Author's Notes: First of all, sorry this took so long. There was so much more I wanted to put in this chapter, but it was getting kind of long so I'll have to save it for the next chapter. Hopefully this turned out well, since it is a crucial chapter for the story. Also, I know this is gonna sound silly, but I have been wanting to use this chapter title for the past four or five chapters, but I had to wait. Yeah, I've been planning this one for a while. Thank you to everyone who is reading this story, and please favorite follow and review :)
Chapter 22
The Telltale Spark
The news that Jazz was alive and was SS-PLX-04 was met with both shock and joy among the Autobots. Jazz had been a very skilled mech in the Autobot forces as well as the life of the party, so he had made many friends over the vorns. Jazz was grateful to have his memories back, but he also knew there would be a lot of things he did as a Vehicon that would haunt him forever.
"I still can't believe it," Smokescreen said as he looked at Jazz with disbelieving optics as they sat in the training room, "I knew the Decepticons had turned civilians into mindless drones, but our own teammates? Dude, you're a legend, and even you..."
"Aw, cheer up Smokey," Jazz consoled the younger 'Bot, "We're gonna fix this, somehow. Yo Alfred, how are those communication relays comin'?"
"Waaaah! Eh, oops..." VS-5000 shouted and then muttered following the sound of a crash, "Um, I can fix that!"
"You should get Ratchet and Bluestreak to help you out," Jazz suggested.
"That's okay!" VS-5000 shouted from the next room, "Raf and I are doing fine. I just got a little clumsy!"
Jazz just chuckled to himself and let the other Vehicon work in peace. VS-5000 was a scatterbrained mech, and Jazz couldn't help but wonder what kind of 'Bot that guy used to be. It would be hilarious if he turned out being a brainiac like Perceptor or Nosecone.
"This whole situation has been crazy," Smokescreen commented, "First Ratchet finds his long lost son, then Bulkhead finds his long lost parents, and now we've all found a fallen hero. What's going to happen next?"
"You think I'm a hero?" Jazz asked as if it never occurred to him before.
"Of course you are! I studied all about you at the academy," Smokescreen replied excitedly, "You once figured out how to scramble Soundwave's communications using only a spoon and a pair of jumper cables, and then you and Prowl got the jump on those lousy 'Cons when they-"
Smokescreen stopped talking once he realized that Jazz was staring at the floor; the melancholy hanging in the air like a cobweb weighed down with dust.
"Gee, I'm sorry Jazz," Smokescreen said in a more subdued tone of voice, "I forgot that you and Prowl were friends. Hey, maybe Prowl will be alive too, as a Vehicon. Then we can find him and rescue him."
"It won't happen," Jazz replied with a sad shake of his helm, "Our memories, the Vehicons' memories, are all the same. We were all captured, and then melted down for our sparks and processors."
"So?" Smokescreen asked obliviously.
"We were all alive," Jazz explained heavily, "Megatron used live mechs and femmes to make his undead army. Prowl was killed. He was shot right in the spark by Thundercracker. For good measure his dead frame was shot several more times by Skywarp. Starscream's brothers murdered him, Smokey. He can't come back."
Smokescreen took the news hard, for two reasons. One reason was that Prowl was a fellow Praxian, and Smokescreen knew their frame type was becoming rarer as the vorns went on. The other reason was that the Vehicon dilemma, while horrifying, also gave the Autobots hope of finding lost loved ones. If Prowl wasn't a Vehicon, then he was really dead, and that feeling of permanence was crushing.
VS-5000 and Raf meanwhile were setting up a communications relay station so that they would be able to cut through dampening fields and have a better chance of contacting base from the Decepticon warship. That would be vital if teams of Autobots were going to try to sneak aboard the Nemesis and recover live Vehicons. They just hoped the Vehicons would listen to them once they were retrieved.
Raf was actually the one building the thing since he was the only one that knew how to do so with Ratchet off duty. VS-5000 was just there because he was big enough to move the heavy equipment.
"Okay Alfred, a little to the left and into that port right there," Raf instructed as VS-5000 tried to keep hold of a heavy piece of machinery.
"Right, got it," VS-5000 grunted as he sidestepped to put the thing where it was supposed to go, "There we go...There! No problems."
"Great. We're almost done," Raf replied in satisfaction, "Thanks for volunteering, Alfred."
"No problem. I want Prime to be happy," VS-5000 told Raf, "After all, if he won't be my daddy, then maybe he'll be my uncle, or my cousin, or my college roommate. I just want him to feel some sort of attachment, that way he'll never want to kill me. Oh, maybe he could be my grandfather! Do you think Bumblebee will adopt me?"
"Alfred, you don't need to do anything," Raf assured the flighty Vehicon, "The fact that you're a Vehicon isn't your fault, and soon you'll go through the memory scanner and learn who you really are. Then everything will be alright."
"I don't know, little man," VS-5000 replied nervously, "I just got this weird feeling, like if I go through with this then something will go wrong. My nightmares are...well...it's not like with Bluestreak. It's hard to explain why. I always dream that I'm leaning backwards out of a window or door, and then falling with my helm aimed down at the ground."
"That sounds scary," Raf gasped.
"Yeah, but the weird part is, in the dream, I'm not scared," VS-5000 explained, "I feel like I want to fall. I want that rush of air whizzing by my helm and through my...and through my wings. In the dream I have wings, and the feeling of the air is incredible. At the last second, just before I crash to the ground, I wake up. I don't know if it's a memory or just a dream, but I always feel a rush of joy before the fear finally sets in. I don't know what's wrong with me, and I'm kind of afraid to find out."
Raf was about to say something, but he was interrupted when Ratchet cleared his vocalizer to get their attention. He was standing by the medbay and waiting for VS-5000 to come over there for his operation.
"VS-5000, it's time," Ratchet said with no emotion, though his optics shone with hopefulness.
"Already? But the relay!" VS-5000 protested as he gestured to the half-finished thing.
"It'll still be there when you wake up," Ratchet assured him, "Now come on. I've got the hang of this procedure now, so there's virtually no risk to your processor. Come on, you big sparkling! You'll be fine."
Alfred whimpered but did as he was asked. He didn't really care about his memories. Oh sure, part of him wanted to know what kind of life he led before Megatron wiped his mind, but another part was afraid to know. What if he had been something stupid like a garbage mech or a store clerk? He also worried he might've been a sparkling like PR-35 was. Wouldn't that be something? To learn he had no real memories at all and then realize his entire life was just being born and then serving Megatron. That would be depressing. Then again, that was what he used to think anyway.
Ratchet motioned to the berth, and VS-5000 realized another reason he didn't want to do this. Everyone spoke of the final memories as being something horrible. What if the nightmares he had for the rest of his life involved acid melting his frame? He'd rather take the falling dream, thank you very much.
Despite his misgivings, VS-5000 obeyed when Ratchet motioned for him to lay down on the berth. He stared straight up at the ceiling while Ratchet hooked him up to the device; stealing brief glances at Ratchet every now and then. Then he lost consciousness and began to recall his entire life...
...Oh, crud! VS-5000's mind screamed at him as memories flashed through his mind. That's not good. Wake up, you idiot! Oh my Allspark, I'm still asleep, aren't I? Wait, do I talk in my sleep? Can anyone hear me right now? Oh, scrap! Wake up, you airhead! Wake up wake up wake up wake up wake up wake up wake up WAKE UP!
A few minutes later VS-5000 finally awoke to see Ratchet staring down at him expectantly, and he gulped in trepidation.
"How are you feeling?" Ratchet asked in a professional manner, "Can you transform yet?"
"Yeah, I think so," VS-5000 replied hesitantly.
"Good. Now, what is your name?" Ratchet asked in a gentler tone.
"Um...I d-don't think the recovery thing w-worked," VS-5000 stammered, "I, uh, don't remember anything b-before M-Megatron."
"Really? But I connected the right nodes," Ratchet replied in bewilderment, "How could the procedure fail?"
"I don't know, but it doesn't matter," VS-5000 answered quickly, "I can just be Alfred for the rest of my life! I don't mind. Heh heh heh..."
Ratchet raised an optic ridge at VS-5000's jittery behavior. Either his processor was having trouble rebooting or this drone was hiding something. What was there to hide though? Maybe the Vehicon was just nervous that without his memories he wouldn't truly be accepted by the Autobots. Ratchet decided that was probably the reason and allowed Alfred to leave the medbay on the condition he come back later for his checkup. Alfred agreed and quickly took off to help Raf with his project.
Oh mech! That was a close one! VS-5000 thought as his spark pulsed wildly in his chassis. I can't believe it. My whole life...I've gotta get outta here, before they scrap me! Ratchet is gonna kill me and use my helm for a garbage can...
VS-5000 of course had lied about his memories not returning to him. They returned alright, and revealed to him who and what he truly was. He couldn't tell anyone though. They would kill him. Optimus Prime would order his execution and Ratchet would gleefully carry it out. Who could he turn to now? Who was left that wouldn't hate him? He needed someone that didn't know him during the war and who wouldn't judge him. Someone that liked him the way he was...
"Miko!" VS-5000 hollered as he searched for the teenage girl, "Hey, Miko! Where are you?"
"Hey, Alfred!" Miko called up from her place next to her amplifier, "I was just waxing my axe. You wanna hear a song when I'm finished?"
"Maybe later," VS-5000 replied hurriedly, "First, I wanted to know...You wanna go for a drive?"
"Cool! Dune bashing!" Miko exclaimed as she hopped in the air, "Woohoo!"
"Um, no actually," VS-5000 corrected her, "I wondered if you'd go with me...to Tokyo."
"You want me to show you around my home city?" Miko asked with slightly less enthusiasm. She got to see Tokyo all the time, and it wasn't that interesting to her anymore.
"More than that, Miko. I wanna live there," VS-5000 declared, "You could show me a cool place to live, and then when you move back we can see each other all the time. We can drive up to the mountains in the north and then go to the beaches in the south. At least, I think that's how mountains and beaches work. The open road will be our slave, and the call of the wind our master. Come on Miko, it'll be fun! Just us against the world."
"Are you glitched?" Miko asked with her hand on her hip, "You can't just leave! What about the other Vehicons and stopping Megatron's evil?"
"Look, I have as much reason to hate Megatron as anybody, but I can't do this," Alfred admitted, "I can't live here underground behind these tiny walls. I can't keep trying to prove myself and wondering when I'll finally be disposed of. I can't...I can't look at them. Ratchet, Jazz, Bulkhead, Ironhide, and even Optimus. I just can't do it anymore. Please help me find a new place to live, Miko. You're the only one left I can trust. You're like, my best friend. Please?"
Miko had never seen Alfred act like this before. For one thing, he sounded truly serious for the first time Miko could recall. Did the memory scanner do something bad to him? He still acted scared, but not goofy kind of scared like he did before. Now he sounded like...like the war-scarred veteran he actually was.
"You remember who you are, don't you?" Miko asked in a quiet subdued voice.
Alfred shifted nervously as he tried to avoid looking down at Miko, but her gaze never wavered. She could see it clear as day, Alfred knew exactly who he was, and whatever his past held was something that shook him to his very core.
"It's okay, Alfred. You can trust me," Miko promised him, "I don't know what happened to you, but whatever it is keeping it all inside won't help you. You need to talk to us. You need to let the others in. They can help you."
"I heard you killed Hardshell," VS-5000 suddenly said, and Miko tensed at the unwanted memory, "That was one guy, and he was just an Insecticon, yet you felt bad about it. I don't."
"You don't what?" Miko inquired.
"I don't feel bad about the stuff I've done," Alfred explained as he sat down on the floor next to her, "Well, at least not most of it. I never thought about it. Thinking was my enemy, but now all I do is think. It's awful. Miko...I have a brother."
"Really? That's great! Do you know where he is?" Miko asked happily.
"Not really, but I don't think I should look for him," VS-5000 replied, "I don't think he'd want a drone for a brother."
"Why not?" Miko asked innocently, "I wouldn't mind if I had a Vehicon for a brother. Then again I'd be cool with being related to a Cybertronian at all."
"You don't understand," VS-5000 groused, "My brother is really self-absorbed. He was, well, he is, the reason I even bothered with this stupid war thing. I was happy relying on my strength and my speed to survive, but...Then we started thinking. There it is again, thinking, my mortal enemy."
"What did you start thinking about?" Miko prodded.
"Injustice, mostly," VS-5000 replied; sounding weary and defeated, "We thought about what power really was. During the Golden Age of Cybertron, money was power. Political smarts was power. Power wasn't actually power. It was messed up, and those of us that had a lot to give and nothing to give it to, well, we got tired of it. My brothers especially felt that way, and I was always more of a follower than a leader. I just wanted to have fun and shake things up."
"You said brothers. I thought you only had one," Miko pointed out.
"I do only have one...now," VS-5000 clarified, "Miko, if I tell you the truth about me, you can't tell anyone. Not Bulkhead, not Optimus, no one. Understand?"
"Whoa. Were you a secret agent or something?" Miko asked curiously.
"No. In fact, everyone knew who I was. That's the problem," VS-5000 told her, "Promise me, Miko?"
"Well...okay, since you're my friend, I promise," Miko naively agreed.
VS-5000 then shifted so he was lying on his abdominal struts and his red visor was looking directly at Miko. Miko leaned in closer so he could whisper, and he used one of his servos to shield her body from any busybodies that might be watching, though they were in fact alone.
"Miko," VS-5000 spoke softly so no one else would hear him, "My name is Skywarp."
"Skywarp? That name is so cool!" Miko exclaimed, and VS-5000 shushed her frantically, "What? Why are you so nervous?"
"I'm guessing that name means nothing to you," VS-5000 ventured, and Miko nodded, "Well you see, I was an energon seeker on Cybertron, a military jet that was converted to search for raw crystals to mine. It wasn't a dishonorable job or anything, but it wasn't what my frame type was built to do. We were supposed to keep Cybertron safe. Instead we were glorified metal detectors. Eventually the council decided that we were more trouble than we were worth. The real problems started when all the seekers were moved to a single city and told that energon seeking was no longer a job. The Omegas were built to both search out and mine crystals, so having seekers for that job was no longer necessary. Our new city, Vos, was poor and filled with restless former military jets. Can you see where I'm going with this?"
"Um...not really," Miko shrugged, "I've heard the word seeker before, but I can't remember where or what it was referring to. Oh wait, I remember now! Starscream was called a seeker! Wait, so you and Starscream are from the same city?"
"Uh, it's a little more than that," VS-5000 admitted as he felt himself wince, "We were both from the same trine...Megatron's elite trine. Starscream is my brother."
Miko's eyes bugged out and her jaw dropped. Starscream's brother? But that meant...
"You mean...You're a Decepticon?" Miko asked; horrified, "You...you were always a Decepticon."
"Hey now, you promised not to tell!" Skywarp reminded her harshly, "You promised me as a friend that you would keep my secret, and I'm holding you to that."
"So when are you gonna tell them?" Miko asked challengingly.
"I'm not," Skywarp replied point blank, "It's none of their business who I am or what happened to me. Just help me work the ground bridge to go to someplace far away, and I'll never bother you guys again. Just help me, okay?"
Miko was nervous about VS-5000's demeanor. This wasn't the whiny fun loving Vehicon from before. This guy was growling at her and looked ready to lose his slag at any moment. This guy was Starscream's brother, a Decepticon, and as she was just now remembering, several times bigger than her.
"Okay big guy, grab some energon for the road and I'll set up the ground bridge," Miko told him placatingly, "I'll find you a good place. Okay?"
"Okay," Skywarp replied; exhaling in relief, "I knew I could count on you, Miko. You're the best."
Skywarp then went to the supply room to gather energon, but Miko wasn't heading to the ground bridge. She knew if this guy was allowed to leave he would return to Megatron and reveal the location of their secret base. No, this threat had to be dealt with, so Miko ran for the Autobots' personal quarters in search of someone who could help her.
For three weeks VS-5001 had been helping Starscream renovate his secret fortress in the derelict Harbinger. Starscream needed a new T-Cog, and VS-5001 knew that as an Eradicon it was his duty to donate his for his superior officer, even if said officer was no longer in Megatron's fold.
Starscream had also promised to aid VS-5001 in finding a cure for the rusting chips the Vehicons and Eradicons had been suffering from. VS-5001 was grateful that his faith in Starscream had proven valid. The flying drone did find it ironic however that the traitor was proving more helpful in finding a medical cure than the actual medic. He knew it was blasphemy to want misfortune to happen to a Decepticon officer, but VS-5001 still hoped something bad happened to Knockout.
What VS-5001 didn't realize however was that while Starscream did indeed plan on finding a cure of the rust plaguing the drones, he had no intention of allowing the Eradicon himself to enjoy the benefits of that cure. Starscream suspected that VS-5001 was Prowl, a most hated enemy of the seekers. Even if he wasn't, the Eradicon was an Autobot that was very close to remembering his past. Starscream planned on scanning his spark to discover his identity, and then using that knowledge to figure out how quickly or slowly he should kill him.
During the day cycle VS-5001 would move machinery, connect wires, haul materials, and do whatever else Starscream commanded for their mission. Starscream almost regretted the idea of killing the drone. He enjoyed having a servant at his beckon call, but it wasn't worth the risk that the miscreant Eradicon could learn his former identity and turn on Starscream. Starscream knew he would have to kill him eventually.
As the nights progressed VS-5001's dreams became more vivid and more frenzied. Sometimes they were nightmares with no real basis in reality, and other times they felt so real that he was certain they were memories. Of course, the rational part of VS-5001's processor would tell him they were merely delusions from the damage to his secondary chip, but a small part wondered if he was missing something important.
One dream involved him sparring with a purple and black seeker in a large room that was a crisp platinum grey with lots of gym equipment surrounding them. He didn't remember the details, but he remembered thinking how much smarter he was than the seeker. When he woke up VS-5001 felt guilty, for an Eradicon should never consider themselves worthier than a real mech in any way whatsoever.
Another dream involved him riding an earth horse into a barn and then being shot by an Autobot. He fell off the horse in a daze and tried to find the Autobot to kill them, only for the Autobot to be Arcee. Arcee then informed him that they were now married. Then she morphed into Bulkhead and punched the confused Decepticon in the face plate.
VS-5001 awoke from that surreal nightmare screaming, but at least he knew that one wasn't real. Starscream was not amused to be awakened by the scream and scratched the Eradicon across the chassis. VS-5001 admitted he deserved that even as he welded himself to stop the bleeding.
One dream in particular caused VS-5001 to question his very identity, however. In this dream he was flying with two other seekers and shooting down the golden towers of Iacon. What made this dream odd was VS-5001 wasn't old enough to remember the towers ever existing. Eradicons didn't exist back then. In the dream when they were finished tearing down the towers VS-5001 saw a father escaping the tower with his sparking in his arms. They were both gilded in blue and silver, clearly elites, and VS-5001 knew he should hate them, but he couldn't. They both looked so frightened and helpless, and he knew deep down that killing sparklings and their parents was wrong.
"Hey, TC!" The purple and black seeker hollered at him, "You see any survivors we should pick off?"
"Uh, um, no Skywarp. Nothing," VS-5001 lied.
After that VS-5001 woke up, and his entire frame was shaking. It felt so real. Already in his wakeful state he was forgetting the seeker's name, but it felt so real. It felt like that seeker had been his best friend in the universe, but it was all just a dream. The towers, the running rich family, the seekers...all a dream. It had to be.
Two days after the dream Starscream informed him that they now had everything they needed for the T-Cog transplant. This was going to be a tricky operation that had to be done in phases. Phase one was to remove VS-5001's T-Cog and patch him back up. Step two was to wait for the Eradicon to recover. Step three was for VS-5001 to operate on Starscream and implant the T-Cog inside of him. The unspoken step four was for Starscream to learn VS-5001's true identity and kill him. VS-5001 was still oblivious to Starscream's true intentions, however.
The time came for VS-5001 to lose his T-Cog. He knew he should be nervous, yet oddly enough he didn't feel that way. As Starscream loomed over him ready to cut the drone open, he felt oddly calm and secure. Something inside him told him that Starscream would do a good job and that he was safe.
"I'm going to shut off your pain receptors now," Starscream informed him with detached professionalism, "Hold perfectly still or I might accidentally slice up something vital. Got it?"
"Yes, sir," VS-5001 replied as his visor stared up at the dusty dark ceiling of the Harbinger.
Starscream set to work on retrieving the T-Cog. He was no doctor and had to look at the chart several times to even figure out where he was supposed to cut, but the Eradicon remained calm no matter how many times Starscream fumbled or asked where his drill was supposed to go. Finally, after a half hour of work, Starscream had the T-Cog. Part of him considered not even patching up the Eradicon, but he knew he needed it to operate on him so he reluctantly put it back together.
VS-5001 was sore once his pain receptors were turned back on, but he didn't feel unduly injured. He did, however, feel the emptiness where his T-Cog should have been. He wondered vaguely if this was how a real mech would feel without their T-Cog, and considered that this was possibly how Starscream felt.
"How long until you can operate on me?" Starscream demanded to know.
"I will begin whenever you command, sir," VS-5001 replied respectfully.
"Even though you're still recovering?" Starscream asked skeptically.
"Pain is a part of life, sir," VS-5001 replied stoically, "I rely on your judgment to know when to begin."
Starscream groaned under his breath. This was the one bad thing about drones. They couldn't make an informed decision to save their lives. Even if the Eradicon had been bleeding out all over the floor he probably still would've obeyed whatever order Starscream gave him. It was paradoxically the best thing and the worst thing about the drones.
Starscream decided to take pity on the loyal Eradicon and wait until the next day before his surgery. Truth be told, he mostly did it because he was too nervous to go under the knife at that moment. Even though Starscream was sure the Eradicon didn't have malicious intent at the moment, he also knew surgery was risky. He didn't want to die on board the Harbinger on an operating table, but at the same time he was desperate for a T-Cog. Without flight, what kind of seeker was he?
The next day Starscream agreed to the surgery, but VS-5001 had to wait for several minutes while the jittery former SIC gathered up his nerve. VS-5001 was patient with Starscream and did everything in his power to reassure his superior officer. He was being trusted with an important task and therefore would do everything in his power to live up to such an honor.
It took longer to attach the T-Cog than it took to remove it. While the Eradicon had both hands unlike early Vehicons, he also had flat fingers that were difficult to maneuver for tasks requiring fine motor skills. Eradicon hands were designed for slicing hunks out of Autobots and shifting into guns, not for delicate surgery. After two hours of work, however, everything was back in place and Starscream could already feel his body accepting the new part. He was a real Transformer again!
While Starscream recovered VS-5001 catered to his every whim. He would bring Starscream energon, administer his pain medicine, and clean the Harbinger for him so he wouldn't get an infection from the dust. That outcome was highly unlikely, but Starscream was insistent.
Starscream was glad that he wasn't alone after surgery, as he would've been had he gone with his original plan of doing the surgery himself. Starscream had killed a clone of himself and would have tried to implant that T-Cog into himself if no one had found him. Problem was, the clone Starscream was going to get the part from had been dead for a long while and whether or not its T-Cog would've even worked was uncertain. With a live donor Starscream was guaranteed to fly again.
It was a week after the surgery, three weeks after VS-5001 had first come to the former commander, that Starscream decided enough was enough. He needed to figure out who this Eradicon was, and then kill him before dissecting his body for science. He would figure out how to build a non-rusting material for the chip using information collected from the Eradicon's dead body. Maybe if it was just a low level grunt or a civilian Starscream would be quick with them. After all, VS-5001 did donate his T-Cog. A quick death was the least Starscream could do.
"VS-5001, get in here!" Starscream ordered, and the Eradicon came running, "VS-5001, this machine is a spark reader. It will tell me vital information about your condition. Just lie down on the berth and I will begin the process of learning how to handle your madness."
VS-5001 bowed respectfully to Starscream before taking his place on the medical berth. It was just too easy. Starscream connected all of the machines to his drone as the Eradicon looked up at the ceiling with no expression on his face plate. This was the moment they had both been waiting for, though for very different reasons.
The spark reader went to work, and Starscream smiled evilly as he awaited the readouts that would tell him which of his enemies he would be smiting.
I bet it's Prowl... Starscream thought to himself. Oh, how I would relish it if you were that Praxian and I got to snuff out your spark. Or maybe you're Jazz. It would be a great pleasure to remove you from the equation once and for all. Ugh! I hope it's not Huffer or something. He might've been a Wrecker, but he was still an easy target. There's no glory in that. Ah, I can feel it now. If you're a big enough prize, you might take Cliffjumper's place as my favorite victory.
The spark reader indicated it was finished with its task, and Starscream practically skipped over to the monitor to see what he was dealing with. When he read the name however, his spark hitched and he felt like it was going to fizzle out of his chassis!
"Thundercracker!?" Starscream hissed under his breath in shock, "No, that can't be right. Thundercracker is my trine mate, and a Decepticon! Megatron never used Decepticons to make these ugly things. It would be sacrilege to desecrate our own for...he...he said Thundercracker died in combat. He said Thundercracker died with honor! No..."
Starscream fell to his knees and keened in a manner similar to a baby animal that has lost its mother and doesn't understand how it happened. Nothing made sense anymore. How could Megatron do something so vile? What reason could he have to use one of his best warriors for cannon fodder? Why didn't Starscream know Decepticons had been used to make Shockwave's stupid drones!? He was second in command! How could Megatron do this to his own brother?
VS-5001 heard the noise and removed the wires from his body before rising up to attend to his commander. Starscream saw the drones legs in front of him and looked up at the concerned Eradicon. It made him start crying all over again, for he now understood that what he mistaken for the blind obedience of a soulless husk was in fact the quiet dignity of his right wing.
"Sir, what's wrong?" VS-5001 asked Starscream, "Is there no cure for the rust?"
"The rust? The rust!" Starscream hollered madly, "You idiot! That rust is the best thing that ever happened to you!"
Starscream then stood to his pedes, and much to the confusion of VS-5001, Starscream started hugging the drone tight.
"I'm so sorry, Thundercracker!" Starscream bawled, but VS-5001 still didn't understand what was happening, "I didn't know! I didn't know Megatron would do this! This could've happened to anyone. It could've happened to me! Oh pit, Vehicons were supposed to reduce Decepticon casualties! How could he do this!? I promise, we will find a way to overthrow Megatron. He will not get away with what he has done to you. I swear it."
"Um, sir...what are you talking about?" VS-5001 finally found the voice to ask.
Starscream then stopped hugging the Eradicon and held his shoulder guards as he stared him in the visor. The grey seeker had been so caught up in his own emotions that he had forgotten something, namely that the drone still didn't remember who he was.
"Lie back down on the berth," Starscream ordered curtly; his face and demeanor now all business, "I'm going to override your chip. I warn you now that what you are about to see and experience may be shocking, but you must not panic."
"Yes, sir," VS-5001 nodded dutifully.
Starscream then strapped his brother to the berth and opened up his helm. He didn't know much about surgery on mechs, but he did fully understand the inner workings of the Vehicon inhibitor chips and how to override them. He was careful as he forced VS-5001 into stasis lock and proceeded to render his inhibitor chip useless. He knew the memories would be painful, but it was necessary if he was going to have his brother back.