Right, one month of no updates and then I gave an about-three-page chapter? Forgive me, January's been a busy month and that Chinese New Year is coming, life is busier than ever. I'm lucky to get a chapter squeezed in during this time, but updates should get more frequently in the future. Thanks for your patience, readers!
And thanks to Guest, MiniAjax, heretherebemonsters, fan girl 666, .X, poisonouswaffle'n-stuffs, Amanda Saitou and Stellar-Prime for reviewing! Also thanks to the many who favorited and subscribed to this story!
News soon spread like wildfire among the Decepticons that Megatron had found a potential second-in-command in the head scientist Starscream. No one was sure of how it happened or where the rumor had originated from, though they now discussed it with great enthusiasm. The Seeker normally hated such attention, but he was too flustered to mind anything else.
The memory of Megatron's kiss still lingered in his mind, refusing to go away even though he tried everything to get rid of it. It was orbital cycles after the encounter, but he could still feel his leader's hands roaming his sensitive frame and his firm lips moving against his own. Try as he might, Starscream just couldn't work himself into a rage over how Megatron had so blatantly touched him.
"Starscream, jou are spacing out." Blitzwing's voice brought him back to reality.
"I don't need you to remind me of that!" Starscream snapped back.
Or maybe he did. His frame was starting to heat up by that memory alone, his cooling fans now whirring faintly in the background.
"Did something… happen vith Megatron?"
At that the Seeker lost all patience when he was forced to recall again what had happened earlier. He stood up angrily and started to rant.
"Slag yeah did something happen with Megatron! That fragger particularly tried to shove his glossa down my throat and groped my frame in the most inappropriate ways!"
"He vhat?! Lord Megatron kissed jou?!" Blitzwing's optics went wide. And then he suddenly burst into maniacal laughter, drawing the attention of every mech within a thirty foot radius.
"Silence, you fool!" Starscream hissed, now regretting telling the jet everything about his latest encounter with his leader. But the two had become somewhat reluctant (on Starscream's part) companions after Blitzwing advised the Seeker to strive for the new second. The best part was that he never minded Starscream's interaction with Megatron, and even encouraged it to some degree. Starscream would vent his frustrations to Blitzwing, and the other often offered many helpful advices along with occasions of spazzing out and acting downright random. There were even times when he actually grew angry at the Seeker, threatening to beat him into scrap. When this happened Starscream always left and returned another time. He had a feeling that Blitzwing would be true to his word.
So the brilliant Starscream had fallen to this: Seeking company with a mentally unstable mech out of all others.
"Did jou interface vith him?" Blitzwing asked excitedly.
"What?!" Starscream exclaimed, "No! I'm not even attracted to him, let alone to let him approach me that intimately!"
The Seeker shuddered again as he then envisioned Megatron pinning him under his larger frame in the berth, his hands rough and demanding as one fondled his wings and the other reaching down to rub between his legs…
Oh, thanks a lot, Blitzwing. That was one mental image Starscream didn't need to have. Seeing that the other was about to erupt into a series of probably inappropriate questions, the Seeker mercilessly whacked Blitzwing on the back of his helm. This worked most of the time to dismiss his random attacks. Sure enough, the jet shook his helm a couple of times and blinked before replying in his usual calm voice.
"I think jou wouldn't have minded. Jou didn't push Lord Megatron away when he made advances on jou, nien? Admit it, Starscream. Jou are attracted to him in one way or zhe ozher."
"What's it to you?"
"I think jou two make zhe perfect couple."
Starscream sputtered in indignation, "Couple?! All that fragger wants is some mech to keep his berth warm. I refuse to allow anyone to treat me in such a degrading way. He doesn't want a relationship, and I don't want one either! I am not going to give up my dignity even if it meant my promotion. Why does he even want personal loyalty in the first place?! If that's what it took to be his second, then Megatron could go frag himself! Why couldn't he just outright tell me that I did not qualify?!"
"Starscream," Blitzwing sighed with exaggerated patience, "He vouldn't have asked for jour loyalty to him if he wasn't seriously considering jou as second-in-command. Megatron is the type to just simply ignore such requests if he thinks one is unfit for zhe position"
That shut him up. Now that he thought of it, Megatron hadn't mentioned that he wanted his loyalty as a berth partner. Then what did loyalty to him mean? Starscream voiced his concerns out loud.
"He vants jou to fight at his side in battle like Shockwave once did," Blitzwing answered thoughtfully, "He wants jou to work not because of the cause, but also because of him. He wants jou to obey him. It's like being loyal to zhe Decepticons, but on a more personal level."
"So he does want interfacing!"
"By zhe AllSpark, Starscream. Is that all jou can zhink of concerning loyalty to Megatron?" Blitzwing was exasperated.
"I don't see any difference between the two," The Seeker pointed out, "All of us have to carry out Megatron's orders anyway whether we like it or not since we belong to his faction."
Blitzwing sighed, "Jou still don't understand. A zealous leader is often villing to sacrifice his own spark for zhe greater good of his faction, even to escort his subordinates safely out of battle. Megatron vill be asking something more difficult. He vill vant to fight for zhe Decepticons but vhen in crisis, he vill also expect jou to back him up and escort him out safely. He expects jou to preserve both jour leader and jour loyalty to jour faction."
"That fragger!" Starscream seethed when he gradually realized what this was leading to, "What he asks is particularly impossible to me! There's no way I'm going to become his blindly loyal follower like Shockwave was. Megatron can forget it!"
"I figured you would react this way, but our leader's requirement makes sense." Blitzwing countered, "Of course Megatron would want his second's personal loyalty, since he will be his closest advisor. If you are unwilling to give him that, then I suppose you should turn your ambitions somewhere else. After all, a forced loyalty will not yield a helpful second-in-command."
Shockwave would definitely disapprove, Megatron decided as he observed the unconscious mech silently. He was still in stasis lock, and Hook had diagnosed that he would be in that state for at least a few stellar cycles before onlining again as his self repair systems did their work. Shockwave was already looking less battered now.
Unknown to most, Megatron had been observing the activity between his officers carefully, and he knew that Shockwave was never favorable towards Starscream. If he knew that the Seeker had taken his place, he would be very displeased indeed.
Megatron disliked this new rivalry between them. If it was still about that unintended courting offer a few stellar cycles back, he would have to put his pede down. In the middle of war, he couldn't have the Decepticons torn apart by infighting. He should start taking further steps to put an end to this whole affair.
A low whirring sound suddenly emitted from the comatose Shockwave, startling Megatron out of his thoughts. He frowned quizzically. Didn't Hook say that he would stay in stasis for longer?
Shockwave's single optic lit up and he shifted around with a groan. He took in his surroundings slowly as he sat up… and spotted Megatron standing before him.
"Lord Megatron!" Shockwave exclaimed, immediately trying to swing out of the medical berth. Instead he fell back weakly with a dull clang
"Easy, Shockwave," Megatron was at his side in a kilk, "You still need to recover from your wounds."
"No, Lord… Megatron… something I have to tell you…" Already the other was starting to slip away again. Perhaps the onlining was a mere unexpected flux, for his repairs were far from complete.
"You can wait until you are at your full strength…" Megatron began.
"No!" Shockwave pulled his leader closer in a desperation that surprised him, "Right now… the Autobots… had…"
Megatron's energon ran cold. If Shockwave had received intel about the Autobots planning something, he should have fortified his army a long time ago. From his second's tone, it was something big.
"What are they planning?" He asked urgently.
"Project… Omega…" Was all Shockwave managed before falling back to stasis, his frame going limp.
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