You knock on Starscream's door and you flash a smile when he answers. He grunts and without asking you a thing, he opens the door and waves you in.
"I know you by now. You want to know everything about the world around you, and somehow you think I can help you."
You sit down on his berth. "Tell me about Nightshade."
His optic ridges fly up and he grabs a High Grade cube. "Nightshade?" He frowns and takes a sip.
"She was telling me about you and your sons and-"
He jerks his helm around to look at you and he watches you. "She spoke about our sons?" He sits at his desk. "She hasn't spoken about them in a long time."
You sit forward with interest as he begins to speak.
"She was furious that her mother had been killed by Autobots, and she took it out on Megatron, who she thought was her father, and it was very amusing to see. But she was sad, and getting worse every day. She was with Nemesis at the time, and he didn't know what a fierce fighter he had. He kept her around his room, didn't let her leave much except to shower and refuel and then come back. She worked in the MedBay for a while, I think. She was a good medic, really."
You move around in your seat, watching him. His optics are a dim red as he recalls what happened and you rest your helm in your servos, caught up in the story.
"She was crying in her pillow when I found her. Nemesis never locked the door. Back then, he was stern, not the playfull mech you see now. Nobody dared cross him, except me." He poured more High Grade into his cube and he sighed. "I...I went in, wiped her tears, and I robbed her of her innocence. She was petrified that I had allowed myself to overload inside her. She was scared, and I was furious with myself."
You tilt your helm a little, picturing Nightshade crying. You can't imagine it. Nightshade is strong, firm, not a sissy femme crying over everything. You drop that thought when Starscream began to speak again.
"She wound up carrying, of course. Nemesis was going on a long trip to find Decepticons, and I stayed with her until the sparklings were born. Three sons," he says with a slight smile. "They were perfect." The smile vanishes as soon as it appears. "And then Megatron came. I was...happy to be his little frag toy."
You shake your helm a little bit. Too much to process. Starscream left Nightshade? She had made it sound that she bolted from Starscream, not he from her.
"She pretended to be dead, turning herself invisible to haunt me. She took a special enjoyment from that, and she loved it when our sons asked for their carrier. I told them she wasn't coming back, but they insisted she was right behind me all the time." Starscream shuddered, his wings shaking. "She revealed herself to me when she grew bored of torturing me. I hated her, and I sent her away..."
You shake your helm again. You didn't expect this when you walked in here. You hoped that Starscream was eagerly waiting for a new mate, but he was just like Optimus, clinging to past loves.
"But she saved me, repeatedly, after everything I did to her. She kept us warm during the winter when the Nemesis went down and the Autobots joined us in a march to get to warmer climates. She and her sister walked miles, us on their backs as Predacons, Insecticons, whatever was big enough and warm enough to carry us. She dug caves, massive holes in frozen earth...she refused to let anyone die."
You watch Starscream, feeling a sudden surge of fondness for Nightshade and Starsong.
Starscream buried his face in his talons. "She...kept us all happy. She found a base she was born by, took me to a river where her sire and carrier met repeatedly on Earth...and I remained with Megatron, keeping our sons away from their carrier. I thought she was crazy, had a few screws loose..."
You get up and you hug his neck, interrupting him. He stiffens and slowly pulls away, shaking his helm. "Was that what you wanted to hear?"
You sigh. "I was...curious about something. She seemed to confess to killing her carrier."
Starscream snorted. "Nightshade's creepy-looking, sometimes full of herself and her Amalgami abilities, but she'd never hurt anyone."
You nod and get up, dusting at your armor again as you sigh. "Well, thanks for that..."
Starscream gets up and opens the door for you. "Optimus...has made it clear I am supposed to be nice to you, the collective you as in...the ones that are in this base...and if you have any more questions, I will be...have to be...willing to answer them."
You turn and smile a bit. "Just one...who are your sons?"
He snorts and offers a grin. "I didn't choose the names, so..." He hesitates, thinking now. "Deadshot was the oldest...Firefall was the runt...I...don't recall the third."
You frown. How could someone not remember his own children's names? You shrug. "Thanks. I just wanted to know." You consider hugging him, but he's looking weak and worn, so you just pat his shoulder and walk away.
Nightshade is sitting in the RecRoom, and you consider asking her what the third son's name is, but you're a little shaky with the idea of having a friend that killed her own carrier, so you hurry to your quarters and shut the door. Who would get you?
Why, Megatron of course.
You prepare yourself to run to the former warlord's quarters.