I hope you are already recovered from the bucket of cold water I threw to your faces. Sorry about that, but I had that twist prepared since the beginning of this story. As a matter of fact, I confess that some scenes that I conveniently kept hidden were going to be included in their respective timing, so you guys would have known what was happening since chapter 6, but at the end I decided to try the other way and postpone the bomb.

This update will include one of those scenes, which happened precisely during that sixth chapter. I'm hoping that the pieces of the puzzle will click easily, helped by the hints I threw in previous chapters. If you have any doubts, another read at the dialogue that Megatron had with Thundercracker during their fight may provide some light.

Many bear hugs to iratepirate for the prompt beta reading.

Chapter 36

Where nightmares dare

It took Skywarp exactly one astro second to realize that he didn't know anything about nightmares after all. That had to be the worst one, the ultimate prank that existence could deliver to a mech that once had thought he knew everything about mockery.

He didn't turn to whoever was standing around him to look for an explanation, he didn't join the chorus of voices that were expressing their confusion through vulgar 'what the slags'… He just stepped back, one step after the other, agape and unable to pronounce a word. Had the Universe gone mad?

What was he supposed to do? Laugh, his joke of a processor commanded him, laugh like a lunatic and don't you ever dare to stop. Unfortunately he didn't feel like laughing, not even at himself.

One step more and he hit something… someone.

He turned around and found the smirking face of a ghost.

"What's the matter, Skywarp?" Starscream asked. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

Earth, Nemesis Decepticon Headquarters, forty two days ago.

The door hissed open before Starscream, who entered the room with the same familiarity he would have entered his own quarters.

"Did you forget to lock your door again, Megatron? You should be more careful. You never know who is lurking in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to assassinate you."

"I would consider being more careful if there was one single mech in this base who could actually be a threat to me," Megatron replied, his attention focused on the screen of the computer before him.

Starscream smirked at the low hit. There was no such a thing as a perfect day without an exchange of subtle and not so subtle insults with his leader. He walked towards Megatron but he stopped when he saw the Cybertronian Scimitar lying on the floor.

"Were you remembering your old days of glory, leader? Age is making you untidy. Next time you should remember to pick up your toys," Starscream sneered as he seized the weapon and lifted it. He could immediately feel the energy flowing through the weapon; ancient perhaps, but always ready to harvest sparks.

Megatron turned around and faced his Second in Command. "Are you mech enough to use that scimitar, Starscream?" he said, smirking. "Go on… give it a try, I dare you."

For a moment, Starscream considered attacking his leader. Megatron was not carrying his fusion cannon and perhaps, only perhaps, Starscream would have the upper hand for once.

But he dismissed the thought. Thousands of vorns of challenging the Supreme Commander of the Decepticons had taught some things to Starscream, even though he forget them very often. He smiled and returned the scimitar to the two small supports at the back of the room.

"Not today, mighty leader, maybe some other time. I don't exactly enjoy being your sparring partner. Besides, I see that this scimitar has done enough damage already."

Megatron glanced at the wound on his chest plates, underestimating it with a grimace of contempt. "This is nothing. I admit, though, that Thundercracker's battle performance surprised me. Are you certain that he never received gladiatorial training?"

"Completely. I've had that dolt in my flying unit since we were cadets and he was instructed under the Seeker's combat protocol like the rest of us. It actually surprises me that he had any idea of how to even hold a Cybertronian Scimitar."

"Courage is the biggest weapon, Starscream, the one thing that can surpass experience, but I'm afraid that is something completely beyond your understanding."

Starscream smirked. "I hate to think how low my self-esteem would be without your continuous support, Megatron… But enough with the nonsense. Where's our favorite traitor right now?"

Megatron pointed toward a blinking dot on the computer screen. "Leaving the base right as we speak. Soundwave made sure to keep the way clear for him."

"So your telepath drone can be useful sometimes… But what about Thundercracker? What did you tell him?"

"Nothing."

Starscream frowned. "What do you mean nothing?"

"Exactly that. Nothing."

"But… do you mean you actually let him go without a word? How could you be so stupid? After everything I did to stage this…"

"Try bending the tip first, Onslaught? Yes, Starscream, I can see how hard you worked to stage your little lynching."

"I had everything completely under control, Megatron! Do you think I would have allowed Onslaught or anybody else to seriously damage my own wingmate? I would have intervened if I had realized his life was in danger!"

"Which would have happened without my intervention. You may think you were giving Thundercracker a lesson, but all you did was prove how much of an immature and capricious child you are. You accuse me of stupidity but it is you who can't see beyond your nose, you fool. Contrary to your self-indulgent plan, I decided to face Thundercracker with a real challenge. I gave him an ultimatum, although not in the shape of words. Knowing his intelligence, I have no doubt that he read between my lines. His loyalty, on the other hand, is yet to be proved."

Starscream narrowed his optics and folded his arms across his chest. "So you actually gave him the right to choose… I have to confess that sometimes I don't understand you, Megatron. It would have been much easier to give him the order and the instructions for his undercover mission."

"Easy exits are proper of strutless cowards like you. But when we are speaking about the opportunity to take the decisive step towards our complete victory over the Autobots, the last thing I need is a mirage. Thundercracker needs to understand who he is and what he wants. When he does that, it will be the day in which the Autobots will start to fall."

Starscream snorted. "You seem very confident. Have you ever considered that Thundercracker could actually choose the other way? He is Autobot by creation, after all."

Megatron sat on the chair before the computer. "He is an Autobot who saw the lies of his kind and decided to do something about it. Don't forget that he chose to be a Decepticon, and that he fought willingly as one for all these vorns. As you know perfectly, trust is the biggest enemy of any mech, but for once I will rely on such enemy. I have been observing Thundercracker long before you started to notice his personality flaws, and I'm certain that he will stay with us, his kind, when the moment to decide his alliance comes. As much as he questions the Decepticon cause, he belongs to it as much as any of us do."

"Beware, Megatron. He may discover that the place where he belongs is a very different one. Sending him to the Ark was a very bold move. It might be a double-edged sword."

"You can't expect to win an important battle without risks. Double-edged swords can be suicidal in the hands of the wrong carrier, but if handled properly, they are much more effective than ordinary swords."

"Spoken like a true Gladiator… But you are forgetting the Autobot factor. What if Prime doesn't grant Thundercracker protection? There's a pending death sentence against him, if you recall the recent incident on Cybertron, not to mention that he's part of my trine, which has damaged the Autobots more than any other Decepticon squad. They won't receive him with open arms."

Megatron burst into laughter. "Know your enemy first, Starscream, and conquer him later! The Autobots are weak, starting with the fact that the one who leads them is a soft-sparked fool. I know Prime, and I know that he will grant Thundercracker mercy no matter how many Autobots he has slaughtered in the past. And I also know Thundercracker very well; I have no doubt that he will manage to trick those loathsome losers to believe in him. He has their honour code in his programming, after all, and they will trust him, no matter how many grudges are held in the middle. I never thought it would be such a big advantage to have an Autobot among our ranks."

"I hope you are right… or I will have lost my best wingmate because of you and your foolish plans! All I wanted was to give Thundercracker a lesson and suddenly you turned him into the instrument of our victory. Sometimes I can't tell whether you are a lunatic or a genius."

Megatron laughed almost candidly. "Watch and learn, Starscream. How could you even dream about overthrowing me when you can't even tell your enemies from your own wingmates? There is no doubt that you are still very far from commanding even a drone parade."

"Ha, ha… Is this the moment in which I'm supposed to laugh, Megatron? Whatever… If your suppositions are correct, then we should be expecting a signal from Thundercracker anytime soon."

"I ordered Soundwave to maintain a very strict vigilance on all our radio frequencies. I don't want Thundercracker's call to be overheard by the wrong audios."

"You insist on keeping this matter from our fellow Decepticons…"

"We must, now more than ever. In order to fool your enemies, you have to fool your allies first. Only Soundwave, you and I will know the truth; perhaps not even Thundercracker has realized what I want from him yet, but he'll figure it out by himself. As for the rest of our Decepticon brethren, it's better for them to believe that Thundercracker is a traitor. I will give word to hunt him. It's up to you to prevent said hunting from succeeding."

Starscream grimaced. "Great. Once again you give me the easy part… as easy as stopping the entire Decepticon forces on Earth from tearing him apart."

"As my Second in Command, that's the least you could do. But for once I'll make it easier for you, Starscream. I will order most of our troops to return to Cybertron with me to counterattack the offensive Prime will start once Thundercracker gives them the classified information I know he will give them. Then we will have a very clear message on his part."

"You really are relying on trust this time, aren't you leader? It's somehow scary… I'm sorry to break your bubble again, but have you thought that Thundercracker could actually direct the Autobots to your most precious secret bases and arsenals all over Cybertron? You are so certain that he will send them to our less important facilities that you are making me doubt your sanity, if you ever had it, that is."

"I trust that Thundercracker will do the right thing indeed, but you don't know me at all if you think I will leave our most valuable assets unprotected. I have the rest of the night to order Shockwave to change the locations of our main facilities, all without letting him know the real reason. The Autobots will move once they get what they want from Thundercracker, and so will we."

"You have thought about everything, I can see… As to if it works, I'm afraid that's a very different matter."

"I have no doubt it will work. There are times in which you actually have to rely on others, something that, of course, I could never do with you."

Starscream shot his leader his best glare of hate. "Well, thank you very much, Megatron. And since you have everything figured it out, allow me, poor servant of yours –as unworthy of your trust as I am – to go and do some brainwashing among our troops. As perhaps your rusted processor allowed you to realize, they will need to know that you and I had some kind of confrontation after the incident tonight. You would never leave any insubordination on my account unpunished, as much as we differ on the meaning of that word."

"Oh, you would be surprised by how much this rusted processor of mine allows me to realize. I had thought about that indeed. As a matter of fact, I agree with you, Starscream. My troops will need proof of such a confrontation, and tell me, poor servant of mine, what kind of corrective do I grant you every time you make a mistake?"

There it was, the uncomfortable sting in Starscream's spark… Slag, how he hated it when his self-confidence vanished with a single word from his leader. Damn Megatron and double damn the immense power he had over him…

"Uh… but that's not the current case… We planned this together… All I did was follow your command, mighty leader."

Megatron stood from his chair, his smirk as threatening as his glance. "What did I tell you about fooling our allies? Realism, Starscream, such is the key word. A mech believes what he sees with his optics."

Starscream started to step back. "B-but there is no need to get violent here… Look, Megatron, perhaps if I spend some days in the brig?"

"Stop being such a cowardly whelp and behave like a warrior for once! I feel generous today and I will do my best to keep your limbs attached to your frame. Is that enough for you, little coward? I'm not even using my fusion canon."

"But I just got my paintjob done after you thought it would be amusing to challenge the resistance of your walls with my head… You really enjoy doing this, don't you?"

Megatron laughed. "Do you ready need to ask that? Countdown is ticking, clown. Attack me now while you still can, because if I start we both know this will be a very fast fight. Come on, Starscream, I promise I will be gentle… sort of."

Starscream sighed but he finally made up his mind. He pounced at Megatron with all his strength and was received with a powerful blow to his face. He hated Megatron, he deeply hated him… but not as much as he hated himself for always giving up to his leader's sick games. Perhaps he was even sicker.

Cybertron, Decepticon fortress of Darkmount, current time.

Starscream… there he was, alive and perfectly functional, although it seemed that he too had spent some time in a Cryogenic Restoration Chamber.

Skywarp tried to speak. He wanted to speak, if only to find something that he could relate to reality. But Starscream didn't give him time. He seemed to realize his wingmate's confusion and shook his head, chuckling slightly.

"You are such a moronic hard-head," Starscream said as he grabbed Skywarp's arm and dragged him forward, where Megatron was still squeezing Thundercracker's shoulder affectionately.

The sea of confused Decepticons opened for their Air Commander, all of them staring at him as they would have stared at any other mech recently returned from the dead.

"Screamer… what the heck…" Rumble muttered, stepping back and falling on his aft.

"What? Did you dolts actually believe that Thundercracker could take me down in a fight? Please! Any mech with five petra-cycles per second of brain activity would have noticed the fight was a masquerade."

"Ah, Starscream," Megatron addressed his Second in Command with a mocking glance. "I was wondering when you would join us. Come and greet your Decepticon brother as he deserves."

Starscream narrowed his optics and released Skywarp's arm. "I better not give him what he deserves, or I would have to shoot him right between the optics… Welcome back, brother. How nice to see you back in the nest…Would you mind explaining to me now what that Jet judo slag was all about? I think you forgot to let me know about that slight detail when we planned our duel."

Thundercracker shot him an equally friendly glare. "Just as you forgot to mention your newest upgrades... I was expecting you to have some surprises up your afterburners, but swords Starscream? I guess the one that almost pierced my spark chamber was an ugly mistake on your part."

"If you hadn't come up with that dirty Autobot trick, I would've targeted your shoulder instead. You know perfectly well that I hate that slagging maneuver as much as I hate the ones who created it! Think about it next time you try to play the smart aft with me!"

"B-b-but… what's the meaning of all this…? Lord Megatron, sir…" Thrust stammered, watching the scene before him with wide optics, just like the rest of the Decepticons gathered.

"This means that our fellow Decepticon Thundercracker has returned to his home," Megatron said, addressing his troops. "Further details will be made public soon, but in the meantime you must know that Thundercracker tricked the Autobots to believe he had deserted the Decepticon Army, giving us the time and resources to infiltrate the very classified data banks of Teletraan I, whilst at the same time he provided the enemy false information about our warfare assets on Cybertron, slowly guiding them into a trap. As you know, in this precise moment the Autobots are at the frontiers of Polyhex, thinking they are about to gain the upper hand in our millenary conflict, but little do they know that the situation will be the complete opposite. The high price of their blind trust is about to explode in their faces, and at the end of this solar cycle it will be us who stand victorious at the very center of their stronghold. Yes, my Decepticon brethren, today is the day we harness Iacon!"

Astonishment turned into frenzy, a massive mutation that Megatron had been a master in achieving since the early days in which he had become the leader and symbol of the anger of thousands of Cybertronians.

"Shockwave, send a codified message to all my Decepticons and update them on the news," Megatron said, making himself heard above the shouting. "Any violent actions against Thundercracker will be considered high treason and punished as such. There is no place for personal grudges between warriors. As for you, Thundercracker, you will fight beside me today. You have gained the right to stand victorious above the ashes of the Autobots more than anybody else."

"Your trust is highly appreciated, my Lord," Thundercracker said, foreign to the excitement of his comrades.

Megatron turned to his Second in Command. "You have your orders, Starscream. Meet me at the rendezvous point and make sure to keep your wingmates under control. I almost lost a valuable warrior because of this one!"

Skywarp lowered his head, unable to stand the furious glare that Megatron shot him. Apologies were out of order; his spark was computing feelings far beyond embarrassment. Revolting among his troubled processor, anger and disappointment were claiming their righteous place.

"Decepticons!" Megatron shouted, addressing all his troops again. "March to Iacon and claim it for our Empire! Take no prisoners, I want the Autobots destroyed by the end of the cycle! Fall on them like predators do prey, show no mercy!"

Once again, the group of enthusiastic Decepticons opened to welcome their leader. Thundercracker followed him, indifferent to all the glances and questions targeting him.

Right before disappearing into the crowd, he locked glances with Skywarp, the mech that had tried to kill him but also the one mech that knew every little part of his tormented spark. It was only a fleeting moment, but in that insignificant astro second Skywarp could recognize the feeling clouding the optics of his once again wingmate.

It was guilt.

To be continued.

Starscream is pretty much alive; you can stop throwing eggs to my door now ;o)

Update coming soon. There are very few chapters remaining, but still a good amount of deviant turns in our way.

Thanks for all your support and reviews. They mean so much to me :o)