=Chapter 3=
"The Bargain"
Rumble and Frenzy approached the coincidental meeting of Seekers and Constructicons; to them the fact that there was a meeting at all was odd enough to catch their attention, so they tried to understand what the Seekers and Constructicons were both talking about. However they didn't follow what was being said, and finally Rumble dared to ask:
"Heya, guys! What're ya talkin' about? Is there another seeker here, or what?"
"Yeah! What's this freakin' thing?" Frenzy added.
Unfortunately for them, it was Skywarp who realized they were there, at his pedes.
"Shut up! Didn't anybody tell you must keep silent when big people are talking?" the purple seeker questioned.
The two Cassettcons flushed. Wasn't there anybody here other than Skywarp to answer his questions, or what?
"Hey! I just asked!" complained the blue cassetcon. "What's up with that!?"
"Just keep silent both of you. This's important!"
"Indeed, that's why we want to know what's happenin'?"
"Get out of here both of you! You're bothering us!" answered Skywarp, making a violent move with his right heel, which struck Rumble sending him crashing against the wall. Frenzy got overwhelmed by the fast events, but he recovered himself and rushed towards his "brother" helping him to rise up on his pedes.
"Damn you, jerk!" Rumble cursed the purple seeker, whose only answer was a shrug.
The blue Cassetcon tensed and ran towards the purple seeker, who had turned his attention to the animated dialogue between his wingmates and the Constructicons, as his arms turned into the two pistons which he used to strike Skywarp's shins.
There were several loud 'clanks' in the room, but only Skywarp complained.
"OUCH!" His full attention turned towards the little 'Con at his pedes who looked at him with a mischievous smirk. "Damn you, dwarf! You're a pain in the wings!"
"You deserve it!"
"Wait! I'll catch you!" The purple seeker threatened him, but Rumble began to flee from him. Then, Frenzy joined the party and threw himself to Skywarp's face which ended up covered by the little cassettcon and Skywarp began to wince. Thundercracker watched the whole scene for many seconds, and then, he shook his head.
It was the same story as usual…
The Air Commander ran to hide himself behind a pillar when he saw the group inside the repair bay was coming out. He just wanted to figure out what had happened inside.
Megatron left the repair bay followed closely by the other Starscream and Soundwave. The facial expression of the Decepticon Leader was as harsh as usual, but that pink faced Starscream had a puzzled look on his face, and Soundwave looked as blank as usual. The blue seeker began to look around him with obvious curiosity; the place was foreign and, at the same time, oddly familiar. Megatron didn't pay attention to that, but Soundwave did, however, he didn't seem worried. Suddenly, Starscream stopped as he saw a circular window in the corridor.
"What... what is this?" he exclaimed looking through the window. "It isn't the moon's surface. It's water! This base is under water!"
"The Decepticons' HQ is under Earth's Atlantic Ocean's surface," Soundwave informed him simply.
Starscream looked back at him with a puzzled look on his face.
"Really?" he looked briefly at the window, "well, I guess…it's fine," he said more to himself than anything.
Megatron had turned back to him as he heard Starscream's speech. He realized it was another difference between their universes; one of those which were so *obvious* that Starscream hadn't bothered to mention it.
On the other hand, the Air Commander, who had watched the whole scene, found himself thinking his counterpart was just… a little stupid (which really wasn't a bad thing) to act in this way. However, it didn't mean he shouldn't do anything about this.
Now was the right moment.
The blue seeker turned towards Megatron in a silent gesture, just meaning to say he already had finished his questions, but suddenly his face had a surprised look as he saw *something* behind the Decepticon Leader. Megatron noticed it and followed his gaze: he found the Air Commander was also there, glaring at them.
Starscream, the one with red optics and the silvery-white paintjob, had shown himself, and now, he was being glared back at by the Decepticons group in front of him. His arms were crossed and he had a determined look in his optics. Megatron, who knew him deeply, thought the Air Commander wanted to demand something. Still, Soundwave's face was as inexpressive as usual, but the blue Starscream had a confused look: he just didn't expect to meet with his counterpart in that corridor, besides, he didn't know why… Or did he? The seeker with blue optics realized that, if his situation was the same as his counterpart's, he'd do the same thing.
The Air Commander of this reality was him in every sense!
Neither Megatron or Soundwave seemed to be really surprised by Starscream's sudden apparition, but Megatron at least, looked a bit angry. Finally the Decepticon's leader managed to ask:
"What're you doing here, Starscream?"
"I'm here because I want something."
It seemed the Air Commander was waiting for Megatron's question. The Seeker with blue optics felt more confused: it was strange to be there with another Transformer who was named like him… who was him. His optics watched his counterpart and Megatron cautiously.
"Really?" answered Megatron, not very surprised. "What's your request?"
The Air Commander made a move with his shoulders and wings, like he wanted to appear taller, and began to walk towards the small Decepticon congregation in front of him.
"I don't know what he told you inside the repair bay," he began as he approached Megatron and the other Starscream. "…but I guess his answers pleased you if he is still in one piece." The optics of the other Starscream got darker. It was the truth. "So, I think even though he's a confident Decepticon, I should take care of him. He's ME, so he must remain with me," the Air Commander declared.
There was a startled look on Megatron's and the other Starscream's optics, the only apathetic one was Soundwave, as usual. The Air Commander stopped in front of the object of his interest and glared at him, the other Starscream glared back: he was quite sure his counterpart's attitude was caused by fear towards him more than anything. He suffered the same problem when he met with Thrust on Earth.
The two seekers waited for any response from the Decepticon's leader, both for different reasons… the same ones in the end.
Suddenly Megatron began to laugh and both Starscreams looked at him with startled looks on their faces.
Then, the Decepticons' leader shouted and turned towards the seekers.
"Good, Starscream," he answered. "That's precisely what I meant to do."
"What!?" Both seekers exclaimed at the same time.
"That's right," he confirmed. "This Starscream is a valuable soldier for our cause, so I think he has to be part of the Air Force under your rule, Starscream."
The two seekers were so confused than they exchanged looks, unaware of what they were doing. In some weird way, Megatron found it funny; only Soundwave knew the true reason which induced Megatron to make that decision.
"Since this moment, you Starscream," he explained looking at the Air Commander "…will take care of your counterpart under your command. It's a good thing to have another good soldier for our air force on Earth. I'm glad you took this decision, too," he added patting his shoulder in a rare affectionate sign.
"Thanks, Megatron…" the Air Commander managed to answer; he was so overwhelmed by the rare show of affection, than he couldn't answer anything more. (*)
"And now, let's go and introduce our new soldier to the rest of the Decepticons," he added in an unusually good mood as he began to walk towards the room next to the main war room. They knew there were people in the surrounding rooms since they could hear voices and shouts.
The two Seekers began to follow their leader, as did Soundwave.
Skywarp was chasing Rumble and Frenzy all around the room, but the rest of Seekers and Constructicons kept talking about the latest events. The rest of people in the HQ were reported in the different sections and rooms doing their own tasks. None of those people knew anything about the newcomer, but the Seekers and Constructicons found it really amazing.
"Ask Megatron or Soundwave what's possible and what's not, then," Scrapper spat and Dirge grunted.
"It might be…" Ramjet suggested. "Remember the vortex in the sky when that guy fell?"
"I don't believe that," Thrust exclaimed, "that guy with blue optics is just a freaking Autotrash disguised like one of us… He *will* test my rifles' operation!"
He was bluffing, as usual, so the Constructicons didn't take him seriously.
"You wouldn't say that if you'd repaired him. That guy's a seeker built under a different design!"
Long Haul affirmed, "I support Scrapper's opinion."
"You say that just because Scrapper's the leader of you guys," Thrust spat back.
"Whatever… But you're saying nonsense. Do you take Screamer seriously only because he's your leader?" Scavenger questioned him.
The Conehead with yellow optics was about to reply the Constructicon when an order resonated in the loudspeakers inside the quarters.
"Attention, attention! All Decepticons in the HQ must go to the main war room. Priority Order."
It was Soundwave's voice.
The affected ones stopped their quarrels as they lifted their heads; they guessed the reason for the sudden order, not like the rest of the Decepticons crew who found the new order a bit surprising
"A meeting?" Blitzwing exclaimed from another repair bay. "Now? ...Damnit!"
"Don't complain," answered Astrotrain at his side as he held a reparation tool in his right servo," I told you: 'Do not play chicken with Warpath'… It's your fault you're under reparations right now."
"Shut up an' weld that joint so I can walk, at least!"
"You're an idiot, just remember that!" affirmed Astrotrain as he returned to the reparation of his Triplechanger sometimes-friend.
"Yeah, and I love you too."
The main war room in the 'Nemesis' was filled with Decepticon soldiers in a very short time; all of them knew their duties (as well as Megatron's wrath) and the Decepticons' discipline: as a result the war room was soon filled with gestalts groups, seekers, triplecharges and other minion soldiers. Over the main tribune the leaders of the Decepticons' empire were waiting: Soundwave, Starscream and Megatron himself, which wasn't unusual. But there was something weird: there was another guy with a blue paintjob and pink face who seemed to be a seeker, and a little confused.
The crew looked at their Leaders, as well as at the odd guy next to him. The majority didn't know anything about the newcomer, but the Constructicons and Coneheads recognized him. Of course the standard seekers asked the inevitable question.
"Is that blue guy over there him?" Skywarp asked in a lowered voice to Long Haul.
"Yes, he is… But let's see what's going on."
"Wow! He certainly looks a lot like you, TC!" exclaimed the purple seeker, this time addressing his wingmate and friend.
"I hope he gets made into scrap!" Thrust hissed.
"That won't happen…" Dirge predicted.
Thundercracker ignored his wingmates' statements and looked at the blue seeker carefully. That guy really did look more like a standard seeker than a Conehead, and the blue paintjob made the unknown one look like Thundercracker himself. The Decepticon air warrior remembered Scrapper's explanation: that guy came from another reality, so he was another version of a seeker in this reality… And, what if this seeker was his counterpart?
Thundercracker shuddered, but wisely, he kept his silence.
But the blue seeker was also watching the crew in front of his optics. The first thought he had was that there were a lot of Decepticons in this Earth Base, not like in his old base where they were six at most, even though sometimes there were more people at the Moon Base, besides the Minicons: guys like Scavenger, who would eventually become an Autobot; or Sideways. But Starscream couldn't help but hate Sideways, more than he hated Megatron, so he couldn't think that that piece of scrap at one time had been a soldier companion of his.
Indeed, he might be the culprit behind his current situation.
Back to reality, he was right now in front of another reality's Decepticons army on Earth. Any of those might be the counterparts of people he'd known in his reality, as well as the silver seeker next to him, or like how the guy with the big cannon was the counterpart of the Megatron he knew. There should be another Cyclonus, or Demolisher, or Tidal Wave… even another Thrust. However, Starscream found himself tensing at that idea.
Anyway, he didn't recognize any similarities between the people he knew and these people: he saw the Scrapper guy, but the yellow and purple 'Con was with a group of people who looked a lot like him. There was another group of guys with wings, just like his counterpart: he thought they may belong to his class, they were the equivalent ones to the seekers in this reality: all them looked like him, had similar faces to him and a pair of large wings on their backs, as well as a cockpit on their chests. Still, Starscream thought if their "companions" back in his reality were reformatted into earthling vehicles like he was, those reforms would make them look like a seeker from this reality. The ones from his reality had small wings and cockpit, not like these seekers.
One of these seeker guys might be Thrust, but, which one? There were *three* Coneheads there!
Then, he looked briefly to his counterpart, who was watching the crowd in a conceited expression That version of himself seemed to enjoy being contemplated or something, because when nobody was present, he seemed to lost all his cocky manner. Starscream became intrigued at this thought, till he was stopped by a brief glare from his counterpart: in his current situation, he was at a disadvantage.
The main war room was filled a hoarse murmur of metallic voices which were stopped by a wave of Megatron's cannon arm: it was a significant gesture which got their attention. Megatron knew how to do these things after learning them long ago in his early days as a gladiator.
Megatron had been many things in his already long life (even more if you talk in human standards): he began his career as a gladiator from Tarm City; there, he learned how to fight every kind of Cybertronian who participated on the combat events in the Coliseum, how to plan a strategy, as well as how to get the public's favor and become a popular character (**). These skills were very useful on his personal task of leading the Decepticons' rebellion in the Golden Age: a leader needed to be a charismatic person in order to get his troops under control and make them follow him. Certainly, Shockwave was a very competent lieutenant because his methodic way of operating, as well as Soundwave's. But neither of those could match his popularity, nor Starscream…
That was one of the reasons that the Air Commander would never get his position: he lacked enough respect among the Decepticon troops (***). Still, he needed *something* to have better control over them.
And, now, he had found it!
"Fellow Decepticons…." he began his speech as he got their attention, "Today we've got something new! I've learned there is a new chance for gaining victory over the Autobots!"
The faces of the soldiers present looked like they had listened to the same tale lots of times: what was it this time? Another super-powerful weapon, a human's invention or a new 'fail-proof plan', again? Since they'd awakened on Earth, the events of the war were getting worse for the Decepticons' faction: the Autobots surpassed them in numbers and they were helped by the flesh creatures of Earth, the humans. Yes, they were getting energon supplies and that made more of their fellows wake up from their stasis modes. But the Autobots still had the upper hand in many battles, and now, the only thing these soldiers wished for was to get back to their homeplanet.
Megatron's speech was just empty. What did the Decepticon Leader have to offer his soldiers, now? And what did it have to do with the weirdo next to him? They waited for a response.
"Here, we have found the proof of our final victory." Megatron began to get the full attention of his army. "There are many worlds, many realities which can be ruled by our glorious kind, the Decepticons… And now, I have the final proof of our objective!"
Both Seekers and Constructicons were too amazed to say a word: the weird seeker was proof of their victory? Why?
"Here, we have the proof that the Decepticons will go back to Cybertron to rule." He stepped back in order to show the seeker of blue optics. "This is our new soldier. Somebody who has come from another reality, another plane of the universe, to show all us we are going to back to Cybertron, to eliminate all Autobots' resistance and win the war!" He finished waving an arm towards the odd seeker.
There were startled looks on everybody's faces, except on Megatron's and Soundwave's, of course. Some Decepticons exchanged looks and murmured between themselves, but Seekers and Constructicons were the most confused of all: the Seeker found out Scrapper was right; Megatron had affirmed the weird guy with wings had come from another reality… But neither the Seekers nor the Constructicons could find the connection between "another universe" and "to win the Great War" Plus, Scrapper was the one who really knew who that Seeker was and, after listening Megatron's speech, the final conclusion was "There is another Universe, there is another Starscream, there is a finished Great War." That was just stupid.
On the other hand were the Starscreams themselves, none of them could suppress their astonished exclamations; Megatron saw their reactions: he found it funny how they had the same response at the same time.
But it was the Air Commander who dared to ask, "What's the meaning of this, Megatron? I hope you have a good explanation." Starscream had lost his initial fear once he felt safe again.
"Patience, Starscream… This is one of the uses for your counterpart," Megatron replied back to his Air Commander.
Starscream turned back and glared his counterpart; the other Starscream just glared back, but inside, he hoped the other version of him would find out than he didn't know anything about Megatron's speech; in fact, he was surprised about how the Decepticon Leader managed to alter his original story to convert it into proof of the Decepticons' final victory.
Well, what he had told them was something like that …
Megatron turned towards the Decepticons crew again and waved his arms in order to get their attention, as well as certain silence. But his posture left the odd seeker exposed to the rest of the crew inside the war room; everybody could have a good view of the odd seeker: his blue paintjob, long wings and certainly odd body shape. Still, the unknown Decepticon kept his composure with a martial air as Megatron began to speak again:
"This Decepticon is a Seeker, as you can see… But he isn't a common Decepticon. He comes from another universe where our kind has the upper hand against the Autobots and can reclaim our homeplanet. He is proof that we're going to win!"
There was a hoarse murmur along the war room which was silenced by the Decepticon Leader's speech. "He has told me there is another war in his universe between Decepticons and Autobots, on both Cybertron and Earth … And, in the end, he told me the Decepticons claim back Cybertron!"
There was another pause with more confused looks; many Decepticons there could get the idea of another reality since they were used to dealing with other dimensions and such. But they couldn't find the connection between that odd mech and winning the Great War, still, none of them found himself brave enough to ask such a question. Well, perhaps, one person was.
"Wait, Megatron!" Motormaster asked in his strong voice. "Why we should believe that? Who's that guy?" The crew from the tribune turned towards him, the Stunticon leader felt safe since, well… he was Megatron's creation. "I mean… why is that seeker so important?" It sounded contemptuous.
The Decepticon Leader frowned to himself: it was easy for him to understand that Seeker was the Starscream from another universe, but not everybody could take it in so easily. Still, who were these soldiers under his control to argue with him?
"He is one of us, a Decepticon," he answered addressing every single Decepticon warrior there. "He's the version and the proof that everyone has a counterpart who will triumph in another time and place," he affirmed.
The Seekers shook as they listened to Megatron's explanations: if it was the truth, the odd guy was one of them from another reality where the Decepticons win. Skywarp and Thundercracker were the most nervous because it was quite obvious that guy wasn't a Conehead and his paintjob was a cold color, therefore he should be one of them or his companions back on Cybertron. Since Skywarp was the one who was closest to Megatron, he dared to ask 'the question.'
"Excuse me, Megatron… but, who's he, then?"
Megatron tensed , he had made a bad calculation: certainly his Decepticons couldn't really believe that the new seeker was also Starscream. But he also needed to prove the newcomer was a seeker of another reality.
By this time, Starscream had realised Megatron's intentions regarding him; he also knew they were the best chance of keeping himself alive and safe, but he was aware of his counterpart's *fear* towards him. Starscream didn't know his counterpart well enough, but he didn't want to become his enemy and fight against him, either. Under these circumstances, he realized he should do something to save the day. Then, he looked back to his counterpart, who seemed to be getting nervous, and caught his optics with his. The Air Commander gave him a confused look which grew as he saw the other Starscream nod at him slightly; after that, he watched as that other version of him stepped towards the front of the tribune, and asked Megatron softly:
"Please, Sir. Leave this to me."
The Decepticon Leader just glared at him and gave a very soft no . Then, he left enough space for the Seeker to move and speak: he was bigger than the seeker, but his long wings and launchers meant that Starscream occupied more space.
The crowd grew more interested in the current situation when they saw that the unknown guy was in front of [F6] the tribune, especially the Seekers and the Constructions …in fact, Scrapper was really confused by the latest events.
"Fellow Decepticons!" he began, "Everything Megatron said is the truth!" Starscream became aware that he knew what he should say, but he didn't know how to say it… he wasn't an orator, just a high rank warrior who always tried his best to accomplish missions. Still, he had made his best speeches in the last few days, hadn't he? "I came from another reality. A place where every Decepticon here has a counterpart who fights against the Autobots to rule Cybertron. I've fought in that War and I can tell you all that we, the Decepticons, were winning the War."
There was another hoarse murmur filled with exclamations and questions: Megatron was right! There was another reality with people as weird as him, a reality where Decepticons had the upper hand, and a place where the Cybertronians had a different look and design… but, who was he? And why did he have a voice that sounded like Starscream's? Scrapper had to keep from laughing as Starscream and Thundercracker glared at him harshly: the Air Commander was ready to shoot his counterpart if he needed to.
"You are wondering who I am, aren't you? I'll tell you." He paused; it wasn't of the dramatic kind. Finally, he made up his mind and began: "I am the counterpart of the Starscream of this universe. Your glorious Air Commander."
There was a confused air in the room; people there didn't know what they should do: murmur, exclaim or keep silent? That guy was Starscream's counterpart from another universe! That was just amazing, even though some of them found it really irritating, other people found it surprising. The seekers, mainly, were really confused: that guy was another Starscream? How, if he looked more like Thundercracker himself than the Air Commander, even if his voice sounded like Starscream's? And why precisely him? ...Well, perhaps it was a good thing; somebody to prank, from Skywarp's point of view. However, the ones who took it most seriously were Thundercracker and Dirge, but because different reasons.
Still, the non flyers didn't have a very favorable opinion. Had Megatron gone nuts? What made him think that having a new Starscream among his ranks was such a good idea? Anyway, they knew they should wait for a response.
But the most surprised overall was Starscream himself, he couldn't avoid his jaw dropping as he listened to his counterpart's speech; the rifle of his left arm also dropped when he realized this odd version of himself was helping him in some weird way. In fact, he'd never expected that.
However, his counterpart kept talking in an attempt to maintain the upper hand:
"Yes, that's right! ...I've come here to help my counterpart and our Leader, Megatron, to get the final victory!" he shouted, waving his arms.
Starscream himself had to use all his power of conviction in his speech… It's hard to make others believe something when even you aren't able to believe yourself, nor when you don't know what your own beliefs are.
But Megatron and the other Starscream were both pleased with the result of that speech.
Later, when the surprising meeting had finished, all the Seeker crews found themselves meeting in a minor war room. Megatron had given several minor instructions to fulfil his task of commanding the Air Forces and also instructions on the way the other Starscream should be treated. As a result, the seekers found themselves in front of the newcomer with skeptical looks on their faces.
The Coneheads and common seekers were glaring at Starscream's counterpart and he glared back. It wasn't a real threat, just an action caused by being in disagreement with the circumstances[F10] . Meanwhile, both sides tried to catch the full details about the other side. The Coneheads already knew the guy and his odd design, but to see the blue seeker being fully functional was a different matter to seeing him heavily wounded and with his spark exposed; they also knew, thanks to the Constructicon's explanations, that seeker was heavily armed, even if he wasn't fully recharged. Still, his blue optics, which shone as he watched them warily, were as odd as they were disturbing.
On the other hand, Starscream had the chance to meet his seeker wingmates of this reality; he didn't expect anybody special since he already met people who he didn't know, people like Scrapper or that mind reader guy, Soundwave. From his point of view, he could meet anybody. And that was what had happened: in front of him were two guys who looked identical to his counterpart, but with different paintjobs: one of them was mostly blue, while the other was dark purple… Starscream also noticed the doubtful look from the blue seeker, their paintjobs made them look very similar, and the seeker with the blue optics had a strong feeling about that guy.
But there were the Coneheads, too. Starscream had expected to meet somebody like Thrust, at least… instead, he had meet *three* Conehead guys like Thrust himself! They also looked different: of course they had cones for heads, and they had two wings and a flying alt. mode… but they also had cockpits on their chests, [F11] standard faces and hands; plus, one of them had yellow optics, instead of the common red optics he had seen in every Decepticon here. One of them might be Thrust, but, which one? Perhaps the white and grey one; he was the one who was more approachable to his treacherous ex-companion.
The Air commander approached them as he talked in his usual fashion.
"Well, well… I see *my* counterpart has already met the Seeker Air force here!"
Starscream turned to face his counterpart, and he saw the silver version of him had his wacky smile on his face again. Still, he allowed him to interpose between him and the rest of the Seekers, who wisely chose to remain silent.
"Let me introduce them to you; they're your future wingmates," he offered and the other Starscream just nodded at him. "You'll love all of them… Let's see: the purple mech who's the same model as me is Skywarp. He has two powers, mainly: he can teleport himself, and he can make not-funny-at-all pranks."
"Hey!" Skywarp complained, but the rest just ignored him.
"...The blue guy next to him is Thundercracker." When the seeker of blue optics heard that name, his jaw dropped softly, but he recovered himself quickly. Still, his reaction didn't go unnoticed by Thundercracker, who glared at him. "He can use sonic bombs as weapons and he makes a very annoying noise as he flies."
Starscream just made a light movement with his head; actually, he accepted them as his new wingmates.
"And now, there's our Conehead triad… the white and grey guy's Ramjet; he's the one who you crashed into when you appeared here."
The white Conehead flushed, but involuntarily his right servo reached the end of his cone. Surprisingly, the blue optics seeker, said "I'm sorry."
The other Starscream flushed as he heard the apology from his counterpart, but he kept talking.
"The blue one's Dirge, and the red one's Thrust… don't take anything he says seriously," the Air Commander mocked.
"Watch your vocalitator, Screamer!" the Conehead with the yellow optics threatened.
"No! Watch yours, loudmouth!" the Air Commander replied, making a significant gesture with one of his rifles. "I don't like you addressing me using that word!"
"…Sorry, Commander," he excused himself, lowering his gaze. Then, he caught the look of the other Starscream and he felt a bit disturbed: there wasn't interest or surprise in that look. It was hatred, just hatred towards him.
"…And all you guys know my counterpart from this universe." Starscream was still talking, not noticing the glare of his counterpart as he put his servos on his waist in his usual fashion. "He is *me*, so I suggest you all treat him with respect. And from this moment, he will be a member of our Air Force team," he explained, waving a servo towards his counterpart "Of course he's under my command, so he's your wingmate, too… Do you understand that?" he asked looking at his companions.
"Yes, commander," they responded.
"Good, that's fine." The Air Commander relaxed. "Ok, you're dismissed. Go back to your tasks."
The seekers nodded and turned on their heels. Both Starscreams watched them walk in silence.
When they were alone, Starscream turned towards his counterpart, his servos still on his hips; his counterpart noticed and looked him questioningly.
"As for you…" he began, "I have several questions, too."
"I see," the other Starscream answered. He had realized they would both need tons of patience in order to be able to deal with each other; besides, he also noticed his counterpart on this reality had softened after his speech in the war room. "I can understand that… I'd do the same if *you* were in my universe."
Starscream flushed at this answer, he hadn't expected that… In fact, he didn't expect anything concrete, but he hated not having the upper hand. The Air Commandeer was about to say something, when his counterpart made a strange move and looked at his left arm in surprise; at first he thought the other seeker wanted to attack him, but the optics of both seekers widened as they heard the typical cracking sound of a Cybertronian transformation.
Something had just jumped from the blue seeker's arm and made several turns in the air; it was a very tiny thing; as small as a human.
Finally, the Air Commander found himself looking a very small transformer in blue with a masked face who watched him quietly. He never met a Cybertronian like that, but he could hear as his counterpart exclaimed loudly:
"Swindle!"
*Author's Notes:
(*) If you watch the show carefully, you'll find there are a few rare occasions when Megatron values Starscream's opinions, and the Air commander is really surprised and pleased by those.
(**) Again, this story is based on cartoon continuity, mostly, but I've added some G1 comics continuity in order to have the story make more sense. I'm aware of the "Did Constructicons create Megatron or not?" thing, but I don't support it just because there are more examples of the Constructicon's personal history in several cartoon episodes than just a flash image in one chapter caused by an animation error.
(***) Let's face it. Nobody in the Decepticon army likes Screamer. If they respect him it's just because he's the Air Commander, but not on a personal level.
Edited by Cathleigh.
