Yo, what's up? Had a lot of time at home, so managed to get a chapter out sooner than usual. It's a little long, but bear with me on it. I just couldn't find a suitable time to end the thing.
School starts soon :(
But I'll still try and write, of course. Enjoy the chapter!
"Why is it that you're always here, Skywarp? I can't go a day without a visit from you." Hook sighed tiredly as the purple seeker threw a fit right in the middle of some light surgery, which wasn't exactly helpful.
"It's not my fault the world has it out for me!" He cried. "I'm just so unlucky. Poor, poor dear old me."
"I wish you were old" Hook hissed between clenched dentas, realigning Skywarp's arm to an easily accessible position for his blow torch. "Maybe then you would desist with this pranking nonsense. What was it you did this time to get into such a mess?"
"This time…" He thought, bringing up the arm Hook was trying and failing to operate on to his chin, "I gave Starscream a compliment, honestly! That's all that happened."
"And what was in said compliment?" Hook asked, his optics casting a dubious look towards the flier. He had learned from experience that Skywarp never 'just did' anything.
"I said", Skywarp announced, clearing his throat and taking an unnecessary pose that didn't look at all like himself, "-May I say, Starscream, not many mechs could look as pretty as you with such a greasy frame-, and he just hit me with those null rays for no reason!" Hook rolled his optics as he wondered whether a mech like Skywarp actually knew the difference between a back-handed compliment and a genuine one. Even if he did, telling him so now meant he wouldn't dare get injured in the same way again, saving him plenty of time; which would most likely be used to settle the other inane problems that Decepticons came up with (yay for him). Maybe if he joined the Autobots, he would have days of due to the presence of multiple medics instead of just him.
"You still called his frame greasy." Hook pointed out. "Don't seekers take their image very seriously?" Then again, you wouldn't be able to tell if you looked at Skywarp, who somehow managed to get an orange smudge of paint on his helm. The medic didn't know anymore.
"That's why I added the bit at the end!" The seeker huffed, nearly earning a hot flame in his optic. "You sound just like Starscream, you know that?"
"I should hope not, who'd want to hear that voice?"
"Megatron, probably."
"What?" Hook looked up to find Skywarp seem slightly puzzled, before clamping two servos over his mouth and giggling.
"Sorry, my bad. That came out a bit early." The purple seeker jumped down from the berth, apparently not needing Hook to know whether his 'mortal wound' was patched up or not (he'd really only come in for a slight scratch, which would sort itself out anyway).
"You'll find out soon enou-" Skywarp was interrupted by a door swinging with inches from his helm, with enough force to hit him around multiple times over. It barely stayed on its hinges from the impact into a nearby wall.
"What a rude door." He remarked, before seeing that it wasn't the door being rude at all, instead a rather irritated Megatron.
"Move." He ordered.
"What's the magic word?" Not having a firm grasp on magic of any sort, Megatron relied on the trusty method "throw the problem as far away as possible". Satisfied he would not have to deal with the ridiculous seeker for a moment longer, Megatron promptly threw himself onto the nearest berth, not bothering to ask Hook for his attention. The tyrant knew he was always the centre of attention wherever he went.
"I appreciate you have a busy schedule, Lord Megatron…" Hook began rather hesitantly, not appreciative of the sharp and impatient glare he received, "But usually I do need you to make an appointment before coming in to see me."
"It's an emergency."
"If you're able to walk in here and throw seekers across the room, it can't be that severe." Hook said while scanning the warlord's frame for any signs of injury. He would rather the commander destroyed as little as possible, and perhaps by some miracle, avoid damage to his own frame. It was particularly because of Megatron that the medic had to practice self-healing more than usual.
"It's not that kind of emergency, obviously!" The commander growled, making Hook let out a very unmechly "eep!" noise. Better get on with it before someone started to lose limbs.
"Uhh, o-okay, what seems to be the problem?"
"If I knew the problem, I wouldn't be here, now would I? I'm not sure you quite grasp what's required of your occupation."
"I mean the symptoms, Megatron!" Hook spat back, forgetting who he was talking to amidst a fit of rage. No one, not even mister mighty Megatron himself would insult his skills as a medic. "What did you feel that made you come here?"
"I'm not sure…" Megatron said in a voice not befitting such a monster of a mech. "But I know what I want you to do about it."
"Oh?" The medic inquired.
"I want you to erase any and all memories of Starscream from my processor." Hook gave the silver gladiator a blank stare, whilst his patient merely laid down in wait.
"Come again?" Hook responded. Sure, he wasn't the most pleasant of mechs, but erase all memories of him? If anything, a lack of memory on Starscream's character would leave the tyrant more prone to usurping than usual; and as cruel as Megatron could be, he certainly preferred a few extra beatings here and there than working under the nutcase of a seeker, and therefore did not want Starscream to have a chance of usurping him.
"I don't mind how you do it, but just make me forget about the fragger."
"Did something happen between you two?"
"Nothing. Happened." Megatron made very clear with both the murderous light in his optics and the harshness within his voice. Hook visibly gulped and nodded thoroughly. Whatever happened, he wouldn't, and probably didn't want to find out.
"Well, not that I won't try my best or anything, but isn't this more Soundwave's area of expertise? Probing into people's memories is more his kind of thing."
"That's strange." Megatron replied with a visible frown. "Soundwave was the one who sent me here." Hook pondered this information for a moment, and then came to a rather unfortunate conclusion. If Soundwave had sent him here, that meant one of two things: either he hadn't been able to do it and find what was bothering Megatron, which meant that Hook's efforts would be fruitless, or (the more daunting scenario of the two), Soundwave had discovered something but was too frightened to tell Megatron. And if he was worried, Hook would be absolutely scared witless.
"Okay, just lie down for the moment, and I'll scan your processor to locate the files." Megatron, for probably the first time in his entire existence, did as he was told. Hook broke a nervous sweat as he brought the scanner up to Megatron's helm, connecting it with a shaky servo. The warlord didn't seem to notice the medic's state, and continued to sit unnaturally still. He cycled air at a ridiculously loud volume, however. Of course, he had to be loud and noticeable in everything he did.
He watched the scan intensely without a blink. Although part of him wished that this would just be over and done with, Hook also thought that he wouldn't mind the scanner breaking, or even just having a small malfunction so he could put the problem off. And to his relief, everything seemed normal. He could clearly see Starscream located within the tyrant's processor. But something… something seemed off. The file was smaller than it should have been, considering how much the two interacted. And the location, too. Starscream's files were in a part of the processor that normal mechs would associate with…
No.
No. No no no, no no no no. No, it wasn't, it couldn't be. Megatron and Starscream? Absolutely not, there must have been some mistake. There weren't any two mechs further apart in the whole galaxy, and for Megatron to feel that? It just didn't make any sense!
Taking precautions, the medic moved the scanner carefully over to where Megatron's spark was located, without rousing the mech too much. There was no mistake. Memories of Starscream had started to manifest close to the spark, pointing to one, insane conclusion: Megatron liked Starscream.
First things first, Hook was not about to tell him. If Megatron never found out what his feelings actually were, all the best for everyone around them. If he did end up finding out, then at least Hook would be out of firing range. But what a bizarre couple. One attempts to kill their partner in order to gain attention, whilst the other abuses the first in order to show affection. "Love my aft" He thought to himself, completely forgetting that Megatron would be expecting some sort of result from his probing.
"So?" The tyrant grunted. "Can you fix it or not?"
"Hmm? Oh, that. Well you see", the medic coughed nervously, "there's not really anything to fix, if you catch my drift."
"Nothing to fix, you say?" The commander remained alarmingly calm, but the anger within could be seen through his clenched servos almost shivering as he got up, "I'll give you something to fix if you don't sort this out."
Skywarp awoke shortly with an unreasonable helm ache, though he hadn't sustained much physical damage. Springing back into action to go and consult Megatron about his situation (who else would do it right?), he noticed another frame indented in the wall, clearly not very well treated.
"Silly Hook, that's not a very good Spiderman impression." The seeker giggled, whilst Hook just rolled optics at being stuck in the wall.
"Just help me out, would you?" The medic grumbled. Skywarp allowed himself another laugh, but eventually complied, allowing said medic to balance on his shoulder.
"So how'd it go with Megsy?" the purple seeker chirped vibrantly.
"I think you can see that for yourself." Skywarp gave a blank stare, not really getting the point that the medic was trying to make. He decided not to bother with the flier.
"Did you hear the good news?" Hook paused.
"Good? GOOD? Did you not hear what just happened?" Skywarp just looked at him, happy as ever, not a care in the world.
"Yeah, Megsy likes Screamer. What conversation were you listening to?" Realising that he was fighting a losing battle, Hook left without a word.
"Honestly, some people are just stupid." Skywarp thought to himself. "Better go solve this problem before it gets ugly."
The communications officer was avoiding him, he just knew it. For around an hour now, Megatron had been searching for Soundwave in hopes that Hook was right, and Soundwave could delete these fragging memories. Why he had not done so earlier, and then proceeded to recommend him to Hook, the commander didn't know. Perhaps he was hiding something? No, he wouldn't. Perfectly loyal, perfectly obedient Soundwave wouldn't dare disobey an order, as he knew the consequences better than anyone.
The worst thing was he wanted to see Starscream of all mechs. The little glitch, he would definitely put a stop to whatever it was he was doing to him. Right now, he actually craved the company of his SIC. It annoyed the tyrant enough that he ever even slightly relied on other mechs, but something this big was just out of hand. He tried to convince himself otherwise. That the commander hated the whiny voice, hated the defying attitude, hated how cute it was to see the seeker fail to usurp him-
Megatron punched the wall as his thoughts trailed off yet again against his own will. This was incredibly dangerous, should he actually run into Starscream. Would he accidentally let something slip out, like what happened in his thoughts? Starscream was not the kind of seeker to let blackmail opportunities slide through his digits. And the embarrassment. It hurt his processor just thinking about it.
Well if Hook and Soundwave didn't have solutions, maybe Megatron could look for answers within Starscream's trine? Thundercracker was a pretty level headed seeker, and probably had the most common sense he knew of. And Skywarp, well… He was related to Starscream. Maybe Thundercracker would find the tyrant less intimidating if Skywarp were by his side, Making Megatron more approachable. He would need things with as little awkwardness as possible, if any conclusion were to be drawn out at all.
Entering a more private location than the base corridors, Megatron comm'd the older of the two fliers. There was more static than usual before he got an answer.
"Hello, who is thi- Skywarp, get off of that!" Megatron observed that Thundercracker was instead of being flustered at the purple seeker, oddly amused from the slight chuckle he let out on the comm.
"It's Megatron."
"Oh, good afternoon, sir." He said, previous amusement now gone. "Is there anything I can do you for?" The gladiator thought for a moment, wondering how best to phrase the situation.
"No good." His processor told him, "This was something that had to be settled face to face."
"I was wondering…" He silently cursed himself at how polite he was being. Megatron did not have time for manners! "I'd like to meet up with and discuss something. Bring Skywarp with you as well, if you so please. I'll send you the co-ordinates for my location." Megatron sub-spaced a datapad, typing quickly with his digits whilst awaiting a response.
"Is Skywarp in trouble again? Because I assure you, I can deal with him."
"Well, he is in trouble", Megatron sighed, rubbing two servos against his helm to relieve the building stress, "But that's not what I came to talk about. It is something more important."
"And you're sure it can't be discussed through comm link?" The blue seeker pestered. Megatron frowned, it was very clear that Thundercracker didn't want to see him. Had he really built up that menacing of an image?
"Affirmative." The tyrant heard some shuffling noises on the other end, presumably Skywarp being dragged away from whatever shenanigan it was this time.
"Okay, we'll be there soon." The click came off, and Megatron was left to dwell in silence. He rolled his helm onto the crossed arms in front of him, dreading the impeding conversation just as much as Thundercracker.
"I don't like this…" Thundercracker mumbled, holding Skywarp's servo for comfort as they walked through the bright halls (he seemed less affected by the news). "I really, really don't like this. Why aren't we going to his quarters, either? What kind of room is it?"
"If I remember correctly", Skywarp mumbled, "It's either a spare berthroom, or the deactivation room."
"D-deactivation room?" Thundercracker tightened his grip on Skywarp's servo, voice betraying him.
"Yeah. Can't remember which it is though, I guess we'll see."
"Why would you even bring that up!?" The blue seeker scowled, grab still unrelenting.
"Because you asked me." Skywarp retorted. Honestly, he didn't see why TC was acting up so much. Unless… "Why, are you scared of big, bad Megatron?"
"I'm not scared of him." Thundercracker defended himself with wavering confidence. "I just prefer it when we keep a wary distance from each other. He's not the kind of mech I'd share a cube of high grade with, know what I mean?" Skywarp looked at him in an all knowing way, but fortunately didn't say anything more about it. He knew that Thundercracker mainly possessed these fears because he was the one who always took Starscream to the infirmary, and as such had to constantly witness the devastating injuries Megatron dished out on his trinemate. He would always remain sullen for a few minutes after those trips, no matter how much Skywarp tried to cheer him up.
"But he said that I wasn't in trouble."
"He said he didn't call because you were in trouble", The blue flier reminded him, "But I guess that means he probably chose to see us to actually just talk." He forced a wry smile that was returned with a beaming one from Skywarp. Checking the datapad, TC stopped the teleporter from walking further.
"Yo Megsy, open up!" Megatron heard from the other side of the door, and growled instinctively.
"You can't just speak to him like that Skywarp, you'll get us both killed!" The commander heard a hissing voice argue back, presumably Thundercracker.
"You don't have to be such a scaredy cat, TC, he doesn't bite." The door pushed open, and Skywarp bounced into the room on two pedes, whilst Thundercracker shuffled in, taking his seat silently. Megatron looked at the two seekers, and they looked back. The warlord would have to be very careful about how he phrased his words. If he slipped up and talked about Starscream in a way they didn't approve, then they probably wouldn't let the tyrant anywhere near their trinemate. But if he were too vague, the two fliers might not realise what point he was trying to make.
"As you are aware, me and Starscream… We do not have the best of relationships." Thundercracker eyed the commander carefully at the mention of his trinemate. The unblinking of optics seemed to put him off a little as he spoke, so Megatron turned to face Skywarp instead. He was all smiles and giggles, which whilst mildly annoying, was at least a welcoming atmosphere.
"However, I have been thinking, and have come to the conclusion that bettering this relationship would be more convenient for everyone, myself included." It was difficult for Megatron to sound approachable and at the same time superior, but he reckoned he managed it. So far so good, neither seeker appeared to be suspecting anything.
"You two are his trinemates… like brothers almost." Megatron began. "I'm sure that he discusses many things in your company. And in order for me to proceed this situation correctly, I'd like some feedback on how Starscream perceives me as a mech." Megatron looked up from the point of the table he'd been eyeing to avoid optic contact to meet the seekers head on. "Your thoughts?"
"I think we should tell him." Skywarp blurted out immediately. Megatron raised an optic ridge at this, but Thundercracker quickly hushed the purple mech.
"No one is telling anything right now." He stated firmly. "We have no idea of Megatron's intentions." It was in a hushed tone as if Thundercracker assumed Megatron couldn't hear him, but the seeker was sadly mistaken.
"Oh come on, do you think he invited us here to help with a picnic for the two of them? It's totally obvious where this is going."
"You're not thinking about this clearly!" Thundercracker scolded the younger seeker. "I mean does Megatron want an actual relationship or does he just plan to frag him through the berth every night?"
"He's not like that!"
"Oh yes, I can tell from the numerous times that I've taken Starscream literally a wire away from termination through his commander's beatings that Megatron has nothing but good things planned for him!" Thundercracker then lowered his helm closer to Skywarp's, and the teleporter was almost scared of his sibling now.
"You haven't had to see what goes on behind the scenes, Skywarp." He said with a sigh, voice relenting. "You only see the cute bits, with Starscream's emotions twirling around in the air, and the happy ending that everyone wants. But have you seen how Megatron treated his previous lovers, let alone other normal mechs, let alone that this is Starscream, the one mech he abuses the most? He could be hurt even more than he already is." The two seekers shared optic contact for a while, trying to understand the others thoughts. Of course, both of them only wanted the best for Starscream, even if their opinions differed.
Megatron, on the other hand, did not have such a viewpoint. He had brought them here to settle his problems, not anyone else's. Not to mention Thundercracker was practically insulting him right in front of his face, practically pleading to be deactivated right there and then. That is, if he weren't related to Starscream. Something in the back of his processor told him Starscream would not appreciate his trinemate's head on a platter as a peace offering.
"If I may interject", Megatron cut the two squabbling seekers off, "do you have anything that I can use or not?" Glancing at the two fliers caused a mild feeling of surprise to rise in the tyrant's processor. While Skywarp continued to smile his aft off, Thundercracker gave him a look he didn't recognise. It was as if he were studying Megatron, trying to find something or figure something out.
"Why the sudden change of plan?" Thundercracker inquired, still staring in the same way and giving off a tense vibe. "What do you suddenly need him now for that you didn't before?" Megatron returned the intense stare, if anything to buy some time. He wasn't sure of the best course of action. Fortunately, he had asked Soundwave to stand by the ever so slightly opened door just in case such a situation arose. As casually as he could without giving anything away, he listened to the analysis Soundwave was feeding him.
"Thundercracker – feels particularly protective of Starscream, doubts that Megatron has good intentions for him. Is swaying towards keeping the seeker away from Megatron for what he believes is good for his wellbeing."
"I see." Megatron said through his comm, not particularly pleased with the result. "And Skywarp?" It took a moment before the reply.
"Skywarp – fully co-operative." That was a first. This meant that he just had to keep Thundercracker under control, and that would be that.
"I just want the Decepticons to perform better, is that a crime?" Megatron asked in the most innocent way possible. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't exactly gifted in that sense.
"You've had plenty of time to do that. Why is it you've only just started to try this route?"
"I didn't have much faith in the way of… friendship before." He tried to put as little disgust on that term as possible.
"And this is to say that you do now?" Thundercracker gave him an uneasy glance.
"Yes."
"Well I'm not buying it." Thundercracker responded, arms folding and helm turned away at an angle."
"And I don't care if you're not buying it", The tyrant snarled maliciously, "Because it's none of your business."
"It is certainly my business!" The seeker shouted, standing up from his chair to glare down at Megatron. "And I will most certainly not allow you to drag him around like a pet as you always have done! He is not to associate with you in any way-"
"Listen here, you glitch!" Megatron rose from his own seat now to leer down at the flier, emotions flaring up like a cannon, "If I want to fragging like Starscream then I damn well will fragging like him!"
It took two open mouthed seekers and a stunned silence to make Megatron realise what he had said. At which point his mouth dropped agape also.
"Ah." He said. "Did not mean to say that so soon."
Next time, how will the two trinemates react to this news?
Remember to review to tell me your thoughts!