Author's Note: Phew! For a while I wondered if this would ever get to this point. There's only about three or four chapters left to this but I'm working on the basic plot for a sequel of sorts two it and have been bouncing a couple ideas around. We'll see how it turns out. Thanks to 16 SilverMoon 16 for reviewing the last chapter and as a side note the Christmas one shots should start appearing soon! I own nothing but Echo, Claret, and Shimmer.
Rule of the Trines
Chapter XXI
"Muppet Newsman: Here is a Muppet Newsflash {Runs out to the Muppet News Desk}. There is no news tonight"- The Muppet Show
The next cycle found both Starscream and Echo wonder why exactly they had agreed to this. Still neither one was willing to back down but both were grateful for the extra time to prepare themselves. Starscream also used the time to pose the situation to Megatron. Though the Decepticon leader wasn't overly pleased with the situation he recognized that if he didn't give his consent he might lose six of his Seekers in one go. He gave in without any fight; a fact that Starscream was extremely grateful for.
That night left both of them alone in chambers that had been previously uninhabited with a silent sense of awkwardness hanging over them. They settled across from each other, optics meeting at the same time. Then they started laughing slightly at the whole absurdity of the situation. They who had shown fear nowhere else were wary of merging their sparks, of the memories that they would share. The laughter eased their worries and in a few moments their sparks were unveiled and merged together in a flare of light. Then came the memories.
First there was childhood, Echo's;
A warm and patient but slightly exasperated voice asking, "Alright. Who did it this time?" Claret and Echo, only in their second frames, motioning to Shimmer with a mixture of exasperation and fondness in their optics as they glanced between the youngest member of their trine and the once white wall which was now a mixture of pastel pink, purple, and green.
Then Starscream's childhood;
A very young Starscream and Thundercracker meeting each other for the first time. A third younglng, purple and ebony in color, realizing that he was about to be left behind. He flopped down and let out a wail, causing the other two to glance at him in exasperation. Starscream made the first move to place a hand on the sparkling and the other followed suit. The bond that followed gave them the rueful impression that their fate had been sealed by one rather annoying sparkling.
And their first impressions of each other. Once again Echo's came first;
Handsome but arrogant; altogether too arrogant for her taste. Still something about him caught her attention as if to say, "He's it. He's the one." She pushed that thought out of her processor, still stewing over his arrogance, and led her trine away to where they would meet Megatron.
Then Starscream's;
Beautiful and an interesting color of green. She was built on curving, elegant lines meant to catch the attention and the design certainly succeeded. Still she was too sharp, to harsh, for him to ever really consider, even though something in his spark insisted to PAY ATTENTION to her.
They pulled apart slowly, optics meeting each other's easily with the acknowledgement that they knew each other far better than they ever had before. Every action was completely understood, every attempt to push the other away reconciled. They recharged peacefully, limbs resting across each other, with the knowledge that there were be no more hiding anything from each other from now on.