Ch. 160
It took everything Megatron had not to beat the purple mech where he stood. What had his officer done? The beast's introduction onto the ship's flight deck was loud and emphatic; it had been meant to be an expression of strength and power. But to the warlord it was nothing but a display against all of the carefully structured lies and manipulative tactics he had made for his second. His dear...
Megatron glared back at Predaking, who still had yet to move from his spot. Hardshell tentatively approached the beast and the Predacon growled at him, causing the Insecticon to rush back beside C.Y.L.A.S. It was too much. The silver tyrant had to think.
"Shockwave," he growled quietly, "do nothing with your creation until I have come to a decision on its position..." he looked to Predaking once more, huffing gently, "But to say that I am disappointed would be a lie; I am impressed, Shockwave. Had this been in any other situation, I would not hesitate to send Predaking out to destroy our enemies... but I do not have that luxury. So tend to your beast. I will return soon..."
The warlord turned away and entered the lifts, his mind quickly trying to mediate the problems this new arrival created. It didn't take more than a moment's glance to know this beast was a being of brutal strength. It could very effectively destroy the Autobots, wherever they were hiding. But then more problems arose. To send Predaking to find them meant admitting to their state of life. When he was connected to Starscream's mind, Megatron had seen how terrified he was of this monster's power and mercilessness and raw strength and intimidation...
The warlord's mind wandered and when the lifts opened he found his peds taking him to the place he truly wanted to be: in front of the brig cells once more. His optics focused on the seeker he continued to obsess over, the small form of the mech sitting in a tight, shivering ball on the floor. Megatron leaned against the brig door, his faceplates nearly touching the observation glass window as he tried to see Starscream's optics. But the smaller mech was turned away, his expression of what his chassis seemed to portray as 'fear' hidden from the silver tyrant. Something in Megatron found this to be... unacceptable.
Large claws activated the cell door's security pad. The warlord felt his chassis burn with excitement as the door hissed and opened, slipping away. Starscream flinched and curled in tighter as the mech walked in slowly. The air in the room felt like it was alive with burning embers and sparks of electrical fire, the energy making Megatron's armor tingle all the way down to his protoform. He knew where the energy, the power, was coming from. It made his own spark swell and shudder with the knowledge that he was the one who had found and contained this incredible legend... even if he didn't quite have the means to fully control it yet.
A sick, full smile slowly spread upon his faceplates as Megatron heard the door close him in the cell with his second and he stood above the seeker. Neither spoke. The tyrant basked in the energy he knew was being emitted from the smaller form. The charge of this power made Megatron chuckle quietly and he knelt down to sit beside Starscream, holding in a hum as the feeling grew stronger.
The seeker struggled to stop shaking and flinched back when he heard the warlord finally sigh gently, "So you heard it, didn't you?"
Starscream didn't speak so Megatron continued, "Shockwave presented me with a gift today. Though... I'm not yet sure what I shall use it for..."
When the seeker still didn't speak, the warlord took hold of the smaller mech's arm to pull him closer. Starscream shrieked and lashed out, his bound wrists doing nothing against the larger mech that sought to control him. His legs kicked out and Megatron simply ensnared the seeker in his arms to pin him against his side, the contact more important to him than the control.
"Now, my dear Starscream," the warlord smirked, "don't be so rude."
The smaller mech continued to struggle, forcing the warlord to grip his arm tighter and pull him into his lap, "Starscream-"
"What do you want, what MORE do you want from me?!"
Megatron smiled, "I simply wish to talk with you."
"Talk?!" the seeker choked out a sob, "TALK?! You horrible MONSTER! After everything you've done, everything you've taken from me, and now you have that CREATURE-"
The warlord purred and Starscream immediately silenced. So he was fully aware... There was little sense in lying about it all then.
"Yes," Megatron said softly, "I want to talk with you. I miss it. And the fearless comebacks you provided me with recently were refreshing."
"THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT?!"
The warlord had to take hold of Starscream's wrists to stop the smaller mech from scratching him; the fight was still in him and he was enjoying it, "Not entirely. I want my second to advise his master in a very difficult decision. I want you back with me, at my side, my dear Starscream."
The seeker shook his helm and cried out in surprise when Megatron turned his chassis to face him, to face his ongoing nightmare.
"Speak with me," the tyrant sneered, "I can make this transition for you easier than you can imagine... but now I have a beast, a Predacon, awaiting orders I cannot give... so what am I to do with such a creation, my dear Starscream? I cannot simply... send it away, now can I?"
Starscream trembled and shuttered his optics tightly, whimpering quietly when he felt a claw gently wipe away a tear from his faceplates.
"Talk to me, my second. Tell me, what shall I do with this... Predaking."
The seeker's optics snapped open. He hadn't heard or mentioned the name, let alone had the bravery to think it, for almost a year and some months. His intakes became shallow pants as he struggled to control himself. This had been the creature that had killed him, that had intimidated and humiliated him before that and had no qualms about harming him in various fashions. This was the creature that had looked him in the optics, stared into his very spark before killing him... and was most likely the cause of all this... this...
Megatron pulled Starscream further up his chestplate as the smaller mech shuttered his optics again, gently turning his helm by the chin, "This creature... did it harm you, my second?" the seeker refused to open his optics so the warlord leaned down to whisper into his audials, "Did it dare to ever harm you here or there? Did it ever lay a claw upon you, my dear Starscream?"
The smaller mech still didn't respond, too focused on the sound of his short intakes and the feeling that his spark was about to leap from its casing... the sensation of his trembling claws tapping against the electrically charged metal of his captor...
Megatron smirked as he whispered again, "This monster did hurt you, didn't it? And since there are no Autobots for it to hunt and I could not dare to let it roam free... then what shall I do with it, my dear Starscream? Especially since its very name effects you so..."
Starscream clenched his servos tightly. Why was he being forced to even consider such a decision? He didn't want to think, let alone plot the fate, of this creature.
"I can protect you from him," Megatron hissed, "I can take away this pain for you. Would you like me to do that, my dear Starscream? Would you like me to kill... Predaking?"
The smaller mech couldn't stop the small whimper that escaped him. He hadn't even seen the brute yet and just the name alone was still haunting him. Megatron held him close, forcing Starscream's helm to rest under his own.
"Then I shall protect you, my second. I will dispatch of this horrid beast for you. Anything for you, my dear Star-"
"NO!"
The seeker surprised himself and the warlord as he shoved himself upright, his voice found again and his optics wide. He clenched his mouth tightly and studied the amused look on Megatron's faceplates, trying to think as to why he would dare to deny what the larger mech was offering. But maybe it was because of the offer that Starscream refused to accept it. It would be a favor that the warlord would hold over him, something else he could use against him. And, if memory served, the beast had eventually come to hate Megatron. That was a far more positive attribute given the... unfortunate circumstances.
Megatron tsked in a soft fashion, pulling his prisoner back down, "No? After everything this monster seems to have done to you? You are in so much pain. Why will you not allow me to help you?"
Starscream struggled to keep himself upright. He thought quickly, using skills he hadn't needed to since he had become... since he had earned the right to be an Autobot.
"I-" he whimpered, "w-what I mean to say is that killing him serves no purpose."
Megatron's optics began to glow brightly. There was something in his expression that looked primal, almost to the brink of a basic need that urged to be met. Starscream swallowed dryly. The warlord wanted to talk? Then he would talk.
"This... beast," Starscream started again, "has only just arrived. Surely you can find him some position to fulfill. I... thought you were beginning the age of a new empire? And... considering your loss of Dreadwing-"
"Murder," Megatron smirked, "let's not be gentle about it. Though it was in the defense of you, so perhaps 'gentle' is not quite the word to use. 'Necessary' is better... cathartic..." his claws climbed up the left side of the seeker's helm, stopping beside his optic, "To call it a 'gentle murder' really doesn't suit... just like the color in your optics-"
The seeker glared and pulled his helm away, "If you don't like them then stop looking at them."
"I didn't say I didn't like th-"
"My point is," Starscream interrupted, the feeling of confidence starting to aid him, "that if you want what you claim you want, you need the numbers to support it. And right now, they don't..." the smaller mech flicked his wings wide to shove the warlord's arms off him, slipping away, "Now leave. If you want to talk to me again, you had better come prepared with a more sensible topic..."
Megatron hadn't left straight away. He had stayed to watch his nervous silver treasure pace about the cell. The warlord was fascinated with every little quiver in his prey's wings, the tilt in his helm, even the furl in his brows at the frustration of his presence. Slowly, the larger mech had reminded himself; this process had to be done slowly. Folding his second back under his command was a task that demanded patience... But this form of slowly wasn't quite the pace he was on good terms with. So when he returned to the flight deck nearly an hour later to find Shockwave and Predaking where he had left them, the sneer on his faceplates should have been an indication that his decision was of a foreboding demise. It wasn't.
"Shockwave," he chuckled, "it would seem I have found an adequate position for your beast. For now, he is allowed to live upon this ship. He will be tended to accordingly and monitored."
Shockwave nodded at the orders, "I understand, my liege. But if I may ask...?"
"You may."
"What position will my creation take in our cause?"
Megatron walked forward, holding a servo out to Predaking; when the Predacon took a soft whiff and accepted the contact, the warlord sneered, "It would seem my dear Starscream's history with Predaking was a tortured one. He fears this creature with every scrap of his being."
"Then I will assume you will have Predaking stationed away from him."
The warlord laughed, "Not at all! Shockwave, I want it made clear: no physical harm is to come to my dear Starscream. Should you need to train the beast to accomplish this, then do so, for I intend to use Predaking as a guard for my second."
Shockwave's helm visibly moved in an act of disbelief, "... My liege, is it wise-"
"Yes, considering my dear Starscream's reaction to him you might think it an unfair method," Megatron chuckled, "but it is necessary. Predaking terrifies him. To be forced so close to that which creates such a feeling will be unbearable. I need that fear, Shockwave. I need him to be afraid. Because when the fear becomes too much, he will need to turn to someone to save him. And I intend to be waiting very close by..."