A/N: For Tinna Minor ;)

###

"Look at my red hands, my mean face…I wonder about that man who has gone so wrong…" (The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford, 2007)

When Megatron had parted ways with Orion that morning, it was with a heavy spark. It was unnerving to the hardened warlord that his conscience was beginning to become so bothered, so burdened with each lie he had to weave for his reclaimed brother. He had left Orion with the impression that he intended to scout ahead, to begin the search for the missing Autobot.

Of course there was no reason for Megatron to search for what was not lost.

So it was that Megatron had separated from Orion, with every intention of finding a very particular, very different someone. Only a fool would think themselves apt enough to hide their signature from Megatron, just as only a fool would dare to refuse the Decepticon Leader, who was so very, very willing to do anything and everything within his extensive power to keep his hold upon Orion.

In Megatron's world, only Orion mattered, and keeping the archivist in his thrall was the only thing that was worth focusing on. That was what brought Megatron out here, where the land swelled and sunk into a warren of gullies, of dry and dusty channels that had been chiseled away by long forgotten waters. It was here that Megatron would find what he sought, would locate the one loose end he needed to tie up.

There were thousands of nooks, of caves, of caverns to hide within, but Megatron flew unerringly onward, forward, hunting, honing his connection to the one he sought. It was no surprise that it did not take him long to pinpoint the other whom he had let wander for so long, too long. Darting down a twisting canyon, a once ancient ravine, Megatron had just enough room, just enough time, to transform before touching down upon the cool earth. Shadows lay thick and heavy here, and folded over his frame, all harsh and hard angles, like a richly woven tapestry of malcontent. More importantly, the scent of energon laced the air, clearer than footprints in mud, it guided Megatron through to the conclusion he sought for, but had not entirely anticipated.

Arrogant and proud, the other stood, the fluid lines of his wings cast behind him elegantly; scalpel digits laced together, clicking and rasping methodically as he waited.

"Good morning, my dear Megatron…" The drawl was not rude or insolent, but it was only just less of an outright challenge.

"Surprised to see me?"

"Don't flatter yourself."

Megatron bared his teeth in what could have passed for a wicked grin, "Fallen quite far haven't we, Starscream?"

Starscream chuckled then, unwinding a hand to wave it nonchalantly, "If you had any knowledge of what I found within these tunnels, you would think differently."

"And what makes you think that I won't just stretch out my hand and take it all from you?"

"Because that's not what you're here for…" Starscream leered forward, a slow, knowing look clouding his features, "…if you had wanted my energon cache, you would have already tried to take it…no Megatron, you came here looking for me because you need me…you need me to help you protect… someone that you've been focusing quite intently on these past few weeks."

"That is very…observant of you…"

"Hardly…if I were you, Megatron I would try to be a little less forthright and a little more…deceptive…of your interests."

"Enough, Starscream, I did not come here to bandy words."

"No, you came here for my help, Megatron…so tell me, what is it that I have that you want?"

"You were once my second in command—"

Starscream flicked his wrist dismissively again, "That does not interest me anymore, and I no longer desire to be ruled by you and certainly not by the captured Prime."

Megatron's focus sharpened, and Starscream knew better than to miss the shift in his former leader's attention, "Ah…thought I was out of the loop did you?" He spared Megatron a cool laugh then, before schooling his expression into a far more sober manner, "Mark my words, Megatron you are playing with plasma…Orion may be without his memories but he is not the bot you remember or want him to be…No the spark of the Prime still pulses within him and sooner or later, Optimus will rise again to challenge you…you cannot rid yourself of the Prime as easily as you think."

Megatron snarled, lunged forward, wanting in that moment to so very badly wrap his fists around Starscream's throat, to crush and crumple the fragile panels, to deny the potential truth that lurked in the former Decepticon's words. But Starscream was too swift for him, moved cat like, liquid quick, slipping from Megatron so that the Decepticon was left to only claw at empty air. With a growl, Megatron turned, rounding on Starscream, his voice a booming roar, "You do not know of what you speak!"

Starscream could have laughed, could have let the moment play a fast to him, but instead, as he looked upon Megatron, at the fear that lingered behind his bloodied gaze, his tense stance, the bent shoulders, so ready, so eager to attack, to spill energon, he saw something more. Saw a mech pushed toward an indefinable edge, a breaking point drawing nigh. He recognized a weakness and more than that, realized a danger. Long had Starscream served by Megatron's side, and before there had been betrayal, there had been trust and a very real friendship, a bond.

Of course, Starscream could not deny the connection between them had snapped long ago, strained beyond endurance not just beneath Starscream's ambition, but rather from his concern, his fear for Megatron's sanity. He was no longer the coolly calculating, the biting logical force of will and power that he once was, he no longer knew what the binds of restraint felt like, no longer recognized when to wield them…not like Megatronus. A soft sigh, a breath of air pushed from his vents as Starscream watched Megatron, wishing in that moment, so desperately that fate had been kinder to both of them. Instead, the universe had been harsh, unyielding, until at long last, this is all that had been wrung out of them: Starscream was but a shadow of his former self and Megatron…Megatron was a Titan made mortal…fallen…breaking…

"Orion is not your brother any more…he no longer exists…I am truly sorry Megatron…" Starscream let his gaze fall earthward, out of deference to the mech he had known for so very long, and out of regret, unable to bear the sight before him any longer, "Before long, Optimus will remember himself…will return…you know this in your spark…why will you not see reason?"

"I do Starscream, I see reason, I see fate, and I see chance…all have somehow, impossibly brought Orion back, he lives once more."

"No, my lord…no…"

"Come now Starscream! See the possibilities, the potential that lies here before us, ready for the taking! Without their Prime, the Autobots are lost…Orion belongs to me now, wears the Decepticon symbol, has sworn his allegiance to me, his brother…" Megatron's gaze became unfocused, farseeing as fervor took him up in its wake, "The Dynasty of the Primes has ended, we stand now upon the precipice of a new waking age for our culture…with Orion, we are unchallenged…we can take what we need from this barren wasteland, strip it completely…and then…" He turned to Starscream, brushing talon like fingertips gently, inviting, against the smaller mech's shoulder, "Then we can return…we can go home, Starscream, home to Cybertron…"

"And if Orion remembers himself? Becomes the Prime again?"

"He won't."

"But if he does?"

"He is a Decepticon now…even if he rises to the rank of Prime again, it shall not be Optimus who rises—"

"No…?" Starscream watched him, watched the mech who stood before him, beyond his reach. A new intensity had filled Megatron, a hunger, a need. Once before he—no, Megatronus—had come to Starscream like this, speaking of a new, glorious future for their planet that only he could usher in. Only now, that yearning was tattered by a fraying sanity, could not shine out before, so seductive and alluring, gathering steadfast followers in its blinding wake. No, instead of a leader, Starscream was beginning to only see madness. "Tell me, Megatron, who then? Who would you think Orion would become if not Optimus?"

Megatron let a cutting smile bloom, "Nemesis Prime…a new Prime, under my control, with allegiance unto me and only me…"

"I cannot help you do this." Starscream slowly shook his angular face, "It cannot be done…you are overstepping even your abilities…"

"Then what would you help me do, Starscream? Put aside then such a vision of a Prime loyal to the Decepticon cause…would you instead help me preserve one whom I call brother?" Starscream turned away, closed his optics against the honey of Megatron's words, "Once we were such…you and I shared that bond. I mourn its loss, Starscream, truly I do, but look beyond yourself, see now the worth of that which I wish to preserve. Would you not help me? You remember Orion…remember all that he was…you and he were friends before…can you not honor his memory? Would you not save him now?"

"It. Cannot. Be. Done."

"Name your price, Starscream. Name it and you will have it."

Starscream cautiously faced Megatron, eyes narrowed, "What is it that you want me to do? What is so important that you would offer me so much?"

"All I would ask is for a few simple—favors—you have always had such an uncanny ability for crafting truths…I need to know if I call upon you that you will answer, and that you will follow my requests without deviation."

"You would trust me to do so?"

"Ah, Starscream, long have we known one another, but that trust I had in you rusted away years ago…no I would not trust you, but I would have faith that you would follow what is in your… best interest."

"You cannot threaten me, you may be stronger, but I am faster yet…you would never catch me."

"I wouldn't have to, Starscream. I have faith that you will do as I ask because I can give you all that you've ever wanted…I can replace that which you have lost."

"My Seekers…"

"You would have as many vehicons to take with you as you wished and enough energon to take you to Cybertron and back…think of it, think of what you could do, of how you could search out lost comrades…Thundercracker…Skywarp…think of how you could be reunited with your brothers, of how you can begin your experiments anew. You were a scientist once, long ago…so could you be again."

Starscream fell silent, became still, unmoving as he felt the weight of Megatron's offer, so tempting, so close…it would cost him so little. But he knew better than to accept a deal from any Decepticon so eagerly, so readily, "If I did take any interest in your little proposal, I want you to know…"with a voice as deep as the grave, Starscream stepped up to Megatron, "…if you cross me, if you betray me or leave me for scrap…I will hand Orion over to the Autobots personally…I will take from you all that you yearn for most."

"I am pleased that we understand one another."

###

A/N: Bit of a short chapter, but the next one will follow sooner rather than later :)

Please R&R!

~~~Epsilon Pax & Bumbee