-1Who here thinks Starscream just dug his own grave?
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Starscream's mocking laughter filled her ears and she looked up at him, horror draining away into rage that dwarfed even the towering fury that had first transformed her on that day so long ago. This time it wasn't just her highlights that came to life, it was her whole body. That blue lightning crackled up and down every inch of her, forming a shimmering halo that her armor's sheen doubled. "Bad move," she said as she slowly stood, setting Rumble's seemingly lifeless body down with all the tender care of a new mother laying her newborn baby in its cradle. Not just one but a good dozen tendrils of blue electricity ripped free from the churning mass that sizzled along every inch of her to circle around Starscream, forming a globe around him, imprisoning him where he stood. A similar fate befell the other three jets, but that didn't matter to her since her target was Starscream himself. Enraged to the point of actually growling out loud, she stomped closer to him.
"You shouldn't have done that," she snarled. The look of fear in his eyes pleased her greatly. "You thought doing that would hand you victory. Well, you were wrong, since that act is about to hand you defeat… no, death!" She walked closer to him and he struggled against her power as the tendrils of electricity encircling him snaked inward to restrain him in the manner of chains. "This… this can't be! The Shard I found… I'm supposed to be immune to your power!" She smirked, an act that reminded him of himself. "You've forgotten what the All Spark is… what I am. It is… and I am… Life itself." He was helpless before her again, just as he had been on that day so long ago… "This power gave you the gift of life, Starscream… Did you ever bother to think that maybe, just maybe, it could also take that gift back?" Raising one hand, she made a slow, languid beckoning motion and Starscream abruptly shuddered in agony. It felt as though his very life force was trying to wrench its way out of his body! And no wonder, in his dazed mind, since she was beckoning… "Life is a gift you should never have been given!" She made that gesture again and this time he screamed as his spark lurched forward in his chest, seemingly beating itself against the walls of his spark chamber like a caged animal…
"Sarah, stop! Don't do it!" Starscream momentarily forgotten, she turned to face the one who had spoken. "…Megatron?" The sheer irony of the situation would have been laughable had things not been so tense. He'd spent eons being the Angel of Death for millions if not billions of innocents, and now he was pleading with her to spare a life. "Don't kill him, Sarah," he repeated urgently. "Don't lower yourself to his level. You're an Autobot, Sarah. You're better than this." She paused, surprised at herself. She'd seen the pain his deeds had caused him, had witnessed for herself the sheer monstrous guilt he felt, and now she was about to do as he had done, to take her first step down that dark path? "You deserve to die, Starscream." The electricity surrounding her and her victim abruptly died, dropping Starscream to land on his face like a ton of bricks, too weak to even move. The other jets experienced the same. Though she hadn't almost ripped their sparks out, she'd drained their energy as well, and none of them could stand up. "But I'm not going to go that far. You're not worth my time… even to end your life."
Turning, she walked back to where Rumble lay. He hadn't budged an inch. Picking him up, she cradled his little body in her arms and held him close. He'd been her little buddy, more than her first creation, a friend, almost like a son to her… He saved her, but in doing so he… he… Had she been human, she would have wept. It was half past unbelievable to think that she would never again hear his squeaky little voice, would never again see him racing around, so full of spunk, so vibrant and alive…
The last thing she expected was to feel her hug being returned, and to hear the one she held speak up. "Human girl not be sad… Rumble not die." She almost dropped him in her shock, laughing in sheer joy. "Oh, you little rascal!" Catching himself on her armor, he scrambled right back into her arms. If it had been possible for an Autobot to purr, he would have been doing just that. "I thought… I thought he…" He hopped on to her shoulder like he usually did when she was in that form and needed a friend. "Rumble just hurt… Just a little." Recovering, she turned to check on Barricade. He was still in pretty bad shape, but he was able to travel. "I owe you for this, girl…"
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What, did you really think I would kill him off?