Past
Cybertron-Iacon
"My friend works as a data clerk," Jazz explained as they walked through the hall of records. Jazz walked over to an older looking bot, "Alpha Trion, is Orion Pax here?" The bot, Alpha Trion, looked up and nodded.
"He's were he normally is," the clerk answered, as his optics shifted to Starscream and Ratchet. Jazz nodded and walked past him, Starscream and Ratchet following him. Alpha Trion watched as they left, and looked down at his desk, optics closing his optics.
Something seemed familiar about those two.
Jazz lead them down a hall in silence. Ratchet and Starscream slowed their pace so they could speak, "Who was that?" Starscream whispered. Ratchet frowned, thinking hard.
"Alpha Trion," he whispered back, "He's the Archivist of Iacon. One of the oldest Transformers," Starscream nodded slowly, "You know what's weird? We haven't seen Optimus or Arcee or Bulkhead. It's strange," Starscream nodded slowly.
"Maybe they're not in Iacon?" Jazz looked over his shoulder.
"What's the secret?" he asked, waiting for them to catch up.
"Nothing," Ratchet said, and they began walking again, "What's the name of your friend? If you don't mind me asking," Ratchet added quickly. Jazz smiled.
"His name's Orion Pax. Quiet bot, but he's very intelligent," Jazz said, as they walked into a work station. A bot was tapped into the Communications Grid, and therefore did not notice the three bots enter his work space. Ratchet's optics went wide.
Optimus Prime.
Starscream saw the look on Ratchet's facial plating and turned his head towards the bot at the desk. Jazz walked over to him, and placed a hand on his shoulder. The bot looked up, and smiled at him, "Take a break Orion. I got some bots here I want you to meet," The bot stood up, and Starscream saw that Ratchet was shocked. He didn't know what to say to him.
Jazz motioned to Ratchet and Starscream, "Orion, this is Ravage and Shockstorm," Orion looked at them and smiled.
"Nice to meet you," he said, shaking their hands. Ratchet numbly shook his hand, and suddenly it dawned on Starscream who Orion was.
Orion Pax was Optimus Prime. It made sense why Ratchet was shocked.
Jazz placed an arm around Orion and began telling him about the gladiator match while Starscream walked over to Ratchet, "That's Optimus," he whispered to the medic, and Ratchet nodded his helm, "I never thought that Optimus would be a data clerk," he said, crossing his arms, "It makes me wonder what everyone else was before.
"Arcee and Bumblebee were being trained for scouts I'm pretty sure," Ratchet said, tapping his chin, "Bulkhead was with the Wreckers, and I was a medic-in-training," Starscream nodded, then turned his attention to Jazz and Orion.
"Where are you two staying?" Orion asked.
"Nowhere at the moment," Ratchet said, finally getting over his shock. Jazz and Orion exchanged glances.
"Well, we were talking, and you're welcome to stay with me," Orion said. Ratchet smiled at him.
"Thank you very much Op...Orion," Starscream smiled as well, but in his spark he knew he wanted to go see something.
Starscream transformed and landed on the ground. It was now night as Raf and the others called it on Earth. Ratchet and Orion had dozed off back at Orion's place, but Starscream had snuck out. He knew what day it was, and he wanted to see something.
Starscream saw the blue motorcycle pull up to the tree, and watched as she transformed. Starscream was in awe of how magnificent she looked. She leaned against the tree, and Starscream saw her jump. He chuckled, and saw his younger self appear from behind the tree, no weapon drawn. He saw Arcee lower hers, and knew that they were talking.
Starscream sat down as he watched them sit down, and lean against the tree, and began talking. He saw himself put his arm around Arcee and she leaned against him. Starscream smiled, feeling the warmth in his spark. He saw Arcee tilt her helm back, and heard her laughing. He saw himself smile at this, and he knew what he had said.
"You have a nice laugh," Starscream whispered, and saw Arcee look away, obviously embarrassed. Starscream smiled at this thought.
He missed Arcee so much.
Your words to me just a whisper
Your face is so unclear
Starscream saw that he was explaining his work to her, using his hands to speak as he always did. She began laughing at him, and he pretended to get upset.
I try to pay attention
Your words just disappear
Starscream watched them as Arcee stood up, and Starscream followed. They were still talking, and Starscream had placed an arm around her, holding her close.
'Cause it's always raining in my head
Forget all the things I should have said
"Walking down memory lane?" Starscream turned around and saw Ratchet standing behind him. Starscream chuckled, and turned back to the scene before them.
"Yeah, a little," Ratchet walked up to him, and sat down as well.
So I speak to you in riddles
'Cause my words get in my way.
I smoke the whole thing to my head
And feel it wash away
"You miss her, don't you?" Ratchet asked after a while. He was also watching Starscream and Arcee together, as he had never seen this side to Arcee before. Starscream nodded.
"I'm so worried about her," Starscream admitted, "It doesn't help that Megatron could possibly fix the time machine and we're stuck here. Who knows how long we'll be here for?" Ratchet saw Arcee kiss Starscream on the cheek.
'Cause I can't take anymore of this,
I wanna come apart,
or dig myself a little hole
Inside your precious heart
"Well, let's just wait and see how things play out," Ratchet said. Starscream looked over at him, and saw his optics were sad. Starscream placed a hand on Ratchet's shoulder, and squeezed it.
'Cause it's always raining in my head
Forget all the things I should have said
I am nothing more than
A little boy inside
That cries out for attention,
Yet I always try to hide
Starscream and Arcee went their separate ways, the Seeker disappearing into the sky. Ratchet saw Arcee watching him, and she transformed, and drove back the way she came, "Come on. It might be suspicious to Opt... Orion if we're not there," Starscream nodded, and they stood up.
'Cause I talk to you like children,
Though I don't know how I feel
But I know I'll do the right thing
If the right thing is revealed.
'Cause it's always raining in my head
Forget all the things I should have said
The song used in this chapter is Epiphany by Staind.