Chapter Two: Meeting
Starscream was livid. Granted, it was not exceptionally unusual for him to be so incensed, but the regularity of his ill-temper did nothing to ease it.
"Slag it all!" he howled, shaking his wings for what felt like the umpteenth time to rid them of ice. With nothing to relieve his frustration on, he resorted to muttering angrily about Megatron.
"-sending me, his slagging Air Commander, out to this Primus-forsaken wasteland on a fool's errand!" he spat out vehemently. "Any simpleton could tell that when a mech sees energy signals that aren't there, he's obviously glitched in the head!"
The scientist in him argued that, as more than one mech had been witness to the strange phenomenon, it certainly merited further investigation. "They're all glitched," he insisted, sulking, unwilling to give up his temper and listen to the scientific logic that landed him in this situation.
Truth be told, it was probably less his speed and scientific expertise that caused Megatron to send him on this farce of a mission than it was that he'd been annoying. Very annoying. Tens of thousands of vorns of practice treading that thin line between subservience and outright rebellion did not make him incapable of overstepping it every once and a while.
And so he was forced out into this cold, icy tundra, investigating an anomalous reading that he didn't care about, with nothing to take out his aggression on except-
His scanners beeped as they picked up several energy signals moving away from the coordinates he'd been given. He sped up. There were no other Decepticons in this area and any Autobots this far out of their territory were fair game. Perhaps this assignment wouldn't be so bad after all.
---
"Jazz won't make it here in time," Hound announced, slowing to a stop. "The mech following us is too fast—definitely a Seeker. Hold still for a breem so I can hide us."
"How?" Skyfire asked, puzzled. Their barren surroundings were completely devoid of any useful outcroppings that could provide cover.
"Hound can create holograms," Bluestreak explained. "It's pretty cool and it really comes in handy on high-risk patrol details like this."
"Done," Hound said with satisfaction. "Anyone flying over us will just see more snow." He saw Skyfire studying himself curiously. "We aren't affected because we're inside the hologram. It's a bit like a two-way mirror; we can see out of the hologram but no one can see in."
"Fascinating," Skyfire murmured, forgetting the danger in his absorption. "How are you able to-?"
He was interrupted by a dull roar. In unison, they turned to the horizon, where a speck in the sky was rapidly approaching.
"Definitely a Seeker-model," Hound repeated grimly. "Get ready, Blue."
Bluestreak was already squinting through the scope of a long, thin rifle. "He's pretty high, but I think I can reach him." He frowned. "Provided he doesn't start moving erratically." The dull roar became a penetrating boom as the Decepticon flew past far overhead.
"Primus, he's fast," Hound said, optics narrowed. "I can't make out who it is."
"He's doubling back. Should I try to get a shot in?"
"Not yet. He may be returning to his base…"
The words died in his vocalizer as the jet turned around for yet another pass. Wordlessly, Bluestreak looked to Hound and, when he nodded, lined up a shot with his rifle and fired.
---
Starscream doubled back, suspicious of the innocuous expanse of snow below. The signals were as strong as ever, but no one was there. Of course, the reports said as much, but they also detailed only one weak energy signal that stayed in place. That didn't correlate at all with his findings.
He glanced below—and immediately peeled off to the side, rolling frantically to avoid being struck by a shot that quite literally came from nowhere. He felt the unbearable heat from the blast-
---
"Did you hit him?" Skyfire asked tensely, watching the display overhead with morbid fascination.
"He dodged," Bluestreak replied simply, lining up another shot. "It didn't even graze him."
---
Starscream righted himself well out of range of fire, optics narrowed at the empty ground.
---
"He's out of range," Bluestreak said apologetically. "Sorry, Hound. I thought I had him, but he must have incredible reflexes to dodge so quickly and-"
"It's in the past, Blue," Hound said gently, but with a hint of trepidation. "Don't worry about it."
"He looks like he's waiting for something," Skyfire remarked.
"Probably hoping we'll take another shot at him so he can pinpoint our position," he explained. "We'll have to try to wait him out, hope he'll get curious or bored enough to come back in range."
---
"Slaggit," Starscream muttered in angry realization at who must be below. There was at least one other—someone who was an excellent shot. He burned up with humiliation thinking of those Autobots watching him circle overhead, completely oblivious as they casually sniped at him. He certainly couldn't allow them to escape unscathed now.
---
"Get down!" Hound shouted, and everything exploded around them.
---
Starscream smirked down at the destruction caused by his cluster bombs. It achieved the desired effect: a stretch of the plain was marred and melted, but a bit near the edge wavered uncertainly before solidifying into an even patch of pristine snow.
He grinned maliciously and dropped into a steep dive.
---
"Bluestreak, status!" Hound barked, knee joint deep in sloshy snow.
"I'm fine," he responded almost cheerfully. "Just a few scuffs and dents—cosmetic damage, mostly."
"Skyfire?"
"I think I got hit by some shrapnel," he said, examining his forearm clinically. "It's not deep though." He was very pleased that his voice remained level as he continued. "Are all battles like this?"
"This doesn't count as a battle," Hound said with a preoccupied air. "It's barely even a skir- Move!"
---
Starscream swooped low to pummel the area with more cluster bombs. As he pulled up into a steep ascent, he ran into something.
---
Skyfire pushed himself up from the ground—or puddle, rather—where Hound shoved him to avoid the incoming Decepticon. He staggered slightly, but he'd evaded the brunt of the attack again.
Bluestreak was not so lucky. Groaning, he struggled to his knees, a difficult feat with one arm hanging limp at his side and the other a sparking stump at the elbow. Hound was nowhere to be seen.
---
Starscream twisted and watched with a certain amount of satisfaction as the Autobot tumbled to the ground. He was surprised—but not disappointed—that he managed to hang on for so long, allowing him to reach such a high altitude. He dove again as the hologram flickered out of existence.
---
Skyfire looked up just in time to be squished by Hound. He flailed a bit under the slush before he managed to shove the very obviously offline mech onto a more solid clump of snow.
---
Starscream grabbed the other Autobot—now visible—and held him up by the throat. Noting his incapacitation, he grinned wickedly and squeezed.
---
Skyfire gaped. From the back, the Seeker holding Bluestreak aloft looked like… But that couldn't be. The behavior difference was enough to dismiss the alarming similarities in physical appearance.
He stepped forward tentatively, unsure of what he could do to help Bluestreak, who was making small choking noises, but determined to do something.
"Die, Autobot!"
He froze. Bluestreak's optics flickered and he sagged as he went offline. There was no mistaking those vocal patterns. He took another step forward.
"Starscream?"
The Seeker whipped about in an instant, optics narrowed in rage, gun instinctively trained on this previously unnoticed threat. Skyfire ignored it.
Any doubt that lingered at the back of his central processor was immediately dispelled. He seemed a bit sharper, somehow, and a lot harder, but it was unmistakably Starscream.
Starscream's optics widened, alight with recognition and disbelief and something strangely akin to fear. Bluestreak, forgotten, fell from his limp grasp. He stepped back.
Confused and surprised to have elicited such a reaction, Skyfire began approaching Starscream again, only for him to backpedal rapidly, optics flickering as if he was trying to focus them. For a moment, they just stared at each other. Then, without a word, Starscream jumped into the air and was gone.
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A/N: Drama! How I love it.
I'm afraid I'm about to disappoint some of you. When you review a story of mine or favorite or add it to your alerts, etc., I check out your profile. I've noticed that many of you are into the Skyfire/Starscream slash pairing. I have to tell you right now, this is not intended to be a romance story, partly because I can't write romance worth crap. If you want to see that in this, be my guest, but don't get your hopes up for some smut or anything.
Until next week!