A bot had blocked their path in a dark side street. The scene around them was strewn in shadows, and the bot stood within them while his three targets paused in the moonlight. There was hardly any hesitation after the move. Before a word had been said, Starscream flicked out his wrists. So swiftly and smoothly, silver flashed over Starscream's hands, clinging to his digits and bearing deadly curves. Shiloh's knife had manifested into his hand, and the two of them moved forward past Steve.

The bot's blue eyes widened at the knife and the finely sharpened claws. These were not easy pieces of prey as he had suspected. He turned and fled, leaving the small vehicon and Starscream to sheathe their weapons, grim-faced.

That had been the first time Starscream had needed to expose his claws in a serious situation. Knockout had permanently installed the claws ten days after he had travelled to Predacon Valley, and another week had passed before this need to use them. The plates of metal unhooked and folded on each other, slipping into the bracelet-like attachments below his wrists. And as they disappeared, Starscream was impressed and disturbed by how calm he had been.

Is that how Starscream would have felt like? he asked himself.

He had heard that he had used to be cowardly, fighting if he had an advantage. Perhaps he had just had an advantage, but his spark had felt so steady. He had been ready to defend Steve alongside his determined friend Shiloh. Now, he checked Steve, making sure he wasn't still afraid.

No. I wasn't just ready to fight for me. I would have done anything to keep Steve unharmed.

Starscream remembered how wretched he had felt when he had been attacked in that alley. Shiloh had bleakly reported to him that the very same thing happened to vehicons all over Cybertron every week, possibly every day. So much so that it was often left unreported, and the vehicons dragged themselves away to get repaired. Like Starscream's long lost phone, the vehicons' property was never recovered, and their robbers were never found.

He couldn't bear the idea that Steve would lie like he had, bloody and half-conscious in a dirty alley. On another day, in the more relaxing warmth of afternoon sunlight, Starscream confessed this fear to Steve. He revealed his worry that Steve would die suddenly, like his other friends had when he believed he was Moonwing.

"I don't ever go anywhere dangerous alone!" Steve insisted. "But if you're so worried, then I promise I will be extra careful."

Then, the vehicon paused and felt warm. "I am touched that you worry about me too… Thank you."

"You shouldn't seem so surprised." Starscream smiled and strode around him. "How could I not feel some concern for one of the only to mourn my fabled death?"

Steve turned his head to follow him. "I wasn't sure how much you would feel for a vehicon like me, after seeing hundreds who look just like me die."

"In the past, I wouldn't have minded. But now each vehicon death has the same weight as one common Cybertronian's. I don't remember many dead vehicons, but now I feel…" Starscream then mused. "Why do I feel so protective toward all my friends, when I never did to anyone before? How could I have it in me to be so selfish and cold, then suddenly be so attached to you, and for the sake of a recent example, Smokescreen?"

Steve was his favourite to divulge his feelings and questions to, but Knockout's simply honest remarks were rising up in worth. This vehicon knew more about him than he did himself however, especially since Starscream was painfully slow at remembering anything. If he needed answers about himself that weren't tainted with Autobot bias, Steve was the one who provided.

"What do you mean?" Steve prompted him.

Starscream threw up his hands. "Why didn't I see any of this before? It seems so obvious now to appreciate others. And yet I was completely self-absorbed and selfish before."

Steve explained, "Well, it's like we are a part of you… What I mean is that the way you used to fiercely defend yourself has extended to us. You are still an extremist. B-but not that it is bad! Just that when you saw Smokescreen's scratch, you were as personally enraged if you yourself had been hurt. During the war, if someone crossed you, insulted you, you would get rid of them if they posed a continuous threat to you."

"Hmm…"

"So you reacted like you always do, but then you were changed enough to see that you were wrong about the Predacons," Steve continued. "That's how I see it. And I don't think it is bad at all. Even if you are extreme, you want to protect more than just yourself now."

Starscream tossed up a shoulder. "I have to watch my extremism though. It would be best to be as rational as I can before I let unrestricted emotions affect others."

"I believe you are capable."

"I think I am capable of many things," Starscream stated. "I know I don't want to hurt anyone, but if my visit to Predacon Valley has proven anything, it is that I am still willing to hurt and kill others. And feel nothing for them. The cold part of me still exists for those not within my circle. My hope to combat my innate apathy is to push as many as I can into that circle. When I befriended some Predacons that day, their race changed for me. I can feel for them now when I couldn't before."

"I don't think you have natural apathy. It's maybe just a reaction caused by other powerful emotions," Steve assured him. "But, you're trying so actively to be good. You should be proud of yourself."

"I'm not exactly proud that I even have to deal with this at all." Starscream's eyebrows furrowed and his eyes dropped.

"It isn't so different from how anyone feels!" Steve exclaimed, troubled now to see Starscream unhappy in the slightest. "Optimus lost compassion in the moments he saw Megatron do something awful, like nearly killing Bumblebee on Earth, or… any battle with him, really. Any Autobot is like that! You're just very, very expressive. You feel everything more strongly than any other bot."

Starscream looked at him, unsure but on the verge of relief.

"That is why I know you are special," Steve murmured, dropping his voice in embarrassment.

"I'm sure the Decepticons in my past would have only said 'dramatic' to describe me," Starscream smirked, humoured. "Or rather, 'over the top'. Not special."

But Starscream felt a lot better, as he always did after a chat and a walk with the vehicon. Places like the scenic planes of the Sonic Canyons were perfect for open talks of his true identity, so more often, Starscream had brought Steve here when he wanted some substantial time alone. For other activities, Iacon was more ideal.

"Here is perfect," Starscream decided suddenly.

"What?"

"I want to try transforming." Starscream looked at him with a gleaming gaze. "I'm healed now, and I was trying to build up the courage to try again. I remember how much it hurt, but I think I can do it with you here."

"Do you think you can do it already?" Steve sounded more nervous than joyful. "Don't hurt yourself if you aren't ready."

"Knockout said that if I just go for it, I should be able to transform. I am ready, though I don't expect to get it on the first try." Starscream passed his new phone into Steve's hands.

Steve looked stiff, bracing himself to watch him through his pain. After stalking off a few steps to make room, Starscream stood, gathering inspiring thoughts.

Think of how much you miss the sky.

He imagined the feeling of wind, breaking through clouds, or being so high that nothing but the sun rested above him. He wanted to have it all again. Surging upwards, Starscream leapt and spread his wings, letting them flip into position. His innards began to scream, but he tried to command his chest to unfold along with his limbs. That was when the sharp, white sting returned and stabbed his insides. Blinded by it, he gasped and crashed to the ground, his body clicking back into place.

Steve rushed over, but Starscream was already pulling himself up to his feet.

"Are you okay?" he gasped.

"Yes," Starscream murmured back, but wondered if the pain could disappear soon enough for another attempt.

The vehicon moved back to give him space, but fidgeted at the side. Starscream straightened himself and tried to find that determination again, but the throbbing that remained was distracting. When he launched himself into the air, this next attempt was less successful than the last.

"Maybe not today," Steve eased him. "You don't need to rush. You have half the stellar cycle before training starts."

"I just need a break," he argued. "I felt close the first time…"

Starscream sat and let the minutes pass. The vehicon could hardly manage the wait, and when Starscream sprang up again for a third time, he too jumped to his feet.

I don't want to be attached to this land anymore, Starscream told himself with gritted teeth. I'm meant to be up there, in the open space….

The pain was nearly gone. Starscream threw himself into another jump, feeling his wings moving out as they did before. Steve was watching, so Starscream desperately wanted to complete his transformation with him there. He thought that he mustn't give up, to be prepared for the coming sting. Yet when it came, his body shut down again. Starscream dropped down with a yelp of surprise and despair. His body locked back into its bipedal form, and he curled his fingers into fists in disbelief.

"I thought I would have it there!" he bemoaned.

"Don't push yourself more," Steve pleaded. "I hate watching you in pain."

Starscream felt a twinge of guilt. He shouldn't have forced Steve to watch even if it made him more determined. Trying not to limp, he walked up to Steve to assure him.

"Don't worry," Starscream said. "It isn't so bad if I am choosing to continue, right? Much worse was happened to me on the Decepticon warship."

Steve went silent, staring at him. It was impossible to place his emotions since vehicons could not move their faces, and his body was too still for Starscream to read as well.

"I think I need more of a push," Starscream continued, turning to look around them. In the Sonic Canyons, there were plenty of seemingly bottomless pits among the plains where rumbling sounds emerged.

As Starscream paused to face one, Steve immediately caught on. He held onto Starscream's wrist and uttered, "Don't do it."

"I will be fine." Starscream glanced back. "I'll have no choice but to transform."

"But what if you fail again and strike the bottom? If you don't do it right, you will die!"

Starscream loosened himself from the vehicon's grip. "Of course I won't die. I'm a survivor, aren't I? You've told me that, and I know how much I love living. I will transform."

In the next moment, Starscream was pelting off toward the hole. Steve cried out and raced after him. An energy suddenly engulfed Starscream, carrying him on ahead of Steve. Watching him gain some distance, the despairing vehicon felt that his feet were so heavy and slow. When did he get so fast? he wondered. As he trailed behind however, he untied his cloth and threw it with the phone inside him as he transformed.

Speeding on all four wheels, he soon overtook Starscream and skidded around his front. Seeing and hearing him, Starscream grimaced and attempted to leap over the sweeping vehicle. The vehicon was already transforming, however. As Starscream jumped, Steve reached up his arms and wrapped them around his legs, tackling him in the air. Smacked to the ground, Starscream gagged before the vehicon climbed over him.

Starscream twisted his head back, glaring at Steve and yelling, "Let me do this, Steve! I know I will be okay!"

"I know you wanted me to support you," he gasped, "But if I did nothing to stop you from hurling yourself to your death-"

Starscream pushed up and at an angle so suddenly that it jerked the vehicon off. But instead of dashing on ahead, Starscream knelt by the dislodged vehicon.

"I promise that I won't die," he murmured. "I have so much to live for, and thinking about that is going to make me save myself."

Steve sat up, but his face still could not portray his feelings. Yet Starscream could sense the stress and sorrow within him. He quickly hugged the vehicon before hurdling forward toward the edge. The friend that he left behind still sat in conflict, watching Starscream tear towards the drop. Then when the edge came close, Steve jolted to his feet and raced after him.

"No, wait! This is suicide! You can try again another day, just please-"

Starscream launched himself over the edge without hesitation. He had heard the vehicon's shouts, and as he descended into the dark tunnel, he heard Steve's shriek.

"Starscream!"

He shook as dropped, rapidly accelerating through the open air. The circle of light behind him grew smaller, and the darkness, denser. The air rushed past his downward-facing head, and the rumbles of the underworld grew louder the lower he fell.

Of course I can't die now, he thought. I will come back for you, for everyone… There is still much for me to do!

Once again, he parted his wings. He waited for the coming pain.

So then, I must fly.

The noises drowned out his caterwaul of pain, so the vehicon at the hole's edge could not hear or see what had become of Starscream. Steve was gripping the edge tightly and bent over the hole. It was taking so long. He shook with his spark, waiting for Starscream's return.

Something moved. There was hardly any time to confirm the movement before an earth-like jet shrieked past his face, buffeting him with wind and knocking him back. Black and silver flashed in his vision, then it was gone. Steve was pressed against the ground, staring high up at Starscream's form growing smaller against the cloudless sky. He became a speck, only distinguishable as his blackness contrasted the brightness of the cloudless sky. The black seed sped away as through intending to leave the area, but then the shape turned, circling back.

The ground was so far, but there was not a speck of fear within Starscream. After more than a year of being stuck to the surface, the speed he had reached now excited him to the core. Indeed, it hurt to push himself, but he couldn't resist it with his body singing in joy to feel the cold, the wind, and the sun over his wings. He flew so high that he could no longer see Steve plastered to the ground in awe. The holes in the ground shrunk, and the world opened up and stretched its horizons.

He swooped down, his insides curling in pleasure at the feeling. The nosedives of incredible speeds were far from frightening, but more fun than he could remember. He appreciated flight in a way he thought he might never have before. Could anything trump this joy? Starscream had never felt so liberated, where he could go where he wanted to not only because he could fly, but because he had this new identity that permitted him.

After another minute of looping and rolling, Starscream careened back towards Steve. His sharp turns ripped the air with noise. Thunderstruck, Steve gazed in stellar awe to watch him returning. Then the jet dove, tip pointed down and plummeting. Steve wrung his hands and jumped up to his feet. Yet Starscream levelled out, reducing his speed. He dropped lower, until he was flying parallel and close to the ground.

With complete control, Starscream transformed and landed neatly on his feet metres away from Steve. His eyes sparkled with thrill, and he trotted up to Steve. His mouth opened to release his words of rapture, but then the vehicon promptly drove into him with such ferocity that Starscream was nearly knocked off his feet. At first he thought that Steve was as ecstatic as he was, but then realized it was this paired with grief.

Starscream felt a calm settle in him. He held the back of the vehicon's head and breathed, "I'm sorry. But of course I was going to come back. I like being alive too, you know."

"Why do you always jump like that?" Steve moaned, but with an increasingly lighthearted tone. "Head-first, off tall things, transforming at the last second…"

"Is that what I always do?" Starscream flicked one of Steve's heavy wheels to spin it. "It just felt natural. Guess I am just used to being a show-off."

Steve loosened his death-grip slightly. "You're insane."

"You're the one with some screws loose. You just screamed my real name aloud."

Steve bent his legs. "Oh… I didn't realize that I yelled it..."

"It's fine. I expected as much, so here was the best spot to frighten you." Starscream then perked up and raised his voice into an excited cry. "But I've done it! I can fly!"

"Yes!" Steve gasped. "You can! Oh, and you were so amazing!"

"Yes, at long last," he sighed. "It's so great to be so high, looking down at everything with the wind over my wings…"

Steve could hear his ecstatic pulse through his chest as Starscream spoke in his nostalgia. He chuckled, "Do you want to go again?"

Starscream hopped away, nodding fervently and stamping his feet. He could hardly contain himself at the idea that he could do this whenever he wanted. Although it still hurt, the pain seemed to be diminishing even if it was only his joy causing this. He did not cry out this time when he jumped and transformed. Starscream sent himself shrieking back to the open sky, spark soaring to see everything so small, feeling small himself, and knowing that there were so many places he could go.

Steve watched Starscream fly for half an hour around the area, gazing back when he vanished at impossible heights, then when he zipped by low, passing just metres above the ground. He could not be bored when he felt the happiness within Starscream now. The vehicon lay and watched him play in the sky, until finally, Starscream transformed and plopped back onto his feet. His face was drooped like his wings in exhaustion, but he still looked blown back from his fun. Dragging his feet, he came up beside Steve and flopped down onto his stomach.

"You flew for so long," Steve breathed with incredulity.

"It took a toll on me, but I didn't ever want to stop," Starscream chuckled and stretched out his legs and arms. "Oh, that was such fun! Although, everything hurts now, and I'm going to crash when I get home. I predict a long recharge in my future."

"You have so much endurance," Steve said. "You will certainly be ready for the next semester. Are you going to apply now?"

Starscream rolled over. "I should. It will motivate me even more to be active and to study if they accept me."

"If? You mean when. Of course they will accept you! It's just me that they might not accept."

"But I'm sure the higher-ups of the Seekers know about me. Hm. Do you think they will hesitate? Surely, they will be worried that I will move up and get more power."

"Optimus will convince them to let you in. He knows how hard you've been working, and he trusts you." Steve pointed at his claws. "You said he didn't mind those at all!"

"I simply cannot understand what makes him trust me so much. Either he is poor at judging others, or more adept at it than I can imagine."

"They've been watching you for so long," Steve reminded him. "It's obvious that you can be trusted."

"Even with these?" Starscream threw up one hand and let the claws extend to the sky. "Even when I hang out with Decepticons, and even after I disappeared into a dead zone that one time?"

"Neither of us are Decepticons anymore," he pointed out. "And they surely know why you went into the dead zone. The vehicon club isn't any major secret. Regardless, you are so popular and friendly. You never take a break from visiting friends, working, exercising, and studying. You spend plenty of time studying with Optimus too. He must like you by now, don't you think?"

"I know he does. He is so nice to me, but I can't understand why! I mean, I've murdered and tortured so many…" Starscream shivered. "I'm unforgivable. Those Seekers will certainly think so, so even if I get in, they will think about how evil I was…"

"Evil? You were never evil!" Steve protested.

Starscream snorted. "You're just biased, Steve."

"I don't just support you without reason!" The vehicon put a fist into his palm, lowering his voice into a serious tone that was unfamiliar to Starscream. It caused Starscream to sit up properly, looking at Steve in surprise. He seemed ready to argue, and fiercely.

Steve went on. "Of course I'm not sure why I started caring about you, but I have given it all a lot of thought since then. I wouldn't just harbor blind feelings. I know you are forgivable, because you are not evil. Many, many Decepticons were not evil."

Starscream wrinkled his brows.

"I know this is dependent on my definition," he went on. "But I think it is a sound one. Don't you think someone should only be called evil if they have no reason to bring upon pain, if there is no force making them do it? If they only have themselves to blame? And the only way to stop the evil acts is to kill them?"

"How am I not evil then?" Starscream muttered. "I was never a part of the oppressed, lower classes. I've heard what they say about me. Autobots write me off as the one who had everything, and still wanted more power."

"And the Autobots speak poorly of all the prominent Decepticons. Of course they would, since it is easy to vilify the losing team. But listen to me. You aren't evil to me, just like all those Decepticons on Earth in the very end of the War. None of us were evil, same with Megatron, Soundwave, Knockout, Breakdown, Dreadwing, or even Shockwave! Well, I cannot speak for Airachnid, but I don't know her past."

Steve waved her off.

"But Megatron was a slave, living a life of cruelty because of the caste system. He lived for so long knowing that no one cared if he died. He was nameless." Steve pointed at his chest firmly. "He was like us, but had it worse! Bots watched him and those like him fight to the death for entertainment. His kind died without ever knowing love. The old world shaped Megatron like it shaped the Decepticon army out of slaves who could have been individuals."

Starscream thought back to one of the few, detailed memories he had of Megatron beating him. Nevertheless, Steve's words enthralled him.

"And how could anyone blame Soundwave after seeing his trial? He is feared and despised by Autobots, but you know, the vehicons saw his memories and felt something. Soundwave was fighting for these oppressed and tragically torn bots. But not just that. He was serving Megatron, listening to him because he was his truest friend. Soundwave loved only very few, but he was fiercely attached to Megatron. He followed his body to the ocean floor of Earth. He searched for Megatron when he returned. And because he was so loyal to his friend, he regrets nothing. And when bots regret nothing, it doesn't matter what else they feel. That's why they threw him into prison."

Starscream's eyes slid to the ground. He was stunned with emotion, but also caught thinking of Slipstream. She had been so loyal to her fellow Seekers that she had come to the same fate.

"Knockout and Breakdown were misguided, but their sparks were open! Knockout wasn't ruthless, and no matter how Breakdown seemed, he was kind. He cared about vehicons! He talked to us, asked we how we were… They weren't greedy or sadistic. Breakdown would have made a fine Autobot too. Rest his spark."

Starscream had a vague image of a large, blue Decepticon in his mind. He seemed but a brute, yet something else seemed gentle about him. Starscream nodded slowly.

"Dreadwing was honorable! He fought for the cause he believed in, the one that was outraged by the caste system. He was a bot of his word, and he could be changed. He was close to being an Autobot too. There was no need to kill him; it is sad that he perished before developing himself fully.

"Shockwave is difficult to understand or explain. I don't know much about him, but I know he has feelings he would not admit. There is a reason Predaking remembers him fondly. Shockwave cared about his creations in a sort of paternal way. They call him emotionless, cold, and only focused on knowledge. But I saw him consoling Predaking before he knew he could transform, crouching and stroking him. I think that Shockwave could find it in himself too to change. I don't want anyone to hurt him either."

Starscream waited in apprehension. And after all these long explanations, he burst out, "What is my reason? I was greedy and sparkless. I was a high caste member. I had everything, I was-"

"No."

Starscream shut his mouth.

"The caste system dictated the roles of the world, crushing individuality. From the moment you were forged, your fate as chosen. As a flier, they tossed you into the military. Of course you were raised to think so highly of being a Seeker. They told you how honourable it was, so that you would be complacent. And you were so talented, and they rewarded the skillful like you. Don't you understand, Starscream? You still feel as though a Seeker is all you can be. And it is fine if it is what you want to be, but you had no choice before whereas you do now. They encouraged your pride, your supremacist attitudes. They let you be vain and famous, since you were so useful to them that way."

"I should have known better," Starscream uttered. "So many bots still cared about the lower castes, but I didn't."

"Your job was your life," Steve stressed. "They entrusted you with a secret of Cybertron, to the Seekers. You guarded dark energon and concealed the experiments on it. You felt so important there, and also when you were tasked with being a royal bodyguard! Don't you know that you guarded our last Prime? Sentinel Prime? The lower castes were none of your concern."

Starscream raised a brow. "I used to guard a Prime?"

"You were so important and known. They stroked your ego, praising you. Everyone said you were the fastest, the most agile, so cunning…"

"I wish I had just stopped to think. I should take some responsibility for not doing so."

Steve paused, knowing that it would be hard to shake Starscream of his shame. He murmured, "But you aren't evil. Please just understand that, even if the others don't. You've been so open-minded since your new beginning. It is a sign that you are forgivable, since you so readily accepted others. You care about simple vehicons like me. With your claws, you would protect me."

"You're not simple. And I can't imagine not doing whatever I could to protect others."

"That's why Optimus trusts you. He knows that."

"Do you think he has thought of everything that you have?" Starscream asked.

"Maybe not. But he knows your spark is in the right place now."

Starscream once again felt so eased, glad that he had this chance to listen to Steve in private. As he relaxed, he remembered the warmth under the sun and felt sleepy. Contented, he blinked lazily and murmured, "I guess everything will be alright."

"It will be."

"Thanks again for the talk, Steve."

"Anything for you."

Steve staying sitting while Starscream lay down onto his side. After a minute passed in peaceful silence, Steve looked down at Starscream's thin and curved body. His hands were relaxed, fingers loosely bent, and his face was mellow.

"Are you going to recharge right now?" he chuckled.

Starscream rubbed his face and sat up. "You're right. I might as well go home. If I rest now, I can wake up when Optimus comes back. I've been meaning to read more of this ethics textbook with him. It's in the curriculum at Fort Scyk."

"You do this, and still wonder why Optimus trusts you."

Starscream rolled his eyes. "It seemed that they would always be so strict after I found out that I was Starscream, but they've really eased off lately. He's behind it, no doubt. It's haunting in the way he is so accepting."

When Starscream tried to get to his feet, his legs buckled. He dropped to his knees and fell forward, catching himself up on his hands. Steve bent down and scooped his chest, helping Starscream up. Trying to carry his own weight now left him with a terrible tremble. Starscream leaned into the vehicon, walking step-by-step against him back to the nearest warp station. The going was slow, but the weather and world was calm, the soft breeze carrying stray butterflies or other small, flying creatures. Both were content to move along in silence, looking around at the new world.

Steve took him back towards the Iacon Square, but there, the Elite Guards stopped Steve from getting too close to the High Tower. Then, Steve was replaced by a helpful Guard who would take Starscream upstairs. After saying a farewell to Steve and receiving back his phone, the two went their separate ways once again. The vehicon returned home to the city of gambling and alcohol, where Starscream would always worry for him. And Starscream, he found himself high up in the quiet of one of the most protected areas on Cybertron.

Starscream glimpsed the back part of Smokescreen's leg vanishing into his room. The door closed too fast for him to call out to him, though he already knew he was recovered. All he would have said was his own news. Smokescreen should have been glad to hear that he could fly again. But now, Starscream merely headed into Optimus' home and beelined to the berth.

First, he set his phone down with his old presents. After that, he turned his back to the sunlight beaming into the room and lay down. He covered himself with the chain mesh, then he waited for Optimus.

When Optimus returned home, he closed the door and saw Starscream. He was curled up in the open, partially wrapped in the blanket and softly clinging to the balled-up end of it. For a while now, this is how Optimus had always found him resting. The nightmares had subsided, and Starscream was always gently snuggled into the warm chains.

Starscream creaked open his eyes and tried to sit up. Though his silver gaze gleamed with innocent excitement, he eyes were already falling closed.

"Optimus!" he gasped.

He slipped back onto his side in the tangle of chains. Optimus headed over, easing him from trying to push himself too hard.

"Rest if you need to. You can speak to me later in you wish."

"Oh, but it's important..." Starscream drifted off. "I flew today… It was so…."

His fingers curled around the blanket again and he collapsed. His eyes fluttered when Optimus rumbled, "Congratulations on your success. You have been working hard to achieve this goal for so long."

Starscream fell still again with a smile on his face. He so desperately needed this rest after his exhausting flight. So, unable to force himself awake, he slept through the time he had wanted to study. It was late in the night when he woke with stiffness tapping his frame. He stretched and faced the television playing the news. It was currently showing off the newly built areas of Cybertron again, and advertising a need for more workers.

When Starscream saw Optimus in a chair, he perked up and now spoke clearly. "Yes!" he continued. "I flew around the Sonic Canyons today. I think that I am ready to apply to Fort Scyk and train myself until then!"

It was clear to both of them what he intended to do there. It went without saying.

"Then I will help you with your application."

"Now?" Starscream gasped. "I mean, could we do it right now?"

His unbridled joy was as sweet as Moonwing's had ever been. Starscream didn't realize this, but Optimus was warmed and calmed by his enthusiasm. It was everything he had hoped for in bringing the former injured Decepticon into the Autobot world. His decision with Ratchet had left Starscream with his T-cog, and now he had this chance of redemption.

"We can," Optimus smiled lightly.

Starscream bounded over to him, swirling and fidgeting as Optimus went to the computer. At the sight of the application form, Starscream wiggled in between his spread arms and blinked quickly at the screen. As Optimus was much taller and broader than he was, Starscream could fit into the space and watch. When prompted to, Starscream filled out his basic information himself with a jubilant vibrating.

Typing with a bounce, Starscream chirped, "You will warn them beforehand, won't you?"

"Yes. I will guarantee that you will be accepted and well accommodated."

"Could you please tell whoever is in charge to do the same for my vehicon friend?" Starscream continued. "Steve. He wants to be a police officer."

"I can also have this done, though there is nothing preventing vehicons from attending this academy or any other educational institution."

"I was just worried, since there is so much discrimination against them… and others too. Like Predacons."

Interested by the last comment in particular, Optimus flicked his eyes down at his head. Predaking had been difficult to speak to about Starscream. He, like Ratchet, believed that Starscream was cruel and manipulating by nature. Speaking to Predaking on just the topic of Starscream made the Predacon ruler seethe. He always had to speak about Darksteel and Skylynx and Starscream's racist attitudes.

"What makes you bring up the Predacons?"

Starscream flinched to have been called out. He felt a flush of shame as though Optimus had read his thoughts, knowing what he had thought of doing before.

"I was just thinking about them a lot more," Starscream stammered. "The news has always been showing their rallies where they complain… and the backlash to the Predacon protests has been worse since the attack. And despite how they didn't have anything to do with it, they are getting the blame."

"You have made a wise observation."

"I-it isn't wise." Starscream felt even worse for how he had behaved before. "It should be obvious."

"For many, it is easy to create enemies of groups instead of singling out the individuals who truly trouble them."

Starscream nodded dumbly, spark crumbling. As he stared at his nearly filled out form, he swelled up with the promise that once he became a Seeker again, he would listen to that statement and never blame more than the wrongdoers.

Optimus watched him fill out the personal response questions. After this, he asked Starscream, "What are your feelings about the ancient Predacon?"

Starscream's black hands settled at the side of the touchpad.

"The White Dragon…" he murmured.

Just days ago, the world had been on fire with the videos recorded in Predacon Valley. Knockout and the others had long since repaired the Predacon with her new colouring. The Predacon was now gorgeous, according to Knockout. She was a gleaming silver-white that was so light and well polished that she shimmered with the colours of any light source. First, the clips showed the white Predacon stalking through the village, glancing left-to-right as Predaking spoke in his bot form and pointed around them. And in the clips with Predaking in his beast mode, it became obvious that the recovered Predacon was powerful.

She was very nearly the size of Predaking, with a broad chest like him but slightly thinner. Together with her sturdy and long legs, she was larger than all the other Predacons in the Valley. Only her wings were much shorter than Predaking's, which were remarkably massive regardless. Her focused, green eyes, however, intimidated the world's citizens just as much as her size.

Savage, she had been called. Predatory. No one seemed to believe that she would adapt to the new society. The media had been influenced by the trendiness of Earth cinema. She had been dubbed "the White Dragon" ever since she had been shown cured of her rust. Starscream remembered the reporters who had pointed at frozen images of her, crying out that the White Dragon would sneak off, dragging off bipeds in the dark to consume.

The uproar had been loud, unchanging even after she transformed. Her eyes still had a deep sharpness, and even with a face like their own, many wondered if she was using that face to deceive them. When she spoke in broken Cybertronian, they were suspicious that she already knew the language fairly well. They said she must have learned it over time to better hunt bipeds, to learn their hiding spots and tricks.

She is an evil beast! They warned each other. She cannot be trusted!

"I believe she can change," Starscream responded after a brief pause. "She reminds me of myself."

"What compelled you to make this comparison?" Optimus's interest was evident in his tone.

Starscream said, "We've both awakened into the new world with another chance at life. She has Predaking to guide her like I have you. Since we can communicate with her and provide her with energon, she won't have any need to be violent. I do not need do harm anyone either to directly achieve my goals. The most unfortunate difference is that everyone knows her past whereas I am still unknown. But the way they treat her… I feel that it is how they would react if they found out who I was."

They would treat me worse, actually, Starscream thought.

"It pleases me to hear that you have sympathies with the Predacon," Optimus told him. "I assume that you know what your past was with Predacons."

Starscream knew he was referring to how he had panicked by Predaking. He sighed, "Partially. I know how I treated them, and I remembered being chased by Predaking, Skylynx, and Darksteel. I think they intended to kill me. So when I saw Predaking, I was frightened. I don't want to react this way to other Predacons, though I would have reacted the same had I happened to see Skylynx and Darksteel."

Optimus widened his eyes. Starscream was not yet aware that he had killed the two Predacons, and therefore did not fully understand Predaking's rage against him. He kept silent, deciding that Starscream would be stressed if he knew the truth.

He wanted Starscream to be happy for the current moment, instead of being wretched by the guilt of his past. Too many questions were being asked, and Starscream had paused his cheerful shaking and his typing.

"You have grown," Optimus said. "I did my best to explain your positive development to Predaking, regarding your hard work and openness to all the races of Cybertron."

Starscream closed his eyes. You have so much confidence in me. Do I really deserve it?

Optimus went on, "It was difficult for him to understand, but hopefully, he will one day. Once you have became a Seeker of high rank, known across Cybertron for your keen insight."

Starscream flashed open his eyes and quivered again in glee.

That's right! I can make my name through noble and brave actions. I can be known for being sensitive to issues, fair to all… Then it won't be just Predaking, Darksteel, and Skylynx that I will convince! All the Autobots up here will trust me like Optimus does. I will make the image of myself forever change in their optics.

Once I become a Seeker again, this world will know Moonwing. And some of them, they will know what I, Starscream, have done!