Chapter 16: All's Well
A/N: Sorry for the long wait, but my job is fun and demanding :) (Does not involve free money and booze). I had abandoned my own standards and made this chapter slightly longer than the others.
Thought to be the old forgotten veins of Cybertron, the underground sewers pulse beneath the overpopulated surface above them, teeming with metallic life of countless varieties. Charging valiantly to their rendezvous point, a handful of Autobots scuttle furiously on all fours inside narrow tubes of nameless sewers.
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
"Seriously guys, this place is cramping my style!"
"Tracks, just hold on a little longer, okay?"
"No, it's not okay, I-!"
"Can you keep your cans outta my face?"
"Well, I'd never!"
"Shut up, you nancy-bot."
"Screw you, Springer. And who picked your colour scheme, anyway?"
"Your mom," the green triple-changer abruptly stopped, and the yellow Beetle behind him fell into the larger mech's foot. "Tracks, if you don't shut up soon, I'm gonna shove my blaster so far up your exhaust pipe, it's gonna pop out of your flapping yapper...and as for the rest of you females, just keep moving, we're almost there."
"(I don't see why we're doing this anyway...)" mumbled the disgruntled winged car, leaving the remaining troops to think of their comrades' less-than-happy tempers. Bumblebee didn't have to wonder, knowing Tracks cosmopolitan reputation. The red-faced vehicle would have thrown an unnecessary fuss about the 'environmental conditions' of this mission, which jeopardised his 'exemplary uniform'. A few more astroseconds brought the team to join their Autobot brothers and leader, Optimus prime, before the trudge continued, the earth above them shaking at numerous feet tickling its senses.
Whatever plans the Decepticons were conjuring took place right above their heads, having heard the recording by their resident boom box; their jargon was not coded, but the unsettling ambiguity made Optimus Prime fear the worst when he heard the recording. They may be too late to stop what is already taking place, but the Autobots can prevent it from reaching a conclusion. Growing anxieties twist their fuel pumps as they breached the surface, to confirm their fears of...a vicious violet runaway, gilded across the floor.
Luminous crystalline decorations perch menacingly along the walls, above the hungry pews with wide seats, greedily waiting to swallow the next derrière. An unnamed minister halts the preceding in bass vox, reverberating across the room. At least the pacifists of this war were right, in thinking that their apathetic cousins were involved in this operation. A trim entourage of Decepticon loyalists, waxed to the nines and armed to the circuitry, stared vacantly at the intruding Autobots returning the equal gesture.
Both bride and groom shared the same sentiments, at the uninvited guests pouring out of the gaping hole in the floor. Weighed by the unwanted attention on their heads, Sideswipe reverts his pile drivers back to his hands, humbly lowering them in embarrassment.
Interrupting his arch nemesis' wedding ceremony was not on the Optimus Prime's list. The slight beat from impulsive circuitry makes several trigger fingers twitch in anticipation. The lead mech of the ceremony keeps his bride in check, as the female writhes keenly under his clawed grip for the interrupters' sparks. An unintelligent grunt slips out of Megatron, gathering everybody's attention back to the pair to be tied.
"I guess I'll have to extend my invitation to you too, old enemy." The audience watch with optics popped wide at the suggestion, while the silver mech scans the nearest seats, cocking his head in gesture to the latecomers crawling out of the building's framework. "Have a seat."
Amidst the shuffling of Transformer limbs, the viewers outside the Cybertronian drama had already armed themselves, with collected opinions of disdain at the poor portrayal of their characters.
"This rotten show doesn't give us any credit," huffed Gears. "And to think it was directed by an Autobot! Primus forsake him…Guildor, Buildarn, whatever his fragging name is…"
"I'm not that small…" said Bumblebee to himself, a comment heard by Hound, who placed a sympathetic hand on the yellow car's shoulder. The minibot of sunflower hue, seem to have taken the most insult from the show.
"Why am I not in it?" growled Sunstreaker. "My brother's in it…heck, even Tracks got a few lines!"
"Speaking of Tracks, I wonder how he'd react to this-"
"Forget Tracks, what about ME?"
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
"What?" Thundercracker shrugged, refusing to untie his arms across his chest. Time sped by when the civil war toyed with the ageless lives of the Transformers, but during this week old truce, the jet felt this rare moment of peace lull his fighting instincts into a grinding halt. The languid churn of his fuel pump was an alien sound to the soldier, having exploited his in-built talent in countless battles, transforming his enemies into lifeless hulls.
"…You're a Decepticon," Tracks pointed at the obvious blue seeker, leaning against an uninhabited building. The two azure machines held a second long pause, with the Autobot finding his enemy's proximity a little more awkward. The seeker was not fully aware of Track's root of concern. "And? Can a 'con not hang out in the middle of a truce?"
"Not in the middle of the street," reminded Tracks. "You are blocking the human's foot path."
Both Transformers simultaneously switched their view to the congestion, escalating between Thundercracker's feet. "Oh."
"Oh," repeated Tracks.
"Oh, right. Well, I was just watching the fleshlings…wonder between my feet," the Decepticon soldier pushed himself off the building, casually lumbering away from the human traffic to a quieter alley. "Like tiny cyber-ants…'cept they don't walk across your own body…(sheesh, ya' just can't get nowhere with these guys)."
"I heard that," the red-faced Autobot frowned, and Thundercracker ignored his sentiment. "Hey, where's that, erh…you know, that…"
"Blaster?" it was Track's turn to knot his arms across his chassis.
"Yeah, that…that Soundwave lookalike guy," Thundercracker forced out a lethargic grunt.
"I don't think he'd appreciate being compared to your tape player," Tracks replied with added pomposity, and the blue seeker grew a wry grin across his face. "No argument there. Ours is as exciting as beige paint, peeling off the-"
"Hold on a minute-" the blue Autobot answered his blinking communicator. "Tracks here, what's going on Skids?"
"Ahhhh, I, ah…we got a mech-! Two mechs down!" Skids sputtered into the radio link. "Need help directing traffic? …Please?"
"What happened?" Tracks asked, whipping an accusing glance at the Decepticon. Thundercracker pulled his face further, shrugging his palms opened in innocence.
"Well, I, aaaah, I was just driving as usual, and I might have been distracted, but I accidentally knocked into-!" Skids paused with Track's anticipation. "(Don't get mad)…two Decepticons."
The last mention bought Thundercracker's full attention, engrossed with the casualties of the incident who were swearing in the background.
"Slaggin' Autojunk! Ya' coulda' KILLED me!"
"Of all the fraggin' fleshies lining da' street, you gotta hit US!"
"I-! I'm terribly sorry! It was unintentional, I promise you! I was just-"
"We oughta tell Megatron and get this stupid truce ova' with!"
"No! NO, please! I really wasn't looking!"
"Rumble? Frenzy?" Tracks winced at the blue jet breathing down his arm where his communicator lay.
"HEY! …Hey, izzat Thundercrackhead?" the insulted seeker scrunched his face in denial of the undeserving moniker. "Very funny! I oughta ignore you two bozos and leave you at the mercy of the Autobots!"
"Yeah, well we never asked for your help anyway!" shouted one of the Cassetticons.
"YEAH? Then rot and die in your own puny carcasses, you festering rust buckets!" The Autobot warrior finally reclaimed ownership of his arm from Thundercracker's grip, when the bickering between the Decepticons ended. After checking for any spittle thrown at his comm. link, Tracks approached the muttering blue jet.
"(Risher-fraggin' slagholes, oughta' stuff those turkeys inna cannon it and fire those pint-sized sparkling wannabes into a cosmic rust-infested planet-)"
"So, Thundercracker, I heard Megatron's going to make someone his special queen of the Decepticons?" Tracks almost leapt back when Thundercracker stopped his unsparing rambling.
"Huh? Oh, right, Starscream. Yeah, why not," the seeker dropped his rump onto the floor in tireless boredom. "She popped two younglings for the slag-maker, gotta give her credit for that."
"Any of us invited?" Thundercracker turned to find Tracks, waiting for a reaction after the sarcastic tone of question.
"…Yeah. As a matter of fact," the seeker pulled a satisfying smile. "…Yeah."
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
So, this is the part where I wait. Me, Starscream, pride of the Decepticon War Academy, and soon-to-be queen of the Decepticons, dressed in the finest, looking my finest. Even this expensive mirror in front of me can't accentuate my beauty eno-…hey, is that? I can see my own reflection on my arm! …I must be bored. I can imagine the jealous looks on all those females faces when the media announces my union with Megatron. HAH! We saw it coming! Eat your sparks out! …This day is finally happening. Soon, I will be given the same authority and respect that I deserve! I! I! I'm a little scared…(a little)…I'm not scared! I'm NERVOUS! …Erh…
I-…It's finally happening. Megatron's going to take me as his life partner. His mate! We're going to be tied, even if the feelings wane between us in the future. Maybe I'm lucky, being the only Transformer in this whole slagging universe capable of BEARING HIS CREATIONS! Ho-hum. Optimus Prime will bring my child to the ceremony. I can't believe he was invited (damn it, Megatron!) I hope Teratron won't be late. It's not like her but she's been gone for so many days! Daughter, I do need to see you in person, the visual calls aren't enough.
This room is a drag. Could it BE any MORE boring? Yes, let's usher Starscream into THIS! This BIIIIIG yawn fest! Purple and gold? How cliché. By the Pits, even all the serving maids look primed to their generic best! I bet they would faint if I started swearing like a soldier right now! Hee hee…huh…oh, here comes one now. Have you not done your job already? I'm shinier than a pool of cleaning fluid, you prissycon.
"Lady Starscream, would you like more refreshments?"
Any more refreshments, and Megatron would be marrying a fat drunkard. "There is enough, thank you."
Big smile, happy face. I bet she sees herself in my teeth. At least people can say I am pretty and urbane. Okay. one stellar cycle ago, I was sent to Cybertron to get myself measured so they can tailor my very own regal gown including that detachable hood (hmm, good). Then, today, I had to fly back, finish off my duties before flying back again to wear my cloak and make some final adjustments! (Maybe I shouldn't have made Megatron wait for…fifteen years? Ah, that's pretty short. THEN, I was carted off again (again), to a beauty salon to be thoroughly cleaned by some hygiene professionals, who stuck their fingers where they shouldn't have! My body is a temple! After being molested by those neurotic freaks, I finally arrive in this place which I shall call 'Fragging Boring', and have these females take out my cloak to have it WEAR me, while I wait for Megatron to arrive!
A very humbling experience, I must say.
I have officially run out of those star-shaped energon goodies. They are the nicest. Oh, where is my silver lord going to come on his triple-changing shuttle-steed? Oh, where, where, WHERE?
"My lady, are you excited-?"
Holy SLAG she came out of nowhere! Why didn't I notice her? There are so many mirrors here! "E-excited? About being tied?"
I'm slagging riveted-
"Lord Megatron will be arriving soon, according to Decepticon customs,"
A-what? Customs? We have wedding customs? "Oh? Does it involve this much waiting?"
Oh slag, this one giggles. Tee-hee, you tittering bimbo. Wait. I thought we were told what to do at the ceremony itself. I don't remember being taught or told about the waiting. I guess it depends on where you were born, and-oh, right, Shockwave left me this datapad to-….ohhh. So THIS is what Megatron's going to follow too? Pppshaw! Hah! Okay, might as well browse through this customary drivel. Let's see, bride get's pimped, la-de-da-de-da, ah. 'The groom is to pick up his bride when she is ready.' She has been ready for breems. 'Or he may attempt to enter her bridal chamber(s) with or without her permission, before or after she is ready for the ceremony. Any attempts in doing so will be stopped by the bride's friends or relatives-'
What's that sound-? BY THE INFERNO!
Introduced by the loud explosion, Megatron ushers himself into the room through a newly made, gaping hole in the wall. Some of the troops who are more inclined to Starscream, mix themselves with the debris behind the tyrant, save for an exception. Hanging precariously onto his leader's foot with broken fingers, Skywarp mimics a piece of unwanted toilet paper trailing along the floor.
"S-sorry, 'Screamer…(owwww, my achin' ev'rything)…" groaned the purple seeker, before crumbling into emergency stasis lock. Relieving his foot of the soldier, Megatron turns in recognisable sneer to his bride. "…Is that all you've got?"
When the aerial commander thought the unnecessary hubbub was over, the female servants who lined the room in perfect obedience, immediately swapped their submissive demeanour to systematically maul their leader. Watching her living shields scramble over her future husband, Starscream's muted gaze accompanied the livid confusion playing in front of her.
"Run, my lady, don't let our lord catch you!" screamed a courageous female in the midst. Not one to be bested by a swarm of limbs, Megatron swung his own, easily tossing the ladies off his broad carriage like bothersome flies. After fending off the femme cons, the silver tyrant marches straight to Starscream, maintaining his groomed magnificence despite the malapropos groping.
"You're looking handsomer than usual…?" Starscream croaks in meek defence, but Megatron has no words to offer. She couldn't even draw circles with her heels, when her leader snatched her from the ground, and flung her over his shoulders in one dramatic sweep.
"Wha-? STOP! I can walk-! Don't carry me like this, it's-!" Caught in the heat of the hubbub, the red seeker shrieks again when her abductor lifts her off his shoulder, to throw her into his arms.
"(Ah…we've lost…)" A small limb reaches for Megatron walking out with his animated prize, and the mech gladly kicks the last offending arm out of his path. After boarding Astrotrain with their dignity still intact, the couple wait as the shuttle makes his way to the wedding reception.
"…I didn't know we had such strange customs…" the femme con clipped her vocaliser shut when Megatron let out a boorish grunt.
"What a load of nonsense," he huffed, curling a good arm around his consort. "…Still, I got what I wanted."
"Megatron…" the aforementioned mech turned to look at Starscream. "What you did back there-"
"Save your nagging for later, Starscream. I don't care for-" Megatron softened his tone, when his optics followed the slim blue finger touching his chin.
"…What YOU did back there got me all excited…" as Starscream's words trail off with obvious suggestions, both Decepticons felt the mood change for the better. If Megatron was not going to take the initiative, the femme con's whispers would lead him to the right direction. "(This is the last time you're going to see me, before I become your life partner…how about a parting gift to your lover?)"
"Damn, 'con, took quite the pounding…" the violet F-15 followed shakily next to Astrotrain. Usually one to complain about uninteresting tasks or the lack of fuel, Skywarp thought the shuttle had turned mute in the past astrosecond. Listening to the larger engines hum a cautious tune, the curious jet suddenly felt the need to discuss Astrotrain's lack of buoyancy in conduct.
"Hey, Astrotrain. What's, ah…what's goin' on in there?" the lack of response made Skywarp an elated jet. "…Is Megatron and Starscream, you know…"
"(…They're all right)," mumbled Astrotrain, who almost flew to a slow stop when the seeker glided closer with his mischievous probing.
"…Ya' sure?" asked Skywarp, voice dribbling in feigned concern. "'Cause you've been flying a lot slower and…well…(you're whispering)."
"(…Go away)." A fizzled hiss ended their radio link, but Skywarp always had healthy vocal chords ready.
"…What are they doiiiiiing…?"
"(None of your cyber-beeswax.)" Astrotrain's voice betrayed his nervousness. 'Bingo!' thought Skywarp.
"(Are they making sparks-?)"
"(-NO! Shut up, you purple malfunction!)"
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
"(The prodigal son returns…)" Arranging the violet cloth running across her breast, Teratron brings her gaze to the red truck coming to a halt. Flanking Optimus Prime's trailer were a handful of trusted Autobots, including Jazz, Hound, Skyfire and the Lamborghini twins, cautiously eyed by the rest of the Decepticons waiting in front of the designated structure. When all automobiles and one interstellar jet slowed their pace, Prime opened his trailer to let the awaited creation flit out, and circle the premises in his pristine form. Teratron's dead gaze soon brought Coldshock to a sober stop, and he floated back down to his sister, who placed an identical sash across his frame.
"Where's mummy…?" Coldshock tugged at the unwanted attire in disagreement, avoiding Teratron's countenance. "I thought she'd be here!"
"She's arriving soon." Teratron stated flatly, and turned to the Autobot leader with equal care. "Hello, Optimus Prime. We did not think you would be coming-"
"SHE'S MARRYING MY SUPER-POWERFULLEST DAD!" Coldshock shouted vehemently.
"…Hello, Teratron," the Autobot leader felt minute palms press against his leg, which belonged to the sparkling taking comfort behind the larger mech's leg. The other Autobots held a respectful silence, quietly pondered the Decepticon siblings' detachment, as their leader addressed the femme con. "I hope Megatron won't forget the truce, now that Coldshock is here."
"The Autobots may remain unharmed among the Decepticons, until the end of the solar cycle," stated Teratron, and she cocked her chin to the sky. "They arrive."
Pass the triangular armed salutes raised by the Decepticons present, Starscream quickly abandoned all formalities in a brusque pace, and shot herself to the olive-painted sparkling, loitering innocently beside Optimus Prime. In a choreographed swing, the seeker scooped her child into possession, and savoured the bittersweet joy of having Coldshock securely against her body once more. A casual thought reminded the aerial commander of a proper response, to having her creation cared for by her enemies, and Starscream gave a choleric sneer to Optimus Prime; having satisfied herself, the red seeker glided back to Megatron's side, momentarily standing with a lack of a bride. Teratron stood unnoticed, witnessing both leaders meet and engage in small talk, without a healthy dose of laser fire.
"Welcome, Optimus Prime," stated Megatron.
"Megatron, Lady Starscream," Optimus Prime greeted the couple to be wed, in simulated cavalier alike the silver mech. "The day has finally come, and we've all been waiting."
"You won't be disappointed, I assure you," the Decepticon lord's words started to trail off to another thought. "How's Elita-1? Healthy, I presume?"
"She's doing fine," Optimus nodded to the last time he saw his partner. "Well, Megatron, I'm not going to keep you any longer. Shall we?"
"Of course." On utterance of these words, the crowd was ushered into a customary building, where Megatron was to wed his acerbic seeker.
'What was the point of inviting Prime, other than the lovely chit-chat,' Starscream sent her thoughts about the groom's choice of guests, through their private comm. link. 'Coldshock could be delivered here without them'
'With Prime here, no Autobot would risk jeopardising his safety,' scolded Megatron. 'And…I wanted to show off my beautiful bride.'
'Megatron-!'
'-So stop bitching.'
'Bastard!'
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
The silent crowd concentrated all their functioning receptors to the ceremony, as the humble minister presents the couples vows in a voice of clear modesty. The hall was decorated according to preferred tradition, leaning towards practicality than luxury, but Starscream kept a respectful silence to her leader, standing unmoved by his great stature. When the minister cited their cue, the couple produced a smaller band from their attire, to tie each others arms in a symbolic union of their coupling. The larger of the two gently picked up the sky-blue hand in his own, entwining the lavender cloth around the slim arm, as Starscream did the same to her partner. She waited for her lord to tighten the finishing knot of his own before she continued, delicately spinning loops with lithe fingers, in contrast to the combat weathered arm of her mate.
All mechs below the platform absorbed the reverie playing out before them; Megatron, the slag-maker, joining his back-stabbing, second-in-command in a traditional civilised union, and the female displaying an unseen femininity, reflected and multiplied against all optics within the hall. Accompanying the regal cloth was an eternal patience, cloaking her sinewy frame from crown to thrusters. Graced upon the femme con's countenance was an expression flushed in bashful pride, her optics flickering to each beat of her fuel pump. Her carriage retires her egotistic pose to a more demurring fashion, matching social expectations of a bride, only to shock the onlookers with a different person standing above the crowd: is this the real Starscream, or did Megatron dispose and replace the shrewd female, with an appealing model of society?
Have they confused her with another conformist Transformer, or is it another mask from Starscream's well of falsehood, freshly painted for the universe to see? Who would know better than the only mech she has shared her weaknesses with. Megatron was an artist with her mistakes, wantonly spraying them across the canvas of flaunting judgement, and he understood the female seeker's mode of conduct, like a fish understanding the need for water. Despite knowing this experience played across many planets in colourful varieties, being tied was ultimately new to Starscream, under scrutiny by a majority older than her standing in age.
'You're not going to run, are you? It would be devastatingly hilarious for the crowd.'
Starscream almost jolted from the dark voice arresting her internal machinery, and looked at its owner standing in front of her. Aside from the minister, halfway through his grandiloquent speech of Megatron's incomparable greatness, no one else spoke during the procession except for Coldshock, sharing his hushed comments with Optimus Prime. Comprehending the question placed Starscream in an embarrassing position, even if it was between the couple, and the red seeker tucked herself between her leader's arms, to button the shame spreading across her face.
'Don't tease me, Megatron,' Straightening her stance, Starscream locked them both in a transfixed gaze, as she received her own crown floating towards her helmet. 'Or I just might take flight.'
A confident grin pinched Megatron's face when he heard her reply, straightening his smile when they faced the crowd, and the minister announced their status. "With Primus as their witness, Lord Megatron takes Lady Starscream as his new life partner and queen, to stay by his side with staunch faith for our leader. ALL HAIL LORD MEGATRON AND LADY STARSCREAM!"
Boisterous cheers erupted from the masses below, prompting a fleeting thought from the aspen tyrant to his newly acquired wife. 'The minister forgot to mention!'
'Mention what, my liege?'
'That the female has finally been domesticated!'
'You're going to the Inferno for that, you stupid brute!'
'Aren't we all. Smile, Starscream, they're looking.' Steel hands clapped with energetic cheers to the union in front of them, as the couple waved to acknowledge their merriment.
'Other than THAT stinking snippet of an opinion, the overall ceremony was…nice.'
'See, it wasn't so bad, now, was it? We should have been tied eons ago,' reminded Megatron.
'Can't a girl be careful, cannon lover?'
'Ah, what sweet words my wench has to offer me. Like salty mead, squeezed from the excess waste found on organic planets.' Starscream's lip twitched at the fleeting thought of Earth, and it's moisture leaking inhabitants.
'…Charming. Don't hate me for saying this, Megatron, but in this perfect moment-'
'Don't say it-' Megatron curtly cut her message short, and Starscream mentally huffed at her lord. '…What can go wrong, mighty Megatron-?'
A audible thud was heard after a solid piece of metal fell from the ceiling, and onto Blitzwing's now misshapen head.
'…Starscream, I hate you-!'
A thunderous explosion cut into their audio receptors, before the floor swallowed the Transformers whole. Those with the ability to fly were not given allowance, as the rest of the roof followed through, and everyone disappeared into the darkness beyond the earth.
A/N: It's not over yet! 'Made this chapter was extra long. As for the word 'tied', if anyone didn't catch on yet, it's a non-canonical term referring to two Transformers getting wed. Thank you for your reviews and your patronage!