Starscream twitched his wings as he followed Bluestreak into the Autobot command room. The room was so different from the Decepticon's command room and far less imposing; it was brighter colored, had more lighting, and ostensibly lacked a throne. But as they entered, he noticed a congregated group of mechs standing in front of a giant display screen, and their conversations had died off when they saw him.

He was quite used to mechs staring at him at this point. But whereas the gaze from the Decepticons had been familiar, there was a strain to the looks from this group. Individually they might be easier to talk to, Starscream thought, but together they radiated a low level of tension.

Bluestreak similarly had some stress across his shoulders. He might have picked up on the general atmosphere of the room, but pressed forward proudly and escorted Starscream to the back, where another, smaller room waited for them.

Optimus Prime stood by the door. "Starscream. Thank you for coming on short notice, and thank you for doing this. I am in the middle of discussions with Megatron to allow you to talk to Skywarp and Thundercracker."

Starscream watched Prime carefully for a moment. "You just want me to talk to him right? I'm still not sure I can convince him of anything."

Optimus nodded. "Just talk to him. If you could, please ask him if he would consider coming back. But I don't want you to do anything you don't want to do."

Starscream tried not to clench his jaw. It was a little late for that.

He walked into the room and sat down in the chair as Prime and Bluestreak left, presumably to give him some privacy. He pressed the button to activate the call.

There was a large white mech on the other side of the display, and when Starscream saw him, his face turned to confusion.

The mech chuckled warmly. "Were you expecting someone else?"

He was oddly friendly; only Skywarp and Thundercracker had been so open and friendly upon his first meeting with them. Starscream found himself being thrown off-guard.

Starscream furrowed his brow. "I… have seen you before."

The mech's optics brightened slightly. "Really? Where?"

"In a holo-cube. In my old room," Starscream said, still perplexed. "Are you Skyfire?"

"I am. It is a pleasure to meet you again, Starscream." Skyfire's optics glinted, and he cast his gaze down. "You still had that old thing? I can't believe you kept it."

Starscream watched him for a moment. "It was on the shelves behind some datapads," Starscream added dumbly. It seemed like such an irrelevant fact to add, but he found himself a little out of sorts. "It looked like it was well taken care of." He felt himself wanting to help this mech in any way possible.

Skyfire smiled softly. He seemed a mech full of gentleness and kindness, and it was suddenly no wonder to Starscream that Skyfire had tried to leave the war behind him.

"I heard you wanted to talk to me. I'm happy to answer any question that I can," Skyfire said.

Starscream tried not to narrow his optics; he had been told that Skyfire wanted to talk to him. Still, he relaxed a little in the chair. He did have a lot of questions especially since now he knew that Skyfire was indeed the mech he used to know before. But now greeted with the idea of getting some answers, he found his mind whirling with ideas, and was momentarily overwhelmed.

"Or I could start," Skyfire said knowingly, almost with a mischievous smile. Starscream was surprised but also secretly relieved that Skyfire was able to pick up on his feelings so quickly. "I want to make sure you are doing well with the Autobots."

Starscream tried to focus and nodded. "I'm doing alright," he replied. "They have tried to make me feel welcome."

Skyfire narrowed his optics a little, looking like he was going over Starscream's phrasing carefully. "I'm glad. Do you feel safe, Starscream? Do you regret your decision at all?"

He knew what he was supposed to say to answer these questions, but Starscream's spark clenched a little in his tight chest. "I've had some second thoughts on occasion," he said automatically before he could think better of it. "But I'm not sure if that's just because I miss… my trine."

Skyfire gave a small smile as his face relaxed. "They miss you too."

Starscream's spark skipped a beat. "You-you've talked to them?"

Skyfire gave him a wink, and the familiarity almost made Starscream blush. "I'm sure they miss you. Hypothetically. I'll bet they're just concerned about you. The Autobots were your enemies for a long time leading up to your current arrangement and I think they might be worried that you might have run into some trouble with them."

Starscream realized that was a hint; this conversation was likely being monitored, if not cast in front of everyone back in the command center. If Skyfire had talked to Skywarp and Thundercracker then he might not want everyone to know that, especially if he is supposed to be neutral. But… his trine was concerned for him? Even after what he had done?

"Trouble? No, they have been… fine."

Something in his mind pulled back to the look of absolute hatred he had seen in Sunstreaker's optics but he quickly tried to move on from the thought.

Skyfire's smile faded a little.

"Honestly, everyone is trying their best," Starscream said after another moment's hesitation. He wasn't sure how much he could say that wouldn't be a flat-out lie. For some reason, he found he really didn't want to lie to Skyfire.

"Hmm," Skyfire said. "Alright then, your turn. Ask me a question."

Starscream smiled a little. "What was I like? Before? Because apparently mechs like me a whole lot more as I am now, but I have gathered that at least you and I got along."

Skyfire's optic-ridges went up, and he took a deep invent. "Well, that's a uh- that's not an easy thing to answer," he replied. "But I'll try." He looked away for a moment as if trying to collect his thoughts.

"You were a mech of contradictions. You were arrogant and prideful, but had the capacity for humbleness and empathy. You were intelligent, clever, and great at problem-solving. But you were very complicated. You were a mech that knew what you wanted and would not stop until you got it."

Skyfire paused, looking away from the display.

"But you changed over the years. There was a long period of time that you and I were separated and I'm afraid things must have been bad for you. When I met you again, you had given in to some of your darker tendencies and had become abrasive and cruel. You were much more prone to manipulating and you had little room for loyalty if it stymied your ambition."

Starscream wasn't sure what his face looked like, but he imagined he looked distressed. These were the things he had wanted to hear, and in truth, none of it surprised him. Starscream, as he once was, was a towering figure of personality and he, as he now was, barely filled the void left behind.

But none of the descriptions made him seem particularly redeemable.

"Did anyone like me?" he asked, his voice small and quiet.

Skyfire sighed and gave a small, sad smile. "I did. A lot actually."

Starscream understood then that there was more history to them than just being exploring partners. He wasn't sure what to say or ask at that point. "I suppose it is your turn for a question."

Skyfire looked up above his helm as if he were thinking hard, and trying not to say the things that were immediately on his mind. "What did Optimus want you to ask me?"

Starscream blanched. "I'm… sorry? What?"

Skyfire smirked. "I know he wanted you to ask me something. Go ahead."

Starscream was a little bewildered but he decided to play along. "Um. Would you consider coming back to the Autobots?"

"No," came the stern reply. "He knows why. And how he chose to 'rescue' you from the Decepticons is also leading to this decision. The Aerialbots and everyone else are free to make the decisions for themselves as well, but they seem to agree with me that staying out of the war is best for us."

Starscream bit the inside of his cheek. The conversation was a little awkward then since now it was more like Prime and Skyfire were talking to each other with Starscream as an unwilling intermediary.

"Did you really leave the Autobots because of me?" Starscream asked.

Skyfire sighed and leaned back in his chair a little. "It's a little more complicated than that. What happened to you was a tragedy, certainly. That the circumstances that led up to your pacification were even allowed and encouraged was more than tragic. It was wrong." Skyfire crossed his arms in front of him. "I haven't been in this war for very long, since I only woke up from being frozen in ice a few years ago. I think some believe that makes me naive, but I think it gives me a fresh perspective. I don't think Megatron and Optimus know why they are fighting anymore, and I don't want to be part of a war I don't understand."

Starscream stilled at his words. He had honestly had the same thoughts and he felt an odd sense of relief that his feelings were shared with someone else. In a way, he had not experienced the war or the events that had led them to this moment in time, so like Skyfire, he too was an outsider. The fighting, the posturing, the goals- none of it made sense to him. He wanted everyone to stop fighting and find ways to coexist.

He had kind of proved it could be done. He was almost a bridge between the two factions at this point.

Another thing was bothering him. "Can you explain what happened to me? I know that Jazz did something to me and it made me who I am. But can you go into more detail?"

Skyfire gave him a silent stare and then nodded.

Skyfire told the story of how he had been captured, interrogated, and then dosed with a drug that was only meant to temporarily pacify him but it had actually permanently altered him. He was offered sanctuary with the Autobots but chose to go back to the Decepticons instead, even though he knew he would have his memories wiped.

"Why did they wipe my memories?" Starscream asked. "That kind of feels like an insult to injury."

"It was probably thought of as a kindness. Megatron apparently didn't want the intelligence you had about the Decepticons to be able to be stolen from your processor. But more than that? Your old self would not have been able to cope with the changes. You… said as much to me."

Starscream froze at the words. "What else did I say about it?"

Skyfire's lips pressed into a line. "If we get the chance to meet in person, I would like to show you something. It might explain better than I can."

Starscream squinted in confusion but merely nodded.

"Starscream," Skyfire asked softly. "Do you want to leave the Autobots?"

Starscream cast his gaze away from the screen. He knew he should have answered immediately as he probably had more than just Skyfire's optics on him.

Skyfire's voice was a little softer. "Have you decided you want something else? We can help you."

Starscream slowly looked back at the kind face on the screen. Those words cut right to his spark because those words were the last thing Shockwave had said to him before he left the Decepticon base. In fact, he was sure those words were Shockwave's. If Skyfire had spoken to Thundercracker and Skywarp, then he might have also spoken with him as well.

Part of him thought it might be too soon to tell. The Autobots were different from the Decepticons in some cultural ways, but in a lot of ways, they really weren't that different at all. With both factions, he had found himself being manipulated, intimidated, and he wasn't entirely sure he was any safer here than he had been with the Decepticons. But he had felt like many of the Autobots were kinder at least, and many were trying.

He was worried though that by the time he knew for sure, he might not have the chance to get out.

Skyfire was waiting patiently for his response.

"I-"

But the communication cut out and the display went dark.

Starscream stared blankly at the dark screen, incredulous, as his wings fell behind him. Yet again, the choice had been taken away from him.

Bluestreak burst in through the door. "Starscream, we have to get you to your room. The Decepticons are attacking a town nearby and we have to mobilize."

Starscream heard the urgency in his voice. Despite his turbulent emotions, he stood and followed Bluestreak out of the communications room to hear alarms blaring and mechs getting ready to leave. They weaved in the crowd between Autobots yelling and gathering up weaponry.

Starscream said nothing, feeling completely numb as he ran down the hallways.

Bluestreak opened the door to his quarters and waited until he was in. He paused and gave Starscream a sad look.

"Blue, we gotta go-" he heard Sunstreaker's voice call from up the hallway.

"In a minute," Bluestreak said, still watching Starscream.

Starscream bit the inside of his cheek before saying, "I suppose a technical glitch cut the communication. At that particular time." He tried to keep his face impassive, but he was sure he was unable to keep the tension out of his wings.

"Yeah," Bluestreak replied, reluctantly. His face flickered with uncertainty. "I know it doesn't look good right now." His blue optics steeled with purpose. "But we're going to make it right."

Starscream didn't doubt that Bluestreak would try. He nodded, and Bluestreak nodded back before letting the door close as he left.

In the quiet of his quarters, Starscream clenched his fist and finally released the shaky breath he had been holding.