Ch. 123

Smokescreen and Starscream stood side by side in the main room of the base. It really didn't matter who did what and what did or did not happen; they were both alive just not out of trouble yet.

Optimus was pacing in front of them with his servos folded neatly behind his back. There was a mix of anger and fear in the air, but a lack of both emotions on his faceplates. He was thinking. That's all he was doing was thinking. The droning on of time made the wait excruciating. Starscream almost wanted to roll his optics. If there was one thing he could appreciate about Megatron's reign of terror, it was his swift acts of punishment. At least you knew you would be hanging from the walls of the brig for a month. The Prime's thoughtful nature was more horrendous than any torture the seeker had suffered. And he knew, after Optimus's little chat, he would be forced to have feelings about what he may or may not have done wrong. Starscream almost wished he was being beaten.

The Prime finally paused in his pacing and turned to face the mechs but before he could speak, Smokescreen stepped forward, "It's my fault, Optimus. Starscream and I should have left as soon as the Cons showed up, but I engaged. I thought we could handle them on our own."

Optimus frowned gently as he sized the white mech up, sighing, "It did not occur to you, to either of you, that you should have called for backup? Or perhaps a ground bridge?"

Smokescreen shook his helm, "The situation was immediate. I made a call. It was the wrong one. I'm sorry."

The Prime shuttered his optics, "I am disappointed, Smokescreen. I expected better judgement on your part. Especially since you did not fair well in your last encounter with C.Y.L.A.S. When you are presented with the opportunity to avoid an unnecessary climactic situation with the Decepticons, you must do your best to take it at all costs. You not only risked the safety and life of yourself, but Starscream's as well," he looked down at the white mech, disappointment exuding from him, "I cannot stress the severity of what could have transpired had I not followed after the pair of you. You could have been captured. You were most likely going to be killed."

Starscream rolled his optics, hissing at Smokescreen, "Told you. He's giving you 'the look'."

"And you, Starscream."

The seeker's wings pitched high and confusion marred his faceplates, "Heh?" he glared at Optimus, "What are you looking at me for? I didn't engage the enemy out of a need for adventure!"

The Prime stood firm, "Yet you yourself could have called for the backup that the pair of you needed. Instead, you risked your own capture and imprisonment by engaging alongside Smokescreen-"

"Nah ah, no," Starscream hissed, waving his servos, "That is not what happened! He and I were chatting when those lunkheads came out of no where! Smokescreen got a little high on his own excitement and rushed in! I suggested we stay hidden and escape when we could!"

"Starscream, this is not the time for excuses."

Smokescreen glared, grumbling, "Yeah, or throwing me under the bus-"

"You, shut up!" the seeker glared, "And you! You're not listening! Their proximity was too close for a COMM asking for assistance of a bridge! Yes, Smokey engaged the enemy without provocation-"

"Smokey?"

Starscream pulled the white mech out of his way with a scowl, effectively tossing him aside as he approached Optimus angrily, "-but that does not mean he was at fault! He was just doing what we've all been wanting to do for months: put Megatron's troop count at a zero!"

"And was the attack worth the risk of losing you both?" the Prime asked steadily.

The seeker growled, "Well it would have been if you had made the shot! C.Y.L.A.S. was at your mercy, as was Hardshell! They could have been smelted!"

"This war," Optimus frowned, "is best ended without further loss of life. You should understand that far better than us, Starscream."

Starscream's jaw fell open, his optics wide in shock and he huffed, "Typical. Of course you would go there. You're forgetting something though," he stood on the tips of his peds, a snarl growing in his throat as he poked a sharp digit into the red mech's chestplate, "THIS IS NOT MY TIMELINE!" he roared, "Everything's been fragged up! Hardshell should be dead by now! C.Y.L.A.S. should be in an experimental heap! You know where I should be?! Preparing to steal from you! Don't you ever, don't you FRAGGING EVER dare to bring up what happened to ME! Loss of life?! You think I don't know what that feels like?! This isn't the same script anymore! What I've changed has eliminated the need for mercies! Megatron is corrupted beyond repair! He will lead what's left of the Decepticons into this spiral with me as the fixation! I'm mortified! I should have just killed the lot of you and conquered Cybertron on my own!"

The seeker stumbled back, panting as he struggled to regain his intakes. Smokescreen watched to the side in horror and fascination. Optimus stared gently down at the irate silver mech, humming lightly.

"Would that have been easier?" he asked softly.

Starscream shrieked, "WHO KNOWS?! Not me, since I decided to be all sympathetic and weak!"

The Prime blinked in thought, "Was becoming an Autobot your idea of weakness?"

"No! All of it! I-I don't know!" the seeker's wings began to tremble in frustration, "All I know is that when it involves any of you, it becomes too complicated and unfair! It should have been simple! I should've just left!"

Optimus waited again instead of responding, watching as Starscream's smaller winglets' vibrations became too fast to see, "Are you finished?"

The seeker scowled, "No... no, I'm not..." he shakily leaned back against a wall to catch himself, "but I can't think of anything else to yell about at this moment... Your turn..."

The red mech nodded, "Very well," he turned to Smokescreen, "I will talk to you personally later today. For now, you are confined to your quarters until I send for you."

Smokescreen's optics remained wide and he shook as he saluted quickly, muttering, "Sir," as he rushed off.

Starscream stayed resting against the wall, not bothering to look up as Optimus approached him.

"You are right," the Prime said gently, "about most of this. It may have been easier for you to simply exile yourself from the rest of this war. You could have also eliminated both factions with the pre-knowledge you held of the Iacon relics. In each of these cases, you would most likely have been safe, and yet you decided to forgo both scenarios in favor of aiding our side."

The seeker pouted, "Oh, don't get sympathetic with me. I don't like feelings. They're gross."

Optimus smiled sadly, "You have brought this upon yourself. And since you wish to be upset, it is now my duty as your commanding officer to calm you."

Starscream threw up his servos, "I give. Smack me and send me to my quarters. Or stab me. I'd rather be stabbed than endure this."

"Then my course of action is exactly the kind you need," the red mech chuckled, "If simply talking to you is far more potent than physical punishment, then perhaps it will help you."

The seeker finally looked up, glaring, and Optimus leaned in, quietly murmuring, "I know things have changed. I know this for a solid fact. I have seen it in the Decepticons, those you helped defect, in ourselves, in you. These changes came at a cost and I am sorry for that. I am sorry that fates have decided to bombard you with ailments for every good deed you stand behind," he sighed, "I... have also noticed a change in myself, Starscream. One I am very much wary of."

Starscream frowned and hummed lightly, "Should... I be complimented or...?"

The Prime shook his helm, "I am not certain. Megatron's knowledge of your power has made him turn towards more insane methods of rule. My knowledge of your power has perhaps made me... somewhat more protective."

The seeker shrugged, "Alright, I could understand that... maybe..."

Optimus shuttered his optics, "I was very ready to kill them, Starscream," he confessed, "and it took every fiber of my being not to line up the second shot that would have brought C.Y.L.A.S. down for good. I had to remind myself that you were not yet in their clutches, that I had intervened at the best of times. If I did not have that thought in my helm, if I could not see you would be safe, I would have struck them both down."

Starscream stared, his wings flattening, "You would have... reacted badly to my absence? ... You would have continued to fight back, wouldn't you? You would've gone after them without a plan."

"I am upset with myself to say that I would have acted rashly," Optimus nodded, "What you have done, what you have been through, what I saw you had become in your own helm, does not fairly translate into what you have received. Whatever power you possess has not been enough to protect you and Megatron's blindness to what boundaries you could surpass is only shadowed by his greed to misuse what you could very well have done yourself. And again, Starscream, you did not. As a Prime, I am honored you chose to use these gifts to fight alongside us, alongside me. And as a Prime, I cannot allow the Decepticons even the slightest chance to gain control of what we are all still trying to understand."

The seeker continued to stare then pouted again, "You see? I hate when you talk with me. Feelings, Optimus."

Optimus smiled, "Feelings are powerful on their own, Starscream. For the sake of my team, which includes you, I will keep mine under check. But you must promise to take more care into your own safety. There will be a time and place where Megatron's reign will be ended and that is where I expect you to be. But we cannot risk his army taking hold of you before then."

Starscream waved him off, "Fine... I get it..."

The Prime nodded, "Good. Now, I must go speak with Smokescreen. The pair of you will be on surveillance duty until further notice for your actions earlier today."

As Optimus walked away, a small smile on his faceplates, Starscream squealed in anger, "Surveillance?! I am NOT Soundwave! Prime! PRIME, get back here! OPTIMUS!"