They tumbled out into a canyon. Starscream hurriedly shut the groundbridge behind him and screamed in frustration. Every single attempt to convince the Autobots of his innocence always ended in disaster. They would not dare to shoot him while he had their precious leader in his lap, though. But it was only a matter of time before enough was enough and he found himself looking right at a bright blue blaster bolt. He had to keep trying, though.

"Starscream… I will convince them," Optimus said. His field weakly wavered around him and his optics flickered. His entire midsection was now blue thanks to all of the spilt energon.

"What, and how will you do that? Will you really be able to get a word in past their insane rambling?" Starscream scoffed.

Optimus looked up at him. "I have to. I cannot lose another soldier… especially due to friendly fire."

"They are not my friends, Optimus. They never were."

"They could be."

"No, slag it, Prime, you just don't get it! They're not friendly! We're not on the same side, not really."

"All of you are on my side. That makes you allies, even though they do not understand that at the moment."

"I'm… on your side?" Starscream said quietly. He looked up and a jolt of recognition shook his frame. This was the canyon Optimus had found him in. He could still see their pedeprints scattered across the dusty canyon floor and he could even see the metal cuffs he had banged off of his wings behind a rock.

"Yes, Starscream. Yes, you are on the Autobot side. You… are not quite ready to become an Autobot yet. Not yet. But you will be."

"What, so I'm on the Autobot side, but at the same time I'm not an Autobot? You're just not 'ready' to make me a member of your team?" Starscream scowled. He didn't know why he was getting frustrated over this. The Autobots were currently trying to kill him, yet he still found himself yearning to return to their base and his cramped cell. He he felt more comfortable in that dusty concrete silo than in any Decepticon warship. That used to confuse him, but now… now he understood the reason he felt safe in the base. And that reason was currently dying in his arms.

"You will be a member of our time when you accept that you are ready." Optimus shut his optics and a shudder went through his frame.

"...What?"

A harsh blast of wind blew through the canyon and dust flew everywhere. Starscream froze. The air was still and calm, there shouldn't be any bursts of wind.

"And there we stood, together, with Cybertron in our servos, and you gave it up! And for what? Some traitorous wretch? Oh, Starscream, we could've had the world, but you chose to have nothing." Megatron's voice growled through the canyon. His voice echoed through the curved canyon and through the dry air.

"Slag it!" Starscream harshly whispered as he punched the ground. He needed more time, he needed to be able to rest with Optimus and try to patch up his wound.

"How did they find us?" Optimus frowned. He tried to stand up but ended up just heavily leaning against the rock wall instead.

"I… I don't know. I mean, we're both masking our signals! You're masking your signal, right?"

Optimus groaned and slid to the ground. "We can't keep running, Starscream."

"Yes, yes we can, okay? I've spent my entire life running from things, I'll just bridge us somewhere new and—"

"We… the Autobots, Starscream. They're our only hope. You cannot allow yourself to fall b-back into his servos. I do not know what awaits you on the Nemesis."

Megatron's laughter echoed in the air. "You can hide, yes you can, but you cannot hide forever. The raw and terrible truth will soon come to life and expose you as the ignorant, spineless wretch you truly are. Your shame will be bared to the world and only I will be able to save you from destroying yourself. It is the way of things, Starscream. Don't make me angry!" Megatron hissed. His voice echoed and bounced through the canyon and the rocks around Starscream's pedes began to vibrate as the warlord drew closer and closer.

"I will convince the Autobots, Starscream. I will. We just need to find them, I will shield you," Optimus said.

Starscream gulped. He didn't know if he could relive that awful day so long ago when he blurted out the truth of Cliffjumper's death. He didn't know if he could go up against the insane femme a second time. Starscream was just grateful that Arcee didn't know specifically how Cliffjumper died—he had that at least, right?

Optimus sensed his hesitation and put his energon-covered servo over Starscream's chestplate. Megatron's insane shouts grew more and more incoherent until he just angrily growled and frothed in rage.

"Starscream…" Optimus began. "I will shield you. I won't let them shoot you."

"Slag it, Prime! You're the one bleeding out here! I should be the one protecting you, not the other way around!"

Optimus offlined his optics and leaned against the rock as his field shuddered in pain. Megatron's insane laughter echoed through the canyon.

"I'll take us somewhere new, somewhere where the Autobots will hopefully find us first—except, slag it, what's to stop the Decepticons from showing up first?! How do they keep finding us?" Starscream moaned.

Optimus groaned in pain and said nothing.

"We could've had everything…" Megatron's voice was very quiet now. "Everything… Iacon, Kaon, the Sea of Rust—" Megatron continued to ramble on. He was getting closer.

"How do they keep finding us?! I need… I need to think, slag it, I need to think—"

"Tarnis, the Well, the Towers, the Academy, Vos, we could've had it all—" Megatron hissed out. His voice boomed from around the corner.

"How did he find us?" Starscream moaned as he held his servos in his helm. Optimus sensed his anxiety and he placed a shaky servo upon Starscream's chestplate.

"We will find out how he keeps locating us later o-on. He can find us, we just cannot let him catch us."

His bloodied servo slid down Starscream's chestplate and left behind a trail of energon across his Decepticon insignia.

Starscream blinked and looked down at his insignia.

"We could've had Earth, we could have had the whole universe, Starscream, but in the end you chose to have nothing. You have nothing, you are nothing, and I… am everything!" Megatron snarled. The ground began to shake even more as he drew closer and closer.

Starscream touched a sharky servo to his chestplate and his optics widened. "My… my insignia! Oh, Primus, Optimus, I think they're tracking me through my Decepticon badge," Starscream breathed out. He remembered the day it had been burnt into his frame. It had hurt so much; hot smoke and sparks had curled right out of his chestplate as the badge had been embedded into his frame as a smiling Megatron had watched on. Embedded right into his frame.

"Optimus, my badge isn't just some piece of metal in the shape of the Decepticon symbol—I think it's a tracker!" Starscream wiped the energon away from his badge and watched it glint in the light.

"You think you can run, little Seeker? I will always find you, always. Even when you think you are safely hidden away, you are still unable to escape my all-seeing gaze," Megatron snarled. His shadow loomed on the wall of the canyon.

"I need… I need to get rid of it," Starscream breathed. He placed his claws right on his badge and felt his spark freeze in his chestplates. His talons were so close to his sparkchamber—just one wrong move and he'd die the same way Cliffjumper did.

Optimus blearily looked at him and pulled Starscream closer to his bleeding frame. Megatron's shadow grew larger and larger and his laughter echoed through the canyon.

Starscream took a deep vent, prayed to Primus that his guess was right, and shoved his talons into his chestplate. A cry of pain rose up in his throat and he bit down hard into his gloss to prevent it from escaping. Blood welled into his intake. He sharply grabbed ahold of the insignia and felt something within him snap and break as he tore it right out of him. Energon poured out from the deep slash mark on his chest and he held a servo to his bleeding chestplate. He tossed the Decepticon brand far away and into the air with a pained shriek.

It landed right in front of Megatron's pedes. He stopped stomping forward and looked down at the piece of metal that had landed on the ground in front of him. Confusion fizzled in Megatron's field—

—Starscream grabbed ahold of the groundbridge temote and typed in a new set of coordinates, they had to escape because he knew precisely what Megatron would do next—

—and the confusion in Megatron's field rapidly faded and was replaced with understanding.

Pure wrath smoldered in Megatron's field as he knelt down to pick up the energon-covered insignia in the dust. He held the badge in his servo and his optics twitched at the sight of the bloody and broken Decepticon logo. Megatron looked up at Starscream and his optics glowed redder than they ever had before. He clenched his servo and the badge crumbled to dust.

"You… you wretch, how dare you! How dare you throw away the honor I gave you! I made you everything that you are, do you know that? You can cut the badge away from your frame, Starscream, but you can never cut me out of your life. Starscream—!" Megatron roared and charged right at Starscream.

Starscream yelped and hurriedly activated the new groundbridge. The air shimmered and wavered as a green spark of light hovered above the ground. A groundbridge flickered to life in the air in front of them—

—and then vanished in a bright white flash.

"What?! No! No! Work, you stupid thing!" Starscream swore as he punched in the coordinates a second time.

His frame was suddenly thrown to the side and he found himself being thrown against a rock. Optimus had his servos on him and dragged him farther away behind the massive boulders strewn around the canyon. Megatron crashed forward and struck his sword down right into the place upon the ground where Starscream had been sitting.

"Optimus, the remote, it's not working—" Starscream began to say. Optimus placed his servo on his intake to quiet him and squinted down at the bleeding mess that was Starscream's torn chestplate.

"Starscream, I want you to understand that even if we do get captured—" Optimus groaned as another wave of pain went through his frame, "—that I will still try my best to shield you."

Starscream just stared at him. He wracked his processor for a response to say and came up with nothing. "I don't know what to say," he breathed.

Megatron stalked around the canyon in wide circles as he scanned the rocks for any sign of Starscream and Optimus.

"Do you remember how we once hid from the Council, Orion? All the years we spent hiding away together in old ruins as the insane Enforcers marched past? Things were rough back then, Orion, but we always made it in the end. But I suppose things have changed, haven't they? No, now it is the cowards who hide away and the justice and righteous who march past, yes. The just and righteous.

"What about Vos, Starscream? Don't you remember Vos? I thought you loved your people, so why don't you love me? You can only avenge your people through me, after all. Once I find you I will take you and I will ensure that you will have no other symbol on your fame other than the Decepticon one, and this time, I will make sure that you won't be able to remove it. You can never remove yourself from me, Orion—I mean, Starscream. Never."

A new groundbridge opened up and hope soared in Starscream's spark. Finally, the stupid remote had actually worked and—

"Megatron!" Arcee shrieked as she ran out of the groundbridge. Bumblebee and Bulkhead ran right after her with their blasters extended.

"Ah, so this is what Orion and Starscream betrayed me for," Megatron said. He looked over the Autobots and his field crinkled in disgust. "I… I expected more. So much more."

Arcee growled in Megatron's faceplate. "What did you do to Optimus? Where is Starscream?"

"I am trying to help Optimus realize the depth of the Seeker's deception, two-wheeler. As for where the wretch is… I do not know. He is here, though. I can tell. I know the traitor's frame better than I know my own frame, better than even he knows. I designed his frame, after all."

Starscream froze behind the rock. Optimus looked at him with wide optics.

"I designed you, Starscream. I designed this war. And when I win this war, my grand design will be complete and I will design a new Cybertron!" Megatron hissed as he continued to stalk around the canyon.

Bulkhead and Bumblebee looked at each other.

"Did he just call Starscream a traitor?" Bumblebee quietly beeped.

Bulkhead nodded. "He did, 'Bee, he did. Are… are we going after the wrong guy?"

Starscream scowled. There was no way Optimus could talk to the Autobots and convince them of Starscream's innocence while Megatron was right there. Starscream grabbed ahold of the remote and shakily typed in the new set of coordinates. They just had to bridge to the Harbinger, yes, it was nearby and they could defend themselves in there. Everything would be fine, they just had to hope that the groundbridge worked. The tracker in the badge was gone now, so the Autobots should find them first, yes, and they had to wait for the Autobots to find them, then hope that Optimus could somehow miraculously convince them Starscream was on their side, and then—

Starscream slammed down on the activate button. The air shimmered and another bright green groundbridge suddenly roared to life. He hefted Optimus's arm over his shoulder and made a run right for the bridge. Megatron and the Autobots watched with wide optics as they ran right for the bridge—

The bridge exploded and sent Optimus and Starscream flying backwards. Starscream landed on a sharp rock and watched the groundbridge dissipate away in a shower of sparks.

"You!" Arcee shrieked as she transformed and drove right towards the two of them at full speed.

Starscream yelped and shakily grabbed ahold of the remote. He typed in the coordinates yet again and right as he was halfway through typing—

A new groundbridge suddenly came to life in the air right in front of them. Primus, it had worked. It took a few moments, but the remote finally managed to generate a groundbridge. He hadn't even finished in typing the coordinates yet, so it was strange that the bridge had already appeared—but he didn't have time to consider that. Starscream grabbed ahold of Optimus and began to drag both the Prime and himself towards the bridge.

Arcee transformed back into her root-mode and flipped into the air. Her blades flashed in the light as she swung towards Starscream—

Starscream yelped and leaped forward. Something sharp bit into his calf and he twisted around just in time to kick Arcee backward with his pedes.

She slammed backward into a rock and hissed at Starscream. "Traitor! I won't let you kill him the same way you killed Cliffjumper!"

Starscream ignored her and grabbed Optimus's servo. He made a run for the bridge, he didn't have time for this—

"Will you also stab Prime through his chestplate?"

Starscream froze. He turned around and just stared at Arcee. "How…?"

Arcee coughed up energon and stood back up. "Soundwave showed us your crimes. He showed all of us just what you did to Cliffjumper. And now I am going to make you pay!" Arcee ran right back at him with her blaster extended.

Starscream shrieked and grabbed onto Optimus. He heaved them both through the groundbridge as shock blared through his field.

She knew. They all knew.

Bumblebee knew, Bulkhead knew, Ratchet knew—Primus.

Starscream fell out of the groundbridge and onto the cold hard ground. He coughed up energon and held a servo to his bleeding chest as he readjusted his optics to the darkness of the Harbinger's bridge.

He blinked. He didn't bridge them to the bridge of the Harbinger, that was in the other half of the crashed ship. He bridged them to the main room of the second functional half of the Harbinger, so how—?

The bridge lit up with a bright shade of purple. Soundwave stood right in front of him. Sparks flew from his cracked visor and icy water pooled under his pedes as he stared right at Starscream with a single blood-red optic.

Starscream blinked and felt his breath rush out of his vents all at once as he looked over not the bridge of the Harbginer,

"How? Just… how?"

"Starscream, that new bridge that appeared… that wasn't the remote's bridge, that was Soundwave's bridge." Optimus coughed beside him. Energon poured out from his midsection again and two drones stood over him with their blasters pointed directly as his chestplates.

Pure dread filled Starscream. He lashed out and tried to claw Soundwave, but a violet cable suddenly wrapped itself around his wrist and threw him to the ground. Soundwave crawled over him until his cracked visor loomed right in front of Starscream. His helm tilted downwards and he looked at the slashmarks on Starscream's chestplate where his insignia had once been.

"Soundwave, no, don't, don't—"

Soundwave dug his long thin digits into the crack in Starscream's chestplates and began to wrench the plates of metal apart. Starscream gasped in vain and desperately kicked to get Soundwave off of him as he felt his cockpit shatter and energon well up in his internals.

Starscream had hardly ever felt Soundwave's field before, yet there it was. It hung over the two of them like a hot fizzling cloud of hissing static radiating rage, pure rage. His single visible optic narrowed and he dug his digits deeper into Starscream's chestplate.

"Starscream!" Optimus shouted. He tried to move forward to help him, but the drones held him back and pulled him away.

"We must bring justice, Starscream. Justice!" Soundwave said using a recording of Megatron's voice.

The bridge flashed as Megatron walked through the bridge. His optics lit up and his field exploded in a storm of static as he saw Optimus and Starscream before him.

"You thought you could escape, you really did. How… amusing. Did you seriously think you could flee from me? You couldn't flee from the Enforcers without my help, you couldn't flee from any of your enemies without my help, so what made you think you could flee from me?" Megatron laughed. "The brothers are together again!"

"JUSTICE," Soundwave said. He played the recording of Megatron's voice again, except this time it was ten times louder and ten times more distorted.

He loomed over Starscream until all Starscream could see was his broken visor spark and flicker right above him. Hot pain exploded in Starscream's chestplate as his struts and internal lining snapped and broke apart as Soundwave yanked his chestplate open and he was—bleeding on the ground, vents coming in harsh gasps, Megatron looming over him, raising his pede—

Soundwave was thrown backwards as a blaster bolt slammed into him. Arcee stood in the mouth of the groundbridge with Bumblebee and Bulkhead right behind her.

"Give. Us. Prime!"

A cruel smile spread across Megatron's faceplate as the groundbridge vanished behind the Autobots. More drones rushed into the bridge and swarmed the entire room. The Autobots raised their blasters and the fight began.

Megatron ignored the flying blaster bolts and angry battle going around him. He slowly turned around and walked right over to Starscream.

"It is good to see you again, my rogue second."

Starscream spat energon out onto the deck. "I-I don't return the feeling!"

"Oh, but you will." Megatron leaned down and helped Starscream up to his pedes. His voice was soft, so soft. "You will soon learn to appreciate me again. The both of you. And then my grand design shall be complete."

"You've gone insane!" Starscream shrieked. He tried to step away from Megatron, but for every step he took backwards, Megatron took one step forward.

Bumblebee and Bulkhead cut down the drones attacking them left and right. Bumblebee briefly glanced over at Megatron looming over Starscream and his optics widened. He nudged Bulkhead's shoulder and the Wrecker also looked over with wide optics.

Megatron grinned. "On the contrary, Starscream. I am the only sane bot alive. I will make you see that. I will make all of you see that."

He welcomingly reached out his servo and a tight smile spread across his faceplate.

Starscream had made the mistake of taking that servo once. He wouldn't make that mistake again.

He ran and narrowly dodged a volley of blasterfire as he slid over to Optimus. Energon was smeared all over Optimus's frame and his vents breathed heavily as he stared blankly at the floor.

"Optimus, it's me! It's me—"

"Your brother?!" Megatron spat. "Even after I have explained to you the depths of your folly, you continue to indulge yourself in illusions of brotherhood! I am the only brother you have ever had or will ever need!"

"No, M-megatron. No," Optimus said as he slowly raised his helm to look at Megatron.

Megatron's optics twitched. "No?! No?"

"No," Optimus repeated more firmly.

"First you conspire to take the Primacy from me… then you conspired to take my second… and now you dare conspire to take away my sanity?"

"You have already lost yourself, Megatron. Your own conspiring is what brought you to your end. You are all burnt up, Megatron."

"I have not lost myself, I am more alive than ever before!" Megatron snarled as he grabbed ahold of Starscream and threw him at Optimus. "Fine then! You two 'siblings' clearly want each other more than you want me. I do not need you, I don't! I need no Matrix nor brother to make myself great, for I am already great. I am great. I am great." Megatron repeatedly whispered to himself as his talons flexed by his sides.

Optimus and Starscream glanced at each other as Megatron continued to ramble on.

Bulkhead and Bumblebee leaped in front of Megatron and began to attack him. The warlord snarled and fought both of them as they flipped and leaped around him. Bulkhead growled as he swung his wrecking ball directly into Megatron's faceplate. Bumblebee quickly glanced back at Starscream and narrowed his optics at the Seeker.

"I am giving you an opportunity to keep Optimus safe. Don't make me regret this, Starscream," Bumblebee said.

Starscream hefted the Prime's arm over his shoulders and dragged him out of the bridge and into the hall. The Autobots and Decepticons were so busy firing at each other and battling that they failed to notice them slip out of the room.

"Starscream, what is the plan?" Optimus said. His optics flickered again.

"The plan as of right now is to run, Prime! Now move your pedes!"

Starscream dragged Optimus behind him down the endless corridors of the Nemesis. They left a trail of blood behind.


"I've never seen him this angry before!" Bulkhead shouted as Soundwave lunged through the air after him. He dodged just in time and Soundwave smashed into a nearby computer console. His cables lashed out at the last moment and he wrapped them around the nearby pillars in order to skid to a stop. Soundwave turned around and his single red optic flashed before he lunged back into the battle.

"Where did Optimus and Starscream go?" Arcee grunted as she sliced a drone's neck with her arm-blades.

Bumblebee fired off a round of shots at Soundwave and turned around to face the two of them. "I… I let them go."

Arcee's jaw dropped. "You what? You let Optimus get carried off by that slagger?!"

"I had to! Megatron was right on them!" Bumblebee beeped in alarm. He turned around and his optics widened. "Uh… what is he doing?"

Megatron just stood there in the doorway and stared off into the hallway Optimus and Starscream had ran down. His optics twitched and his talons rapidly curled and uncurled by his sides as he stared off into the darkness.

"Oh, Primus, Megs is losing it!" Bulkhead shouted as he swung his wrecking ball at another drone. A hammer suddenly shot down and slammed his ball into the ground.

"The Prime is ours, Bulk!" Breakdown snarled. He raised his hammer and the two of them began to fight.

Bumblebee ran for the door. If he could find them both, then—

Electricity sizzled across Bumblebee's frame and he fell to the ground with a cry. Knock Out stepped right over him and twirled his electro-prod around in the air. Bright blue and red blaster bolts flew across the room and lit up the bridge in brilliant flashes of light.

"We need to reach Prime!" Arcee shouted. She transformed and drove at the doorway at full speed. Something violet flashed in the air and Arcee was thrown to the side of the deck with a shout. Soundwave stood there with his cables all splayed out in the air around his shaking frame.

"NO. YOU WILL NOT. MY LORD…" Soundwave spoke using voice clips of Starscream strung together.

Arcee snarled at him. "Don't you dare speak using that traitor's voice!"

Soundwave just considered her for a moment. An emotion suddenly flared into his field—was that a sense of victory?—and then vanished just as quickly. He turned around to face Megatron and his servos locked up into fists by his sides.

"My Lord…" he said with a clip of Starscream's voice.

Megatron said nothing. He continued to stare off into the depths as the battle raged around him.

Soundwave stepped closer to him until they were right in front of each other. Something akin to frustration coiled in his field before it disappeared in a hiss of static.

"My Lord?" Soundwave repeated using the voice clip of Starscream.

Megatron continued to just stare off into space.

Soundwave's visor flared. "What's with this w-whole elaborate plan?" he said using yet another voice clip of Starscream.

Megatron's talon lashed out and he suddenly grabbed ahold of Soundwave's arm. "Do not dare speak to me using his voice! I have grown tired of hearing his screeching for millennia and I do not desire to listen to it for even a moment more. The only words that should ever come out of that traitor's intake again are words of forgiveness and praise meant for me, do understand that? We do not speak with the voice of traitors here, do you understand? Do you, Soundwave, do you?"

Soundwave just stared at him. He gave a single nod and slowly pulled his servo away from Megatron's grasp.

Megatron's optics flashed. "Good. The brothers have escaped, it would seem. Not for long, though. They are in my domain now and must be retrieved at all costs!"

Soundwave nodded and began to walk down the hallway. Megatron suddenly grabbed ahold of his arm and wrenched him back until they were faceplate to faceplate.

"Oh, my dear Soundwave… you have failed me. Optimus was supposed to be disgusted by the carnage upon the command deck and dispose of Starscream—instead, the two of them are off fleeing together. Your elaborate plan to divide them just ended up uniting them! No, I shall take care of this matter myself." Megatron left Soundwave standing there and he stalked off down the hall.

The battle paused for a moment and everybody stopped and looked at Soundwave. His thin servos clenched into fists by his sides and he slowly turned back around.

A groundbridge opened up and Ratchet rushed through. "I got your signal, Bumblebee! Where is Optimus?!"

Bumblebee pointed his blasters right at Soundwave. "Starscream took him! We're going to have to fight our way through to them!"

Ratchet scowled and transformed both of his servos into his blades. "Then let's get this over with."

Soundwave lunged, and the battle began again.


Starscream grunted as he kicked another drone to the side.

"They're fragging everywhere," Starscream sighed.

Optimus leaned against the wall and watched Starscream with a tight field. The endless halls of the Nemesis stretched on ahead of them and behind them with no escape in sight.

"We will get out of this, stop worrying!" Starscream said.

"Starscream…"

"I said 'stop worrying'!"

"Please calm down—"

"Stop worrying!" Starscream shouted as he leaned down to look Optimus in the optics. "We will be fine, we will be fine—"

Optimus grabbed ahold of his shaking pauldron and pulled him close. "Yes. We will be fine. I am not the person worrying here, Starscream."

"What—you should be! You're the person here bleeding out and getting hunted by Megatron!"

Optimus shook his helm. "I have been through… much worse before. I will be fine. But you… you are Megatron's true target here. He is not hunting me, I am merely just a bonus to him. You…"

The hall clanged as something stomped down it.

"...you are the one here who is in true danger."

Starscream moaned and let his helm fall forward into his servos. "I don't know what to do, Prime. Everybody wants to capture me or kill me."

He thought of the dusty Autobot base and its cramped cell and judgemental stares. It was a strange, dusty, and rather dirty place—

Megatron roared as he stomped down the hall.

—but it was the only place in the past thousand years where he had felt safe.

"I'm not going to get to go back to base with you, am I?" Starscream asked softly.

Optimus frowned and offlined his optics. "Their rage blinds them and they will be difficult to reason with. But I will try to reason with them to the very best of my ability."

"Oh, Optimus, they know!" Starscream cried out.

The Prime blinked. "What do they know?"

"About… about Cliffjumper!"

Optimus frowned.

"Soundwave sent them the same footage, they saw how I killed him and—" Starscream rubbed his servos down his faceplate and leaned heavily against the wall.

"Starscream…"

"—and they are going to try to kill me the same way I killed him, do you know that, Prime? They will! They most certainly will!" Starscream laughed bitterly.

"I will not let that happen."

"What, you think you can stop them? Really?"

Optimus sighed and leaned against the wall beside Starscream. "I have managed to save bots from… themselves. I have prevented bots from committing terrible crimes before. I can do it again."

Starscream scoffed. "Oh? You really think you can stop that insane femme, her two grunts, and the medic? Really? You think you can save them from themselves, huh? Well, you sure failed to save Megatron from himself! Tell me, which bots out there did you rescue from themselves—tell me, which bots out there did you stop from committing some oh so terrible crimes, hmm?"

Optimus looked up and his optics flashed. "You."

Starscream froze. "...Oh."

They just sat there in silence.

"We will keep fighting and running from the drones. We will then loop our way back to the bridge and hopefully my team will have managed to secure it. I will talk to them, and then we will clear up this misunderstanding and return to base."

Starscream rolled his optics. "Oh, it always sounds so simple."

"You are right. It is not that simple. It will be very difficult for them to see past their hatred of you and what you have done to Cliffjumper. It is not easy to move past such crimes."

Starscream's spark froze. "...But wait, just to be certain… you do want me back? Even after you saw all of the Enforcers I killed on the... the command deck? I mean, do you really want me back after… seeing what I did?"

Optimus frowned and offlined his optics.

Dread pooled in Starscream's gut.

"Go ahead. Say it," Starscream whispered.

Prime just continued to stare at the wall as his field wavered around him.

"I said, just go ahead and say it!" Starscream shrieked.

"So you finally came clean."

Starscream blinked. He opened his intake and no words came out.

Optimus let out a deep sigh. "You tried to hide your crimes from me… but I already knew about them."

"W-what? You… already knew?" Starscream gaped.

Optimus nodded solemnly.

"I don't…" Starscream stuttered. "You led us to the ship while knowing what kind of carnage I'd left behind there? You knew about… about Cliffjumper?"

Optimus gave a single nod.

"But… then why did you lead us to the ship if you knew about the Enforcers I killed on the deck? I mean, you knew of the horrors there, yet you still led us right there! Why?"

"Because we needed the supplies that ship could have potentially had, Starscream. But more importantly, I needed you to come clean. You cannot truly become an Autobot until you acknowledge and accept the pain and suffering you have inflicted upon others. Inflicting pain and suffering is the very antithesis of the Autobot code and you must accept that you have already broken the code many times in order to be able to finally truly accept it. I wanted to see if you would deny your sins, or accept what you have done and repent."

Starscream laughed a harsh and bitter laugh. "What, so both you and Megatron are using my past crimes against me! He wanted you to see my sins and get angry at me and then drop me from the team, a-and you just wanted to see if-f I felt bad for killing all of these mechs!"

Optimus dipped his helm. "I had no idea what kind of trap Megatron and Soundwave had planned for us there. Had I known, I would have never led us both there and I would have ensured that you stayed away from that ship for the rest of your function. I did not foresee any of this."

"But you knew their frames were there! You did plan on leading me there so that I could see all of the… Enforcers I killed."

"I needed to know if you truly regretted your past actions. When we were both at base, I could have just asked you if you repented what you had done… I could have done that, yes. But time and new memories dulls the pain of past memories and I wanted you to truly understand the depth of your past evil before you claimed to no longer be evil. I did not want you to confess guilt and remorse for a crime you hardly remembered committing. I wanted you to truly and fully understand the depth of your past sins so that you can properly try to make up for them later on."

"Oh, so did I pass your test, Prime? Did I get a good score, a gold star, perhaps?" Starscream sniffled as he wiped away something wet on his faceplates. He blinked and looked down at coolant on his servo. He moaned and hid his leaking optics in his servos.

"Starscream… I knew the Enforcer's frames were there. I had no idea there would be so many, though, and I especially did not know that their deaths were that brutal. I did not predict the full depth of—"

"—My past evil?" Starscream finished.

Optimus was silent for a moment.

"So… did I pass your test? What if I had failed? Are you going to drop me off for Megatron to find? Are… are you? I can't let myself go back to him. Now that I have had my first taste of freedom, I cannot bear to give it up. I refuse to live another day under his shadow, Prime! You can cast me off into the wilderness and I will survive, Prime! I'll go rogue if I have to! But please don't…" Starscream trailed off as his voice hitched. "Don't make me beg. Don't. I'm tired of begging and pleading and—just don't… make me fight for my freedom again."

"You passed, Starscream," Optimus said as he grabbed ahold of Starscream's shoulder and turned the Seeker to look at him. "You passed the moment you apologized."

Starscream blinked. "I apologized? When did I do that?"

"After Soundwave dragged you away and I found you again. You were apologizing for Megatron's sins… and you accidentally apologized for one of your own."

Starscream's wings fell behind him and he just let a heavy vent. "I… I don't even know what to say anymore, Prime. It's been a long time since somebody has confused me this much. Are you going to make me suffer for… the Enforcers?"

Optimus stared at the frames and thought for a moment. "In a way… I think you already have. You had nightmares because of this past crime. You felt a huge amount of fear, paranoia, and anxiety. I have seen Megatron leave behind much worse devastation than you have, Starscream. Back when…"

"...when you were still brothers and killed the towersmecha?"

Optimus frowned and nodded as he relived the memory. "Yes. Back when he killed them all, I could not offline my optics without seeing their frames for many months. The image still returns to haunt me from time to time, the same way the image of the Enforcer's frames will haunt you forever."

"Oh, delightful!" Starscream scoffed. "I'll get to be haunted by my past sins for the rest of my function."

"To be haunted by your sins means that you regret your sins, and by simply regretting what you have done here you are already a much better mech than Megatron."

Starscream snorted. "Is being better than Megatron really an accomplishment? You're setting the bar rather low, Prime."

"The bar must be set somewhere, Starscream."

"So what, am I an Autobot now?"

"No. Not yet. Not until you make up for what you've done."

Starscream shook his helm and let out a keen. "Optimus, I have killed… so many. I can't possibly undo all of those crimes. I'd have to spend the rest of my function to make up for doing all of this!"

Optimus turned to look at him. His optics had been dim just moments before, but in that brief moment they blazed with light. "Then do precisely that, Starscream. Spend the rest of your function making up for your crimes. You will never be able to undo those crimes, no. But you can try and make up for them by preventing other bots from committing crimes just like what you did. Do what the mechs you killed would have done if they were still alive. Do good deeds in their memory and try to make up for them."

"Like… for Cliffjumper?"

Optimus nodded and gave a small smile. It was a very small smile, but a smile nevertheless. "Precisely."

"So… just to be clear, you are not leaving me behind in this hall for Megatron to find?"

"Starscream, do you remember what I told you after the incident at the snow mine?"

He thought for a moment. The memory came back to him and he looked away from the Prime. "You said you wouldn't dispose of me because people aren't disposed of the same way trash is."

"You are learning."

"I was taught by the best, Prime," Starscream said. He froze the moment he finished saying those words. Yet again his own glossa had managed to outpace his processor and once again he ended up pouring himself out to the Prime. But it didn't feel so strange this time around. It had been a long time since Starscream could honestly say what he felt without fear of repercussion. It had been an even longer time since Starscream genuinely and honestly liked somebody.

Optimus began to stand up and Starscream's spark lurched in his chestplates. They would have to keep moving. They needed to make their way down the halls and loop back to the bridge. There would be more drones, more enemies, they'd have to convince the Autobots, maybe even face Megatron and Soundwave—

This little moment he was having with the Prime was about to end. And Starscream found himself not wanting that. He could die, or Prime could die, and Starscream might never ever get the opportunity to be this close to someone ever again, might not ever again get to tell somebody what he honestly felt and just how much Megatron had hurt him—

"I saw Megatron as a brother!" Starscream suddenly blurted out. He just sat there, his frame shaking and his vents heaving. For once in his life he could really, truly be honest, and he couldn't let this moment end—not yet, not when he had so much more to say. This moment would end the instant they both stood up and began to search for the Autobots. Even if Optimus did convince the Autobots to bring him back to base, they couldn't even have another moment like this back at the base amongst the stares and judgement of the other Autobots.

It was now or never.

He grabbed ahold of Optimus's servo and tugged on it. Confusion flared up in Optimus's field. Starscream just looked up at him, his frame smeared with energon and covered in scratches. A look of understanding suddenly dawned in Optimus's optics.

Starscream took a shuddery breath and continued. "He was like… like a trinemate to me. I had Skywarp, I had Thundercracker—" Starscream's vocalizer fizzled out as raw emotion choked up his voice. He didn't know why it felt right to suddenly begin pouring his spark out to him, why the halls of the Nemesis were the right place to do so—but it felt right. It just did.

"And… I had Skyfire. But then Skyfire left. Not of his own choice... the storm took him. And my trinemates left—not literally, we still lived beside each other, we still fought beside each other, we still loved each other—but somewhere along the way they grew distant from me. They retreated within themselves, and, well, they left me. But Megatron stayed. He and his kind words grew on me. He said all the things I had been wanting to hear somebody else say for hundreds of years—"

Starscream laughed bitterly. "He knew just what kind words to say to get me to join him. And Primus, did it work. I thought… when I joined him… when I joined him, I thought I was freeing myself from the Council, I thought I was freeing myself from tyrants! But I just gave myself over to another tyrant. And he knew what to say, what kind words to say to get me to ally with him—and when he finally had me in his grasp… the kind words stopped all of a sudden. And I couldn't leave him, by then it was too late. I couldn't go back to my trinemates, we had grown too distant. They had left me. But then I realized… they didn't leave me. I left them. And Megatron convinced me to leave them, he used his words to make me grow distant from them because he wanted me to be alone and reliant on him, and—"

Starscream stopped and stared off at the wall. He let out a shaky vent.

"You saw him as a brother. But he didn't see you the same way," Optimus said softly.

Starscream sighed. "And you saw what he turned me into."

"Then let's turn you back, Starscream. Forget his lies and his false words of kindness and go back to being the mech your trinemates loved."

"They're gone," Starscream choked out.

"Yes, they have passed into the Allspark. But they never truly left you. Never. Do what Thundercracker and Skywarp would do were they still alive today. Do what—"

"—what Cliffjumper would do?"

The words just burst out of his intake. Starscream's optics widened and he looked over at Optimus suddenly. Prime's optics widened as well, but then a smile crossed his faceplates.

"Yes. Precisely."

He remembered Cliffjumper. He'd barely known the Autobot at all besides getting in a few scuffles with him here and there. Cliffjumper was… cocky. Confident. A bit arrogant. Starscream snorted. It seemed he did share something in common with the dead grounder after all. But Cliffjumper… he was also a bit… sacrificial? Was that the word to use? Starscream thought for a moment. The word 'sacrifice' had lost its meaning to him over time. In his desperate quest to survive he held onto every advantage he gained and never gave anything over to anybody if it would come at a personal price. Never.

"But what about Megatron?" Optimus asked.

Starscream blinked. Realization dawned and he groaned and punched the floor. "Slag it! Was I speaking out loud again?"

"Yes."

Starscream grumbled. "Okay, fine, what do you want to know about Megatron?"

"You said that you never handed anything over to anybody if it came at a personal price… yet it seems that you handed over everything you had to Megatron and that it came at a massive personal price."

Starscream thought for a moment. "Well… okay, let's say you're right for a moment. What precisely did I lose by joining Megatron, hmm?"

"Everything."

Everything. Starscream looked away from Optimus and stared hard at the wall. Everything. The word echoed around in his helm. He'd never looked at his relationship with Megatron that way before, he'd always tried to come up with some way to describe it, and always failed… but the word 'everything' felt so right.

Everything. He'd sacrificed everything for Megatron. Megatron became everything he had to live for. But Megatron was never truly worth it. There were mechs out there who were worth sacrificing everything for, though.

"Where are the Autobots?" Starscream asked softly.

"I do not know. I also do not know where Megatron is either. I fear that he is awaiting the perfect moment to strike."

"Oh, he's always waiting, isn't he?! I'm tired of waiting around. We just need to wait for your team to clear out the bridge, and then we'll convince them, that's the plan, right?"

Optimus nodded. He groaned in pain and held a servo to his midsection.

"Slag it! Those idiots better be finished up on the bridge, you can't wait a moment longer."

"I… I can wait for them to succeed."

"No, you can't! Slag it, okay, I'll get you to the Autobots… but they might shoot me… they'll be hesitant to help you if I'm with you, and—I… I'm putting you in danger." Shock filled Starscream's field and was quickly followed by grief.

His presence was putting Optimus in danger. Of course. He'd upset the Council, so the Council put Skyfire in danger because they knew the shuttle was close to him. He'd upset Megatron, so Megatron put his trinemates in danger. And now he had upset Megatron yet again, so now Starscream's presence was putting Optimus in danger.

"If we reach the Autobots…" Optimus began.

"Oh, Starscream!" Megatron shouted after him. He walked down the hall right towards them with a grin on his faceplate. "Oh, Starscream, Starscream!"

Starscream swore and began to speak again. "If we reach the Autobots, then you'll have to convince them to not shoot me, but they might get so angry upon seeing me they'll just shoot me anyway, a-and they might accidentally shoot you because I will be beside you, and—"

"You killed Vos, you know that? You killed Vos! You failed to avenge them, so your people may as well have died all over again!" Megatron snarled.

"—and Megatron isn't after you, he wants me, which means by being near you I am putting you in danger—

Megatron laughed. "You got everybody killed. Do you know why Vos was bombed, Starscream? Because of you."

"Oh, Primus. I'm putting you in danger, aren't I? Can you walk?" Starscream asked Optimus. He tried to ignore Megatron walking towards him, he had to ignore him because a new idea had taken root in Starscream's processor. And he did not like it, not one bit, but if this new plan of his was successful, then Optimus wouldn't be put in danger by Starscream's presence anymore and then the Prime would have a chance—

"Starscream, what is wrong? You are not putting me in danger, you—"

"Can. You. Walk?" Starscream hissed at Optimus.

Optimus nodded and shakily rose to his pedes. "I believe so. Starscream, what—?"

Megatron growled. "I was there when Vos burnt, I was there in the ash with you, and yet neither of you were there for me—"

"I need you to go the Autobots without me," Starscream said.

Optimus's optics widened in surprise. "What?"

Megatron stopped walking and just stared at the two of them. "And you came to me after the Council meeting, Orion, and you said that we could work through it, that we could make our brotherhood work—"

Optimus shook his helm. "Starscream, I refuse to leave you behind. We will face the Autobots together—"

"But we all saw how that worked out, didn't we, Optimus?!" Megatron roared.

"No, we can't!" Starscream choked out. "They hate my internals, Prime, they'll just kill me on the spot! There's no way you can convince them. Megatron wants me, he'll keep coming after me again and again and again!"

The sound of a motorcycle revved down the hallway.

"Come back to me," Megatron said. He outstretched his servos welcomingly.

"Starscream, no!" Optimus said as he grabbed ahold of Starscream's shoulder.

"You came back for me. So I came back for you, Optimus. So… once you've convinced Team Prime that I am not evil—"

"Starscream—"

"—then come back for me again, Prime. I'll escape from Megatron again. I'll go rogue in the wilderness if I have to."

"No, do not be like this—"

"It has to be like this! I'm a target, Prime! If I stay near you, I'll just make you into a target too!"

The sound of the approaching motorcycle grew louder and louder.

Megatron's optics twitched. "You… you just said that you two could work through it…" Megatron began to growl louder and louder, "you said that you could make your brotherhood work."

Starscream ignored him. "We will make this work, Optimus. I mean, yes, I will get captured, yes, but I'll escape and I'll go rogue and I'll be alone again, but you'll be free of Megatron and you won't have to worry about him capturing you too—"

"Starscream, no!" Optimus shouted as he shook Starscream's shoulders.

Starscream pushed Optimus away. "I need to take this leap! I'm ready!"

"Optimus, get away from him!" Arcee snarled. She stood right behind Starscream and had her blasters pointed right at him.

Optimus stepped in front of Starscream. "Arcee, no, it is not what it looks like. Starscream saved me, he did not hurt me in any way at all. He was protecting me from Megatron—"

Megatron growled. "Oh, is that what you call it, Prime? Starscream protected you from me? I am the true protector here, Optimus! I am! I protected Cybertron from the madness of the Council!"

"What," Starscream scoffed, "by destroying it?"

Megatron slowly turned around to look at Starscream. "You were the one who destroyed it, Starscream. You were the one to burst aboard that ship and kill the Enforcers, you were the reason Vos was bombed, you were the one who razed Iacon to the ground, and—"

Megatron grabbed ahold of Starscream's servo and dragged him close until their faceplates were only a breath apart.

"—you were the one who deactivated Cliffjumper." Megatron laughed as he held Starscream close to his frame. Every single booming laugh vibrated through his frame and into his wings.

"Let's go, Optimus," Arcee said as she tugged on Optimus's arm. Raw grief burst into Optimus's field as he was led away.


"Slag!" Bulkhead swore as Soundwave's cable threw him into a wall.

"Where did Arcee go?"

"I… I don't know!" Bumblebee beeped in alarm.

"I KNOW. I SEE."

They all slowly turned around to look at Soundwave. The communications director stalked around them in a circle and there was a glint in his single exposed optic.

"What in the world are you talking about?" Bulkhead scoffed.

Soundwave's visor flared and one of his cables lashed out and plugged itself into a nearby computer console. The screen flickered and security footage from one of the hallways of the Nemesis suddenly appeared on the screen. Megatron stood over a shaking Starscream and Arcee was desperately trying to pull Optimus away.

Ratchet blinked. "Why are you showing us this?"

"SO YOU CAN WATCH—THEM DIE."

Soundwave's field was always held tightly to his frame and always hidden away. Not today, though. His field swept outward in a haze of static and… stress. The ever-unflappable Soundwave was stressed. Ratchet could see it in the way he locked his energon-covered armor together and in the way his field crackled and fizzled around him.

"You little slagger! You're going to make us watch Buckethead kill Prime?! I don't think so!" Bulkhead roared and ran forward towards the computer at full speed.

"Bulkhead, no!" Ratchet shouted. His optics narrowed in on the screen and his field frizzled with confusion. This couldn't possibly be right.

Bulkhead stopped his mad charge and tilted his helm at he looked at the screen. "Hey, Doc… what are they doing?"

The live footage of Megatron showed him lifting Starscream up until they were faceplate to faceplate. Ratchet had expected the warlord to be more happy. Starscream had finally turned himself in and ended Megatron's mad hunt to find him, so if anything, the warlord should've been pleased.

Megatron's wrenched Starscream even closer to his frame and bared his sharpened dentae right in front of the terrified Seeker's faceplate. Starscream shrieked and his optics brightened.

Terror. Ratchet didn't need to be there in the hall to know that Starscream felt pure terror right there in that moment. He'd seen that look on the Seeker's faceplate so many times over the war, yet never thought much about it. When was Starscream not scared of something? There was something strange about the way Starscream kicked and thrashed in Megatron's grasp, and there was something even stranger about the way Megatron grabbed ahold of the Seeker and held him tight and close as if he were something precious and dear. The tips of Megatron's talons dug into Starscream's armor and drew thin points of energon out of him.

No, the look of fear on the Seeker's faceplate was more raw and genuine than Ratchet had even seen on his faceplate before. It was almost as if Starscream was worried about something beside himself for once.

Starscream thrashed in Megatron's grasp and quickly turned around to glance at Optimus's bloody frame. Megatron's grip closed tightly around his faceplate and he forcibly turned the Seeker's helm so that Starscream was looking at Megatron again.

Ratchet blinked and just stared at the footage. Starscream looked back at Optimus with worry in his optics, almost as if he was terrified for more than just his own wellbeing, but almost as if he was also terrified for Optimus's wellbeing—

Oh.

Oh no.

"He was telling the truth," Ratchet breathed.

Bumblebee glanced over at him. "What?"

Ratchet scowled and turned around to face Bulkhead and Bumblebee. "Starscream, what he said in the woods… it was true, slag it! He wouldn't be so worried for Optimus if he had really turned him over to Megatron."

Bulkhead and Bumblebee just looked between each other and the screen. A rattling noise hissed through the air and Ratchet turned around to see Soundwave stalking towards him.

"He was telling the truth," he spoke using a recording of Ratchet's voice. "LIES. THE SEEKER LIES."

"No, you're the person lying to us here... aren't you?" Bumblebee warbled as his optics widened and he rapidly glanced back and forth between Soundwave and the live footage on the screen.

Soundwave made a low staticky hissing noise and made every single screen on every single computer console on the groundbridge begin to play the same live footage from the hall.

"WATCH THEM—DIE. MEGATRON WILL DISPOSE OF THEM."

Bumblebee's armor locked up around him and he trilled angrily. "No. Megatron won't kill Optimus and Starscream. I can tell!"

Soundwave's visor flared and he looked back at the screen. He froze when he saw the sight of Megatron just standing there and laughing. Both ends of the hallway were blocked off with drones and the warlord was standing triumphantly over Optimus and Arcee. He held Starscream tightly in his grip and forcibly held the struggling Seeker against his frame.

Bulkhead's jaw dropped "Dang, Bee, you're right… he's not going to kill them! Ol' Buckethead is just gonna stand over them and gloat, ha!"

Soundwave whirled around and slammed both of his servos onto the keyboard as he leaned into the screen. He shook his helm and turned around before he flared his visor again.

"MEGATRON WILL DISPOSE OF THEM. HE WILL. HE WILL."

"No, Soundwave. Megatron is too caught up in his own arrogance and hubris to take this opportunity to deactivate them. He's too far gone to see reason," Ratchet said.

Soundwave turned around and pressed several buttons on the keyboard. The microphone lit up and came to life.

"MEGATRON," Soundwave said using the intercom. His voice boomed out across the entire ship and the live image of Megatron on the screen raised his helm and looked up at the ceiling with a look of annoyance.

"DEACTIVATE THE ENEMIES," Soundwave continued.

Megatron snarled. "I think not, Soundwave. You see everything, yet are so shortsighted. Why end my victory here and now by deactivating the brothers when I can instead keep them captive and allow my victory to last forever?"

The three Autobots just watched in shock as Soundwave and Megatron yelled at each other through the computer. The drones on the bridge shuffled their pedes and looked rapidly back and forth between Soundwave and the angry image of Megatron on the screen.

Soundwave's servos clenched into fists. "DEACTIVATE THE ENEMIES. NOW."

"You dare question my orders, my third-in-command? You swore to help me see my grand plan come to fruition, and yet you dare to obstruct my designs?!" Megatron yelled at the ceiling. He tossed Starscream to the ground behind him and the Seeker longingly looked at Optimus.

"Oh, Primus. What do we do?" Bulkhead whispered over to Ratchet.

"THIS WAS NOT—THE PLAN. THIS WAS NOT—THE DESIGN."

Megatron growled on the screen. "It is now."

Ratchet leaned over to Bulkhead and Bumblebee and he whispered to them. "We will let them tear themselves apart."

"You dare question my orders?" Soundwave repeated the voice recording Megatron had said earlier. The warlord's faceplate darkened and he scowled up at the ceiling. "You swore to help me see my grand plan come to fruition, and yet you dare to obstruct my designs?!"

"Soundwave…" Megatron said softly, so very softly. "Never use my own voice against me, not ever again."

"YOU ARE GOING AGAINST YOURSELF."

"Never! I am mighty and everything I do helps further the cause! Including this!" Megatron shouted as he grabbed ahold of Starscream by his neck and threw him into the wall. "Instead of killing him and having a useless corpse, I swear to Unicron I will bend my brother back to my will, and I will make him my most useful servant once again!"

Starscream scrambled to his pedes and tried to run away, but Megatron's talon reached out and he grabbed ahold of the fleeing Seeker by his wing. He dragged Starscream back over to him and leaned down until he was right above the Seeker's faceplate.

"I will bend you and break your resolve, my dear Starscream. I will. Starting right now!"


Starscream watched as Megatron stomped towards him.

"Master, I mean, Megatron, no, don't do this!" Starscream pleaded. He wasn't even aware of what he was even saying at that point. He'd gotten so used to begging and pleading it came as naturally to him as flying did.

Optimus groaned and stumbled to his pedes with the help of Arcee. He looked over at Starscream and Megatron and he opened his intake to say something.

Starscream glared at Optimus. He'd just thrown himself right into Megatron's line of fire to save the Prime, there was no way he could let Optimus endanger himself yet again.

Starscream rose to his pedes. "Megatron, be reasonable—"

"Reasonable?" Megatron snorted. "All reason was disposed with long ago when you decided to embark on this foolhardy quest! You do not even call me by my proper title anymore! You do not deserve the right, the privilege to even utter my designation. I am your Master, forever and always."

Starscream glared at him. "A-and I thought you said we were brothers," he whispered.

Megatron's optics twitched. "What was that? What did you say?"

Starscream backed away from Megatron as the warlord stomped towards him. Arcee would drag Optimus away from Megatron's wrath and Prime would be safe. And then Starscream would be alone. With Megatron.

A whimper rose up out of Starscream as he stumbled away from Megatron.

"Say that again, Starscream. Say what you whispered loud and clear for all to hear."

"I said…" Starscream cleared his intake and leaned against the wall as a wave of nausea hit him. "I said…"

Megatron leaned in and smiled. "Yes?"

"I said… that I thought… we were brothers."

Megatron froze. His optics twitched.

"We are, Starscream. We are."

"So... then why can you say my name, but I can't say yours?"

Megatron's optic twitched again.

Starscream's wings rose and he stomped up to Megatron. "Why is that? Y-you said long ago that we are equals—so then why can't I even say your name?"

A low growl began to rise up within Megatron.

Starscream didn't notice and continued to rant. "Huh?! Why am I the only one who has to call you Master? Why do you insist on being called 'Master,' the infamous title that the towersmecha forced oppressed bots to call them—"

Megatron's servo lashed out and he grabbed ahold of Starscream's neck cabling. "What are you implying, my second-in-command?"

Starscream's optics bulged and he gasped for breath. He wanted to look Megatron in the optics and explain every little way in which he was wrong and lay out for the warlord just how corrupt and tyrannical he was. He wanted to use his silver tongue to just verbally rip Megatron apart and bestow upon him the scathing truth in the most brutal and honest way he possibly could—

But he couldn't. The familiar sensation of raw panic choked him and he hung suspended in Megatron's talon.

Megatron laughed. "You got very quiet very quickly."

"I...I…"

"Oh? And what do you have to say now, Starscream?" Megatron tightened his grip on Starscream's neck. "Say it, Starscream. Lay down the truth—or at least, what you think is the truth. I want to see you try to use your tongue to weasel your way out of this situation. I really do. Do you know why? Because I know you will fail, my dear Starscream. I made the mistake of letting Orion manipulate me with his slick tongue and by Primus, I will not allow you to manipulate me the same way ever again."

Megatron's grip tightened and Starscream whimpered as a bolt of pain shot through his vocalizer. His vocalizer cracked and sparks leaped out of it.

"Do I need to tear out your vocalizer the same way I tore out the scout's? Must I do that, Starscream? Long ago you pledged your alliance to me. You said that I would be the voice that would lead Cybertron to greatness and that you would be my silent and steadfast companion. Soundwave does not need to speak, he lets me do the speaking for him. So let me do the same for you. Your voice does not matter."

Starscream clawed desperately at Megatron's talons. His talons left behind thin bleeding lines of energon all across Megatron's servos. Megatron didn't flinch at all and continued to tighten his grip on Starscream's neck as Starscream's talons ripped into the servos wrapped around his throat.

Optimus leaned heavily against the wall and took a single shaky step forward. Arcee yanked on his arm and tried to pull him off in the opposite direction. A deep growl suddenly burst out into the air and Megatron's helm whipped around. His blood-red optics locked onto Optimus and Arcee as he lifted his fusion cannon and activated it.

Optimus threw his frame over Arcee's and the both of them fell to the ground as a hot bolt of plasma rocketed through the air above their helms. It slammed into the wall and reduced the metal into a melted pile of slag that dripped slowly to the floor.

Megatron's optics flashed. "You. Will not. Leave. You walked away from me so long ago. I will not allow you to walk away from me again. I will never allow you to leave your promises behind ever again!"

Optimus glared at Megatron. His frame was dented and bloodied and he was stooped over in pain, yet his field still emanated a sense of strength and determination. "What promise, Megatron?"

"You promised me the Primehood!"

"You promised that to yourself. It is not my fault that the Matrix chose me and not you. It is your fault that you failed to prove yourself worthy. Do you know why I am a Prime and you are not?"

Megatron snarled. "Because of deception! Treachery! Lies!"

Optimus's battlemask snapped shut. "I am Prime and you are not because I actually treat my soldiers properly, whereas you treat them like they are nothing."

"Because they are nothing to me when compared to my might, Prime!"

"You are nothing but evil. You have mistreated Starscream, so I have chosen to take him in as my own. That is what a Prime does, Megatron. They do not divide people and make them hate each other—they unite people and help them. My soldiers are what make me mighty."

"I help people!" Megatron growled. "I unite people! Look at my soldiers, Prime! What is your army compared to mine?"

Optimus looked around. "All I see are drones. Where are your soldiers, Megatron?"

"They are here, they are everywhere!"

"The Nemesis is empty, Megatron. Why is that?"

"Why is that?! Why is that?! Because of this damned war you started!"

"Your soldiers are not here because you divided them and they scattered to the stars—because of you. You drove them off. You started this damned war. And I will end it." Optimus transformed one of his servos into a blade and stumbled to his full height. Arcee's jaw dropped.

"Optimus, no! You're not in any condition to fight!" she shouted.

"I must always fight to protect my soldiers. Always."

Megatron frowned. "Your other soldiers are all on the bridge. There are none here except that two-wheeler beside you."

"Two of my soldiers are here in this hall with us, Megatron. Two."

Megatron's optics twitched. "I see the two-wheeler, yes. And who, pray tell, is this second soldier you speak of, hmm?"

Optimus looked at Starscream.

Megatron followed his gaze and snarled. He yanked Starscream up to his chest and held him tightly against his chestplate.

"Make a move and I will crush his neck."

"No, you won't," Optimus said.

Megatron froze. "What?"

"You and I both know you will not crush Starscream's neck. You will allow him to live. Your threats are as empty as your spark."

"Oh, and why do you think I will spare this shivering traitor's spark?"

"Because… because he is my replacement."

Megatron took a deep vent and his optics widened. His grip on Starscream's neck slackened and Starscream had only a single second to take a breath before the warlord's arms suddenly closed in around him.

"Replacement?" Megatron said flatly.

"I now understand why you let him live all these years," Optimus said. His faceplate was hidden behind his mask, yet it was still clear that he was frowning. "You're using Starscream as a replacement of me."

Megatron bared his teeth at Optimus. "No! Even now you continue to try and sow strife and division amongst me and my soldiers by spreading lies!"

"You lie to yourself." Optimus took a shaky step forward and pointed his blade right at Megatron. "You tried to force Starscream to be your brother because you understand that no mech could willingly stand beside you while knowing what your true nature is."

Megatron hummed. "And what is my true nature, Prime?"

Optimus glared. "You are a towersmecha."

Megatron yanked Starscream behind him and threw him down the hall. "What?! Say that again, Prime! Say that again!"

"You have become the thing you hated most."

"No, I am the opposite of a towersmecha! All they do is cause strife and pain, I end pain, I do not destroy, I create—"

"Then why did you destroy Starscream? Give me back my soldier, Megatron. End this ruse of brotherhood and accept the fact that you have completely and utterly failed to rid the world of the Council's tyranny because you yourself have become a Council tyrant. Return my brother to me."

Starscream's spark stopped in his chestplates. Brother. He couldn't possibly be referring to—?

"Megatronus is dead. Your old brother is dead, Prime," Megatron said softly.

"When I asked you to return my brother… I was not referring to Megatronus. He is dead and I have accepted this. But my other brother still lives. So hand him Starscream over."

Megatron froze and slowly turned around to look at Starscream. Starscream stood there in the hall with his jaw dropped. Panic overwhelmed his processor. If he handed himself back over to Optimus, then Megatron would attack them both. There was no way Optimus or Arcee could fight back because Optimus was too weak and Arcee was just too small.

Starscream stood there as indecision warred in his spark. He could just stay with Megatron, he could, but then Optimus would not stop pursuing him and would try to fight the warlord. He wouldn't let Starscream go.

He choked back a sob. Optimus wouldn't let him go back to Megatron. The fact that there was someone who wanted to have him around was strange and sobering. For the first time in eons, Starscream saw actual devotion to him.

That devotion could get Optimus killed.

Starscream dragged his servos down his faceplate. Optimus was the first mech to care for him in millennia—he couldn't also allow Optimus to become the first mech to die for him in millennia.

"Come here. Please," Optimus asked softly as he looked at Starscream.

Megatron said nothing and merely held his talon out to the Seeker. "Come. Back."

Starscream looked between the two of them. Static laced his vision, his vents came in harsh gasps, his spark pulsed in his chestplates, his vision blurred, sharp grey armor mixed with bright red and blue—

Starscream ran. It was the only thing he still knew how to do.

A roar followed him down the hall and Starscream let out a yelp as a hot bolt of plasma slammed into the ground beside his pedes. He skidded to a stop and whirled around and peered through the smoke cloud the bolt had created. Megatron walked towards him and stretched his arms out. His blood-red optics glowed through the smoke of the cloud and all Starscream could see was the glow of his optics and his hulking silhouette.

"You are making a mistake, Starscream."

Starscream turned and ran just as Megatron lunged at him. The escape pods. He had to make it to the escape pods. Then he could escape into the wilderness, and wait for the Autobots to escape the Nemesis with Optimus, and then find him and bring him back to base, and yes, it could work, it could work—

Megatron's claws raked his leg and Starscream yelped and stumbled in pain as his energon began to drip out of the three slash marks. Megatron's slashed out again, but servo slashed through empty air as Starscream bolted away. He ran and ran and ran down the long and twisting halls of the Nemesis as Megatron barrelled behind him.

Something shifted around in his cockpit. His optics widened and Starscream gasped as he felt the remote shift underneath his chestplate. He grabbed ahold of it and held it out in front of him as he punched in a series of random numbers. He had no idea where he was bridging to, it just had to be anywhere at all that was Megatron-free.

The remote shuddered in his servo and hissed sparks.

"No, no, no, I need you! Don't die on me! J-just one more bridge, please!" Starscream sobbed.

Megatron's laughter echoed after him as he ran. "Having problems, Starscream? You always alone in the end. Your friends fail you, your supposed allies fail you, even your own technology fails you."

"No, work, you idiotic thing!" Starscream shouted. He bit his lip and stared at the remote's blank black scream. He shoved it back under his chestplate and kept running. The escape pods. He didn't need a groundbridge, all he had to do was find the escape pods.

He skid around a corner and slammed into a wall—

bleeding on the ground, vents coming in harsh gasps, Megatron looming over him, raising his pede—

"No," Starscream said to himself. He shook his helm and kept on running—but the memories came rushing back. All he had to do was push the memories away and focus on finding the escape pods, that way he'd be free of Megatron and the wrath of the Autobots and the memories—

Megatron had been angry with him that day, so angry, and he wouldn't stop slamming him into the ground and his spark had hurt so much—

Starscream moaned and held his helm in his servos as he ran. Where were the escape pods? He had the whole ship memorized, he did, but where were they? Right now was neither the time nor the place to let the memories come back. He ran and ran and hoped he could outrun the memories as well.

and then Megatron had looked him in the optic and said "You were my brother," and then he tried to crush his helm in just a moment later and—

He choked back a sob and ran down another corner. The sound of metal banging and crashing echoed behind him.

"Starscream, oh Starscream, do you think you can outrun me on my own ship? Do you?" Megatron laughed as he ran after him.

Starscream snapped his intake shut and turned off his vocalizer. He was running but he didn't even know where he was running or even where he should run to, something was wrong, he should've been at the edge of the Nemesis already but he wasn't, there was only one bot he wanted to run to in that moment but he was far, far away and bleeding out in another hall—

Starscream made a mistake, such a big mistake, he couldn't even remember what he had done wrong, but he remembered the punishment, he always remembered the punishment. Megatron had chased him down while shouting and frothing and screaming and he'd shouted—

"You have chosen the way of pain, and by Primus, I will deliver to you all the pain and suffering you deserve!"

Starscream yelped and ran down another corridor. He slid into two surprised drones and the three of them went down in a tangled heap of metal limbs. Starscream shrieked and tried to push them off of him, but then a servo closed around his shoulder. He whirled around and came faceplate-to-faceplate with a drone's visor.

He froze. He should've slashed out with his talons, should've kicked his legs, should've tried to make some attempt to fight back in any way at all—but he couldn't. Starscream sat there on the ground, his frame bloodied and dented, and stared up at the drone with wide optics.

The drone's visor flickered and he stepped back and away from Starscream.

Starscream blinked. "W-what? Aren't you going to… to turn me in?"

The drone said nothing and merely lifted his helm. Something crashed and banged down in the Nemesis and cold laughter rang out.

"Once we were brothers, once, so long ago—but then you took the Primehood away and so you took our friendship away and you walked away, you know that? You walked away, and I will not allow you to just walk away again!" Megatron's voice boomed out into the halls and his sharp shadow appeared on a nearby wall.

Starscream took one last look at the drone and shot to his pedes. He ran down the hall, he didn't even know what his destination was, where were the escape pods? All he knew was that he was just trying to get somewhere, anywhere at all where Megatron could not find him.

He ran around a corner and grunted as he collided with something. Starscream blinked and looked down at a computer console in front of him. His optics widened and his optics darted around and looked all over the screen and the keyboard.

He could use this. If he could just find a schematic of the ship, he could find a way to the escape pods and then—

A map of the Nemesis loaded up on the screen. Starscream blinked.

He was nowhere near an escape pod.

Megatron's laughed boomed down the hall. "And so you thought you could escape, is that what you wanted? Do you hunger for freedom, Starscream?"

Starscream shook his helm and shakily stepped back. He was dimly aware of his back hitting the wall and the sound of Megatron shouting at him, but all he was truly aware of in that moment was the blinking map of the Nemesis on the screen. An icon that represented his current location aboard the Nemesis blinked on and off right in the center of the map—far from the escape pods and far from any potential escape.

"W-what… how? I memorized the l-layout of the Nemesis! I know these halls, I do, I do!" Starscream sobbed.

"Oh, Starscream," Megatron said as he turned around the corner. He had a huge sharp smile on his faceplate. "You know these halls very well. That is precisely why I changed them."

Starscream blinked and stumbled back. "W-what? You 'changed' them?"

Megatron threw back his helm and laughed. "Of course, my dear second-in-command. I knew that one day I would drag you kicking and screaming back to the Nemesis and I knew that you would make an escape attempt. But of course, I also knew that you know every little hall aboard this ship better than you know your own frame. What kind of prison would this place be if its lone prisoner knew how to escape it? A terrible prison indeed. So I did some… reformatting in your absence."

Starscream shook his helm and backed up into the computer as Megatron walked towards him. "No, no, you didn't!"

"I did. You are in a maze of my own creation."

Something thumped behind him and Starscream leaned over to see what the commotion was. His vents stopped coming altogether and his optics widened. Optimus and Arcee were both forced to their knees and surrounded by a swarm of drones.

"Stop, Optimus, stop chasing him! Leave Starscream behind!" Arcee shouted as Optimus tried to rise and limp after Starscream. The drones forced them down again and pointed their blasters back at them.

"Oh, how I have awaited this moment!" Megatron laughed and began to stomp towards Starscream as well.


Bumblebee grunted as he was thrown onto a computer. The computer screen shattered as his frame slammed into it and he blearily slid to the floor as Soundwave loomed over him.

Soundwave's single red optic glowed blood-red and his cables thrashed about him wildly as he stalked towards Bumblebee. He effortlessly twisted to avoid an oncoming volley of blaster bolts and glided over to Bumblebee.

"NO ESCAPE."

Bumblebee spit out a globule of energon. "Soundwave, see reason!"

Soundwave tilted his helm. Ratchet began to sneak up behind him with his blade extended—

Soundwave turned around and slammed one of his cables into Ratchet's midsection. The medic only had a second to widen his optics before he was suddenly thrown into the air and onto the ground.

Bulkhead wrestled with Breakdown and left behind a trail of destruction all across the bridge as they slammed into each other.

"Traitor!" Bulkhead growled.

Breakdown laughed. "You would know a lot about traitorhood, wouldn't you? Considering that you love to harbor traitors!"

Bulkhead spat in Breakdown's faceplate. "Starscream's not a traitor, he's not, isn't he, Bee?!"

Bumblebee dodged one of Soundwave's cables as it slammed down right where he had just been standing.

"I… I think Starscream is on our side, I really do!"

Ratchet shoved his sword into the spark chamber of a drone and threw the body away from him. "What?! Starscream? On our side?"

"Yes, Ratchet, yes!" Bumblebee dodged another one of Soundwave's thrashing cables and rolled to the side. He ran right up to Ratchet and the two of them fought back-to-back against a swarm of drones. "He's on our side, Primus, why can't anybody see that?!"

"Oh, really?" Ratchet scoffed. He grunted as a stray blaster bolt grazed his side. "And why do you think he deserves a second chance?"

A heavy weight slammed into Bumblebee and sent him clear across the room. He crashed into the wall and watched with wide optics as Soundwave lashed out all of his cables and entangled them around all of the Autobots. He looped his cables around Ratchet's legs and dragged the medic to him. He slid one of his cables around Bulkhead's neck and wrenched him away. His violet visor suddenly snapped over to look at Bumblebee and he sinuously stretched out his cables towards the prone scout.

"Soundwave, no, we won't fall for your ruse! You're just trying to divide us!" Bumblebee beeped as he tried to kick away Soundwave's cables. A cable lashed itself around his leg and dragged him across the floor of the bridge until he was at Soundwave's pedes.

"AUTOBOTS: ALREADY DIVIDED."

"No, we're not! We can still fight! C'mon guys!" Bulkhead grunted as he tried to pry Soundwave's cable off of his neck. The cable tightened and Bulkhead made a guttering choking noise as his optics bulged in his helm.

"AUTOBOTS: ALREADY DEFEATED."

"Optimus is still out there! You haven't captured us yet!"

Soundwave tilted his helm as if amused. "AUTOBOTS: NOT THE TARGET."

Ratchet blinked and looked up at Soundwave. "What the slag are you going on about?"

His visor flickered and a recording of Megatron standing at the helm of the bridge appeared on the screen.

"Look at them, Soundwave. Look at the way they stand beside each other, talk to one another, support one another—"

Ratchet's jaw dropped and as he watched Megatron angrily rant on the screen. There was a deranged look in the warlord's optics and his entire frame twitched and shuddered as he ranted in the old recording.

"Soundwave, I have no time nor patience for Starscream and Optimus's new… friendship."

He played a recording of Megatron laughing. "AUTOBOTS: RID OF YOUR ENEMY. AUTOBOTS: GLAD?"

Bumblebee snarled up at Soundwave. "Starscream was never our enemy, you're our true enemy!"

Soundwave's visor flashed and he yanked Bumblebee up into the air until he hung right in front of his visor.

"AUTOBOTS: NOT GLAD TO BE RID OF STARSCREAM?"

Bumblebee took a deep vent and shut his optics. It had been difficult to see Starscream walking around beside them as if he was one of their own, as if he was Cliffjumper's replacement.

Bumblebee's doorwings drooped and his armor locked up. Soundwave's goal had been to divide them from Starscream—and it had worked perfectly.

Soundwave continued to play the footage of Megatron on his screen. "Starscream should never stand that tall. He should be beside me, with me, serving me—"

"No."

Soundwave paused the recording and looked at Bumblebee. "QUERY?"

Bumblebee grit his dentae and glared. "He shouldn't be beside you. Starscream should be beside us—"

Soundwave's visor flashed.

"—with us—"

His cables tightened and his frame began to shudder as his single visible optic flared in rage.

"—and should be serving the Autobot cause to help not only us, but himself!" Bumblebee finished.

Soundwave sharply turned around and slammed one of his cables into a computer console. The screen flickered back to life and began to play the live footage of one of the Nemesis's halls again. Megatron stood triumphantly over the screen. He held Starscream tightly to his frame and stood tall over Optimus and Arcee's knelt frames.

"No, slag it, no!" Bulkhead moaned. Ratchet's optics widened and he let out a deep and heavy sigh.

"NOW YOU SHALL WATCH THEM DIE." Soundwave's faceplate was hidden by his visor, but Bumblebee swore the communications director was smiling.

Bumblebee looked over at the screen. "No… we won't watch them die."

Soundwave tilted his helm. "QUERY?"

"Megatron isn't going to kill Optimus or Starscream like you want him to. He's just going to stand over them and gloat!"

Soundwave's visible optic narrowed and he looked at the screen. Megatron had his sword out and transformed. All it would take was one good slash to slice open Starscream's neck cabling and end the traitor's life. All he had to do was just activate his fusion cannon and send one bolt right at Optimus and Arcee's knelt frames in order to turn them to dust. All he had to do was kill three bots and end the war.

Soundwave's optic widened. "DO IT," he shouted at the screen using a recording of Megatron's voice. "DO IT."

Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and Ratchet all glanced at one another as Soundwave stared at the screen. Knock Out and Breakdown stood behind them all beside the drones and watched everything with wide optics.

Soundwave walked closer to the computer and heavily rested both of his servos atop the keyboard. His normally still frame was shaking slightly and his field wrenched around him.

He pressed a button on the computer and activated the intercom system again.

Soundwave spoke using several voice clips stitched together. "LORD MEGATRON: DISPOSE OF ENEMIES."

Megatron stopped laughing and looked up at where the security camera was. "What was that, Soundwave?" he growled. His voice echoed through the intercom and boomed out through the speakers onto the bridge for everybody to hear.

"LORD MEGATRON: DISPOSE OF ENEMIES." Soundwave repeated. His field flickered and wavered around him again and his thin digits drew into fists.

Megatron scoffed on the screen. "When I have my victory? No, we shall not discuss this again. I think not. What champion throws away the prizes they fought so hard for? No, Starscream and the Prime are my prisoners, and I shall cherish their imprisonment. It will be good to have both of my stray brothers at my side again."

Soundwave's optic twitched. "MEGATRON: DISPOSE OF ENEMIES. END WAR. END WAR RIGHT NOW. END. WAR."

Megatron snarled on the screen. "You want me to kill my beloved prizes?!"

Soundwave brought his fists up and smashed them both down onto the keyboard. It shattered in a cloud of glass and metal and everybody aboard the bridge watched with wide optics as Soundwave ripped the keyboard right off.

"END WAR. END WAR. KILL PRIME. KILL STARSCREAM. END WAR. GO HOME. CYBERTRON..."

Megatron growled. "Cybertron is your home, not mine. The battlefield is my home. I will cherish my battle prizes and continue to rid the universe of Autobot scum before I reclaim my throne upon Cybertron!"

"NEGATIVE. NEGATIVE. FOUGHT WAR FOR CYBERTRON. SO CLOSE. CYBERTRON IN REACH. DO NOT GIVE THAT UP. KILL PRIME. KILL STARSCREAM. END WAR. END IT NOW."

"Are you giving me orders, Soundwave? Do you dare to betray me the same way my brothers betrayed me so long ago? Must I throw you in a cell with them, my third-in-command? Do you wish to rot in a cell the same way you did in the old days upon Cybertron? Is that your wish? I can grant it!"

Soundwave recoiled as if struck. Starscream was held tightly to Megatron's side and was pinned up against the warlord. He glanced back and forth between Megatron and the security camera and managed to squeeze one of his talons out of Megatron's hold. He slid his talons under Megatron's chestplate as the warlord ranted on.


He couldn't breathe. He could hardly see past the sharp curves of Megatron's frame. All he could feel was the angles of Megatron's armor cutting into his slender frame. Starscream struggled and thrashed around in Megatron's grip, but the warlord just held him closer to his massive frame. He stared up at the security camera and shouted at Soundwave through the intercom system. Their arguing voices boomed and echoed through the halls of the Nemesis and everybody watched with wide optics as Megatron growled and frothed at the ceiling.

He could feel Megatron's spark whirl wildly. His chestplate was pressed so closely to Megatron's that the sheer heat of the warlord's frame radiated out and into his smaller one. Megatron's spark pulsed to the rhythm of his mad shouting and Starscream felt it whir and whir through his frame and into his wings. Megatron yanked him even closer and Starscrem whined. He tried to feebly push the warlord back by hooking his talons under his chestplate, yet Megatron didn't even notice.

"I did not fight so hard nor work for so long to just throw away my prize after attaining it! You dare conspire to undermine my victory, Soundwave?"

Soundwave's robotic voice boomed through the intercom. The voices of a hundred different mechs were all split and sliced together. "YOU CONSPIRE TO UNDERMINE THE CAUSE."

"The cause? The purpose of the Decepticon cause is to serve me and my grand designs!" Megatron growled. Starscream wrenched one of his talons loose. It was only a matter of time before Megatron threw them all in a cell or Soundwave came down and killed them all. He took a deep shuddery vent and looked past the bulk of Megatron's frame at Optimus.

Optimus was on the verge of losing consciousness. His optics flickered and his entire frame shook as sparks leaped and danced all over it. A single drone held a servo to his bloody midsection in order to stop him from bleeding out. Optimus blearily looked around and made optic contact with Starscream. Their optics met and Optimus quietly whispered two words.

"I'm sorry."

His words were so faint and quiet hardly anybody heard them. But Starscream heard them loud and clear. Starscream shook his helm and mouthed the word no, no, no over and over again.

He had to do something, anything, literally anything at all—

"Were all these years of loyalty a ruse? Were you secretly planning on undermining me all along, Soundwave?" Megatron shouted. A smashing noise echoed out from the other end of the intercom. Megatron's spark pulsed wildly and thumped against Starscream's cockpit.

Starscream's optics widened. His spark. There was a seam in Megatron's armor near his vents and chestplate. It was a small and delicate seam that he only even knew about because Megatron shoved him up to his chestplate so often in his rage. Starscream glanced up at Megatron and his optics widened. Megatron's optics were pure red with rage and spittle flew from his mouth as he ranted up at the security camera at Soundwave.

"I will not be denied! I will not be stopped!"

Starscream bit his lip and gently snuck his talons into the seam of Megatron's armor. Megatron's spark began to pulse even louder and Starscream let out a hitched sob. Optimus's optics were shut, but Arcee stared at him.

"I will not be deceived! All is under my control and it would do you well to understand that, my 'loyal' Soundwave!"

Starscream continued to reach his talons into Megatron's armor. His spark chamber was not far. He could feel it wildly thumping and whirring within him and his talons were so close to the warlord's spark chamber, he just had to reach farther and farther and soon the chamber that contained Megatron's life would be within his reach—

"I will not be rejected!" Megatron shouted.

His talons brushed against something. Starscream froze. He was so close, so very very close. All he had to do was tense up his talon, slash, and the delicate circuitry that kept Megatron's spark active would be cut and torn away—

Megatron froze. He slowly looked down and at Starscream.

"Starscream… what are you doing?"

It was now or never. Starscream shoved his talons deep under Megatron's chestplate and as far as they could go. Megatron gasped and keeled over as the sharp tips of Starscream's talons pierced the circuity of his spark. He tried to shover Starscream away, but the Seeker hooked his legs around Megatron's waist and held on tight to his frame.

Megatron stumbled back and into the wall with Starscream latched onto him. "You will end this madness now or I will end you!"

Starscream snarled at Megatron as coolant dripped down his faceplates. "Why shouldn't I just end you, huh?"

Megatron looked at him. Then he began to laugh.

His laughter echoed down the halls of the Nemesis and rang against Starscream's helm as the warlord shook with peals of laughter. Starscream watched him with wide optics and began to shake.

"Oh, brother, oh, my brother. You claimed the Matrix for your own spark, and now you try to snuff mine! Do it, Starscream, do it! Sink your talons deep into my mesh and rip and tear me to pieces, do it, do it, do it!"

Starscream let out a sob and slashed his talons deep into Megatron. He felt his circuits twist and snap underneath his claws and felt energon well up from his chestplate. Megatron grunted, but just kept on laughing. This wasn't how this was supposed to go, this wasn't—

"You think your claws will be enough to end my spark? I can assure you, Starscream, that you are not the first to wound my spark—" Megatron glanced over at Optimus, "—but you will definitely be the last!"

Megatrong grabbed tightly ahold of Starscream's wrist. He shrieked as the warlord tightened his talon and made something within Starscream's arm snap.

"Megatron…" Optimus groaned. He tried to rise to his pedes, but the drones shoved him back down. "Stop this madness."

"You brought this all upon yourself the moment you chose to steal the Primehood from me!"

"You are not… worthy," Optimus wheezed.

Megatron's optic twitched. "I was worthy. And I still am. And now that I have my two main prizes before me… I can now claim the final prize that was once stolen from me."

Megatron snapped Starscream's arm. He shrieked and scuttled backwards and into the computer console as he nursed the bleeding stump where his arm had once been. Raw terror filled Starscream's field and he stumbled away from Megatron as the warlord rose back to his pedes.

"And now for the grand finale!"

Starscream jumped to his pedes and tried to run—

—He collided with the computer console. Static laced his vision and his breath was slammed out of his vents as he rammed right into the sharp edge of the computer. He laid prone on the keyboard and vented heavily as Megatron's laughter rang around in his helm.

"Go ahead, run. I will catch up with you later, Starscream. In the meantime, I have a Primehood to claim." Megatron activated his sword and began to stalk over to Optimus.

"STOP THIS MADNESS. KILL HIM. DON'T JUST TAKE THE MATRIX, KILL. HIM." Soundwave's voice boomed over the intercom.

Megatron snarled at the ceiling. "I will not be denied!"

Starscream moaned and shook his helm. He couldn't let it end like this, he couldn't. The flashing lights of the computer screen blinked on and off and left bright afterimages on his optics. He shook and choked back a hitched sob as waves of pain radiated throughout what was left of his arm.

"I'm sorry…" he moaned. He blinked and for a split moment he saw somebody else's faceplate in the computer screen's reflection. Skyfire looked back at him, then Optimus, and then the dead Seeker he'd failed to save in Vos—

Starscream blinked and sluggishly looked up at the computer.

He frowned. An idea formed in his processor. It would be violent, his helm could get smashed in, he could die—

Megatron stomped towards Optimus.

But if didn't enact his plan, then Optimus could die.

Starscream groaned and used the console to support himself as he rose to his pedes. He glanced over and saw Arcee stare at him with wide optics. Instead of glaring or snarling at him, she just shut her intake and gave him a silent nod.

Starscream looked back over at the computer. No one was paying attention to him, everybody was too focused on Megatron's insanity.

He took a deep vent and rapidly typed a series of buttons on the computer.

Megatron laughed. "Hold, still, Prime, so I can take what is rightfully mine—"

The Nemesis shuddered and the emergency lights flashed on with a blood-red glow.

"What is the meaning of this?!" He whirled around and his optics locked onto Starscream.

"You!"

"M-megatron, don't make me do this!"

"Do what, little Seeker? What are you planning?"

Starscream's wings flared and he held his servo right over a lever. "Let us all go, or else I will have to t-take drastic measures."

Megatron blinked slowly. "And what would those drastic measures be, Starscream? What, do you plan on hacking into the old systems and uncovering Decepticon secrets? I had my once loyal Soundwave change all those codes. They are lost to you!"

Starscream glared at him. "I don't have any access to the codes, no… but I still have access to the navigation controls."

Megatron's optics widened. "And what do you plan on doing with those?"

Starscream grabbed tightly ahold of the lever and yanked it as the alarms blared. "This."

The entire Nemesis lurched to the side and made everybody slam into the wall. Megatron stabilized himself and tried to walk over to Starscream, but he yanked the lever again and made the entire ship tilt to the other side. Megatron slammed into the other wall and snarled at Starscream.

"Hand over the controls this very moment!"

"No! I swear to Primus I will bring this entire ship down if you do not allow Optimus and the Autobots and I to leave!"

Megatron began to charge up his fusion cannon. "A bold move from such a cowardly mech. Too bad that there are those out there who have far more control over the ship than you do! Soundwave, lock Starscream out of the controls!"

Silence.

Megatron squinted up at the security camera. "Soundwave? That was an order!"

Static hissed on the other end. "LORD MEGATRON: DISPOSE OF ENEMIES."

Megatron rolled his optics. "Soundwave, we discussed this! No! They are my prize, they shall not be deactivated!"

"I will capsize this entire ship if that's what it takes t-to escape!" Starscream shouted.

"SOUNDWAVE: WILL ALLOW STARSCREAM TO—capsize this entire ship—IF YOU DO NOT DEACTIVATE AUTOBOTS." Soundwave's voice boomed out.

Megatron roared and fired his fusion cannon at the wall. It exploded in a storm of metal fragments and glass.

Starscream opened his intake to say something, but then paused. A light blinked on his HUD and his optics widened.

"Oh, have you come to a realization, Starscream?" Megatron said.

Starscream blinked. That was a timer going off on his HUD. The timer for the…

"I have come to a realization, Megatron. The ultimatum is up. And I have made my choice."

Megatron's optical ridges raised and he looked at Starscream with wide optics. "And what would that choice be?" he said slowly.

"If I am going to go down, then I am taking all of you with me!"

He yanked the lever and the whole ship lurched and began to go vertical.

Alarms blared and frames tumbled around in the halls as the entire ship tilted. Starscream dug his talons deep into the computer console and hung on for dear life as the whole world went onto its side. The floor became the wall and everybody tried to cling onto the columns of the hallway as the floor tilted beneath their pedes. Drones clattered and banged against the walls as they slid down into oblivion. Optimus transformed his servo into a sword and stabbed it into the wall to stop himself from sliding down. Arcee wrapped her arms around a pillar and hung on tightly as she watched Megatron with wide optics.

Megatron roared and ran at Starscream full speed. He dug his sharp pedes into the floor as it tilted away beneath him and took a massive leap. Starscream had only a second to scream before Megatron suddenly descended upon him. He slammed onto the computer console and hung onto it with a servo as he twisted around to snarl into Starcream's faceplate.

He raised his sword and it shone in the blood-red glow of the emergency lights as he raised it high above his helm. Starscream shrieked and dodged it just as it swung down in a sharp arc. It sliced right into Starscream's wing and pinned him to the console.

Hot pain exploded in his wings as the sword cut through delicate wires and sensors. Bolts of electricity arced out from where the sword was embedded into the plane of his wing and sparked across Starscream's frame as he screamed. A cloud of smoke belched out from where the sword had cut into the console and sent a plume of smoke right up into the air and into their faceplates. The only sources of light were the light of the alarms, the flickering screens, and the bright red glow of Starscream's terrified optics and Megatron's enraged ones.

The harsh flashes of the emergency lights lit up Megatron's sharp-toothed snarl in bright contrasts as he leaned in and hissed. "I will not be denied, Orion!"

He stood up on the console as the frames of drones fell past him and down into the darkness. Starscream blinked. "Orion?" he stuttered.

"Give me the Primehood!" Megatron growled. He wrenched his sword out of Starscream's wing and rose up to his full height as he raised his sword high above his helm.

Starscream's optics widened. "What Primehood?! What?"

Megatron held the sword above his helm. It shook. His optics widened and he looked between his raised sword and Starscream's terrified optics.

"No… I cannot kill you. You are my prize, after all. Instead of smashing your spark and the Matrix in, I suppose I will just have to rip the Matrix out of you."

"What? Megatron, I don't have the Matrix! I'm not Optimus! I'm not!"

"You were my brother," Megatron moaned. His optics twitched. "You took the Primacy from me. So now I will take it back."

"Megatron, no—!"

He transformed his sword back into his servos and shattered Starscream's cockpit with his bare fists. He tightly grabbed ahold of each of Starscream's chestplates and began to pry and pull his chest apart. Energon trickled up from within Starscream and he shrieked as Megatron tore through his wires and sensors.

"I am not Optimus, I am not Optimus!"

The smoke cloud made it impossible to see, Starscream realized. Megatron couldn't tell whether it was Starscream or Optimus in front of him due to the smoke.

bleeding on the ground, vents coming in harsh gasps, Megatron looming over him, raising his pede—

"You were my brother!" Megatron breathed heavily.

He continued to pry Starscream's chest open as Starscream shrieked and—

bleeding on the ground, vents coming in harsh gasps, Megatron looming over him, raising his pede—

Megatron stomped his pede right on top of Starscream's chestplate and began to press down. Something snapped deep within Starscream as the enormous amount of pressure descended upon his spark. A hot burst of pain flared up within Starscream as he shrieked in pain.

bleeding on the ground, vents coming in harsh gasps, Megatron looming over him, raising his pede—

Something bright flashed behind Megatron and he roared. He turned around and glared up at Arcee. She hung onto a column above their helms and had her blaster pointed right at a smoking spot on Megatron's back.

"Get away from him, or else I will shoot you again!" Arcee said.

Megatron roared at her and pointed his fusion cannon right at Arcee.

She looked behind her. "Optimus, now."

Optimus yanked his sword out of the wall and let himself plummet. He slammed down onto the computer console right on top of Megatron.

"Megatron, begone!" he shouted. His frame was covered in energon and bruises, yet his field blared determination. He used the last of his strength to kick Megatron off of the computer console. Megatron snarled as he fell off the console and began to fall down into the oblivion of the Nemesis below. Starscream pulled Optimus onto the console with him and the two of them watched Megatron plummet.

He transformed and tried to fly back up to Optimus and Starscream with an enormous roar. His fusion cannon charged up and shone like a hot violet sun as it hummed with deadly intent. Something snapped high up above and Starscream shoved Optimus to the wall as something fell down the now vertical hallway. A new swarm of falling drones plummeted down the hall and they clattered and banged against the sides. The eradicons transformed and flew away and up to safety, but the vehicons were only able to transform into their grounded alt-modes and they kept falling.

"No!" Megatron shouted as he gunned his engines and flew up to where Optimus and Starscream were. "No, no, you fools!"

The vehicons fell down and smacked into Megatron's alt-mode. They all got tangled together in a heap of metal limbs and Megatron forcibly transformed back into his root mode as he and the swarm of drones fell down the hall together. He tried to rip their frames off of him, but more shrieking drones fell down right on top of him. Megatron and the drones fell down into the black depths of the ship and vanished.

"Optimus!" Starscream wrapped his arms around Optimus and held the dented Prime in his arms.

Optimus smiled. "I think you've proved your innocence."

"I will not be ignored!" Megatron roared. He fired off his fusion cannon as he fell. A bright hot bolt of pure plasma shot into the air and was aimed right for Optimus.

Starscream shrieked and shifted over in front of Prime. The fusion bolt slammed into his wing and reduced it to smithereens.

"Starscream, no! H-hold on!" Optimus shouted as Starscream screamed in pain. He held the Seeker close to his chest. Megatron's laughter echoed after him and he fell into the shadows. Soon, only his bright red optics were visible, and then he vanished completely.

Smoke bellowed in the air and the alarms blared as Optimus held Starscream. Arcee slid down and landed right beside the two of them.


Soundwave retracted his cables and let go of Ratchet, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead. They all fell to the floor with a gasp as Soundwave threw himself over a computer console and began to rapidly type in instructions. The entire ship tilted and all of the Autobots and Decepticons slid down and onto the viewport of the bridge as the ship went vertical. Soundwave slammed his cables into console around him and held on tightly as he hurriedly typed in the commands to right the ship.

"This fight isn't over yet!" Breakdown shouted. He lunged at Bulkhead and the two of them began to slam each other around.

"Oh, slag, my paintjob is going to be ruined!" Knock Out moaned. Ratchet jumped at him and wrestled with him for the electro-prod as it flashed and sparked in Knock Out's grip.

The floor was now the wall. Bumblebee looked down and felt his spark lurch. The windows of the bridge were now the floor and he could see a thousand foot drop beyond the glass under his pedes. He dodged Bulkhead and Breakdown's battle and crawled over to where Soundwave was curled around his computer.

"Soundwave, let us go. You've lost this battle! We all saw Megatron fall!"

Soundwave's helm whipped around to face him. "HAVE NOT LOST WAR. JUST LOST BATTLE. LORD MEGATRON HAS—NOT— FALLEN." He turned around and went back to typing in commands into the computer.

Bumblebee reached out and grabbed onto one of his cables. Soundwave froze.

"Stop serving him, please, he's insane!"

Soundwave stopped typing for a moment and just looked at Bumblebee. "MEGATRON: I OWE A DEBT TO. HE SAVED CASSETICONS, ONCE. SO I WILL SAVE HIM."

One of his cables lashed out and struck Bumblebee. The scout yelped and he fell back down.

Ratchet punched Knock Out in the faceplate and ripped the electro-prod out of his grasp. He turned around and shouted at Bumblebee. "Catch!"

He chucked the electro-prod into the air and Bumblebee leaped to catch it. The smooth shaft slid into his servo and he slammed it down onto the floor to stop himself from sliding down any farther. Bumblebee turned around and looked at Soundwave desperately trying to upright the ship.

"Soundwave… let us go."

"NEGATIVE."

Bumblebee sighed. "Then… you leave me no choice."

Soundwave turned around and his single optic widened. Bumblebee threw the electro-prod right at the computer Soundwave was typing into it. It exploded and the screen shattered instantly. Alarms began to blare and the fragments from the exploded computer rained down on everybody's helms.

His cables lashed out and he dragged Bumblebee up to him until they were faceplate-to-faceplate. "FOOL. THE SHIP WILL CRASH."

A jagged mountain range loomed right outside of the windows of the bridge. It grew larger and larger until soon the bots could see the individual boulders scattered in the winding valleys below.

"SOUNDWAVE: WILL NOT ALLOW THINGS TO END THIS WAY."

Soundwave connected his cables into the only surviving computer console and began to glow with energy. He removed Laserbeak from his chestplate and she flew around his helm in agitated circles. Soundwave's entire frame shook and shuddered as energy coursed down from his frame and into the computer. His cables lit up and pulsed with bright flashes of light. Bumblebee dropped and slid to the floor as an enormous boom shook the entire ship.

"What was that?! Was that an explosion?" Knock Out yelped.

Ratchet shook his helm. A bright green glow appeared out of the windows of the bridge. "No, it couldn't be…"

The sharp peak of a mountain loomed outside of the windows and grew larger and larger outside the viewport. A bright point of light burst into existence right above the peak of the mountain and the light roared to life into an enormous groundbridge. A massive swirling vortex of whirling white and green energy yawned into existence and completely covered the entire ground. Soundwave's vocalizer let out a screechy hiss as arcs of lightning and pure energy raced across his frame. He looked out at the largest groundbridge he ever created in his entire life, and then his frame went black.

Soundwave's unconscious frame fell down from where he was suspended and he clattered down to the bottom of the viewport. Bumblebee jumped and caught Soundwave and everybody moved to make room for him as his unconscious frame twitched and sparked.

Ratchet scanned him and gave a nod. "He'll live."

"Are we going to live?!" Knock Out shrieked. The Nemesis shook and shuddered as it fell into the groundbridge and everything was overwhelmed with light.

"Where the slag is he bridging us to?" Bulkhead asked.

Laserbeak twirled through the air and landed on her Creator's prone frame. She buzzed and beeped rapidly before she darted back into the air.

"Huh? What did she say?" Breakdown scratched his helm.

"She…" Ratchet blinked. "She said that she has no idea and that neither does Soundwave. He just created some random bridge to get us away from the mountains."

"What?! Where the slag are we going to crash land?" Bulkhead's jaw dropped.

Ratchet took a deep vent. "I have no idea."

The Nemesis shook as it left the groundbridge. The overwhelming white light vanished and everybody looked up and out of the viewport. The endless expanse of the ocean stretched on outside the windows and the crests of waves rose up high in the sky right beneath the glass of the windows.

"Oh slag!" Bulkhead swore.

"This is our cue to leave!" Knock Out said. He and Breakdown climbed their way up to the doors with the drones. Breakdown grabbed ahold of Soundwave and slung him over his shoulder as he climbed up to safety beside Knock Out.

"We need to find Optimus!" Bumblebee whirred as the ocean grew closer.

"Come on, hup hup, we have a Prime to find!" Ratchet shouted. He climbed up the bridge and grappled his way along the upside-down desks beside Bulkhead and Bumblebee. The three of them threw their frames through the doorway and slipped into the hall above. Bumblebee hoisted his frame up into the hall just as the Nemesis made impact.

The ocean loomed right outside of the viewport. The Nemesis slammed into the waves with a boom that shook the entire ship. The glass of the viewport exploded and the bridge crumpled as the sheer force of the ocean slammed into the Nemesis. Bulkhead and Bumblebee shut the door to the bridge just in time to stop an enormous wave from crashing into them. The light of the sun vanished as the Nemesis sunk into the watery depths and the only light came from the red glow of the emergency lights.

"Hep hep, we have a Prime to find!" Ratchet said. He climbed up the now vertical halls of the Nemesis with Bulkhead and Bumblebee close behind.


"So… is it me or is this place flooding?" Arcee asked.

Starscream breathed heavily. His entire frame was aflame with pain. His right wing was nothing more than a cracked and blackened piece of jagged metal attached to his back. The entire first half of his left arm was gone down to his elbow.

He looked down and saw that the hallway below was indeed full of water.

"Well, aren't you o-observant," Starscresm snarked.

Arcee sighed. "Your wings and arm may not work, but your sense of snark certainly still does."

Starscream looked up at Optimus and frowned. He had fallen unconscious again and he and Arcee were both sitting in his lap atop the upturned computer console.

"So… what's the plan?" Starscream asked.

Arcee crossed her arms and glared down at the water below. "I don't know. We need to find the rest of the team. I just hope they're not down in that water."

"Is it me… or is it rising?"

Arcee blinked and peered further over the edge. Her optics widened. "Slag, it is rising. Where in the world did you fly the ship to?"

"I didn't fly it anywhere, I-I just… upturned it a bit."

"'A bit.'"

"Yes. Just a bit."

Arcee sighed and leaned back into Optimus's lap.

Starscream reset his vocalizer. "I am surprised you have n-not tried to kill me yet."

She offlined her optics. "I don't want to talk about that. Just be quiet and conserve your energy."

"...I'm sorry."

Arcee blinked and looked at him. "For what?"

"For… slag it, don't make me say it out loud…"

Arcee leaned in even further. "For what?"

"For…" he stuttered, "for him."

"For Optimus?"

"No, I mean, yes? Slag it—I'm sorry for… you know… him."

Arcee's optics widened. "Oh. Yes. Him." She opened and closed her intake.

Suddenly, a bright light shone down onto them. They all looked up and saw the rest of the Autobots up in the hall above their helms. Ratchet shone a bright light down onto their frames.

"Anybody hurt?"

"Yes. Everybody. Physically and emotionally," Starscream groaned.

"How the slag we do all get out of here?" Bulkhead asked.

"The r-remote died. All is lost!" Starscream wailed.

"No, we can still make it out of this. Give me the remote," Arcee said.

Starscream grunted and tried to reach under his cockpit. "Well fine then, fiddle around with a little remote if that's how you want to spend your last moments! Slag it, I can't reach it. I need you to grab the remote for me."

Arcee reached under his chestplate and widened as her servo brushed past old weld marks and scars. She grabbed the remote. "Where did you even find this?!"

"Doesn't matter!"

Arcee bit her lip and typed the coordinates in. "I don't know if it will work, it's really badly damaged."

She pressed the activate button. A single point of light appeared in the air beneath them. It flickered and a smile spread across Starscream's faceplate—

The light vanished.

"Slag it! It's too broken," Arcee swore.

Their fields all twisted around with grief and anxiety.

Something banged up atop them. Everybody looked up and their optics widened to see Knock Out and Breakdown in the hall above them.

Breakdown glared at them. Soundwave was slung over his shoulder and his visor was blank and black.

Arcee's optics widened. "What the slag, why are they here?"

"We are trying to reach our esteemed leader, of course," Knock Out grit out. He and Breakdown hung onto a column with Soundwave splayed out along Breakdown's back.

His visor lit up.

Arcee gasped. "He's waking up!"

Soundwave ignored her and lashed out with a single cable. He coiled it around the remote and ripped it out of Arcee's servos. Everybody froze as Soundwave lifted the remote up and into the air. He shut his optic and his cable shuddered with a burst of electricity that travelled down from his frame and into the remote. The remote glowed and the screen came to life as he let his cable fall back down.

Arcee removed the remote from his cable with wide optics. She pressed the activate button again and they all watched as a spark of light appeared in the air beneath them.

A groundbridge roared to life and this time, it stayed open.

"All right, hep, hep, back to base!" Ratchet shouted as he clapped his servos together. He looked back up at Soundwave, but he was already unconscious again.

"Slag yes! Let's get out of here!" Bulkhead hooted and leaped down. He fell through the air and right into the groundbridge. Bumblebee glanced at Starscream and then leaped back down into the bridge as well. Arcee flipped into the air and vanished into the bridge next.

"All right, in order to get Optimus into the bride we're going to have to tip him down into it." Ratchet said as he slid down. He slammed into the console and stood right beside Optimus and Starscream.

"U-um, Ratchet?" Starscream whimpered.

Ratchet looked at him. "Yes?"

"Am I going to be allowed to… you know…" Starscream stuttered.

"Allowed to what?"

"Allowed to…" Starscream shook out.

"To return to base?" Ratchet finished. He and Starscream just stared at each other. "Yes. You can come back. You didn't hurt Optimus and betray us, you've proven that."

"Oh, Primus, thank you, thank you!" Starscream sobbed. He grabbed ahold of Ratchet with his intact arm and dragged him closer to as coolant leaked down his faceplate.

"Ah… yes…" Ratchet said as he patted Starscream's shaking shoulder. "Now let's focus on getting you two back—"

"Once we were b-brothers."

Ratchet and Starscream froze.

"I didn't say that," Starscream said.

Ratchet shook his helm. "Neither did I, and Optimus is unconscious, so…"

They looked down. Two bright red lights shone in the gloom of the upturned hall far down below. Deep guttural coughs echoed up from the gloom and the glow of spilt energon lit up the shadows of the Nemesis's depths.

"O-once… brothers… and then... I was betrayed," Megatron said weakly. His voice echoed up from the dark shadows in which he fell.

"Megatron," Ratchet growled. He frowned at the depths down below and Starscream held him back.

Megatron laughed. "Run! Flee! I will claim the Primehood… another day. One day. One day."

Ratchet grunted as he dragged Optimus over his shoulder and slid Optimus down and into the groundbridge. His optics flickered and he looked up at Starscream and Ratchet as his frame fell into the light of the bridge.

Ratchet looked over at Starscream and glanced between the Seeker and the bridge.

"Starscream, you need to jump," Ratchet said.

Starscream gulped and looked down into the depths below. "But if I miss the b-bridge and I fall… then he's down there waiting for me!" he whined.

Ratchet grabbed ahold of Starscream's shaking shoulders and pressed his forehelm to his. "You won't miss the bridge. You won't. It's just a leap, Starscream. It's just like flying."

"Flying," Starscream whispered. "I can't fly, my wing—!"

"You can. You can take this leap, I know you can."

Starscream gulped and stood upon the edge of the console. He looked down at the bridge that swirled below as a shudder wracked his frame.

"Oh, there we were, Orion and Starscream, together, there, forever, in Cybertron, beside Megatronus Prime, together, forever. Brothers. Forever." Megatron's voice echoed into the gloom.

Starscream took a deep breath and leaped into the groundbridge.

Ratchet watched the Seeker vanish into the bridge. He leaned over and looked down into the black depths where he knew Megatron to be. He transformed one of his arms into a blaster and fired a single shot off into the darkness below. The bolt whistled through the air for a moment and then Megatron roared in rage as it collided with him.

"You, you, I will get you, I will! I w-will not be rejected!"

Ratchet snorted. "You just were." He leaped through the bridge and vanished. The bridge shut behind him and left the hall in darkness.

Megatron couched up energon and watched the bridge disappear. Something violet flew through the air beside him and landed upon his chestplate.

"Laserbeak," he said weakly. The little casseticon landed on his chestplate and just stared at him. Water poured in all around his prone frame and began to pool around his pedes.

"Well? Do you have anything to say?"

Laserbeak was silent.

"Oh, were we worried about you!" Knock Out said. He and Breakdown slide down the vertical hall and slammed into the ground beside Megatron. The smile on Knock Out's faceplate instantly vanished at the sight of Megatron resting in a pool of energon and water.

"Fix me so that I can break the spark chambers of my enemies!" he snarled.

Knock Out let out a high-pitched laugh. "Ah, yes. Let's get to work."

Laserbeak skittered away and flew off into the shadows of the Nemesis as Knock Out and Breakdown got to work. Soundwave was still draped over Breakdown's frame. His visor lit up and he turned and looked at Megatron. The two of them stared at each other for a moment before Soundwave's visor flickered and he fell unconscious again.

Laserbeak whined and flew off. She flew through the winding watery halls and effortlessly weaved her way through all of them.

A hatch opened atop the Nemesis and Laserbeak floated outside of the ship. She flew into the cold water and looked at the ship from afar. The Nemesis was wedged deep into the ocean floor and was now stuck in a vertical position. What had once been the command bridge was now buried in the sand of the ocean floor and the engines now stuck up to face the waves above.

Laserbeak chittered and flew up to the ocean surface. She burst through the water and the waves and into the cold black sky like a comet before she arced off and disappeared amidst the high clouds. She would the treacherous Seeker and the caring Prime, and she would bring them all back to Megatron so he could become Megatronus Prime. She would, yes, she would.

These three mechs were now eternally bound together, so now it was time to bring them back together. This brotherhood would not break—she would see to it.