not say a word…" Megatron clenched his teeth. "I don't know what possessed you," for some reason Starscream shifted uncomfortably at those words, "to spontaneously attack your comrades, but I was told that with the exception of a few smart words from Rumble, it was unprovoked."

Starscream snarled and sliced the air with his arm. "I already told you! I don't know what the slag happened!"

Megatron raised his voice to drown out the seeker's. "I might believe you if your track record didn't consist of assassination attempts on me, betrayals, and sabotages to numerous to count. But as things stand…"

"Sir?"

The group's attention swiveled to Skywarp, who looked momentarily shocked at his own daring. "Um… well… Starscream might actually be telling the truth…"

Megatron laughed coldly, skepticism etched in his ivory features. "How so?"

"Well you see, lately Starscream's—"

"Skywarp, don't!" Starscream's interrupted, optics widening. "Stop," he hissed. It was if a private understanding traveled between them, as if some trust was being violated.

Megatron smirked. "Interesting..." He motioned for Skywarp to continue.

Skywarp paused, unsure if he should go on. Thundercracker nudged him and nodded. He looked apologetically down at Starscream. "Sorry Screamer… but I think it might keep you alive." He turned fully to Megatron. "He's been having these blackouts, sir… well at least he calls them blackouts…"

"I already know this. The Constructicons informed me as they have the potential to interfere in battle."

Skywarp looked taken aback but picked himself up in admirable time considering the circumstances. "He doesn't have any control over them, they've been happening at random. Actually, one happened when we were flying earlier. It made him crash… and in the mess hall… it happened again right before he started shooting."

Soundwave considered. If Starscream had been in that group of seekers in the hall, then the air commander's blackout would have coincided very closely with whatever had knocked him out.

"And…" Skywarp shifted his weight. "Thundercracker, didn't you notice his optics?"

Thundercracker looked incredulously at his wingmate. "Sorry, I must have been concentrating too hard on his guns."

"Well, they turned green," the teleport insisted. "And his voice was really different. Almost like it wasn't him…"

Starscream groaned. "This is exactly what I do not need…"

Soundwave would have read him again if he hadn't been worried about whatever had blocked him before. As a result, it was temporarily impossible to interpret the truth. "Lord Megatron?" he addressed quietly. "I believe that I may have some idea as to what has happened. I'll need to do some research to be sure, but if I'm correct… I think that it would be safest to confine Starscream to the base and relieve him of his weapons."

"What?! Like slag!" Starscream protested.

Megatron, his voice hinting that he enjoyed any discomfort at his second's expense replied, "I believe that is perfectly acceptable."