A/N Sorry this took so long to update I've just been set on my other story Peaceful Chaos.
Ch 2: Chipping at the walls
"I haven't even been here an orn and I can tell you're treated like a foot soldier. Why are you still a Decepticon?" Optimus asks as I start attending to my wingtip. The question buzzed in my mind. Why? Why was I still here?
"Better option of the two I guess." I finally answer as I finish fixing myself. "I don't suppose you'd want me to finish where Skywarp and Thundercracker left off? I promise to treat it as if it was one of my own wounds."
He glares at me for awhile before sighing. "Why bother?"
"Because torture hurts worse when you're already wounded. I would know." I add, hopefully reminding him of all the times I was tortured at the hands of the Autobots when their leader wasn't looking.
"I know what you're alluding to. I never ordered anyone to torture you."
"You didn't have to." I sneer.
"I apologize." Taken aback I glance away.
"I'm... Not sure how far I can abuse my power. If possible I'll try to make it so you aren't tortured." I finally say, picking up plating and spare parts.
"Thank you. You know, this is the nicest I've seen you. Why is that?"
"You apologized. Don't get used to it. And I just haven't been beaten or raped today." I say nonchalantly as I get to work on the best repairs I could do with what I had.
"You mean... Megatron-"
"Be careful on what ground you tread." I warn him with and added glare.
We drop into silence and I finish the work. "Now, either I drag you down to the brig or you can walk down and I won't have to damage what repairs I could do." He agrees and does as I ask, walking by my side rather than me having to drag him.
As I lock him into the cage inside the brig I remove the stasis cuffs completely and turn to head out when who but Megatron himself should walk in. "Good, you repaired him. Now we get to torture him and drag some delicious Autobot information from him."
I throw up my servos. "Wait Lord Megatron. I only did minor repairs. If you press him you might offline him before you get to execution him in front of all those Autobots. You wouldn't want that would you?" I ask in my most persuasive tone. Megatron contemplates it before turning away.
"I guess your words hold some sort of sense. Keep amazing me Starscream and I might remember why I made you my second." I sneer at his back and start to follow. He turns back to me. "Where are you going?"
"Prisoners can't survive on air alone." Megatron cuffs my audio lightly.
"Watch your tone. And don't give him too much energon; I'd like to see him suffer more." I part ways and grab a few cubes, taking them back with me.
Once back in the brig I step close to the bars and offer up the cubes. Optimus takes them and sighs. "Why bother energizing me if you only intend to kill me?"
"You have a decacycle at least before Megatron moves to offline you. He does so love the dramatic flare of executions." We drop into silence again and Optimus slowly consumes a cube. I wasn't paying close attention, letting my thoughts wander. Why? Why am I still a Decepticon? Surely no ideal is worth the treatment I receive. I find myself thinking again. "Do you want to talk about something?" I finally say.
"Why?" Comes the answering question.
"Because I can't go through long spaces of time without talking. It can be about anything really."
"Well, what do you want to talk about?"
"I don't know, that's why I asked you."
"I have a question then."
"Ask away."
"What did you do before the war?" Now I was surprised. No one cared enough about me to actually ask information about my personal life.
"I was an explorer, a scientist. And you?"
"A dock worker."
"Can I ask you something?" I finally say, looking back at him. "How is Skyfire?"
"He was fine the last time I saw him. Why? I thought you'd hate him after betraying you." My air filtration units shutter and I bow my head.
"No, never. I could never hate Skyfire. Am I disappointed? Yes. Am I hurt? Of course. Am I angry? Sure. But can I hate the only friend I've ever had? No." Hugging my arms tightly to my frame I feel myself shudder. "I don't blame him for what he did. He was smart, leaving while he still had the chance. I'm the fool who was blinded, still am blinded, by the prospects of leadership."
"When I talked to him last the subject was about you." Optimus speaks up and I lift my helm. He was watching me carefully. "He told me he had hopes that you would join him in switching sides. He's always berating himself for leaving you behind."
I smile. "Sounds like him. If you... Ever get out of this situation... Tell him I'm sorry and I regret every shot I'd ever taken at him."
"Tell him yourself." Comes the reply.
"Not possible. If you escaped I'd be ripped to pieces for another failure, offlined for sure." My optics flicker.
"It's late, you should recharge." Just after the words leave Optimus' mouth the door opens to reveal a sneering Skywarp.
"Hey glitch face, scram, I get your boring guard job." Rolling my optics I pick myself off a section of wall while Warp snags the only chair. Glancing at Optimus I smile slightly to see him giving a full on glare to Warp.
-Next Orn-
Someone banging on my door makes me snap out of recharge. "The Pit do you want?" I scream finally and the banging stops. The door rises to reveal one of the mechs I wanted to see the least "What an unpleasant surprise. To what do I owe the honor Thundercracker?"
"Please don't be like that Starscream." He says, coming into my room. I fire a warning shot past his head and he halts.
"Oh yes, I'll be 'like that'. I did not give you permission for entry now state your business and get out." TC sighs.
"Look, I know since we've gotten to Earth that we've been fighting amongst ourselves. Can't we go back to what we were? A functioning trine that takes care of each other. I'm tired of walking down a hall and you storming past us before I can say anything."
"Don't you remember? You and Skywarp were the ones who started, what's the organic phrase? Ah, burning bridges. Or don't you remember just standing by and watching as Megatron ripped me to pieces? I distinctly remember that it wasn't you who stayed behind to help me. In fact, I had to drag myself on my servos to the med bay alone." He looks taken aback as I walk to my wash racks and start buffing the paint on my arms.
"Now wait, you deserved that one-"
"Did I?" I scream back at his face. "I remember distinctly why I was beaten that time. Warp had crashed into a section of energon we had been gathering and I happened to be nearby. Rather than tell Megatron just who's fault it was I said it was me. Shortly after you misplaced a shot which hit Megatron in the back. He demanded to know who did it and AGAIN I took the blame." TC glances away, knowing I spoke the truth.
"And you know what followed after the beating. I was no longer Starscream, the honored second in command, but Starscream, the traitor. It wasn't until both you and Warp decided that was my real role that I started to play it." By now I was amassing a crowd outside my door. But I didn't care. I didn't care if every Decepticon heard just what I had to say about my trine mate.
"And to add insult to injury you both conveniently forgot just who it was that was guarding your backs." Now I was boiling. No longer caring what I did I start launching shots into the crowd outside. "Move aside!" I scream and all the assembled Decepticons scramble away.