Flew through writing chapter 65, so here's 61! Hope you all enjoy!
The Matrix
They groaned as they came to, arm coming up to shield their optics from the bright glare of the shining world around them.
They were on something absurdly soft and plush, surrounding them on all sides as they they came around.
"Ah, there you are, you were starting to worry me." Vector Prime spoke up, bringing a cube over to them and helping them sit up. "Drink, drink, you need the energy." He stated, helping them drink down the liquid that was offered.
They definitely felt fuzzy as whatever was in that took effect, and they were definitely feeling more alert. "What happened?" Wren mumbled out in confusion, her hand reaching up to push their visor out of the way to rub her optic as their vision collectively struggled with just how bright and desaturated everything was around them.
"You had a fainting spell, my apologies, I did produce a litany of information that seems to have overwhelmed you both."
Aria hummed. "You don't say… okay… how about we… try that again?" She asked.
He nodded, moving to sit down next to them on what turned out to be a very large berth. "It may be best that I start from the beginning, the very beginning, if that is alright?"
They nodded, trying to find a way of sitting comfortably.
Eventually they managed, and Vector Prime started.
"As you know, the gods form with their full strength. Reborn with new slates, Primus was eager to begin creating, wanting to create an entire galaxy of life bearing planets… Unicron, his brother, found himself often shooed away from Primus' favourite galaxy, often sent far away to do his acts of destruction upon barren worlds. In time, Unicron grew bitter of being denied being able to destroy that which his brother created. He believed that his brother was denying him his right as the destroyer. And so, no longer humoured Primus' desire to keep his galaxy as a perfect nursery."
"That's how the conflict started?" Wren asked.
"Unicron ravished the galaxy, and Primus grieved, whatever he tried to create to fend off his brother, Unicron simply destroyed it. And so began the seemingly endless cycle, the battle waged for billions of years as they continued to clash, and the galaxy that Primus had worked so hard to nurture, withered and died as Unicron tore and tore more life from it."
"Then, what changed?" Aria asked softly.
Vector Prime sighed. "They fought, until all that was left, was one, single planet. One Primus had made from metal, what would one cycle be called Cybertron. It had no life on it yet, it had hung idle for all those eons as Primus had not the time to create something that could live upon it…" He paused and vented. "Primus was desperate, this one planet was all that he had left of his dream… and… something snapped in him…"
They lent forwards a bit, the anticipation building.
"He did something… drastic… he grappled with his brother, and… stole some of his power, taking it into himself. Then… he could create things, that knew how to destroy… to fight with him… and so… he made us… his children, his soldiers. He made weapons for us… He made the Allspark… The Matrix… and the Omega Lock, all by taking a piece of creation itself, and placing them within. Unlike him, creation is not limited like his life was… and with that creation, into each went a sliver of destruction."
"The relics…" Aria mumbled.
Vector Prime nodded. "The ones we have now entrusted to you and your friends… All combined, we were able to weaken Unicron, we believed we had finally bested him… banishing him to the furthest reaches of the Universe we resided in… But… it came at a cost… The Galaxy our Sire had worked so hard on… it was in ruin… and… taking the destruction into himself… was much easier than banishing it… It left him weakened… and our Sire grieved, realising that he had spent most of his lifetime fighting his brother, the power of creation and destruction alike had long been bleeding from both brothers… And so, he looked to Cybertron, the last planet he had, and set to work… He forged a new galaxy… it was not big… it was not full of life, but we could see the stars from the surface. The hope was, in time, life would bloom across some, and we would have company… The act drained him further, and our Sire…" He took a minute to steady himself. "Said goodbye to us all, and slipped down into the core of Cybertron… and fell into a state of complete torpor… One we did not live long enough to see him arise from…"
"Unicron… got to your brother?" Aria mumbled.
"Yes… Megatronus was the second to the last that Sire created… Unicron managed to sink his claws into our brother… and turned him against us all… it took all of us, and the Matrix, to banish him like we had his master… But we were left broken… the youngest of us… he had delivered the final strike, and between us, was the only one whom had escaped without a Mortal wound… He grieved as he coaxed each of our sparks into the Matrix… which he then carried within his own spark chamber, keeping us all close… together…" Vector Prime clasped his ancient servos together. "We advised him when we could… and… all alone… using the three relics… he… created… With the Allspark, he created the first true Cybertronians… and with the Lock… he created the lands they needed to survive, filling the planet with enough energon that none would ever starve… that was his hope… his dream, as he led them all in those early cycles, using our advice when needed… but eventually… his frame grew old… and he joined us in the Matrix… We were all so proud… but… he was always restless… eventually… he called out to our Sire, begging to go back, to keep watch of the young race… and… his wish was granted… and… it became a cycle… he's reincarnated twenty seventy nine already you know? He never stays with us long…"
"Optimus…" Aria mumbled, realisation having come to them.
Vector Prime nodded. "Reincarnation is not an easy thing… originally, he was able to keep his memories of who he was… but that was not something that was maintained… it only returned when he returned to us… to our collective knowledge… and then he would watch… he would grow restless… and, we would say goodbye, and we would say good luck to him once more."
Wren hummed. "Something changed… didn't it?"
"Yes… Jyurna Goddess of time, she sought out Sire, and he roused, one does not sleep through the visit of another god…" He let out a small chuckle. "He stayed awake long enough to do what had to be done… and then slipped back under again… and what he did… was create… well… you four… and put you into the reincarnation cycle of the Well."
They sat there staring at him, trying to process that little bombshell. "Nebular… and Solar?"
"The reincarnation before your own, as Solus tried to explain… well… reincarnation isn't quite the right word…"
"You… you said we were a… piece of them?"
"Yes, the four of you were split into a total of twelve pieces, the pieces that we were able to snatch out of that blast… not an easy feat mind you… and for eons, we did what we could to nurse the pieces back to stability… but you and your twins pieces, they were the most damaged of them all… having already been abnormal due to the process your sparks went through to become Pilot Frames. That's why we had to keep you two… so close together… the sparks of Nebular and Solar are not something that can be easily separated without substantial risk that you both will simply… gutter out entirely."
They hugged themselves at that, grip tight as they gripped each other's sides.
"So… we are… them?" Aria asked softly.
Vector Prime hummed. "That really is the million shanix question, isn't it? You possess their sparks, but their sparks are no longer slowed down… and their memories are out of your reach without the Matrix… you have already lived very different lives from them… and yet… at your core, you hold the same values they did, your dedication and loyalty are incredible forces, your tenacity and wit are sharp and precise…" He mused. "Really, a better question is this…" He reached over and gently took both of their servos, gripping each. "Who do you want to be?"
Their optics went wide for a moment, their protrusions flaring.
He offered them both a soft smile. "You haven't asked yourself that, have you? You've always felt like your fate was carved into stone… Nebular and Solar did when we told them what Primus needed them to do… oh they fought it… they hated it, they fought Prima at every turn… Quite honestly, I do not blame them… they deserved better than the fate they were locked into… you deserved a better fate…" He trailed off for a moment. "Tell me, have you felt free to choose?"
Their protrusions fell, their helm following. "No… We were too young… too scared, when Megatronus made that deal with Grim and Luci… we were okay with it then… we wanted to know we'd be okay after we died…"
"You were six… And you knew when you would die…"
"You changed that… you re-wrote the contract…"
"That we did… Because when this is all done… when Unicron and Primus are both finally gone into that endless slumper, you'll be free to choose whatever you wish. No countdown, no pressure… and, you won't have to say goodbye to those you now hold so dear."
They glanced up at him, a flicker of hope as they processed his words.
His gaze was still soft. "That's what scares you, isn't it? That once you became the right hands of your Aunt and Uncle… you would be forever removed from the cycle of reincarnation, and you'd never see them again… Unless they were dead."
A weak noise left them as they nodded, lips pulling into a quick wince, their servos turning into his to grip back.
Carefully, he tugged them into an embrace, rubbing along their back. "It is going to be okay… we want to help you, we want you to become who you truly are… the incredible femmes you are…" He soothed. "From now on, we'll be with you, every step of the way, you'll get that blissful end, one where you can all stay together…"
They hugged him just as tight back, a keen leaving them as their helm pressed into the towering Prime's chassis.
"You deserved a life much better than the ones you have had to live…"
"But… we had to live the way we did… because you need your weapon…"
He sighed, and hugged them a bit tighter. "Yes… Believe me, I wish there was another way… but Jyurna was very… resolute… any variation… and we would risk failure…"
"That's why Prima got so frustrated with Solar and Nebular trying to fight it all so much?"
Vector Prime nodded. "Yes, but that does not excuse his actions, or his anger…"
It was quiet for a time afterwards, Aria and Wren finding a surprising amount of comfort in being held by the compassionate Prime.
It didn't last forever though, and they spoke. "We're ready for another memory."
He nodded. "Let's see if floating on your back will work? That should avoid any of it getting into your lungs?"
Wren hummed. "We would definitely appreciate that."
"Then that is what we'll try."
Monaco
It had been over 24 hours since Ira took off.
Soundwave had found himself up in the living area, his remaining family were being distracted by the TV, with Frenzy showing his siblings all the channels that had piqued his interest.
None of them had told Frenzy about what Soundwave had discovered on Triage, about how they were all just… fictional there.
They'd have to break that to him delicately.
He was unsure about approaching Barricade, the mech had no doubt saved his son's life.
He'd have to just thank him properly for keeping Frenzy safe…
That would have to do for now.
He hadn't been able to get Kia on her own to discuss that entire issue.
Noise of someone coming down the stairs drew his attention from the screen, spotting Rafeal coming down the stairs.
Hadn't that been a surprise, he'd recognised the young boy almost instantly.
Obviously he was an actual person, and not a 3D model, so it was going to take a bit of getting used to.
The boy waved. "Um… Hi?" He mumbled, padding over.
His younglings all looked over, none of them were so big that they couldn't remain in their actual forms.
Frenzy waved. "Hey Raf!" He beckoned him over. "Come meet the fam yo!"
Rafeal chuckled and did so, offering his hand out to Soundwave first. "I'm Rafeal, you're Ira's… ex?" He tried.
He tried not to make a face as he nodded, taking the lads hand in his holoforms organic hand, shaking it. "Sadly, yes… I'm Soundwave."
Rafeal looked him up and down and frowned. "You're not going to… you know… leave again? I think she just needs time…"
He attempted a reassuring smile. "I plan to give her all the time and space she needs… I… I hurt her very badly… I have a lot of work to do… and maybe she'll never forgive me, and that's going to be okay. It's all going to be at her pace, even if she doesn't want to set one at all."
Rafeal nodded. "Good… if you hurt her, I'll tell dad."
He raised an eyebrow. "Prowl, right? What's that like? I remember him being very… strict before the war."
Rafeal gave him a confused look. "That doesn't sound like my dad."
Rumble spoke up. "Yeah, he always had a giant rod up his aft!"
Soundwave sent him a look, before looking back at Rafeal. "Well, it just means he's finally found happiness with you and your mum, right?"
Rafeal nodded. "Well yeah… but Ratchet did say his brain broke…"
He quickly shot Rumble another look when the youngling snorted. "Broke?"
Rafeal nodded. "Yeah… he was on the Polaris when it… broke its moorings? Mum found him here on Earth stumbling around not remembering who he was…"
He hummed. "I see… I did notice that Prowl had stopped appearing in battles… I thought he was a casualty in the Tarn Refinery battle…"
Just then, the front doors opened.
Heads and helms alike spun around.
Ira's holoform stood there, cheeks a bit flushed, not paying them any attention as she held the door open for… an old lady and her cat?
Soundwave rose from the sofa, but then froze, unsure what to do past messaging Megatronus that Ira was back.
Ira was speaking Russian to the older woman, who was looking around the front lobby, before bending down to set down the orange tabby in her arms. "There you go Saurouvo, go explore my dear." She said.
Ira glanced around and began to speak, and oh Soundwave had missed hearing her speak Russian. "Aria and Wren have two dobermans, are you sure that's a good idea?"
The lady chuckled. "Oh it will be fine! Saurouvo can handle herself just fine my dear… Ah, is that him?" She asked, having spotted Soundwave.
Ira looked over and finally seemed to notice them all there, and froze, eyes going wide like a deer in the headlights.
Rafeal acting first, running over he tackled Ira, hugging her around her waist. "You came back!" He cheered happily.
It snapped Ira out of her sudden lock up, and she moved to kneel down, hugging the young lad back tightly. "Yeah ah'm bac'." She mumbled, then she looked over to the woman. "Raf, ah'd li'e yah tah mee' tha' lady who pu' mah hea' bac' on straigh'... this is Sophia."
The woman, now identified as Sophia, gave a small wave, while she pulled down her head scarf, revealing a mass of silvering auburn hair done up in a somewhat messy bun, held in place by two purple painted hair pins, her ears were heavily pierced, with a feather hanging from the lobe of each. "A pleasure to meet you." She spoke english, her accent quite thick, but more legible than Ira's.
The cat evidently wanted to introduce herself too, meowing loudly before bumping against Raf's legs, wrapping around and between them, thoroughly scent marking his trousers.
Rafeal laughed, kneeling down to rub along Saurouvo's back. "She's so soft!"
"That's Saurouvo, she's very pretty isn't she?" Sophia introduced, squatting down to scratch the cat's head. "Be careful though, she has a vanity streak the size of Siberia!~"
Soundwave wasn't sure at what point he started to walk, but Ira noticed him walking over, and she let out a soft sigh. "We… we need to talk." She said, switching back to Russian.
He nodded. "We… we do…"
She waved for him to follow, before pausing, looking back to Sophia. "You're okay staying down here until…"
"IRA!" Kia's shout interrupted her, as the slightly shorter woman tackled her, trapping her in a tight embrace. "Do you have any idea how worried I was?!" She exclaimed.
Ira, with her arms firmly pinned to her side, and her holoforms lungs getting a bit squished, strained out a rasped laugh. "Ah… ouf… Kia… ribs…" She got out.
Kia let up only a smidge. "Ratchet is going to read you the medic version of the riot act."
"Ah know…"
"And then I'm reading you the Estrada riot act."
"No surprise…"
"And when the twins wake up they're gonna give you the Orichiono riot act."
"Oh tha's ah lon' one… 'hey double team!"
Kia pulled back, looking up at her. "Never. Ever. Scare me like that again."
She offered a weak smile. "Ah'll try… bu' now tha' yah here…" She looked over to Sophia. "Mee' Sophia. She's tha lady from tha' Moun'ains… she uh… she's go' qui'e tha information tah pass on…"
Sophia stepped over, offering her hand out to Kia. "Sophia Kuznetsov." She introduced, and then gestured to Saurouvo. "And this is Saurouvo, my ward. The Guardian of one of the four Omega Keys."
You could have heard an ant sneeze in the room after that.
Kia let out a strained laugh. "Wh… what?" She asked, her tone filled with incredulity as she looked at the house cat.
A house cat that was quite suddenly replaced by a horned, armoured tiger.
Kia yelped, jumping back, having the mind to grab Rafeal and tug him back.
Saurouvo chuffed, opting to pad back over to Ira, nuzzling into the pale woman's side until she started to pet the thick fur of the beast's cheek.
Kia stared at her in horror. "Ira… that's a Tiger." She croaked out as Saurouvo chuffed away, her weapon bearing tail swinging from side to side as she leant into the attention.
Ira shook her head. "No. This is Saurouvo. An' her an' Sophia have helpe' meh understan' wha' ah gotta do." She stated.
Kia faltered. "Ira… your spark… are you sure this is…"
Sophia stepped forwards. "Ira needs this. Unlike yourself and the twins, she came into this world already bearing the core of her relic, the Omega lock."
Soundwave, who'd been doing his best to process the cat suddenly becoming an armoured Tiger, felt his spark drop.
Kia faltered and Ira spoke. "Ah nee' tah do this Kia, ah can' hide… ah gotta fin' the others…" She looked to Rafeal. "Kiddo, go ge' yah mum an' da', okay?" She asked him gently.
He nodded, taking off back up the stairs to the second floor.
Soundwave took another step closer. "Ira…" He mumbled out, getting her attention. "Please… can we… talk?"
She took in a small breath, then nodded. "Yeah… le's go tal'..." She answered, looking at Sophia. "Thin' yah can explain tah Kia?"
Sophia nodded. "Of course dear, you run along now, I'll handle things here."
She nodded, and began to walk, heading for the gym, hoping to find it empty and quiet.
Soundwave followed a few paces behind.
His younglings watched them go, before looking between each other in concern.
Sophia looked over to them, a light sheen forming at the base of her eyes that she quickly wiped away, making it look like she was dealing with some fallen eyelashes. "You all must be rather confused."
They all looked between them and nodded.
Saurouvo took that as clearance to bound over, going straight for Ravage and sniffing him, before dragging a very rough tongue over his helm.
Ravage tried to back up a bit, but between the two, Saurouvo was actually the larger of the two, and did not relent until all of the younglings had received some form of grooming.
Down in the gym, Ira pushed the doors shut, her form tense for a few moments before her shoulders dropped, and with them her arms.
Soundwave stood a few steps away, unsure what to do.
She turned to face him, and he spotted the tear tracks.
His spark seized and he took a step closer. "Ira…?" He called softly, one hand going hesitantly out towards him.
He was crushed into a tight hug a moment later, knocking the air out of him as she buried her face into his jacket's collar.
He wasn't sure what to call the noise that left him when the initial shock wore off, and he realised she had initiated… she hugged him.
It took a moment to wriggle his prosthetic arm free so he could return the embrace, letting out a shuddering sigh of relief as he held her. "I… I'm… I don't have words strong enough to express how much I fucked up…" He mumbled, slipping over to Russian, much easier now that he'd been able to just connect to the internet and download the language into his processor, much harder when he'd been human.
Her nails dug in a bit. "Why… why didn't you tell me? I… we could have done something…"
He flinched a bit. "I wanted to… I wanted to… so, so badly… but… I… I was scared… terrified that if I didn't do what they said… the war would find you… they lied… and now… now you're caught up in it all too…"
"I know… I… I watched over your grave… and… and then you were alive… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry I snapped at you… I…" She trailed off as he separated them, so that he could press his forehead to hers.
"You aren't at fault… you were overwhelmed… everything was far too overwhelming… and I… I didn't help matters… I… I wish there'd been a way to break it all to you gently… but… I couldn't see how… I was too narrow in my focus…"
She let out a strangled chuckle. "Can we agree that we're both… at fault?" She mumbled.
He gently cupped her cheek and the breath she'd just taken in left her as she finally met his eyes.
They were crinkled at the edges with a mirthful smile. "You're as beautiful as the day I lost you~"
She blinked a few times. "Did… did you just quote How to Train your Dragon?"
His smile grew wider. "I felt it was fitting, because it's the truth…" He paused, stroking her cheek. "You feel… real…"
"And you feel fuzzy, I'll send you the advanced holoform program later." She commented.
He hummed. "Thank you… Ira… I'll follow whatever you want… what are we?" He asked softly, barely able to even ask the question, so fearful of the worst case scenario.
She pulled back a bit. "I… I don't know… do… do I even know the real you?"
The admittance was like a tungsten rod straight to his spark. "I… I tried to be as much of… me, as I could be… I wanted to make you happy… I wanted to be the one who made you happiest…"
She stroked some errant hairs on his forehead. "And I didn't tell you everything about me either… and I wanted to be happy with you too… so… even there…"
He chuckled softly. "Are we keeping score now?" He jested.
She hummed playfully. "Maybe… I… I can't go right back to that morning Soum… Soundwave…" She corrected herself.
"Hey… hey…" He cupped her cheeks so she couldn't look away. "You call me whatever you like. Soundwave, Souma, Bastard, whatever you want to call me… okay?"
It took her a few moments to nod. "O… okay?"
He sagged a bit, hugging her to him. "I missed you… I missed you so much…" He mumbled.
She gripped him just as tightly back. "I know… I did too…" She mumbled.
Taking a wild gamble, Ira pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Maybe… we start over?" She asked. "No secrets this time… okay? Because I certainly don't remember you mentioning having kids." She stated, raised an eyebrow at him.
He floundered for a bit. "I was reborn as a teen you know? And who would've believed me that three of my five younglings weren't humanoid?"
"Fair point… I… I know about Shrike… I don't… I don't want to overstep anything… so… I'll let them come to me… if they want to at all."
He nodded. "That's probably for the best for now, Frenzy seems to like you?"
She snorted. "I did get the terror an X-box for Christmas."
He chuckled. "Already spoiling my younglings I see?"
"Hey, I didn't know he was your kid!"
"Well, technically, you did… speaking of… how much do the Autobots know… about them… me, being a franchise?"
The smile that had been on her lips vanished, replaced by horror. "Oh my god… you… we watched you die! Multiple times!" She hissed out.
"I don't think Bumblebee plans to shoot my helm off."
"But you saw that! You… you saw everything…" She mumbled out as it dawned on her.
He gave a small nod. "Yeah… I did… so… the Autobots don't know?"
"Barricade and Frenzy don't know either… we've done all we can to keep it all firmly under wraps, got it?"
"Crystal, not a word will leave my vox." He assured. "Problem… I did tell Rumble, Buzzsaw, Laserbeak and Ravage… it's only fair Frenzy knows…"
She took a moment to think that over. "Wait until the twins wake up? If they wake up in the next two, three weeks, we'll discuss that with them too… I and Kia can't make that decision alone."
He nodded. "I… I understand… You're… going to start hunting for the Omega keys then? That's what brought you here?"
She nodded. "Yeah… I… I gotta… Sophia explained a lot to me… they've all been waiting for me… and… they're all so tired…" She mumbled.
He took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze. "I want to help… signals analysis, CCTV, everything and anything I can get into… have you gotten into the Pentagon yet?"
She giggled. "Already got more than enough back doors established. I'll hook you up to my network later, okay?"
He smiled. "I can't wait to see what you've been up to, my terror~"
She hummed. "Still not going to drop that old nickname?"
"Not in the slightest, terror~"
She rolled her eyes in good humour. "Whatever you say, Mr Shades~"
He groaned. "That, again?" He laughed. "Alright, fair play, fair play."
Ruined Decepticon Base, Germany
The Fallen stood tall, even as he hunched to fit within the tunnels, the ancient mech perusing all the damage done to the tunnel. "Hmm, curious…" He mused, observing them all.
Starscream, who was still not ready to even try getting up, his internal repair systems trying to undo the damage done by having the front of his injured abdomen just collectively welded together. "Ngh… what?" He growled out.
The Fallen did not glance over at him. "She let you live. Very curious indeed…" He mused.
He hissed. "Who, the slag, is this 'she' you keep blithering on about?" He snapped.
The Fallen rolled his massive armoured shoulders. "Why, the one who's been my opponent for Millenia now… Panthera." He growled out the name with a strange mixture of loathing and amusement. "She's a pesky thing, with a very nasty bite." He remarked, lifting his right arm up into a flickering light above, the flickering catching a deep bite wound made up of multiple puncture points. "Whenever I sought out the Matrix… she would always appear… I have never been allowed on the continent the natives call 'Africa'… But now… she has attacked you… here… It would seem that she was successful… my dear fool of a Sire's Matrix has been collected by his chosen vessel…"
Starscream growled up at him. "If you're going to prattle on about nonsense, go do it somewhere else, I have no patience for whimsical babble about our supposed God." He growled.
The Fallen mused over the seekers words for a time. "My… you didn't even see what Panthera looked like, did you?~" He purred, turning fully to face the seeker.
He stalked closer to Starscream's prone form, stance hunched and predatory, and optics just that bit too wide as a grin pulled too far back along his mouth, revealing fangs that almost seemed to… shimmer.
Starscream pulled back into himself as much as he could, the wings on his back pinned against the tunnel wall behind him, causing all the more warning messages to haze across his HUD.
The Fallen's near skeletal digits coiled around his lower face, forcing him to meet the blazing purple optics of the Fallen.
"You did not recognise her, did you?~"
Starscream tried to shake his helm 'no' in the vice-like grip.
"Not even the pretty gouges in her snout? Not the endless hatred in her gaze for you? She doesn't look at me like that~ She only looks at me with contempt.~ You~ You Starscream~ You have held her endless, murderous ire for millenia… she will hound you now… she will pluck at you, piece by piece~ Until you are but a withered shell~ So long as you remain on this planet, this Solar system, she will hound you.~"
With a snap of his wrist, he tossed Starscream's helm to the side, and he grinned. "Ah ha~" He purred, tracing a singular deep gouge that ran down the seekers cheek. "You see? She doesn't go for the face for just anyone~ Think Starscream, of every bot you have ever crossed, of every bot you have ever slipped a dagger into the back of~ Of every bot you left an orphan~ Whom do you think, loathes you, despises your existence like one who is the vilest thing to ever exist in the universe?"
Starscream thought for a long moment, running through some of many, many thousands that fit under that broad spectrum.
The Fallen grinned. "Too many to guess?~ What a pity~ Come now~ You can do better~ Think very hard~" He purred, crowding the downed seeker now, the spikes that lined his form bristling, shifting about, that manic gleam in his optics only growing more intense.
Still Starscream could not think. "Who?" He hissed out.
The grin became a snarl. "Guess~" He growled out, the hiss coming from somewhere deep inside, before some degree of composure seeped in. "Very well, how about a clue?~ She was once a songbird~ Such a pretty little songbird~ With claws that ripped your very society asunder." He purred low, wild gaze returning full force.
Realisation dawned on him.
It felt like a dagger forged from frozen nitrogen was pierced through his very spark.
"Nebular."
The Fallen's grin became truly face splitting then. "Well done~ Well done~" He purred, patting the seekers helm degradingly like one would a youngling they wanted to annoy. "You thought you'd escaped her when you ordered that mortar strike~ Aimed right at the core of that refinery~ You believed you were rid of her, didn't you?~" He laughed, low and quiet, full of depreciation. "You poor, poor fool… you can't kill her with mortal means…~ Trust me~ I know~"
He rose to his full height, scraping at the roof of the tunnel, the mad glint never fading. "I was crafted to fend off a God… She, and her darling twin? They were crafted to kill a God.~ And you, are only mortal."
And with that, the mech strode away down the tunnel, observing all the damage around him, humming in amusement.
Starscream laid there, spark racing as fast as his processor tried to take it all in.
He didn't want to get up.
Not yet…
Not yet…
Maybe not ever…
Fallen: (Allucard Abridged voice) You done goofed.
Rubs hands together in glee I am very much enjoying this if you haven't but noticed, lol.
Until next time!
Moon.