Ch. 120

The pair hadn't needed to walk long before they were well into the heart of the canyon. Big mechs meant big strides and less of a meandering gait as they made their way into the privacy the canyon offered. Did Starscream want to use this opportunity for a chat? Not really. But if Smokescreen hadn't been given all the major details, or only the details Jack had been able to offer, then the seeker saw it as his sole duty to ensure the white mech knew his side of everything.

"So," began the talk Starscream was hoping not to dread, "why not begin by telling me what you do know?"

Smokescreen smiled, "Funny. I was just about to ask you to tell me how this all started."

The seeker shrugged, "A fair beginning, but I'd find it more effective if I knew what you already knew. So start talking."

The white mech frowned in thought, "Hm, well, I was told you traveled into the past and wound up with super powers. You've been going around trying to mess with the timeline and you've ended up saving a bunch of humans and bots. How am I doing so far?"

"I suppose that's close enough," Starscream stared at him as though sizing him up, "Anything else to add?"

Smokescreen moved to shake his helm but stopped, snickering, "Oh, and you made Megatron more insane. As if that were possible."

The silver mech scowled, "Ugh, do me a favor and don't remind me. Of all the things I had control over, his sanity was never one of them, even from before. Now it's worse than ever!"

Smokescreen tsked, "Guess you can't have everything, am I right? But Primus, if you're actually a Prime then it'll all be worth it, huh?"

Starscream glared, "Don't. Don't ever say that again. I'm not a Prime. I won't ever be a Prime. I hardly enjoy a basic burden, do you really think I want to end up like Optimus?"

"How do you mean?"

The seeker scoffed, "He doesn't just have his own problems, he shoulders everyone else's and then the galaxy's as well! I am under no obligation to help anyone like that and I aim to keep that luxury."

Smokescreen rolled his optics, muttering, "Could've fooled me..."

Starscream poked him lightly in the chestplate, "Don't push it."

The white mech chuckled, "Alright, I'm done. So, you traveled through time...?"

Concerned blue optics dimmed and the seeker shook his helm, "No, not just out of the blue... I was killed first. I died due to my own actions and the actions of another who... sought retribution. My spark made a travel through a separate reality that allowed me to look into my past..." he trailed off.

Smokescreen frowned, "That's it? You just ended up back here?"

Starscream stared at the ground as he found a boulder to lean against, "Well I... hmm..." he crossed his arms, his optics darting side to side as he thought; when he realized he had been silent for some time, he looked up quickly, "Oh, ah, apologies..." he waved a servo lightly, "Something's just coming to mind..."

"Really?" the young mech gasped, "Well, tell me! I can help!"

Starscream smirked, "Yes, I'm sure you'd like to," he shuttered his optics, "I'm just remembering a feeling. Picturing where my spark was going is near impossible, but the feelings are very clear... I-" he stopped himself.

What if this led to concluding his Prime-ness? What if he proved Megatron right? What if Smokescreen ended up becoming his fan-bot? The last thought had the seeker shudder and Smokescreen patted his back.

"Hey, you alright?"

Starscream waved him off, "Yes, I'm fine... As I was saying, my spark travel was interrupted before my final transition into whatever state I was to end up in. And just now, I was wondering if that interruption was due to my use of dark energon or if... somehow it was my fault..."

Smokescreen looked confused, "Your fault? How would you have managed that?"

The seeker huffed, "I don't know. It's just a thought. But any other conclusion than 'you are a Prime, Starscream' would be favorable."

Smokescreen smiled, crossing his arms as he leaned forward towards Starscream, "Really though? Really?"

The seeker smirked and shoved him back, but the action was almost playful, "Yes. Now, moving on. The interruption in my spark journey brought me back a couple of years in human time. Not quite the beginning of where I think everything went wrong, but far enough that I would have had the advantage. Problem was, I wasn't sure if I had truly traveled back or was now capable of seeing the future... or if I was insane. So, I tested my 'precognitive' ability on saving Breakdown. When that worked, I went on from there."

Smokescreen held in a gasp, "Whoa... so, then why help the Autobots if you had such an upper hand?"

Starscream shrugged, "Based on what happens in the future? The way Megatron conducts himself? The events that could happen? I really didn't have to struggle to make the choice. A few of us know but I don't know if you've been told. In the original timeline, the Autobots won."

The white mech's optics widened, "They did? We did?"

The seeker nodded, "At a costly price, of course, considering the lot of you decided to do battle with Unicron. But I did kill him, so..."

Smokescreen let out a small squeal, "Y-you killed the Chaos Bringer?! Unicron himself?!" he fell to his knees and grasped Starscream's servos, "Tell me everything! What was it like?! How did you kill him?! Was Optimus there?! Were the rest of-"

Starscream snarled lightly and shoved him back again, "No touching," he shook off his servos as though to rid himself of germs and frowned, "We were all there, Megatron included. I used the Spark Extractor. Unicron called me names. Megatron kidnapped me after."

Smokescreen frowned from where he sat in the dirt, "You know, you could be a little more detailed with how you tell these epic war stories."

The seeker scoffed but laughed, "Who am I, Kup?! You got the story, just simplified and without details; what else do you need?"

The white mech smiled wide, "Everything! I wanna feel like I was there to see it! I mean... it's amazing! You had this great opportunity to change it all and even after it started to go wrong, you still kept fighting! It's... it's..." his servos tightened into fists, "It's too incredible for words!"

Starscream rolled his optics, "Of course you would think so..."

Smokescreen slowly started to relax, staring at the seeker as he stood back up, "Scream?" Starscream glared at him, but he ignored it, "What do you know about my future? About... what happens to me?"

The seeker hummed, "Well, you don't die, if that's what you're concerned about."

"No, um... I-I just feel like I have more of..." the white mech rubbed the back of his helm, sighing, "I've always felt like I've had more of a calling, a destiny, but I've never really been able to prove it... Maybe... you saw what my destiny was? In the future?"

Starscream nodded, "Ah, yes. Well, if we're going to get technical, this was really only in application to the previous timeline. And, from what I observed, you did have some reckless, but very Prime-like, tendencies. So, yes, in my humble and not at all detailed-by-perfect-observational-skills opinion, the Matrix of Leadership probably could have chosen you if something had happened to Optimus."

Smokescreen began to shake lightly. His form trembled harder as he began to bounce on his peds in excitement, a stupid grin on his faceplates.

"Serious? Really?

Starscream growled at himself, "Why, for fragging Primus sake- yes, holy frag, yes, I do. Now stop being such a youngling about this. I've changed the timeline. I've changed so much that I'm sure I've stopped the future development you would have had."

"But what if you didn't?" Smokescreen asked excitedly, still bouncing, "What if you can't change destiny? What if I'm a Prime and I just haven't had a chance to show it? What if we both become Primes?"

The seeker threw up his servo, standing, "I give up. Go bother Optimus. Or better yet, send him out here so he and I can chat. He promised me a battle plan for the rigorous mental training I'm being forced into."

Smokescreen didn't hear the silver mech as he punched into the air with vigor, "A Prime! I could end up being a Prime!"

Starscream scowled, "Yes, Smokimus Prime. Such a ring to it. Almost as good as Starscrimus Prime."

The white mech pouted, "Aw, why is your Prime name cooler?"

The seeker look flustered, "It is not cooler! It's ridiculous! Now, shoo, go bother someone else!"

Starscream moved to start pushing Smokescreen back down through the canyon when he felt something on the wind. His large wings perked, leveling the breeze towards his smaller winglets as they tried to distinguish a great disturbance. Something else was in the canyon with them. The seeker wouldn't have been too worried if the wind was telling him it was at the front, towards where they had come from, but the movement was at the back. This made the likelihood of it being a friendly Autobot very slim.

Before Smokescreen could protest, Starscream grabbed him, slapping his servo over his mouth, and pulled him down against a crevice in the wall hidden by boulders. The white mech struggled in surprise but settled when he managed a glance at the seeker's faceplates. His fear and concern was more than evident. So Smokescreen lied in wait with Starscream, just watching his companion as his wings reverberated and twitched, reading the wind.

After a moment, the young mech whispered softly, "What's up, Scream?"

The seeker didn't even glare at him. Instead, he focused intently on the disturbance his wings were feeling. Starscream frowned then froze. His optics widened and he ducked tightly against the pile of boulders, his form starting to shake.

Smokescreen didn't have time to ask what was wrong. The loud sound of flapping wings and a jet engine caught his audials, then the ground shook with a thud as the two mechs landed. The white mech's mouth became a small line as he frowned, glaring down the hulking forms of an Insecticon and C.Y.L.A.S.