Chapter 9: Broken Chances
Starscream decided to stay up all night looking for the allies hiding around and tell them that Shockwave, Soundwave and more reinforcments will be moving in soon. Starscream didn't mind staying up all night. As a kid, he always snuck out of the house to fly high into the sky. It was just what he loved to do. But as he grew up he started to become lazy. He only flew if he had nothing else to do.
"To any resistance fighters in Tyger Pax, this is Starscream. I am to tell you that the rest of our army will be arriving tomorrow. Repeat, the rest of our army will be arriving tomorrow." Starscream sent the message to all the rebels.
Starscream was pleased with himself. But besides sending a message, he still needed to locate them. Thanks to the ally tracker in his arm, he could fly over the city and locate them easily. Back at the military base...Thunderwing was raging.
"ARGH! HOW DARE THAT SEEKER THINK HE CAN PULL A FAST ONE ON ME! ME! THUNDERWING!" Thunderwing roared so loud his soilders had stopped training to look at him.
He clenched his fists so hard his claws began to pierce through his palm. He felt it was only a matter of time before the rebels begin to invade the base to start a battle. No. He was going to have Soundwave's power, then all the power from the other planets. But first he needed to get rid of the other commander. He had heard recently that the other commander has been acting strangely. Mabye he had switched to the rebel side. Thunderwing was not going to let that happen anytime soon. The other commander sat in his office facing the wall seemingly thinking. It was extremely quiet and peaceful. But the peace was about to be broken when he heard the door open slowly with a creak. The mech said nothing and just stared at the wall knowing exactly who it was. He could hear a gun cock and nearly touch the back of his head. The mech sighed.
"Do what you must...but know that Soundwave will defeat you..." The commander sneered.
Thunderwing curled his claw over the tripper and bared his fangs. From outside the room, a loud bang and a flash of light was made. But surprisingly, Thunderwing purposely missed and shot the wall. The commander remained facing the wall as Thunderwing came closer and whispered into his audios.
"You're as good as gone soon. But not just yet." Thunderwing purred before backing up.
The mech listened as Thunderwing left and slammed the door hard enough for a few things to fall off the walls. The mech sighed and leaned back in his chair. Thunderwing left the base again planning on finding Starscream. Said mech had just finished receiving information from their allies and how they had planned to attack the base.
"Excellent, I'll be sure to tell Shockwave." Starscream nodded as he finished meeting up with another group of rebels.
Starscream had been nearly around the whole town and wasn't even tired. Suddenly, he could see two bounty hunters discussing something by a closed store. Starscream extended his claws knowing this was a perfect opportunity. He walked right up behind them and cleared his throat.
"Ahem, excuse me gentlemen." Starscream said with a low tone.
As soon as the hunters turned around, Starscream punched one of them and then stabbed the other one through the chest killing him. Without warning the other hunter swung a fist but Starscream blocked it and killed him the same way.
"HAH! Never underestimate the power of Starscream!" The seeker cheered to no one in particular.
He was too busy praising himself to notice a figure with red glowing optics behind him. The mech began to growl getting Screamer's attention. Starscream turned around ready to brag when he realized who he was standing in front of. He jumped back upon seeing Thunderwing who had his arms crossed.
"AAAHHH! Oh, Thunderwing it's you. I thought you went back to base." Starscream nervously chuckled. "How funny that we happened to be meeting again."
Thunderwing said nothing and looked down at the hunters.
"Oh uh...hehe, you saw that I killed these hunters...who are against the rebels...hehehe...YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND THEY WERE ATTACKING ME!" Starscream lied.
Thunderwing kept the same threatening face and said nothing. Starscream knew this mech looked more scary when standing up. Starscream tried to find another excuse.
"Thunderwing, I'm on your side. Like I would ever-"
"DO YOU THINK I'M STUPID?" Thunderwing snarled.
"Uh...I never said that." Starscream studdered as his wings drooped and he fiddled with his claws.
"DON'T TAKE ME FOR A FOOL STARSCREAM. I KNOW YOU'RE WITH THE REBELS!" Thunderwing roared backing Screamer up into an alley beside the store.
"I know this looks bad. But I swear I didn't want to be part of them at first." Starscream kept lying.
Thunderwing bared his fangs and flexed his claws in annoyance.
"I mean, why would I go against someone like you? Look at you! You're bigger, buffer, smarter and more menacing than me. I don't know Soundwave like a friend at all. I don't!" Starscream said.
"Oh really, then why did I find a picture of YOU WITH THEM?" Thunderwing took out the photo and literally shoved it in his face.
Starscream took it off his face and looked closely. There he was in the photo wondering why Soundwave and Bumblebee were making funny faces. Starscream's spark started to grow cold knowing death was just around the corner. He dropped the photo as his claws shook with fear.
"T-this can't prove I know them. I just saw them!" Starscream said.
Thunderwing let out a loud growl making Starscream jump back but slamming into a wall. He realized it was a dead end. Thunderwing had him trapped.
"I know when someone is lying or not seeker. YOU DO KNOW THEM! AND YOU'RE GOING TO ANSWER A FEW QUESTIONS FOR ME!" Thunderwing snarled grabbing Screamer by the neck and raising him up.
Starscream started to choke as Thunderwing put more pressure on his neck. Then he tossed Starscream hard into the wall. Starscream staggered to his feet.
"OKAY! OKAY WHAT DO YOU WANT?" Starscream asked frantically.
"FIRST YOU'RE GOING TO TELL ME IF THIS IS ACTUALLY BUMBLEBEE!" Thunderwing picked up the picture and pointed to Bee.
Starscream gasped and looked from the picture to Thunderwing multiple times. Thunderwing was not playing around and Screamer knew it.
"Y-yes...that's Bumblebee."
"Is he alive?"
Starscream gulped. He had no choice.
"Yes..." Starscream sighed.
"I knew it." Thunderwing said putting away the picture.
Thunderwing loved it when his victims cowered, cried and begged for mercy. He smiled showing all his teeth and bared fangs. Starscream was scared about what he was going to do next. He had to act fast, his extended his claws again but Thunderwing heard it.
"Your claws may be longer than mine, but they can't pierce through my chest." Thunderwing smirked.
"Wanna bet?" Screamer challenged.
"Try me." Thunderwing purred.
Starscream angrily lunged at the leader but suddenly.
CRACK!
Starscream's optics and mouth were wide open. They both had heard a cracking noise. Starscream thought his hand was on fire. He hesitantly looked down and saw that his claws weren't chipped but they were bent and had little cracks in them. The pain started to shower his hand and he dropped to his knees while Thunderwing laughed.
"Hehehehe...you actually went for it anyway. My chest armor cannot be stabbed through." Thunderwing sneered.
Thunderwing grabbed Starscream's neck and raised him back to his feet. Starscream grabbed his arms trying to get lose. But Thunderwing slowly raised a clawed hand, balled a fist, and punched Starscream right between the eyes hitting the wall which enough force to smash through it. Dust rose everywhere as Starscream laid on the rubble groaning. He tried to get up but Thunderwing grabbed the top of his head.
"I'm gonna beat you to scrap metal." Thunderwing threatened raising a fist again.
Starscream shut his optics...but then Thunderwing had another idea. A good one since they were both seekers.
"Alright...Starscream...you like to fly right?" Thunderwing asked as his voice was more calm and soothing.
"Yes." Starscream grunted.
"How fast do you think you are?" Thunderwing smirked.
"Pfft, you may be a better fighter than me...but I'm one of the fastest seekers on Cybertron. If not THE fastest." Starscream wiped some energon dripping from his mouth.
"Oh yeah, care to prove that?" Thunderwing sneered getting right in Starscream's face.
"You challenging me?" Starscream gathered enough bravery to retort back.
"You're brave kid I'll give you that. But it won't save you in the end. Because if I beat you, I'm gonna make you suffer to the point you're going to want to commit suicide." Thunderwing sneered.
"Yeah? And if I win?" Screamer said.
"I'll leave you alone...for now! When I get rid of all the rebels, I'm gonna come after you next...and that's a promise." Thunderwing vowed.
Hearing that made Starscream a little uneasy. But he thought Thunderwing was only trying to scare him.
"Tell ya what, since I'm a nice guy, I'll give you a 5-second flying start." Thunderwing said.
Starscream was confused. The look on Thunderwing's face made it known that there was a catch.
"Wait, you said this was a race. You're gonna try to hurt me while racing?"
"Oh I'm gonna hurt you really bad. But I rather have fun with it. Let's see how long you last in the sky with me." Thunderwing said.
"I'll show you I'm the"Master of the Skies"." Starscream sneered.
"LET'S DO THIS." Thunderwing sneered.
Starscream transformed and blasted off. Thunderwing, like he said, waited 5 seconds before chasing him. Starscream pushed himself to his limit and tried to fly very high. Thunderwing however was catching up fast. Starscream tried to lose him through the cloudy skies but still Thunderwing kept on him.
"Ugh, I got to lose him." Starscream said.
The two raced nearly side-by-side. Thunderwing knocked into Starscream backside trying to shake him but Screamer stayed in control. He dived and headed down towards the city. Thunderwing had to admit this mech had speed but he was faster. They flew close to the roads avoiding other mechs and objects.
"YOU WON'T CATCH ME!" Starscream yelled.
"WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT!" Thunderwing snarled.
They rose again and started to turn this race into combat. Thunderwing fired lazers at Starscream who dodged them all showing off his amazing skills. Starscream started to fire at Thunderwing hitting his sides.
"AAARRRRGGHHHHH!" Thunderwing roared. "YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THAT!"
Thunderwing went faster and faster getting close enough to transform and punch Starscream on the roof.
"OW! YOU CAN'T DO THAT!" Starscream panicked.
"WHO'S GONNA STOP ME?" Thunderwing growled continuing to break the glass on Starscream's windshield.
Starscream transformed and swung his claws wildly as Thunderwing tried to punch him. Each punch was blocked except for one of Starscream's kicks to the face. Thunderwing reared back while Starscream transformed again and flew away. Thunderwing transformed and now knew he had to take this seeker down. They raced all the way towards the military base where Starscream gasped. It was huge and filled with so many soilders. The rebels may be in a lot of trouble...hopefully Soundwave can put a stop to this.
"HAHA, THERE'S NO WAY YOU CAN ESCAPE THE BASE KID!" Thunderwing said.
Starscream heard the sounds of blasts being made and shots going past him.
"PRIMUS!" Starscream yelled.
The whole base was trying to take him down. He dodged as many shots as he could but got hit by a few.
"OW! OW! OOF! UNGH!" Starscream grunted.
BOOM!
Starscream felt one of his boosters blow up and smoke bellowed from it. He started to lose control.
"NO! NOT NOW!" Starscream said as he started to lower to the ground.
"ALLOW ME TO FINISH THE JOB!" Thunderwing dove at Starscream.
Without transforming, Thunderwing crashed straight into Screamer sending the mech bouncing past a few soilders, through a window...and his front end pierced straight into the other commander's chest who was still sitting in that chair, a direct hit. Starscream transformed and saw he had killed the mech. Thunderwing and a few soilders came in and were surprised.
"OH PRIMUS! I KILLED HIM! IT WASN'T MY FAULT, I JUST HAPPENED TO AIM RIGHT INTO HIS SPARK CHAMBER!" Starscream looked at Thunderwing.
Thunderwing walked over to the commander and saw he was indeed dead. Without warning he started to punch the mech's empty chamber into scrap making energon go everywhere. Starscream and the soilders cringe with each blow. When Thunderwing was done, energon coated his fists and he had an enraged look on his face. But he calmed down once he realized his soilders were watching.
"Leave us be...I need to have a little chat with our guest." Thunderwing looked back at Starscream.
The soilders left and shut the door. Thunderwing got up and walked over to Starscream who stayed seated.
"Well, well, well, you lost. You call yourself "Master of the Skies"? That was the most pathetic display of flying I've ever seen." Thunderwing scolded him like a child.
"You shot at me! I would've done better if you hadn't cheated." Starscream growled.
That received him a punch to the face. Starscream yelped and nearly teared up.
"GET UP!" Thunderwing demanded. "DO IT! NOW!"
Starscream got up slowly just for Thunderwing to punch Starscream in the chest so hard he spat out energon again. Thunderwing bent Starscream down and kneed him right in the chest making him spit out more energon. Starscream was about to say something when Thunderwing's sharp claws cut into his face. Starscream couldn't do anything but cry which Thunderwing smiled at.
"AW! Is the so-called "Master of the Skies" crying?" Thunderwing teased him.
Starscream felt helpless being picked on. No one ever picked on him like that.
"Please stop Thunderwing. Why are you still torturing me?" Starscream cried.
"Because I love to torture people. It's fun...and I love to smell of fresh energon being spilt. What could be more fun than that?" Thunderwing purred.
"Thuderwing, Shockwave told me how he used to bully you as a child. Were you bullied a lot as a kid?" Starscream asked.
That seemed to change the tension in the air for a moment. Thunderwing just stared at Starscream seemingly thinking of something. His face turned from surprised to angry again.
"That's none of your business slagger!" Thunderwing pointed a claw at him.
"But it can corrupt a lot of minds. Soundwave always hid his face, because of what he thought people would say. You're hiding your emotions like he used to." Starscream said.
Thunderwing growled and got ready to punch Screamer one more time but he hesitated. A tear started to fall down his face and he shook his head and lowered the fist.
He didn't want to listen to what Starscream had to say. It didn't change anything about his feelings or his goal.
"Starscream...like I said...when I kill Soundwave...and destroy every single rebel there is...I'm going to come after you. You're dead...DEAD! Don't forget it...NOW GET THE FUCK OUT OF TYGER PAX BEFORE I CRUSH YOUR SPARK NOW!" Thunderwing demanded shaking a fist.
Starscream sighed as he transformed and flew out of the broken window, though his broken booster still weighed him down. He had hit something in Thunderwing when he asked that. Thunderwing was hiding his true emotions and he had to confront Shockwave about it. A few minutes later after leaving Tyger Pax, he saw a red and blue truck with a trailer. It was Optimus and Jazz's gang. After scanning them...he detected they were allies and went to land in front of Optimus.
"WHOA!" Optimus screeched his tires hard.
Starscream braced for impact but Optimus stopped in time.
"Starscream? Are you okay?" Optimus asked.
"How do you know my name?" Starscream asked.
"Goldbug told us." Optimus said.
Trapper, Blueshot and Trips then arrived beside Optimus.
"Primus Starscream, you need repairs quickly." Trips said.
"Yeah come on, we'll fix you up." Trapper assured.
"Before we get ganged on by bounty hunters." Blueshot said.
Back with Thunderwing, he sat in his own room in the base thinking. The energon from the other commander and Starscream was still stained on his fists. What Starscream had hit him right in the spark. He didn't like to show many emotions when he was in public and preferred to let people know he was a brave leader. He's aware that he is power-hungry, and just loves power so much...he was obsessed with it. He wants to prove to the world what great power he has. He wants to rule this planet and make it better. He just wants people to...understand him...
"I'm gonna get you Soundwave...I will show you just who the most powerful being on this planet is. I must have your power...no matter the cost..."
But as he said that...his fists clenched and tears begin to slide down his face. He buried his face in his hands and cried silently.
"Why does everyone hate me?" He sadly cried.
To be continued...