There are many quotes and events in this chapter taken directly from the Convenant of Primus and Exodus, canon material for the aligned continuity.
After Starscream answered all the press's questions with mostly lies, things did calm down. Bots stopped following him physically, preferring now just to let their admiring gazes pursue his form. He heard praising whispers as he passed by about his strong spirit and inspirational recovery. Starscream raised his chin and strode into the post office, collecting the presents sent to him then wondering what to do with them.
They couldn't be thrown away, so with the help of other Seekers, he carried them into his room and left a message for everyone to stop sending him gifts. As he was trying to organize gem carvings and jewelry, Jetfire came to his door. This was for no visit; Silverbolt was with him, so there was only one place they were going. Yet Jetfire still affirmed, "It's time."
They walked to a specific alley and waited. Not long after, a groundbridge portal opened up and they passed through it. Starscream hadn't been entirely sure of where the secret place was where Optimus had taken Megatron and Shockwave, and he hadn't tried to guess. Now, his eyes expanded as he stepped out into an entirely new city that he had never seen before. None of the buildings were exceptionally tall, but he soon realized why with a glance up at the metal roof above them.
They were underground. Though there was plenty of room to fly over the buildings and between them, Starscream still felt that regular discomfort every natural flier felt when underground. Not that he, Jetfire, or Silverbolt would reveal it, as they continued to the city's center. Though the frightening silence of the lifeless, underground city made the feeling worse.
"This is the bunker of New Spark, isn't it?" Starscream murmured it, for instincts made him wary of being loud in quiet places.
"Yes," Jetfire replied. "Above us is the real city, though part of it is still under construction."
The streets were empty, but dim lights glowed down each one of them. He peered into the shadows between each streetlight as they passed each road, and he gazed into the windows of pitch black apartment rooms. There was no movement where he expected some to be, but if he had seen movement, it would only have frightened him.
"What do you think?" Silverbolt asked. But his tone was stiff, since Silverbolt was still trying to handle the truth he had been told about Starscream. That Moonwing was Starscream, and that he was supposed to be amicable to the former Decepticon.
"It appears secure," Starscream replied, but he was more assuming that the roof, floor, and walls containing the city were impenetrable. He couldn't see such things from here, and he wished that they would just leave the ground and fly.
But after looking more closely at Silverbolt, he noticed a welded cut barely visible on his silver back.
"What happened to you?" Starscream asked the Vos Air Commander.
Silverbolt seemed unnerved to have Starscream discovering his wound, but he tried to answer calmly, "I chased a dumb Newspark into the Predacon territory. As you can imagine, our roaring engines attracted hostile attention. I had to dive into the thick of the beasts to help him out of there. Got him to ride on my back, which slowed me down enough for a Predacon to nick me."
Neither of them knew what to say after that, and Jetfire glanced back at them. Starscream busied himself with looking at the apartments as much as he was disturbed by their hollowness.
There was not much else besides the living quarters; there was the restricted station where they had teleported in and places that seemed to stockpile energon. Then, Starscream discovered the centre as he was brought to it. It was a simple square, though large enough to fit at least a thousand bots. There was a stage in the middle and many televisions within the square meant to show everything to the audience up close. The televisions were all powered off now, so Starscream could only see the silhouettes of those standing on the stage from a distance.
Optimus' shape was recognizable, and for Starscream, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and Arcee were equally easy to make out. As hard as he stared, Starscream could see no others. On his way to the stage, however, a whirring noise broke the silence and alarmed him. When he turned to see Windblade flying towards them, he hated that he had been startled so easily in front of everyone. But she had been the one who had authorized their arrival into New Spark's bunker, and she now joined the other Autobots on the stage.
Starscream gave up searching for Megatron and Shockwave. He just stayed quiet and now followed this group of Autobots somewhere below this stage. They flitted into a massive elevator, and Starscream clenched his hands as they descended just a bit deeper underground.
At last, he saw everyone. Yet the way that they were positioned made him immediately sense the tension in the air. Megatron stood away from the collected mass of the High Council, surrounded by Divebomb, Grimwing, and Ripclaw. Starscream sensed that some of these Autobots had not been left with Megatron for long, and that they had just been summoned here. The veterans glared suspiciously in Megatron's direction, and the defensive Predacons stood tall and glared back. But upon Starscream's arrival, these Autobots glanced in his direction with that same distrustful hate.
Starscream had felt himself different for a while, living among the Autobots and working as one of them. These recently arrived Autobots, Ironhide, Elita One, and Perceptor, looked at him as though he was the same as any criminal locked up in prison. He thought that would have angered him, they not understanding his efforts, but a feeling of fear suddenly warmed up within him. He wanted so much to prove to them that he had changed, but he didn't know how to express it to strangers. And if he didn't know how, he started to question himself illogically.
I am different, he told himself and looked at them with that message in his eyes. We are.
But with so many powerful Autobots around him, he felt stripped of the years of his new life as Moonwing. He was just Starscream to them, and that Starscream was a devious, despised enemy. A blanket of shame lay over him even if he did not want to feel ashamed, and he knew that Megatron felt it as well.
Shockwave was ignoring all this. He and Ratchet were in the far corner, their backs to everyone as they worked on a computer. All their movements were soft, revealing that animosities had melted away as they collaborated on a passion. Starscream remembered when Ratchet had worked on the Nemesis, and Knockout had complained that the two worked so well together that they acted like lifelong pals.
Vertebreak sat in beast-form behind Shockwave. Although the Predacon understood nothing, he stood with him to guard Shockwave from any possible harassment. When Vertebreak and the other Predacons saw Starscream, however, their faces brightened.
Jazz and Ultra Magnus had been beside their glaring comrades, but since they had spent so much time with Starscream, they were less aggressive to him than to Megatron and Shockwave. Naturally, distrust remained, but they at least gazed at Starscream like they gazed at anyone else. Starscream then remembered that the vast majority in the room would support him, thus he regained his confidence.
Until he stopped regarding the bots in the room, and noticed all the equipment for the cortical psychic patch.
The day had come. He had anticipated it for so long, but now he jumped. All these Autobots would see his memories, his murders, and see the readings of his emotions. And what if the stress of the Trial tampered with those emotions? If anything but sadness appeared for the death of Cliffjumper, for example, how would they see him?
But Starscream would not be the only one going. Now that everyone was here… Starscream looked to Megatron as he was already looking at him. Megatron had told Starscream that he did not regret the War, only the extremity of many of his actions. He was much more at risk than Starscream was.
"Relax," Jetfire whispered to Starscream. "Everyone actually wants your help, so you're essentially guaranteed to be given forgiveness."
He had used the plural you, including Megatron and Shockwave as well.
Optimus lumbered to the centre of the room, and Shockwave and Ratchet too were now redirecting their attention. Jetfire hushed down as Optimus calmly regarded everyone, readying himself to speak.
"Fellow Autobots. I understand that there are emotions that arise due to the presence of Megatron, Starscream, and Shockwave. However, they claim to no longer be our enemies, and they offer us aid. Megatron has denounced the Decepticon cause, and he and Shockwave have sought private refuge far from Cybertron for these past several stellar cycles. They have been unaware of the continued fight on Cybertron, and thus have had no connection to it."
Ironhide said, "That we know of."
"In acknowledgement of your suspicions," Optimus went on. "We will affirm their true intentions. However, I am already certain of the result. Understand that Megatron and Shockwave risked much to come here and to reveal their identity to us. Furthermore, we must be thankful to Shockwave, who has already provided us with invaluable information."
Many of the Autobots frowned and looked pensive, but knew that Optimus had made fair points. And Starscream found that no one was paying him much attention now, though surely, he was meant to be given the Trial as well.
"Once we have confirmed their pure intentions, they will locate the main base of operation. Shockwave will search his secret laboratories that his disciples are likely utilizing. They will first pose to be on their side, uncovering their plans and revealing them to us. Then, they will attempt to persuade them from following through with these plans. If they are unable to persuade them, then we must strike their base of operation and force them to end their projects."
Everyone nodded. There was a pause afterwards, a tense one where they wanted to begin, but did not want to force the former Decepticons. They had to volunteer, Starscream sensed, so he moved forward. Yet that was when Megatron's voice cut through the silence.
"I will be the first."
Starscream whipped his head around and gawked, but there was no fear on Megatron's stone face.
Optimus nodded once, slowly, as though he had expected as much. Everyone else was silent, but eyes glowed in surprise as Megatron left the Predacons to approach one of the berths. It was hard to believe he was willingly giving himself up, to show them the inner workings of his reality. And they would see his emotions for every scene, with the outline of colours around the viewing screen. Never had anyone ventured into the honest depths of his spark, and now, that knowledge awed them.
Ratchet left Shockwave and joined Optimus as he walked to the other berth. First, however, he would connect Megatron. The machinery was powered on as the two leaders lay on adjacent, separated berths. Then, the first cord was plugged into the back of Megatron's head, immediately causing him to go limp. The same occurred to Optimus next, but with a gentler touch.
"It begins," Ratchet uttered.
He stepped back as everyone moved to stand in a line and watch the screen. There was already a colour forming, the emotion of Megatron. Starscream was unfamiliar with the colour coding, but he wasn't alone. Ultra Magnus rumbled one word to explain the light red that they saw, and he would explain every colour henceforth.
"Anxiety."
Megatron did not have the appearance of his new self. He had automatically imagined himself as the monster they knew, of spiked armour and greasy scars. Already, Starscream began to understand Megatron's internal suffering from just how he envisioned himself. And though nervous, Megatron stood on a grey floor without edges, calmly standing as Optimus entered just as he appeared today.
"Where shall we begin, Optimus?" Megatron rasped. "There will certainly be much to see."
His bravery in the face of things was impressive.
"We would wish to view the actions you regret," Optimus answered.
No memory appeared yet as Megatron lifted the corner of his mouth.
"I wonder if anyone will be disappointed in what they will find…"
With that said, the two of them floated away like particles in mist. Megatron had thought of a memory, and now he was beyond controlling how much they all would see.
There was the beautiful light of day. For the first time, he opened his eyes and saw himself beside the Well of Allsparks. Silvers, blacks, and blues dazzled him as he tried to discover the world he had just been born into. He sat up, his hands moving over the metal ground in confused wonderment, learning how to feel. In the reflection of the metal, Megatron saw himself.
His face was silver and broad, with bright eyes shining in amazed blue. That was him, but then he noticed movement around him. There were living things that looked similar to him, but of different sizes and colours. That was them. These bots surrounded him, and lifted him onto his feet. Megatron did not make any attempt to go anywhere, without any innate fear of these bots. He was curious, looking between the individuals among them, not understanding their intentions.
They paused, speaking to each other. Megatron did not understand, and could not remember the dialogue. It was senseless babble because of that, then bots nodded in unanimity. Someone behind him pricked him in the arm, and Megatron had glanced back then down to the blue dot welling up. Soon after seeing blood for the first time, everything just went black.
And after that, there was a new darkness. The audience waited, then realized that another memory had already begun. There was faint light, but it was cold and buzzing.
Where did the sunlight go? When was the last time he had seen it?
There were scars on the arms they saw swinging an ax into the wall. And the weary, mechanical movements he made told the audience that these were questions that plagued him.
"It is not fair," he muttered in a whisper.
The memory was so important to Megatron, that he was able to recall the words spoken.
A companion beside him grumbled, "What's that?"
"Why do some bots come down here, to the darkness and heavy labor, and why do others not?"
The nameless bot loaded an ore cart, and absent-mindedly answered, "Maybe not. But it'd be one way or the other. I mean, y'have to be something, right? Miner's a job, always going to be busy."
Megatron, not but D-16 at this time, gashed his pick into the wall. "But mining can be done by mindless machines. We are wasted here, far away from anything of note. We could do so much more. We don't even have names. That is how little we are accounted for."
The unnamed bot with the cart glanced at the bitter speaker as he twisted his pick into the wall. Tensed with frustration, Megatron accidentally snapped the pickaxe in his grasp. The handle came out, which he let fall to the dusty ground.
The listener shrugged. "Name's a difficult thing. People'd assume things about you, with a name. Means you have to live up to it forever. This way you can just be what you are. Whatever that is."
But Megatron was provoked further by the casual acceptance of the other worker. He growled, "Everyone used to get names. Now, they don't. Without names, here we are. Used. Discarded. Nothing and nobody."
There was an angry purple edging the frame as fire burned in his spark. Another memory fazed into view.
Megatron watched yet another gladiator fight. The fists in the edges of his vision tightened as something clicked within him. He heard death screams, saw blue splatter, and heard the crazed cries of the audience. He was calm despite it all, revealing that he had long since become desensitized to pain and death. He watched glory, victory, and despair, and saw potential in it.
The screen which Starscream saw turned deep blue, tinged with purple. Excitement and anger both infected Megatron as he skipped ahead.
He had been in line, waiting to sign himself onto the list for the contest that night. When he came up to the sign-in table, the promoter clutched a pen and stiffly poised it over a datapad. He did not even give the ragged miner a glance as he droned, "Name?"
Optimus and Megatron, somewhere, had been watching. For the first time thus far, Megatron spoke. It was so sudden and unexpected that it made them re-adjust themselves where they stood and soak his words.
Memory Megatron was silent, staring at the pen in the promoter's hand.
"At the time, I did not know what to say. My mind wandered to the stories that had been whispered in the shafts, mystical ones that no one believed in. But these stories comprised heroes, weapons of power, great deeds, and apocalyptic events. I had remembered a character that I had felt akin to. One who was unjustly hated; one with power and ambition."
"Megatronus."
The promoter looked up at last. "M-Megatronus?"
"The Fallen," Megatron murmured. "For I thought to myself, surely, what could fall could rise again."
A chill ran down Starscream's back as the room felt colder. In this silence as well, it felt as though he was the only living spark here, alone in watching Megatron's tale. The screen was like a window, a private view for Starscream to see what he never had been able to grasp.
Megatron displayed hints of fear to remember this. Starscream felt that a line had connected him to Megatron, because he felt this fear too. Both knew the unchangeable future that would come, paved by each step of each memory. The ignorant, damaged spark of Megatron watched himself be signed into the night's fights, to maim and not kill.
Only, they did not see this fight.
The floor was gritty with pieces of limbs and armour. Internal fluids mixed with blood were smeared over top of them and the floor as Megatron leaned over his opponent: a battered and dying, Insecticon combiner. He tried to crawl away, but was crushed to the floor by Megatron's heavy foot upon his back. Now, his many limbs fluttered in panic as Megatron raised two maces.
"Who defeats Megatronus?" he roared.
He smashed the helpless opponent; gore splattered his face and chest.
"No one! No one defeats Megatronus! I still function!"
For show, he challenged the crowd. He flung pieces of the small combiner into the riled audience as trophies, calling out, "Remember! Remember that you saw Megatronus! It is the best day of your life! Remember!"
The frame was white. Neutrality. Megatron saw himself fresh after a slaughter, and felt nothing.
"Megatronus! Megatronus! Megatronus!"
The gladiator's arms were raised to the sky, and he peered across the admiring faces of the audience. In the constant cheering of his chosen name, he heard as one syllable vanished.
"Megatron! Megatron! Megatron!"
Short, ending on a powerful note. It was a name no Cybertronian had ever been given, and his fans had given him at last, a name of his own.
Megatron.
Until now, Megatronus had meant nothing to Starscream, but now there was something about Megatronus that struck him with powerful sorrow. What did he see in the gore-drenched, roaring gladiator that he sympathized with?
Starscream thought, It didn't have to be this way.
Then, he knew. When Megatron had opened his eyes to the light of the world, he had been the most innocent being on Cybertron. Guiltless, curious, and reliant on the care of others. When Starscream had reawoken, without memories, he had been the same. But Starscream had immediately found caressing hands, protection, and soothing words to ease him in his pain. They called him Moonwing, and he had loved that name.
Starscream had seen the moons shining through the window, and he had compared the glow to his silver parts and his black to the sky's dark silk. Moonwing had dreamily snuggled into the berth, content to be himself where there was love around him. Yet Megatron had had none of this. He came into the world, understanding nothing, and was given no love. The world was cold, when he found himself underground, exposed early to death, injuries, and captivity.
Starscream didn't want to see more, but the future was meant to happen. This broken spark had only just begun to tell his tale, and one that was only skimming the surface. There was Orion Pax, an archivist who was straying from his post, bringing his burning questions to the inspiring activist, Megatron. They had spoken online first, with some of the responses seen as Megatron typed them out. Neutral white again as Megatron did not regret these particular actions. They debated, then, Orion Pax came to Kaon to meet Megatron in person.
Megatron had led Orion Pax, a smaller and meek personality, up the steps of a pyramid. The archivist looked over a collected crowd of the roughest Cybertronians he had ever seen. Megatron was watching his face, seeing how he took in the scarred, filthy slaves and those that gazed back with missing eyes.
"So, are you with me, librarian?" Megatron asked.
Orion Pax was not afraid. "I am with your ideas. For they are my ideas as well."
"Excellent." Then Megatron boomed, "Cybertronians! My friend, Orion Pax! Together we will lead all sentient citizens of Cybertron to a new age, a restoration of our former greatness!"
The ragged crowd hollered Megatron's name. Megatron leaned towards Orion Pax, an amused tone within his voice. "Soon, they will chant your name too."
Fear had ebbed as Megatron still, felt no regret.
The memories faded, as now Megatron was too curious.
"Tell me," he said as they returned to gray. "What do you feel? For you see, as I feel no regret, I wonder if you also feel the same."
Optimus rumbled at last, "From all that we have seen, no one should doubt the motives you had to alter society. Special consideration must be taken in judging your actions, based upon the cruelty in your upbringing. Then and now, I always considered this past of yours. Therefore, the process to enact this alternation of society is all that I condemn."
"You are not alone in this feeling," Megatron told him. "You know already, but those watching do not understand how I have ruminated over it all. The rebellion was necessary, but I studied myself, discovering what drove me to be who I was. And I do not like who I became, one who cared not for the damage done to our home planet, who ceased caring about anyone's suffering."
They were shown scenes of destruction through Megatron's eyes: the burning skeletons of bombed cities, the dead crumpled over and under beams. The frame of the screen darkened with the beginning of sorrow…
Regret.
That was the old world. Starscream remembered it with such clarity now, and he could imagine himself in those places, flying over the cities and observing their pristine glows. That felt like another Cybertron there, an old home so far away that it felt like an ungraspable dream.
Starscream thought, It's all gone… how could I have participated in that? My home. None of that will ever be the same.
He started thinking more specifically of Vos. Why hadn't he appreciated and loved his homecity as he did now? It had bustled with life, Seekers whizzing around the tallest buildings of the world. All that too, was gone, those lives replaced by the new. Thundercracker, Skywarp… they were gone with that vanished old world.
He shivered. It was so, so cold in this room as he felt Megatron's emotions with him. Yet Starscream knew that he had at least gotten to know this world while Megatron had never. What life or comrades had Megatron had to lose? None. They all could see that Megatron's neglect of the planet's wellbeing was forgivable, whereas Starscream knew he had selfishly destroyed Cybertron for power.
Jetfire's arm crept over his shoulders. He had seen Starscream quivering, but his touch reminded Starscream that the old world had carried over. Jetfire was still here, alive and with him. Letting out an exhale, Starscream stepped closer to him. The sound and movement caused the Autobots and Predacons to glance in Starscream's direction for a moment.
"When Unicron possessed my body," Megatron said, "my spark endured agonizing punishment. I had never known such intense pain, but with it, I understood what it meant to be helpless. For was I ever truly helpless, if I was able to rise to fame and gain a following? I have known struggle, certainly, but I learned what it felt like to lose my will to fight. That feeling of hopelessness under the hand of one more powerful than oneself… I realized that it was an unbearable feeling that no one should endure. I also realized that I had already seen it, and that I had caused this feeling in others. I discovered the true meaning of oppression, and I found that I had been playing the role of the oppressor."
Autobots tried to drag their marred bodies back, shooting vainly at Megatron. He moved as though he felt nothing, and intense fear lighted up in their faces. One-by-one, he slaughtered them with his sword driving into their chests, cleaving their spark chambers.
Black regret.
"I realized what cruelty was anew, again as I recognized myself as the inflictor of it. I remembered suddenly, the times when I had felt the impact of the deaths of the nameless. Individuals, everyone was and is. I was disgusted by how I had forgotten, thus I vowed that I would never forget it again."
Then, an individual appeared. A Seeker stood boldly before Megatron with a confident glint in his red eyes. When Starscream saw himself, he jolted under Jetfire's arm. It was the Badlands where he and Megatron had met for the first time, before he was a Decepticon.
"You cannot threaten me, Megatron." Starscream smirked, visage trying to appear unimpressed by the rebellion leader. "If you want a war, you might get it; but if you want to win a war, you're going to need me and my forces…"
But this unintimidated Air Commander changed. He was silver, and something had changed in his posture in the next memory. Starscream saw Megatron looking down at his past self, who looked so small in his hunching. All could see caution in the memory Starscream's eyes as he tried to look non-threatening before his leader.
"I assure you, Megatron, that all will work-"
Megatron's thick hand snagged Starscream by the throat, hoisting him into the air. The amount of surprise upon his face showed that this was not yet a common occurrence. But there were no more Seekers left to support Starscream; only Soundwave, some other former slaves, and some vehicons watched at the side. There was a swift clang as Starscream kicked against Megatron's chest, but the grip tightened and cut off the blood circulation to his head. When Starscream went limp, Megatron dropped him. He watched the pile of limbs and wings collect itself, aided by no one.
"Your arrogance has cost us again, Starscream," he hissed to him. "You will learn to control it, or you will perish. You will call me Lord, and you will learn your place."
It was surreal to see himself crumpling. Starscream lay one hand over his mouth, and kept watching. Yet the venom was gone even as he had seen himself hurt by Megatron. He could not look at Megatron the same after seeing his beginning and understanding the tragedy of it. Once again, Starscream thought, This did not have to happen.
Megatron just could not feel anything.
In another scene in the front of the Nemesis, Megatron hit Starscream. The context was not given again, but Starscream stumbled back, no indication of resisting what was happening. Something in his side sparked, but he tactfully made himself look small and pathetic. It satisfied Megatron enough to stop his pursuit.
Regret around the screen. Then, something unexpected appeared.
Megatron gasped awake with a desperate groan. Starscream was bent over his burned body, grinning as he finished tugging the shard of dark energon from his chest. The tattered remains of the space bridge floated around them, behind the ever growing smile of Starscream after he had glanced again at the shard.
Megatron's eyes rolled back, but even after the loss of vision, Starscream's voice echoed from afar.
"And this time, stay dead!"
Starscream twitched at the harshness of his own voice. It dripped with vengeful delight, ruthlessness. The owner of that voice had not known the broken spark he had just tried to snuff.
Starscream scooted back on the roof of the Nemesis, pointing down to the snowy turf below them. He tried to keep calm, to speak as though he had done nothing wrong. But Megatron was not fooled, for he had seen what Starscream had done. Ultimately, he grabbed Starscream's head by one hand, and dragged him like so into the warship. As scared as he was, pleading and screaming for Megatron's mercy, Starscream made no move to escape.
That day Team Prime had seen Megatron return and crash into Starscream. Now, they finally knew why, and what happened as the Nemesis departed.
It was Starscream's nightmare, now portrayed from a different perspective.
Megatron tossed him into a room closed off from other eyes. Within an instant, he was upon him. All he wanted to do was tear and beat the one who had tried to terminate him; he kicked Starscream with his spiked feet into the wall and followed his body to punch him multiple times. The massive fists dented and tore layers of metal off Starscream, who was already shrieking in terror and for him to stop. But the wrath had overtaken Megatron's mind. He drove Starscream into a corner and continued to strike him relentlessly.
He was not even hitting as hard as he could. Evidently, Megatron wanted this to last; Starscream was not trying to run or push him back either. Starscream dropped onto his side and quaked in energon, wings flung down as he whimpered, "I understand, Master. Never again will I-"
Megatron yanked him off the ground and hurled him at the wall. There was a crack before Starscream slid down it. Starscream's eyes flared wide as Megatron stomped after him.
"You lack officers!" Starscream cried. "Spare me, Lord Megatron. I can be invaluable to you. I can advise you about aerial warfare, which has always given the Decepticons the upperhand!"
His plea ended with a piercing shriek. Megatron had grabbed him again and smashed him into the ground. The final act was the most vicious, with those punches and kicks flying out one after the other. Starscream contorted and screamed, begged, but Megatron stopped only once he had decided it. Once he had cooled, he looked down and discovered that Starscream was not dead. He had survived, a twitch and a flicker of life in his eyes that Megatron could have exterminated right then. However, Megatron plucked Starscream from the ground, taking him to the med bay and passing him off to Knockout's shocked and intimidated hands.
Everyone turned to look at Starscream. No one had known the worst of the punishments, or exactly what had gone on between them. They hadn't even guessed at the frequency of the small incidents. Jetfire stroked him, believing that Starscream had been horrified by the memory. Yet Starscream's emotions had changed. Dark black surrounded the screen as Megatron regretted every blow on the individual who was too scared to defend himself.
The true meaning of oppression.
Megatron was going to terminate Starscream. The Seeker hunched and hopped back, sensing what was coming, but he chose not to flee. When Megatron raised his blaster at him, Starscream fell to his knees, pressing his hands together and wailing his plea in a stiff voice of terror. He did not dare raise his heat-seekers at Megatron. Starscream bowed on the dirty floor of the mine, desperate for this tactic to work as it had other times.
Fate had brought them here. Megatron- he was just that innocent Newspark full of wonder. How cruel circumstances were, giving him this loveless life. What could he have been doing, elsewhere, instead of pointing that blaster at him? Back then, Megatron had not felt the fresh regret that was now painted around the scene. With the black that Starscream saw now, he murmured, "Megatron…"
Dreadwing raised his sword for the strike. Megatron gripped Dreadwing's own gun and fired it, letting red burn through his spark. The large Seeker fell forward, killed instantly; Starscream sat gasping and checking himself over on the floor. His voice was still high from his fear, but Starscream laughed giddily and thanked Megatron sincerely.
From all that they had seen thus far, it was astonishing to all but Starscream that Megatron had chosen him over Dreadwing. The complexity started to reveal its face to the Autobots, especially as this moment seemed to have caused a change in Starscream's attitude.
Starscream stood with Knockout, explaining the catastrophe that had occurred when he had tried to create a super soldier for Megatron. He appeared to be loyal to him, but even then, he had failed to be the Decepticon Megatron wanted. His wings were flickering, lowering, and he flinched at Megatron's sudden movements.
There was a time passage.
"Lord Megatron, if you would just allow me to explain things-"
"No." Megatron raised his fist and curled it slowly for Starscream to see. "Allow me to explain things, in a manner which I know you'll understand…"
Knockout stood untouched, as Megatron closed in on Starscream in particular. Those wings fell again, a helpless, fearful expression overtaking Starscream's face as he whimpered pathetically.
Regret. Oppression.
And Starscream had full proof now that Megatron wished he had never abused him. All the more sympathy went out to Megatron for it.
What next?
The end.
Megatron rose on his feet, examining the modifications to his body. A line of Autobots gazed at him, affirming that Unicron had been expelled from him, and starting to realize that a spark remained in that body.
It was the memory of when Megatron had admitted his change of spark. All watched again as he renounced the Decepticon cause, and they understood now the things that had brought him to this decision.
The sun had set, for he had been flying for long. The smudged ruins of the planet had long since stopped smouldering, and now lay cold in the night. Even the blue glow of fresh energon did not disguise the emptiness after all the guns had gone silent.
Sadness crept into Megatron and Starscream alike as they saw these cities. The shifting of plates may have topplied some of the buildings that had dared remain standing. However, ashes had settled again, and even the massive earthquakes across the planet had hardly made it look any worse than the War had.
A wide expanse opened up before him. Within it, there was an unmoving speck. But the form of the speck was familiar, and Megatron descended toward it. Its broad, purple frame became more visible. Shockwave turned his gaze from the stars to who could have been Unicron, but he knew it was not. If Unicron had succeeded, then it was unlikely that Shockwave would have had the honour of personally being hunted down by him.
"Lord Megatron," Shockwave acknowledged him before he had transformed. "I assume the Autobots and Predacons were successful in saving Cybertron."
"Indeed." Megatron walked closer to the calm-voiced bot. "The War is over, Shockwave. I will no longer be the leader of the Decepticons, for they are no more."
Shockwave turned his head slightly, looking into the distance with no end. To him, all directions appeared to have no end from here, but if he just picked a direction, he would have found one.
"What will you do now?" Shockwave asked, a simple but direct question.
Megatron looked back to the sky he had just come from. "I want to go where no one will find me. I wish to leave the Autobots to do to Cybertron as they wish."
But Megatron had still not stated what he would do then. The two stood, looking at each other and realizing that they no longer knew the purpose of their lives.
"Will you leave Cybertron?" Shockwave continued.
"I will, when I am able. However, I have remembered someone important. Do you know where I can locate Soundwave?"
"No one has heard from him since the final battle over the omega lock. He has not announced his presence on Cybertron."
"No one can hold Soundwave prisoner," Megatron uttered. "So what has become of him? Surely, he has not perished…"
"I do not believe he is offline," Shockwave agreed. "But he is certainly unable to reach us at this time."
Megatron paused, unsure. His mind flashed back briefly to show that Knockout had been among the Autobots, with Starscream at the scene as well. With that, Megatron clearly thought that Soundwave would have been there if he could have been.
In the present, Megatron knew what had happened to Soundwave because Starscream had told him. But in this memory, Megatron had to make a decision, and it was to not give up on the hope of Soundwave's survival.
"I will wait for him," Megatron said. "Our lives are long, and I am sure that one of us will find the other in the near future."
With a glance at the stars, Megatron asked, "Are you interested in accompanying me, Shockwave?"
"I believe that I am. If you require resources and a means for long distance travel, I can also provide them. First, however, I must attend to one last thing."
Shockwave was not moving, but Vertebreak nuzzled his head under his hand and against his leg.
A Predacon was suspended in yellow liquid. Ripclaw hung there, still unconscious, until she was zapped to life and the liquid began to drain around her. The curled Predacon opened her eyes and beheld the approaching purple bot. Aggression was nonexistent as she immediately associated the smaller being as her lifegiver. Shockwave released her from her confines, from which she crawled out and stretched her legs. Megatron watched Shockwave retrieve a small energon cube and offer it to her by brushing it against her teeth.
Instinct drove her to nibble the blue, and once she tasted its sweetness, she devoured the entire thing. Now, she associated this thing with nourishment, not the small beings calmly watching her. She followed when Shockwave went outside, and Megatron walked after her swinging tail.
Shockwave beckoned to the sky. He gestured, trying to make himself understood.
"There are Autobots and other Predacons out there like you. Find them, and they will take care of you."
She read his movements, comprehending that more small beings and big beings like her were somewhere in the distance. There was much out there to see as well: the strange structures of the broken amusement park, mazes of streets, and a welcoming, open sky. They expected that a spark new like hers would be burning in curiosity, but this Predacon was affectionate unlike any other Shockwave had since known. She ignored the unknown world and her curiosity, lying down instead and trying to wrap herself around Shockwave.
Shockwave tried again to send her off to Predaking, Darksteel, and Skylynx. Her head bobbed with his hand's movement, then she stuck her face under it to be touched.
"Perhaps we should allow the Predacon to accompany us," Shockwave said. "We would receive additional protection."
He acted as though it was only for practical reasons, but Shockwave found himself patting the head of the Predacon.
Megatron considered it, then added, "If we are to have one, then why not more?"
It was a hint that they might appreciate the company, but they didn't say it then. It was only evident as the blue colour of energon glowed around the television screen, the colour of happiness as Megatron remembered their choice.
Shockwave gathered five of the fossils Starscream had collected. The companions, who would become Vertebreak, Stormrazor, Corhada, Grimwing and Blackbeak, and Divebomb. Briefly, the faces of these Predacons flashed for each remain.
For Megatron could not help but think of their futures together.
They were in the front room of the spaceship. The white light of stars streaked by, but the ship was on autopilot for now. Ripclaw was transformed into bot-form, looking at the board that Shockwave had brought out. Megatron stood out of the way to the side, watching Shockwave educating the Predacon. With a stylus, Shockwave wrote sentences in Cybertronian script, designing simple pictures beside them so that she would connect the new words to concepts.
"The sun rose and coloured the land."
Shockwave was nodding, crouching to draw new pictures as she continued.
Time passed.
They had reached their destination long ago. There were strings of lights already built down the tunnels of the caves as they exited them and emerged onto the cold surface of Chaar. Around Megatron now were Shockwave and all of the Predacon as they headed to the young, small forest they had created. Something caught Grimwing's attention, and Megatron watched him hurry toward a large animal at the outskirts. It dragged itself, one leg behind it limp and useless. Then, when Grimwing tried to pick it up, it squealed and flopped onto its side.
The Predacons clustered around it, panic in their voices.
"What happened to it?"
"Oh, what do we do with an organic creature when it is hurt?"
Ripclaw called for Shockwave as he was already coming. Megatron walked behind him, watching Shockwave carefully stretching the animal out over his blaster. He held it steady on him like so, then retreated to a med bay.
There, they asked him, "Can organic creatures be healed?"
"Is it too delicate?" Ripclaw asked. "Will it die?"
"No," Shockwave rumbled. He welded together a splint, taking the time to measure it and secure it around the animal's leg. The eyes of the Predacons glowed with warmth as they watched all that Shockwave did with emotional admiration.
At some point, they had tucked the creature into a nest made of palm-like leaves. Megatron entered the room and saw Shockwave already seated beside the animal, petting it with a single finger and encouraging it to feed from a dish. He pointed toward the food, then dragged the dish closer until it was under its muzzle. When the beast nibbled at it, Shockwave praised it in his regular, monotone voice.
Yet the voice did not seem as cold as the Autobots remembered it to be, after hearing it in this context. The bot they had thought to be emotionless suddenly seemed to be concealing something below his surface. And the remaining blue told them that Megatron was still happy in these memories with the Predacons and Shockwave.
Ripclaw hugged a bumblepuppy and cooed, "Ooohhh I can't believe we got these!"
The wide-eyed creature flapped its metal paws as it reached for Megatron. Ripclaw passed it into his arms, simply picking up another bumblepuppy among the playful swarm of them in the room.
"That one likes you a lot!" she laughed.
With hyper glee, it shoved its ears under Megatron's fingers. He ruffled them without hesitation, and the puppy yipped in complaint when he stopped. Megatron budged to its demands for affection, fully snuggling the creature now against his chest. When Ripclaw laughed, he did not react to it or care, for she was not judging him for doing this.
Even though she knew his past.
They were now in the river, every one of them relaxing in the warmth. It was one of those times where Megatron spoke about his past, and now he was telling them how he had worked with Optimus to prevent Unicron's awakening on Earth.
"I had only selfish intentions," he told them.
Megatron regretted how he had been fully uncaring of others, like he had been of Orion Pax when he had had his old friend back on the Nemesis. But the frame showed that he was happy as he told this story now, and Starscream knew why. Even if Megatron regretted this, he was there warm in the gentle embrace of the river. Starscream remembered it and imagined just how nice it had felt to be in it for a long, cleansing soak. And Megatron was surrounded by his family, who would still love him no matter what he told them he had done. This peace and love was something that Megatron had never had before, and everyone knew it for they had just seen how Megatron had been stolen from privileged life.
The door of the spaceship opened in front of two bodies. Two fliers floated neglected in the freezing cold of space, and Megatron pushed himself out to drift towards them. Before reaching them, he already saw the glow of two red eyes watching him. They were wide with shock, sparking with recognition. Starscream, now black, silver, with hints of dark blue, should have been dead. His cut internals spilled out from his gut, but he lay over the other Seeker's body and clung to it protectively. And he kept staring at Megatron, face twitching in slight fear, as intense light poured out from the slit in his chest.
Then, Starscream was on a berth. Megatron and Ripclaw were bent over him, intently focused on his broken organs and working to fix each one of them. They passed tools to each other, hands always working on something though with ginger care. Again and again, Megatron injected his own blood into Starscream, though much of it leaked back out and over their busy hands. All the while, Starscream's eyes questioned him, confused and afraid.
The body was healed suddenly. It was the moment where Megatron watched life return to Starscream, where he gasped and his eyes took on a brighter hue of red. Immediately, he wriggled and mewled in pain, but Ripclaw was quickly there to comfort him.
Their kindness struck Starscream with a fresh blow, and he appreciated everything more than before. On his own, he remembered several moments with Megatron where he had been careful and helpful to him. Bitter hatred seemed so distant now that it was as though it had never existed. He recalled how he had protested to Ripclaw that the past mattered, but now, he woke to the vibrant discovery that he no longer cared that Megatron had hurt him. Megatron's happiness was his; pain and sadness had been overcome, and to continue watching nearly drove Starscream to tears. His body ached, and he would have dripped lubricant had his body still been weak and damaged.
Starscream whispered, "You have to come back with me. You, and Shockwave. You must say for yourself that it is over. They might stop if you do. Soundwave will, and at least they would lose much with him. Contact Shockwave to return, so that we may travel to Cybertron together."
"We will not return," Megatron muttered. "You may take a recording, but there is no place for us on Cybertron anymore…"
Defiance and desperation flared in Starscream's eyes.
He had won over Megatron's spark. Much time passed to show the next scene.
"I don't know if war has broken out over Cybertron," Starscream told them, sitting in a backseat behind Shockwave and seen from the corner of Megatron's eye. "But the Forged seem to be the intelligent leaders gathering the gangs of Decepticons under one force. Your disciples, Shockwave. Thus it only stands to reason that they are using your hidden laboratories to conceal themselves. We will have to search each one, then when we find some of their forces, we will demand to see their leaders to find their main headquarters."
"That is understood," Shockwave said. "However, your presence does not seem to be necessary. Their distrust in you will endanger your life and our mission."
"I know that they knew about the energy within me," Starscream replied. "They got that information, likely by force, from one of the doctors that worked on me. Slipstream tried to kidnap me in order for the Forged to remove that energy. We can claim that with the restoration of my memories, I am like my old self. They can screen me themselves to see that the energy is indeed gone…"
Starscream stiffened as faces turned back to look at him in surprise. They had not known at all that he had all of his memories back. His wings pressed back and he gazed at them nervously, thinking, I was going to tell you! Do not believe that I wanted to hide it from you!
They did not seem angry or suspicious of him, to his relief. Only surprised. They continued to listen to what Starscream said in that memory.
"I can speak and act like my old self, and offer myself to them as an ally. I do not think that they could resist the idea of having an agent in the high ranks of the Air Command. We can also claim that I found you and swayed you to return to Cybertron to lead the army. You will have to act like I am a loyal Decepticon now, and hopefully you can confidently give examples to persuade them."
"It is clear that you only want to come as to not miss out," Megatron chuckled. "But it amazes me the lengths you will go to place yourself there, when you are not necessary."
Starscream twitched in embarrassment, wishing that he wasn't so transparent to Megatron.
"However, you are returning to Cybertron regardless," Megatron said. "We might as well justify your return so that they don't immediately try to assassinate you again."
Shockwave nodded to this, finding the logic in it. Starscream would indeed have to join them.
Another snip of a discussion was shown from their long journey.
"Do you fear your identity being discovered, Starscream?" Megatron asked without warning.
It was during one of their workouts alone. Starscream stumbled, straining to carry a weight for the umpteenth lap. Realizing he could not continue and reply, he set it down.
"What caused this to come to mind?" Starscream huffed, taking the break while he could.
"Mere curiosity. Do you believe that it is inevitable?"
Starscream shrugged as though he was not bothered, but the question had frightened him. It could be seen in the widened black of his eyes and by the way he looked around quickly.
"I have often been compared to Starscream, so much so that it has become a simple joke. I do not believe anyone's claim would be taken seriously."
"Do you imagine that a rumor could grow large enough to force you to prove your innocence through a public Trial?"
Now Starscream looked extremely uncomfortable, because he had already thought of these things and hadn't wanted to think about them.
"I believe that Optimus and the others would protect me…" Starscream replied weakly.
"What would you do if the population knew who you were?"
He hesitated. "I… I don't know. I certainly would not be welcome even after I passed the Trial. My career would be ruined, for I would not be trusted. I presume there are many who would try to terminate me as well after finding out…"
"The reason I asked was to inform you, that if this was ever the case, you will be welcomed on Chaar."
Starscream flashed him a look of surprise, but at the time, he shook his head because he did not think it would happen.
In the present time, however, Starscream almost felt his spark go still. Megatron had just given him an invitation to that harmonious life without pain. And this memory had not been substantial to Starscream, but to Megatron, it had been so important that he had thought of it now. Why was it that way? Perhaps, it was because it was the first admittal that Megatron wanted Starscream around, that he no longer despised him in any sense.
It made Starscream wonder, if Megatron wanted him to live on Chaar whether his identity was revealed or not. Could it be that after their reconciliation, Starscream was something that would be missed?
He had not expected that the past he had tried to forget would make him feel such sorrow and comfort. After their long history of mutual hatred, Starscream had never once considered that this would happen, for it had been far more unlikely than when he had befriended Predaking. But now it seemed that it had happened.
Megatron and Starscream had become friends, without even knowing it until now.
Jetfire stroked Starscream's shivering body, only partially understanding the depths of his emotions. The memories ended there, bringing Optimus and Megatron back to that gray, hazy world. Only now, something had changed. Confident after all that he had shown them, Megatron stood with his robust body of the present, clean and polished. There was none of the worry left that had been present in the beginning. Now, as Megatron smiled so softly, there was only that calm blue of happiness around the screen.
"Now you have seen everything, instead of just hearing my words," Megatron said. "There was nothing that I could hide here. There are things that I regret, and things that I will never. Judge me as you will, knowing that I am neither innocent nor guilty."
"Megatron," Optimus answered him. "I believe that all will be in agreement with you. You are not innocent, as you are not guilty. But these Trials are not directed by these sentences. Here, we seek only moments of clarity, where one realizes that another path exists. All who express a willingness to do good are permitted to go free. It matters not what you have done in your past. You have shown us today more than enough to prove the change of your spark. You have also proven that this change has occurred within Shockwave and Starscream through your memories. Therefore, my final statement is this: all three of you are forgiven in the optics of the High Council, and you will receive our most honest protection."
Starscream's hands crept back up his face as the Predacon cheered after hearing these words. Vertebreak transformed and grasped onto Shockwave, which seemed to be so unusual that the spikes around Shockwave's head rose in his surprise.
"Ratchet," Optimus announced. "We are finished here."
There was a resting smile on Megatron's face, before each of them ghosted away after Ratchet unplugged each in session. They stirred to life, then rose from the berths onto their feet. Megatron looked towards Optimus, as though he would shake his hand, but the three other Predacons swarmed him. Ripclaw, Grimwing, and Divebomb hugged him in tandem, patting him constantly even when it was not their turn.
Jetfire placed both his hands over Starscream's shoulders, leaving them there as they watched Megatron.
"I knew it would all work out," he murmured to Starscream. "All of you are going to finish what you started, and end this War for good now."
Starscream nodded slowly.
Jetfire turned him around to face him, ignoring any who might be watching to speak to him as though they were in private.
"Are you okay, Starscream?" His blue eyes shone with worry and affection. "It must have been hard for you, watching all that."
"Yes," he admitted. "But not in the way you would imagine… I needed to see all of it."
"Is that so?"
Starscream nodded again. "I cannot explain it to you, for I don't think it is easy to comprehend the complexity of it all."
"None of us understood completely," Jetfire murmured. "But we understood enough to know that you need our support. Let no more harm befall you, Starscream. We will protect you."
Bands of light travelled up his wings as Starscream lowered them. He walked into Jetfire and waited for the strong arms to fold around him, then after they had, he stayed there for a long while. By now, Starscream had completely forgotten how far underground and how isolated they were. All he was, was silent, hardly thinking as his spark danced with the same iridescent emotions felt by Megatron across the room.