Ch. 237

Breakdown pulled Knockout back as the red mech dove for the beeping COMM button at the command deck console, the smaller mech growling as his servos simply lacked the distance needed to activate the unit.

"Get off! Me first, I want to talk to them first!"

Breakdown smirked, turning away and leaning back with the mech in a one-armed grasp, and sighed, "Too easy, doc. Looks like I get to talk to them first."

"Like SLAG you do!"

Knockout struggled and threw his weight back to throw the larger mech off balance. As the two grappled, hissing and muttering small, yet meaningless, curses, Ultra Magnus walked passed them and pressed the button himself.

"Optimus, sir," the blue mech addressed, "have the two of you found a safe place for encampment?"

Knockout and Breakdown froze as the Prime's deep voice answered, "For now, Ultra Magnus, we have. Status report?"

Magnus glanced back at the two entwined mechs behind him, "... The troops are restless, sir. We are hoping for Starscream's recovery to be a quick one... though we know that will most likely not be the case."

"Hm, yes, I see..." Optimus responded, "What is the status of the Ark?"

Knockout slid himself out from Breakdown's hold and rushed to the console, "Knockout here, Big O!" he purred cheerfully, "Yeah, the ship's still bobbing up and down in polychaete soup, but Soundwave's working on it! Soooo... how's Psychic?"

Optimus didn't respond for a moment, the silence unnerving the three mechs awaiting the answer, "He will be fine. Starscream is currently busying himself-"

"Hey, can you put him on the line?" Knockout interrupted, "Can we talk to him?"

"I am afraid he does not wish to speak over the COMM at this time, Knockout."

The red mech frowned, "What? Are you sure? Can't you ask him?"

"Hey, Optimus," Breakdown called out as he came up behind the medic.

"Hello, Breakdown," Optimus called back, "And yes, Knockout, I am sure. Starscream will contact you when he is ready-"

"Optimus!" came a loud shriek at the other end of the line, "Why didn't you tell me- how long has it been like this?!"

Optimus sighed softly, "I am afraid I must cut this short. I can assure you now, despite the volume with which Starscream is addressing me-"

"Optimus-slagging-Prime, you get over here right now and talk to me THIS INSTANT!"

"-he is very much fine, if a bit theatrical."

"TheATRICAL?!" came a loud squawk, "Don't you DARE describe ME as THEATRICAL!"

"I must go," Optimus concluded, "but I will check in again should the need to do so arise."

The Prime turned off his COMM, turning to look at the irate red and white seeker glaring back, "Is something wrong, Starscream?"

Starscream's optics widened and his wings flared, "Is something WRONG?!" he stomped his sharp peds into the pebble beach laid out before him beside a wide and misty lake, "I had to look into the water to see THIS!"

Optimus followed the smaller mech, staring at the reflections that watched them back, "... I see no problem with the water-"

"How long has that STUPID yellow ring been back in my optic?!" Starscream snarled, "Cause Primus knows, it's only supposed to show up after I use that STUPID power-" he gasped loudly, "Oh, FRAG, have I been walking around looking like a slagging IDIOT this whole time?! Since that incident in the-"

"Starscream," Optimus gently took hold of the smaller mech's shoulders, turning him to face him, "yes. The ring has been in your left optic since you left Brainstorm's lab. But there is no reason to show it such disdain. It is a part of you; how is it you, or anyone else, could treat it and yourself with such contempt?"

The seeker grumbled, grimacing as he cast his gaze away, "You know why..."

The Prime shook his helm, "Using Ratchet's outburst is not fair to either of you. And you need to respect yourself more. Neither your optic's physical manifestation nor your power is 'stupid'. And you have not been walking around looking like-"

"I feel like an idiot..."

Optimus sighed, "You are not... We will work on this while we are here..."

Starscream gently pulled back, avoiding the water's reflective gaze as he turned away, "Yes, and how is all that supposed to work?"

"We will spend a lot of time talking," Optimus admitted, "though, sometimes, we may not say anything at all. There will be things I will need to tell you, that you will need to listen to and apply as needed, and there will be things you will come to realize on your own."

"And you," the seeker turned back, poking a blue claw gently against the taller mech's chest plate, "you'll be working on not blaming yourself for so much?"

"This time has been set aside for-"

"Both of us," Starscream stopped him, "because I swear to Primus, you need just as much help not killing yourself over my pain and suffering as I need to... work through my pain and suffering..."

Optimus nodded lightly, "This is the conclusion you have come to?"

"Haven't you?"

The Prime nodded more firmly, "... Yes. There is much that needs to be addressed and changed should the two of us wish to feel better."

Starscream gave a curt smile, "Oh good, we find ourselves finally agreeing on something..."

The red and white mech carefully traced his way back through the grooves he'd already made in the pebble beach, grateful his peds had compacted the minerals better for him to walk back on. The pair were somewhere in the vast wildernesses of this chaotic planet, with towering mountains surrounding them while evergreens began to bend and bow at the slight hint of winter approaching on exhaled intakes. The frost and snow would soon weigh these branches down. Starscream could tell, despite the warming noon sun beginning to burn off the mist from the lake, that nights outside were aiming to be cold.

"Um... Optimus," the seeker tapped his claws together nervously, "this area you've chosen for camp..." he gestured around them, at the wide expanse of grass encircled by boulders and trees beyond that, "being as close to the lake as it is, aren't you concerned about the drop in temperatures?"

The larger mech smiled, "For now, I am not. Ultra Magnus and I packed the trailer with things we can use in the event of emergencies."

"... Including basic medical kits?"

Optimus's optics cycled in slow blinks, "Of course. What would you need one for?"

Starscream pointed at his left optic as though it were an obvious answer, "And if you won't help me- move," he walked passed the Prime to get to the trailer, "I can do it myself. This blemish is not being worn as a badge of honor."

Optimus watched the seeker sadly and knelt beside him as long, lithe digits searched through piles of stocked energon cubes and other supplies, "Starscream, please," he asked gently, "can you not accept my word that the ring in your optic is nothing to be ashamed of?"

"Ashamed?" Starscream scoffed, only pausing to frown at his companion, "How dare you. I'm not ashamed of it. I'm..."

He trailed off, turning back to reach in farther and allow his upper frame to be engulfed by the trailer.

Optimus peeked into the trailer after him, "Then what is the word you would use to describe your feelings towards it? If not ashamed of it, then why are you looking to hide or remove it?"

Starscream muttered something as he slipped, struggling to wiggle his way back out, "Optimus," he huffed, "Prime. Oh great and understanding one who... apparently understands very little about this..." the seeker emerged and he sighed softly, a med kit clutched in his servo, "This ring is a terrible thing. It makes everyone uncomfortable," he stated simply, setting the kit down delicately so he could open it, "So, to avoid this uncomfortable feeling, I need to remove this reminder of how incredibly dangerous I am."

Optimus moved only slightly, a painful twinge in his chest plate causing the minor flinch, "You feel it marks you? And reminds them only of everything horrible that has happened?"

Starscream didn't respond. Instead, he continued to dig through the very basic kit, his optics cast down and his faceplates holding little emotion as he tried to keep a tight focus on the task at hand. His chassis stiffened as Optimus set a servo over his claws.

"Starscream, this ring may not be something common or well known, but it has hurt no one. It is not a reminder to anyone of how hard the journey has been to find ourselves here."

"... Ratchet-"

"He is not here. He is on the Ark. Do you know why no one made mention of the mark in your optic? Because no one noticed. Their focus was on you."

The seeker slowly slid his servos free from the Prime's grasp, carefully wrapping his arms around himself, "Their focus was on the fact that we were leaving."

Optimus shook his helm, "Our team has wanted nothing more than to see you happy again. They have worried since you were taken that you would be harmed. This ability you have as an outlier does nothing to taint who you have become as an individual, Starscream. The mark in your optic is just another part of you."

The seeker said nothing. He kept his gaze away so he wouldn't have to look at the mech beside him. Optimus took the opportunity to slide the med kit back into his possession and seal it shut.

"... I am also the only other bot here, Starscream. I feel no discomfort with the mark in your optic. So please," the Prime set the med kit back into the trailer, "allow yourself to relax and feel no judgement here. My only concern is for you to find some peace. There is nothing remotely problematic with how you look. Do not stress to find ways to change or hide it. You do not deserve to use such a brand of self deprecation."

Starscream grumbled. He hated-and he meant this in the exact reversal of the word-when Optimus was so right about these things. It didn't alleviate all of the weight from inside his chest, but it helped. Greatly. And the seeker sighed as he released the tight grip he had around himself.

"Fine... alright, Optimus," he murmured; he turned his helm up to let the sun warm his faceplates before sighing audibly, "Because it's only like you to take me somewhere like this because of something here that you like... where are we going from here then?"