A.N.Well, finally I've managed to update this after 8 years? without publishing anything new around here, even if I got written quite a lot of the story. There are many reasons for that, but they can summarize in basically two things: shit happens in RL and I lost the purpose of the initial ideal for this story. Besides, I had a hard time trying to find a good beta-reader for this, but nowadays Cathleigh is taking care of this story really well.
The story is coming to its end at this point, but let's say on this chapter is revealed one of the biggest mysteries around this story. I just cannot help but thinking our Screamy has an important task to do thanks to his spark.
Enjoy!
=Chapter-12=
"In the Middle of Nothing"
The sun was high above their helmets, the atmosphere torrid and very dry, not even the nearby sea wind could stop that, and whirlwinds removed the grey volcanic dust from the ground. It was amazing how different the humid north region of Tenerife was from the dry south on such a little island. However, this wasn't a big deal for the Transformers in the middle of the dry land; they could deal with far more extreme climates.
Suddenly, a beeping sound came from somewhere; this time it wasn't Swindle talking, but something different. Wheeljack recognized that sound and raised his right arm. A little screen appeared on his forearm; there, he could see a human face with dark hair, vivid eyes and the typical resemblance of a Mediterranean Latino human who spoke in Spanish with a strong Canaries accent. They both exchanged words despite Wheeljack finding it hard to imitate a Canaries' accent since this was the very first time he'd heard it. Finally the window was closed, then the engineer raised his head and turned towards Optimus, who was still in shock.
"Optimus, I've got a message from the human authorities in this archipelago," he began. "They say that this region is called Playa de las Américas and Playa de los Cristianos… they're evacuating the tourist areas and they're scanning the rest of the islands."
"They're late… they should have been on alert since we saw the big blast on these islands," answered Optimus half absently as a result of the latest revelations.
"Apparently, the human who governs those issues wasn't... available."(1)
"What?"
"He was on his day off, fishing or something." Wheeljack snorted almost in awe. "I've told them we're taking care of this, though."
"Ok," Optimus replied. "Good job, Wheeljack."
But it was Skyfire who was still utterly in shock after the discovery; the big white mech kept gazing at the two seekers, wondering how much they were both like each other, and at the same time, how different they were. Plus, the idea of another "Skyfire" flying around in another universe too was highly… disconcerting.
"Go on, Skyfire," the dark faced seeker snorted, "I know how much you wish to say it."
The foreign seeker gazed at him with the same questioning look as he had during their previous chats; it was quite obvious they both knew, plus the Air Commander wore the same facial expression as Wheeljack, back in his native universe of course. However, the big white mech preferred to address him, so the foreign Starscream decided to ignore his counterpart.
"I-I can see now why you mixed me up with that other mech… What was his name? Jetfire, I think?"
"Yes," the blue eyed seeker nodded, "I mixed you up with him. You both look similar, but now I think about it… you are a different person to him."
The Air Commander caught their speech and he listened to them carefully.
"So, you know every Autobot's incarnation back in your universe, right?" he sneered.
"I know the ones I met on Earth," his namesake explained. "As for Jetfire, I think he's a different individual because their resemblances are slight. Jetfire is a cargo mech, too, but he's Optimus' second-in-command, and a very cocky guy, too," he added, having the feeling his namesake was referring to Skyfire's counterpart in particular.
"…Cocky?" exclaimed the big white transformer, "- 'Optimus' second in Command'?" he repeated. "I hardly believe that Jetfire mech is… me."
The Air Commander smirked. "Believe him. Apparently we all have a counterpart there, even if it's one of those Minicons."
"…And knowing you, you're taking it very well," finished Skyfire, feeling slightly upset.
"I cannot think of him as my real counterpart," the Air Commander barked back, looking at his namesake over his shoulder. "He's not like me at all!"
"I don't think so," his namesake replied. "We are both very much alike, even if you don't dare face up to it."
Starscream turned furiously towards his namesake, still hurt by his words when they'd both fought each other just a couple of groons ago; he was about to shoot him with his rifles when he remembered he was disarmed and surrounded by Autobots.
"Enough, Starscream, both of you!" roared Optimus, paraphrasing Megatron without knowing it. "I don't want any fighting between you two and I don't care why you're fighting." Again, the Air Commander stepped back, just enough to put a safe distance between him and Optimus. "But I want to know something else about you…. Starscream," announced Optimus, turning his soft blue optics towards the also blue optics of the foreign seeker. "Why do you keep a Unicronian with you?" he asked gravely.
The Air Commander was startled as he realized what Optimus' question meant, but he was conscious of his helplessness about the Minicon matter; however, his namesake's answer wasn't anything like what he'd expected.
"Minicons didn't choose to be Unicronians, Prime, nor to serve him as his acolytes," Starscream answered as he placed the little mech on his shoulder structure. "They were created to manipulate us, the Children of Primus… but they truly don't want to be Unicron's tools."
Optimus and Wheeljack exchanged nervous looks; since the blue eyed seeker had revealed his pet's origin, it was quite obvious they didn't like Swindle's proximity, and they looked at him like some sort of disgusting being, despite his little size making him easier to be around. Swindle, however, seemed to ignore that; the only thing he didn't seem to like was that he had been mixed up with his namesake.
"I am not sure I'd like to know much about the place you come from…" Wheeljack answered, looking at Starscream and the little being perched on his shoulder insolently, like some sort of parrot. "I don't want to know who I am there… even if you told us who you are and who Skyfire's counterpart could be."
The mech who'd been alluded to noticed the blue eyed seeker gazing at him almost unnoticeably. Somehow, it seemed, the blue eyed Seeker wanted to tell him something else; however the Autobot engineer kept talking.
"I don't even know if I should call you by your name," he confessed.
Just then, Swindle beeped something, which made his master look at him with a questioning look on his blue optics, and the other Starscream blinked as he tried to catch the meaning of the little being's speech.
"Swindle says he understands you because he doesn't like his counterpart here, either," his master announced. "But it doesn't mean you have to deny our existence." Starscream paused. "I know you feel… uneasy about your counterpart, Wheeljack. But I perhaps I should say something about him to all of you. Your incarnation has… many things to tell about him."
This time was Wheeljack's turn to blink. "I don't know what to say about that."
"The Unicronian seems to have… quite clear thoughts," Optimus reflected, "but it doesn't explain why you are both together. Furthermore, I'm afraid he's related to a very big plasma shot we saw when we were on our way here."
The Air Commander gasped and turned towards Optimus and his namesake. "You saw it?" he exclaimed, forgetting his current status and admitting that it was useless to hide it.
"Yes, Starscream… it was too powerful to go unnoticed. And now it's quite obvious you are all involved with it."
The Air Commander gasped, unable to say anything as he arranged his thoughts. "If they saw the power my counterpart got from the Minicon, that means the rest of the Autobots are also aware of that…. and probably Megatron too. Primus! This is getting problematic… and my moronic counterpart just rambles on about evil gods! He's worse than Sunstorm in one of his religious rambling attacks!" It was obvious that his recent scheme was already known about, but his namesake's answer was something totally different.
"That's the Minicon's function. Unicron created them to use them against us, the children of Primus." Starscream sighed heavily, "The blast you saw was caused by Swindle… That's how Unicron's power works over us."
"…Killing us with such power?" Optimus figured out.
Starscream nodded, his blue optics completely serious. "Yes. And making us, both Autobots and Decepticons, addicted to them and their power."
"What!?" exclaimed his namesake: this was totally different to what he knew.
"-Addicted to them?" mused Wheeljack with a chill.
"I can't find a better term to define it," the blue eyed Starscream explained. "In my universe, we Cybertronians seek Minicon power and that's how Unicron wanted to control and exterminate us... by making us desire Minicon power and later assimilating us."
For the first time in a long time, Wheeljack could see a revolted look in Optimus' soft optics; even if the others questioned Unicron's existence, the facts this Starscream was explaining couldn't be ignored.
The Air Commander also was disturbed by the idea; of course saying that this Minicon thing was an Unicronian made no sense, but saying that it could create addiction was another matter entirely, and even if the dark faced Starscream thought he could avoid getting addicted or perhaps could develop some sort of antidote, it also meant the last word belonged to that beeping thing. Perhaps keeping that Minicon wasn't really a good idea, but rather that it was something that could fit into "Megatron's crazy schemes".
At this point, the white faced Starscream had his chance to speak freely about everything that had happened.
"Unicron's ultimate purpose is erasing us, Primus' Children, so he tries to support the war between our factions as much as possible. In my universe, Unicron tried to keep our forces balanced, so neither side could ever get the upper hand," he explained gravely, trying to hide the tinge of sadness in his voice and keeping his speech in line. "The Minicons would help him to keep us at war as much as possible till we got eradicated fighting each other. But fortunately for us, they overcame that purpose and first tried to hide themselves from us, and later, they helped us to find a way against Unicron... That's why Swindle stays with me."
The Minicon perched on his shoulder beeped in agreement. However, Optimus sighed heavily; it seemed the deca-vorns of war had suddenly affected him and now he just felt defeated.
"That's a really vile plan..." he mused. "Even if they don't agree to do that anymore."
The white-faced Starscream nodded. "I realize that... I knew the war between our factions is precisely what Unicron wants... So I tried to stop it."
The other Starscream made a startled jump and stared at his counterpart in awe.
"You tried to what? Are you serious?" His tone was the usual mixture of mockery and cockiness, but dropped incredulity.
Apparently, the Air Commander was unable to give any credit to his counterpart, but Optimus couldn't help but feel amazed toward this Starscream incarnation, and the Prime found himself giving him respect he could hardly have given the Air Commander after eons of war.
"How did you try to do that?" the Prime asked.
The blue optic seeker dropped his visor and sighed heavily. "I-I tried to stop it by fighting my leader, Galva... Megatron. I thought if I could defeat him, I would able to get some sense out of him, to make him listen to me and - and..." His shoulders dropped heavily, a very notorious gesture due to the heaviness of his kibble launchers.
"And?" Optimus asked softly.
"I-I don't know what happened afterwards. It was then that I was brought here."
Everybody else was really astonished by the news. Of course the Autobots didn't know the conditions under which the seeker with the blue optics had appeared in this world, but the Air Commander did, and he couldn't help asking aloud, forgetting to hide the information he had about the Decepticons's encounter with his counterpart.
"It cannot be... You were really wounded when we found you! Was Galvatron the one who did that to you? Weren't your wounds caused by the Autobots?"
"Galvatron?" Wheeljack exclaimed, "Who...?"
"It's the current name of Megatron back in my reality," the white faced Starscream explained briefly before answering his counterpart's questions. In spite of the recent events, he now deserved an honest answer because he had certainly twisted the events when he was interrogated and his counterpart had pressed him to use Swindle when he knew basically nothing about his whereabouts. In a certain sense, it was easy to understand why the Air Commander demanded the Minicon from him; to him, it was just a powerful weapon, not the instrument of extinction Swindle truly was.
"Yes, the wound that opened my lasercore was his work... The rest of it was Unicron's. "
The dark faced Starscream gasped. He had seen the wounds, the reports about them, and they were hideous. Not because they made his counterpart look like he had been attended to by a butcher, but because his lasercore had been opened and exposed... by Megatron's counterpart. The Air Commander himself had suffered a lot of beatings, but none so severe that could leave him in such a state, with his spark exposed. Now he understood why his counterpart said he had suffered the same, or perhaps even worse than him. But even so, his counterpart tried to give him an honest explanation.
"I got wounds from both of them. I told you half of it, Starscream... I couldn't tell you the whole truth because it would put me in a compromising position, and none of you would believe me. I sorry fooled you."
"You were an idiot!" he exclaimed aloud, his voice dropping disappointment and fear because of those events. "I understand you didn't tell the whole thing to Megatron here... But did you truly think you could stop Megatron and make him listen to you by fighting him? Is there any sense in your brain processor? Didn't you think first?" At this point, only the Autobots' presence made the Air Commander contain himself to rapping his counterpart on the helmet.
"I had no choice. It was that or seeing how Unicron destroyed our homeplanet and our people. I had to stop him no matter the cost!"
At this point, it was Optimus who became startled. He had said exactly the same words about Megatron so many times, but hearing them coming from Starscream, even if he was a different version of him, was certainly something else. The Prime couldn't help but intervene.
"Starscream... What you did is certainly honorable and says a lot about you," he began and the blue eyed seeker looked at him with mute respect as his counterpart snorted loudly. "Can you tell us what happened in the end?"
"I don't know, Optimus... I just-I just appeared here in stasis mode. I don't know what has been happening since I appeared here, nor why I'm here."
In spite of the tension between the Decepticon Air Commander and everybody else, mainly Skyfire, the white big mech had managed to gather his thoughts and come to a reliable logical and scientific conclusion.
"Starscream... both of you. And you too, Optimus. I still find it hard to believe everything about Unicron, but it's obvious that what this alternative Starscream claims to be fighting is the reason he's here now. It's clear that's the cause of these events."[F1]
Both Starscreams looked at the white big mech as the realization of what he said hit them. Of course, each of them had a different opinion about that matter, but the facts couldn't be ignored.
"It... it cannot be. Then, why...?"
"Yes! Why is my counterpart here and nobody else's? Why precisely him...or me?" The Air Commander demanded to know.
Soundwave had felt fear so many times in long deca-vorns. He could feel the fear in others, and it wasn't a secret that he truly enjoyed that: the feeling of helplessness, the dead coming after somebody, the wave of regrets before the inevitable end... and certainly it was pleasing to him since it gave him a feeling of superiority unachievable for others. But feeling such things in his own spark and not from others was an entirely different matter, especially if the cause was beyond his understanding. And that was what he had felt when that masked mech had appeared on the screen, exhorting Megatron to stop his SIC and his intriguing counterpart.
The mind that he had felt was beyond anything else he could relate to in his long experience as mind-reader. It was vast, larger than any Cybertronian could understand, even the Prime's. The only thing that he could compare it to was the Matrix's song, but that was also beyond any reasonable comparison since he never truly heard the Matrix's chants in his spark. But even so, the Communicators Chief was sure of one thing: the Matrix wasn't as terrifying.
That mind he just touched for nano-clicks before going backwards, was filled with power and mighty hatred for Cybertronians beyond any understanding. It was so large, so powerful and so terrifying that, despite almost a groon having passed since he had barely touched that mind, his legs still shook.
And what he had felt had a name: Unicron.
It was almost immediately that the name of the "Chaos Bringer" appeared in his mind. The masked mech didn't seem to proclaim his identity, but the feather touch in its mind had been enough to make Soundwave realize its true identity. It was so obvious that he could hardly understand why Megatron hadn't noticed anything wrong in that guy.
It was certainly a problem.
The Decepticon Leader did nothing about it, he just was pissed off because an unknown mech had dared to give him orders as if he was some sort of minion; but in the end, these orders were to stop Starscream (both), which wasn't anything unusual in his routine. Why would it be questioned? No, for Megatron it just was another time dealing with a usual problem, besides the Autobots, of course. Eventually he would deal with the insolent mech that dared to command him.
But Soundwave realized there had to be a reason to do so. Why would he want the Chaos Bringer to stop those Starscreams? Why would such a mighty being give an order like that to the Decepticon Leader? And why did the Decepticons have to obey Unicron's orders in the end? Of course they didn't have any other choice, but still... The only logical explication he could find was those two Starscreams were a threat to the Chaos Bringer.
To tell the truth, now he realized that the mind of the foreign Starscream had talked loudly about "Unicron" since their first contact, and the seeker had tried to hide that fact by raising barriers around any thought related with that name. However Soundwave had caught its name very clearly in his mind. Did it mean both Starscreams were a threat to him? And that the foreign Starscream actually knew that?
No. Of course, such an idea almost made Soundwave laugh, even if it was a rare sight. Yes, the Air Commander was very efficient in his job and position, and perhaps that weird counterpart of his was as well... But picturing both Starscreams as a threat to Unicron was ridiculous. Perhaps it was better to ignore whatever they were doing and let it go. Or perhaps they just couldn't do that: who was powerful enough to stop Unicron? Better to obey him and avoid further problems.
Also, he could tell Megatron about his findings, and try to put some sense into his thick head. But Soundwave doubted it could work: Megatron only cared about other people's opinions when it affected his own interests, and even if Soundwave managed to somehow make him understand that the masked guy was "Unicron", it was a threat to Megatron himself, and the Cybertron and the Decepticon cause... the fact was the ex-gladiator wasn't a believer, although he was able to understand the importance of the Matrix or Vector Sigma. So, although Megatron didn't see that masked guy as Unicron itself, he wouldn't pay attention to Soundwave's pleas.
In the end, it seemed the only option was to obey his orders and try to stop the Starscreams, whatever they were doing.
Or perhaps to just follow orders and later, change his plans to the best option for him. After all, the foreign seeker seemed to know something about Unicron, and perhaps it would bring up some nice possibilities in case of a confrontation.
Yes, that could be the best option.
Swindle put his servos over his hips and beeped in a loud voice, attracting everybody's attention towards him. The Autobots were still feeling uneasy around such a little creature and kept trying to understand the beeping language that it used, but judging by the white eyed Starscream's gasp, it certainly had to be important. The Air Commander also agreed, because his exclamation followed that gasp.
"What!?"
"What do you mean, 'I cannot believe you don't know'?"
At this point, it was obvious both Decepticons were fully able to understand the Minicon's language. The little Cybertronian, or rather, Unicronian, kept beeping with a smug expression on his little face as he crossed his arms over his chest, in a disappointed gesture.
"Swindle..." Optimus began to say, being not capable of following what the little Unicronian wanted to say, "What is it that we don't know?"
Skyfire frowned. He had known Starscream from long ago, but even if he always found it amazing that a military frame type as him got into science and had a sharp intelligence, he never saw anything particularly strange, even less "holy", in his ex-friend and companion. And judging from his reaction and his counterpart's, they certainly didn't, either. In fact, both Decepticons were staring at the Minicon with intense glares.
Swindle beeped again, this time addressing Optimus directly, perhaps for first time since the questioning started. His masked face, a feature pretty usual among his kind, showed a surprised look as he talked.
"He says..." the blue eyed Starscream started to say.
"Now I can understand him, thank you Starscream" Optimus interrupted. "The Unicronian says he's surprised because I don't know it, either, even if I'm the Matrix Keeper here." The Prime turned towards the little Minicon, "What is it that we should know?"
"What we should know is the Decepticons mean to be the real rulers of Cybertron and me their mighty leader. What else?" The Air Commander spat, half serious, half mocking due the nature of the odd conversation he was involved in. He got no answer to his rant, except a heavy sigh from his counterpart and Skyfire.
Swindle facepalmed, and denied with a shake of his head, which was kind of dramatic coming from him; then sighed and started to beep again, explaining himself.
"I was hoping at least one of you knew why this has happened, but I see it isn't like that. Apparently none of you know why we're here."
The two Starscreams, and the rest of the Cybertronians of course, were startled as they heard such an explanation, but only the blue eyed Decepticon gasped.
"What!?" he exclaimed aloud, "Did you know all this time!?"
Swindle relaxed his arms and stroked his masked chin, "No, not really... I was shocked when we both ended up here and, at first, I didn't know why. But when we met your counterpart, and I sensed him, I figured it out."
"What?" the blue eyed Starscream exclaimed, he just couldn't understand what his little partner meant to say.
To tell the truth, his counterpart didn't know, either.
"You sensed me?" the Air Commander exclaimed, "What is that supposed to mean? Are you both here because of *me*?"
The dark faced Starscream had a smug expression on his face as he said this and it certainly seemed to please him to know he was important enough to have in his presence another version of him from another reality. It was flattering, but deep inside he knew there was something odd going on.
"Was it you who caused this, Starscream?" Skyfire asked in a grave tone, the same one he used millennia ago when he was serious with his ex-friend.
"No, of course not." The Air Commander didn't care to say the opposite. "If I truly wanted another version of me around here, I'd try somebody more cooperative than him."
"I didn't, either; that's for sure," the other Starscream explained just after his counterpart's response, ignoring what the Air Commander had implied. "I just explained how I ended up here. I had no control over it."
Optimus sighed heavily. In spite of the odds, it was nice this foreign version of the Air Commander was so honest; at least, it made it clear who was behind everything.
"This only leaves two options: you were both brought here from your native universe by a higher force... Or you were both placed here from a force from your native universe" he concluded.
Wheeljack, who had remained silent till that moment, listening carefully to what every party involved had to say, finally dared to participate, although he only addressed the Prime.
"Optimus... I think whatever the entity or the reason that put these guys in our universe is, it was for a purpose related with Unicron."
"I'm afraid you're right, old friend," Optimus answered with a heavy sigh.
The Air Commander frowned. Yes, he kept thinking the whole issue about Unicron was just a huge pile of scrap, but he had to admit Skyfire was right. Even if he didn't believe this Unicron guy was the source of his counterpart's presence in this reality... certainly there had to be somebody that wanted this to happen. Deca-vorns of battle' experience and his sharp mind had made him to be alert about what the Minicon (or whoever else) could say.
Optimus, however, seemed more prone to talking with the Unicronian pet, better than him or even his counterpart. At least his questions seemed accurate due to the circumstances, even if those questions were about his persona.
"What is it that you had to test on this Starscream?" the Prime asked.
Swindle glanced to the Air Commander and then to his partner, who kept looking at him in surprise, almost anxious of what he was going to say.
"I guess I cannot help telling you all what I know" the Minicon announced. "As Starscream said, my kind has the skill to check and test the particular skills of every Cybertronian. Unicron made us like this, and it is our doom, but also our blessing." He sighed heavily, an unusual thing for the little creature. "We knew when the time would come; our kind had to convince the Cybertronians they had to stop the war in order to stop Unicron... We knew the Prime, as the Matrix Keeper, would have a major role in this task."
At this point, Swindle was looking at Optimus directly. It was surprising to see the Prime so focused in the little creature, almost overwhelmed by his revelations. Next to him, Wheeljack had a similar expression over his masked face.
"I guess it makes sense..." he mused, his ears shining.
"Yes, you're right... little Swindle. I had known it for a long time, and I guess my counterpart back in your universe thought the same. The Prime kind shares this kind of fate."
Skyfire and the Air Commander both raised their eye-ridges. Even if they both knew about the possibilities of other universes, the idea of "a spark that shares the same fate in every of them" was just too mystical to be taken seriously. However, it was obvious Optimus believed in that, and Wheeljack wasn't really that different.
"Yeah, right... And what has that got to do with me?" the Air Commander sneered before his counterpart had the chance to ask pretty much the same question.
Swindle turned towards the two Decepticons and glared at them. "Your sparks have similar qualities," he announced.
There was a tense silence, before both Starscreams exclaimed at the same time.
"What!?"
Swindle nodded. "At first, I wasn't sure... But when I met you..." he announced looking at the Air Commander directly, "I checked your spark and I realized you had a spark with the same projection as my partner. You both share the same purpose, among other similarities."
The Starscream with blue optics dropped his mouth in amazement. Apparently the other Cybertronians had similar thoughts because none of them dared to say anything before he could put two and two together.
"So that was the reason, wasn't it? That's why you kept saying it was necessary that my counterpart here knew about you..." His tone of voice sounded astonished.
Swindle nodded, a smug expression decorating his masked face.
The Air Commander, however, felt uneasy. He had seen how the little being had showed himself in front of him, and how it had approached him every time the Minicon had a chance; it had even accepted to do a demonstration of the skills that could sharply increase his counterpart's skills. Till that moment, he had thought it was because that being thought of him as his true master and was willing to serve his purposes... but now, he had just learned he was being tested. He felt fooled by the little being, and it annoyed him.
However, the issue about his spark still remained unclear.
Optimus was immersed in similar thoughts. Yes, the Matrix's song in his spark was a guide to him, and also a source of power; it helped him to find a way when all the paths were dark, and also to get advice about what to do in several circumstances. But it never said anything explicit about Starscream or at least, nothing about a particular role of him aside from to stop him in the war between Autobots and Decepticons. What had he missed, then? The Prime glanced at Skyfire, who still looking at both Starscreams with a similar expression of disbelief, being unable to digest what was going on; the Prime expected that he could give some answer about Starscream since they both were friends once; however, the white mech caught his questioning look and answered by shaking his head with an incredulous expression.
"Okay, Minicon or whatever you are," the Air Commander began to say, "And what is so important about my spark?"
The white faced Starscream held his breath, afraid of Swindle's answer. He didn't find his leadership an excuse for such a deed.
"Yes, definitely none of you know about it," Swindle said, "I guess you are both too buried in your own slag that you cannot hear what your sparks say," He sighed dramatically, although he seemed to be pleased to gather such an amount of attention from both Starscreams, and everybody else, of course. "Your sparks are immortal because Primus wanted something special from both of you."
"What!?"
Swindle nodded, almost amused because of their astonished looks.
"Yup... You two cannot die. Not as long as Primus doesn't want it."
"WHAT!?"
It wasn't the first time that Thundercracker wasn't happy about a turn of events. It wasn't the first time he'd had to participate in another hunting-punishment of his crazy Air Commander, in spite of the millennia he had spent under his orders. And it wasn't the first time he wondered what the heck he was doing in Decepticons' ranks, and later, being persuaded by Skywarp about what it was that had to be done.
Honestly, it was already getting old.
In spite of the words exchanged with Skywarp, the navy blue seeker couldn't help but think this time something was out of place. The Decepticon ranks were gathering around Megatron and Soundwave to accomplish the mission of hunting two Starscreams, which sounded like a bad joke. But in spite of Skywarp's reasoning and the rest of the people there... Thundercracker was sure of the good will of the white faced Starscream and his lack of ill intentions. He knew this Screamer wasn't like the Air Commander, not in every way at least; so he was sure this Starscream would not create havoc among the lines, nor hurt a fellow without reason or involve somebody in his schemes. So the only option left was that the Air Commander had messed his counterpart around for some reason, Megatron had freaked out, and now they had to stop him *again*.
But as Megatron barked orders here and there, Thundercracker noticed Soundwave was oddly quiet. Yeah, the guy was a bastard that enjoyed feeling the pain and despair in others, but he was certainly really silent and only spoke when it was totally necessary... However, usually Soundwave was Megatron's shadow, and now he remained utterly still next to a wall; Thundercracker could bet he was shaking lightly. Perhaps it was unnoticeable for others, or perhaps they just didn't care; but the blue seeker had learned over deca-vorns to recognize the warning signals among his upper ranks, and a trembling Soundwave wasn't usual. What was really happening there? Was it something related to Skywarp's assumption? Or did the purple seeker just assume Soundwave was hiding something because he was trembling?
However, Skywarp seemed totally oblivious to these facts, as it wasn't anything important; in fact, the purple seeker was talking and joking with others around him, making puns about the new Screamer and how long it had taken to "hunt" him, just like his counterpart; but Thundercracker didn't listen to him, he was becoming worried about the turn of events as all the Seekers and the Triplecharges entered the elevator towards the main gate.
Finally, the crocodile-like gate opened, and he had to throw himself in the air, following his leader, Soundwave and his seeker companions. Thundercracker transformed himself into his alternative earthling aerial form as the ocean's breeze soaked his wings with little specks of water.
Then, he noticed how Soundwave had caressed his mind. Despite the mental barriers around it, it was obvious the Communications officer had realized the blue seeker knew there was something worrying him and wanted to find out more.
Oh, joy!
Two Screamers, a very powerful thing, a scared Soundwave... And nobody was able to see there was something odd?
"It-it cannot be" the seeker of the blue optics mused, "I'm... we're both immortal?"
"Is it so hard to believe?" Swindle beeped with a certain amusement. "You could survive Unicron's beam, even if it meant to kill you."
Starscream wasn't able to articulate any words, but the Air Commander seemed to struggle to keep a cool head and not bark similarly in spite of such a revelation. It was too important to be taken blithely.
"Wait! You just said your wounds were caused by this 'Unicron' and Galvatron... And now, that thing is saying Unicron meant to kill you. Am I the only one that thinks there is incongruence here?" His tone was petulant, but it was obvious he was trying to hide his fears.
Skyfire recognized the tone and understood it, but he had the same question in his mental processor, so he nodded softly at his ex-friend's question. Despite the events that had broken their friendship, the big white cargo mech still recognized many of the seeker's personal traits and had to agree with them in the same way they did in the past.
"That's because all his wounds were caused by the battle he described many breems ago," Swindle clarified, and then he turned towards his master, who remained open mouthed. "Unicron tried to destroy you by shooting an energy beam at you; I could avoid it because I jumped out of your frame just in time, but I saw how the beam totally engulfed you."
"But-but..." the white faced seeker babbled.
"You have to remember the pain. It was destroying your body," Swindle reasoned quite calmly; in spite of the circumstances, the Minicon almost seemed amused by their awkward faces.
The foreign seeker lowered his gaze and mused in wonder at the realization. "Yes, I remember... that. The pain, it was horrible. But after that..."
"Precisely. What happened after that?" the dark faced Starscream questioned. "Where is the proof he- we are both 'immortal'? I cannot believe something like that, although it sounds really pleasing to me! I'm the next Decepticon leader after all."
Skyfire sighed, but mentally he nodded. In a sense, he was surprised by how quietly Starscream was coping with what Swindle had said, but was also pleased at his cold reasoning in spite of his pitchy voice and cocky speech; it could be worse than that. Plus, neither Prime nor Wheeljack seemed to be able to deal with such an affirmation, as they both remained in heavy silence and their blue optics jumped from one Starscream to the other and back to the Minicon like a tennis match.
"Unicron tried to kill the Starscream of my universe because he dared to face him, and also because he was about to get his destiny," the Minicon explained carefully in a very serious tone. "But when Unicron tried to kill him, he realized it was impossible because his spark is immortal, and it causes him to stay around, no matter what."
The wings of the white faced seeker were shaking and he was barely able to make the next question straight, "And-and what happened to me after that? I just remember the pain."
"The pain was your supposed death" Swindle explained in a serious tone. "To own an immortal spark doesn't make you invulnerable to pain."
The dark faced Starscream snorted loudly, still skeptical about the revelation made by Swindle. Of course, he didn't like to think about his own death; he feared that greatly, making him a coward at times; but the Air Commander was well aware of the nature of death among its kind and the cultural view of that. Primus' believers thought when a Cybertronian died, its spark would go back to the Matrix (according to certain beliefs) or to the Well of Sparks (according to other beliefs), but those were just religious ramblings. As far he was concerned, "Death" was just when a Cybertronian (or any other lifeform) was extinguished, and in the Cybertronian's case, it meant the total destruction of its lasercore and spark, its cerebral unit or even deep damage to its T-cog if not to all of its body; and all of those usually came along with grey and lifeless armor. He had learned that very well since he joined the War Academy millennia ago and had to overcome his initial rejection towards killing others.
And now, this little being that beeped because it probably lacked a vocalizator, and proclaimed to be created by the Chaos Bringer itself... affirmed that he and his counterpart owned immortal sparks. A nuisance, since the best way to prove it was gambling your own life, and the Minicon's explanations about how his counterpart had survived to his death were just incongruent.
However, his counterpart seemed to be thinking deeply about it, overcome by the news. He truly seemed to be following the Minicon's reasoning and believing in it. Perhaps that battle they both described –which seemed to be real due the nature of the wounds he had seen on his counterpart's weird chassis- had damaged his CPU and he actually truly believed in that.
"But... if Unicron killed me off and destroyed my body, why am I here with my full body?" he asked softly.
His counterpart raised an eye ridge in wonder. Actually that was a good question that could clarify everything.
"Unicron is also able to create new beings, I'm the proof of that." Swindle answered, "But when he uses Cybertronians, the Primus' Children, he isn't able to fully rebuild them, so he just changes them into some new being that obeys its purpose, or he keeps them in the original state he found them in."
The white faced seeker raised his head and looked at Swindle in surprise. At this point, Prime finally managed to say something.
"I see. That's why your body wasn't fully restored when you came here. Unicron just couldn't repair the damage that was caused by Mega-Galvatron."
"That's correct, Prime," the Minicon answered with a smile under his face mask.
"Under that logic, I have to admit it makes sense," Skyfire said.
The Air Commander was about to answer that, but he trailed off. Skyfire was right, and he knew very well when his old partner was right, and this was one of those times.
"Okay... Primus has a bad sense of humor and pretends Starscream's immortal," Wheeljack started to say without hiding his annoyance and incredulity, "But it doesn't explain why you and that Unicronian are here."
"That's something I'm not truly sure about," Swindle explained, scratching his masked chin with one hand. "Perhaps it wasn't Unicron who placed us here, with the other Starscream, perhaps Primus also wanted to because of the purpose they share."
The Air Commander snorted loudly and started to talk in the same tone, "What? More contradictions? You bunch of mystic fools just said Unicron isn't able to repair Cybertronian bodies without changing them... and now, you say perhaps it was somebody else who placed my counterpart here without caring to repair it fully. Does this mean there is somebody else that wants to bring you both here and is not able to repair a body?"
"I have to agree. Starscream is right" added Skyfire. "Somebody who is able to jump between universes should be able to repair a Cybertronian, even with the damage you speak about."
Wheeljack passed a hand over his face in a tired gesture, and then he sighed heavily. "I have to agree with them, Optimus. This doesn't make sense."
The Air Commander's triumphant smile was obvious. Even an old crazy inventor such as that Autobot was able to see it.
"I know, my friend, but I think we're forgetting the most important question here." He turned towards the Minicon once again and asked quietly, "Why are their sparks immortal, Swindle? What are Primus's intentions towards Starscream? I'm the Prime of this reality, but I don't get it, only that I can feel Unicron's presence here, as I stated some breems ago."
Wheeljack snapped his metallic fingers. "*That's* the question, without doubt! I hope it has a convincing answer, because to think of this guy as immortal gives me the creeps."
Everybody stared at the Minicon, each with different thoughts in mind. Swindle started to reveal what he knew in serious tone.
"I don't know the details, but I know from long ago that Unicron feared that Primus's Children could face him... It wouldn't happen as long as the Cybertronians keep fighting each other, which would make Primus weaker and Unicron stronger. As I said, that was the reason he created us."
"And what else? Please, continue," Optimus asked.
"In order to avoid that, Primus created the Primes, along with other selected sparks to accomplish the task of stopping Unicron. Each of those sparks has a different duty. Starscream's spark is immortal because he must accomplish that duty, no matter what."
"My duty? And what mystical and holy duty is it supposed that I have?" the Air Commander asked, crossing his arms with obvious skepticism.
Swindle glanced at him, and later to his partner, who was utterly silent. Finally he spoke, "Your duty is to be the Cybertronian that will unite all Primus' Children again... sorta."
There was a heavy silence, nobody dared to speak and Swindle didn't want to interrupt what every Cybertronian there was thinking; their open mouthed faces alone spoke of their feelings, but it was obvious the ones that felt more uneasy were his partner and his counterpart, and the Prime, of course. To tell the truth, the Minicon didn't care too much about what that nerdy version of Wheeljack was thinking, or the big white cargo mech, who wore an amusing expression of confusion on his face plates; his only concerns were the Prime and the two Seekers.
On the other hand, the Air Commander couldn't deny he felt overwhelmed by the news. 'The Cybertronian that will unite all Primus' Children again' was a really heavy announcement to take lightly, but somehow, in some way, it sounded right to him: he had spent millennia fighting the Autobots because he thought the Decepticons were the best for Cybertron, and winning the war meant uniting the Cybertronians under the right rule. However the word "unite" seemed to have a different meaning here, something to do with overcoming their differences and all coming together, not to annihilate the Autobots or the Prime under only one flag and to rule over them as the triumphing Decepticons. The Minicon had just said that the Primes had other tasks besides his, after all.
He glanced towards his counterpart, who was staring at his pedes without daring to focus his optics towards anything different, his fist were clenched tightly and the tips of his long wings were shaking unconscientiously, which caused them to look like feathered wings. At this point, the Air Commander realized his own wings were shaking like this too, and he couldn't stop them despite his cold facade on his face plates. Besides, Skyfire had noticed it, but the big cargo mech didn't dare to say anything; they weren't friends anymore, right?
"Now I understand why Sidesways always wanted me dead; it is so obvious, but till now I hadn't understood why he always was plotting against me… But why me, Swindle?" The white faced seeker asked in a quiet and low voice. "How can I accomplish such a big task? I don't understand."
The Minicon patted his shoulders with one of his launcher kibbles in a comforting gesture. "Well, that's what you were about to do when you faced Galvatron, weren't you? You realized the war between the Autobots and Decepticons was futile, that Unicron was the real threat, and you tried to stop it and to get all the Cybertronians united against Unicron, didn't you?"
The seeker with blue optics gasped and raised his visors, looking at the Minicon in disbelief. "I did, didn't I?" he mused.
Swindle nodded, his masked face kept the same smug expression, but this time because he was proud of his partner.
Optimus, however, wasn't any more skilled than the two seekers in understanding what the Minicon was saying. In spite of the Matrix's song, he could barely see them as Primus' tools for his big purposes. He had called the foreign seeker "honourable", but he would never call the Air Commander that... and now, the Minicon was saying those two were involved in a very important task for the Cybertronians. How could it be possible that such mechs could be that "holy"? Why had he never listened to that song from the Matrix?
However, the Air Commander grunted heavily; for him, everything still remained quite unclear.
"I admit my counterpart here can be really moronic and thinks he can stop the war by fighting Megatron, or whatever name he chooses for himself back in his reality... But I won't do anything as moronic as that, even if my spark..." he spoke pointing at his lasercore with a blue finger, "...is immortal. Besides, I cannot understand how I could stop such a powerful being as that guy you keep calling 'Unicron' all by myself."
"Yes, I agree," Wheeljack said in spite of the fact that he was giving credit to the enemy. "The whole idea is way too crazy."
"I didn't say your purpose is to fight Unicron, but to unite the Cybertronians as a whole," Swindle clarified, raising a finger.
"But my counterpart just said..." the Air Commander began to reply.
"Yes, Swindle is right," the white faced seeker interrupted them. "I fought Galvatron because I thought at that time it was the best option to stop the war and to face Unicron all together, and after that, I faced Unicron alone." He sighed heavily. "But it doesn't mean it's the best way to unite the Cybertronians, just that it was my choice to do that at that time." His glosa curved into a sad smile. "If my purpose is to unite us, I now think I wouldn't try to do that like that, attacking Unicron alone by myself, I'd do something different. I'm too weak to do that and my acts were caused by despair."
"Well, at least you admit it was stupid," the dark faced seeker snarled. "But I'm not happy about fighting such a mech, the one called Unicron or whatever is he called, just because that thing says my spark is immortal."
"That's not your task, but rather the Prime's," Swindle clarified.
"Optimus?" Wheeljack asked the Prime, seeking a good answer.
"I'm afraid the Minicon is right. The main purpose of a Prime is to stop Unicron, really... I just didn't think the time to do that was so close." Optimus seemed defeated in a certain way, as if the long eons of war had drained him in just a matter of kliks. The idea of Starscream as the figure that would unite the Cybertronians was still too bizarre for him, and it didn't help him feel better.
"So, if my task is to unite my kind... How can I do it? I mean, without risking my chassis."
"That's something I don't know," Swindle admitted.
The Air Commander uncrossed his arms and inclined his head towards his counterpart's shoulder, just in front of the Minicon, menacing him with his glare as he got closer. His face plates were twisted in the same expression he used when he pointed out something against Megatron's plans, and started to talk in the same tone.
"Even if I admit that I like the idea of owning an immortal spark, everything else you said sounds like a big amount of slag to me. You speak as if you could communicate with Primus or whatever 'holy' entity you care to talk with... but you don't say how you can do that, or why you chose me or my counterpart to be around. That makes me think you're playing with us - me, and want to make a fool of me just because you want to get something at my expense. You'd better try something more convincing if you want me to buy your story."
As he spoke, his voice turned more screechy and the Minicon had a hard time trying to keep himself in place; the dark faced seeker was clearly menacing to him and his counterpart finally felt compelled to shield his partner with a servo.
"Enough!" he exclaimed aloud, "Swindle has been totally honest about what he explained about Unicron. I also saw that creature, and if he says Primus' purpose for me is that, I'm willing to believe him because everything I saw before being placed here proves that this is the truth. You should believe him, too!"
"The only thing it proves is you're an idiotic religious moron that believes in ghosts!" the Air Commander sneered as he stepped back.
"I have to agree with Starscream," Skyfire finally managed to say. "I don't know what happened to bring you two up here, but certainly I don't think it's because of Unicron. However, as I said previously, it's obvious somebody with enough power placed you here, and that Minicon being hasn't explained why he knows you two have immortal sparks and the purpose of that."
Starscream, the dark faced one, turned his face to his ex-friend in wonder. He knew the big white mech was right, and he was also well-aware of Skyfire's skepticism, so he had to accept his question in spite of their differences.
"Exactly. How did you know? Why did you seek a Cybertronian with a spark like mine?"
Swindle put his little servo over his partner's protective hand, asking him to put it away, revealing himself. Finally, he spoke.
"Every one of us knew that when we gained our consciousness through Hightwire, the first of us that learned what was happening. We knew there were Cybertronians who were crucial to fight Unicron and our creator wanted them dead or destroyed... however, we didn't know their names, physical appearance or whatever, just their sparks' pulse." He sighed heavily. "We wanted to avoid being used in the Cybertronian war, so we ran away to this planet; but we knew that the Cybertronians would eventually find us and use us to fight against each other. We didn't know who would find us, but we hoped one of them would be the Prime and the one with the immortal spark... I was the one found by the immortal one."
"So you expected to be found by me?" the white faced Starscream exclaimed.
"Not me, but we hoped one of us would have contact with you eventually... and it was me." Swindle's face turned into a cocky smile. "I was really proud to be the one you found, and also pleased because you always treated us as real people, and not just as tools."
The white faced Starscream smiled back at his Minicon; he was truly flattered by such words.
"I-I cannot believe what I'm hearing," Wheeljack mused.
"So you expected to find me in this universe, too. Ain't that right?" the Air Commander asked. "That's why you searched for me all this time."
Swindle sat down on his partner's shoulder with a jump, fully relaxed now; it seemed the dark faced seeker had changed his attitude and was more inclined to listening. The Minicon knew the seeker was smart, and probably wanted to hear everything in order to reach a conclusion instead of automatically denying everything. As the big cargo mech had already pointed out twice, there was certainly a powerful being that had placed them here, and the silver seeker just wanted to know why.
"I didn't know you were here at first," Swindle explained. "I just found out there were people I knew of different kinds and body shapes, and when I saw there was another self of my partner, I wanted to test you as well." He frowned. "But I had to be cautious because of that indigo mech who's able to read minds. I was afraid he would find me out, so I disguised myself as much as I could to avoid that. Later, I tested you when the chance appeared."
"Wait!" the Air Commander exclaimed suddenly, startled. "Are you saying Soundwave might know about you!?"
The Starscream with blue optics immediately understood why his counterpart was so alarmed. He had tried to hide any thoughts about Unicron and the Minicons whenever the Communicators Officer was around, always poking around in his mind, seeking any interesting thoughts; if he knew, he would rush to blab to Megatron about the Minicon, and that was something neither of the Starscreams wanted to happen. However, nothing of that sort had happened.
"I don't think so," he answered. "I realized Soundwave could read my thoughts just after the Constructicons repaired me and you came to interrogate me. I blocked any thought about Unicron and the Minicons in that time, and all the times he was around afterwards."
"You did? Good... But I don't think it's enough. It could be that Soundwave has learned about your pet at some point," the Air Commander answered getting nervous. "Slag! He could know!"
"Aren't you a little scaremonger?" his counterpart wondered.
"Yeah, I also covered up myself with my partner as much as I could, so his mind never touched mine," Swindle added. "I don't think you need to be worried about that, and it certainly isn't your main problem."
The Air Commander sneered at them, ignoring the rest of optics that were looking at him.
"Soundwave isn't the Communicators Chief because he won his rank in a bet, you morons! He has spies everywhere," the dark faced Starscream barked. "Why do you think he sent you to give me the energon cubes after...?" His words trailed off when he realized he was about to reveal what had happened in front of the Autobots, or worse, in front of Skyfire. The Air Commander didn't want to be shown up in front of his ex-friend.
However, the fact was the big white mech had noticed the change of mood in his ex-friend and he knew something had happened, something that made Starscream hide himself behind an unusual silence, which was quite odd coming from somebody like him. He frowned, knowing it had to be unpleasant and that it probably also affected him, but the only thing he could do was to ask Optimus about the main subject.
"Prime?"
"I'm afraid Starscream might be right. Soundwave is well-known for his spy activities. Even if you both hide the Minicon's presence here, Soundwave has probably tried to spy on you in order to find out more things about you."
"But..." the white faced seeker started to say.
"It isn't a matter of hiding yourselves. It's a matter of control," Wheeljack pointed out. "I don't know what has happened around you in the Decepticon's HQ, but both Megatron and Soundwave would want to keep you in line, and even if the Minicon remained hidden, they could have found out something odd about you, from your behavior or whatever."
Starscream, the dark faced one, was annoyed because the Autobots had known about the Decepticons activities and procedures, but was also pleased to see they were able to see his point of view, something that his moronic counterpart seemed unable to understand.
His counterpart felt tested and being questioned was something he didn't like, but that seemed to be the usual thing in his life. But this time he was pretty sure that mind-reader indigo mech knew nothing about the Minicon because most of their interactions had been when they were alone and through their mental link. But just in case, he glanced at Swindle, looking for a good answer; the Minicon just nodded.
"No. We don't think Soundwave knows about us. The Minicons have the skill to move around our kind and test our abilities without being noticed … so none of us gave that Communicators Officer any clue." His rasping voice sounded as convincing as he himself wanted to believe.
"I hope so. If Megatron knows about your kind, little Swindle, it would be really problematic," Prime exclaimed.
Everybody else had to agree with that, no matter their personal opinions about the Minicon's nature. However, it was Skyfire who brought up a new issue.
"So what about the energy beam you both shot into the clouds? We could see it when we came here, but perhaps the Decepticons' sensors also noticed it."
The Air Commander jumped up at Skyfire's words and exclaimed aloud, "Slag! It could be, too!"
Wheeljack didn't find it that problematic, but certainly it was intriguing to see how the Air Commander and Skyfire agreed on so many details in just a bunch of kliks; it was obvious they had shared a good relationship in the past and they were both able to follow each other's reasoning. But it didn't matter with respect to his opinion.
"I admit Soundwave might know about this little being… But I don't think their sensors could catch the beam. It was just one really brief one, and they know Omega Supreme wanders around Earth and…" he trailed off, the Air Commander had started to laugh and that cut off what he was saying.
"You're truly clueless if you think we Decepticons are like that, Autobot!" he exclaimed, and Wheeljack glared at him. Suddenly he just remembered why he hated that guy so much, despite him having once been Skyfire's friend, who just sighed sadly.
"Enough!" Prime exclaimed suddenly, making everybody stop. "It does not matter if Soundwave knows about the Minicon or not, or even if Megatron knows. The only important thing here is what the Minicon Swindle has explained to us. Now, we have to learn about the coming events regarding Unicron, especially you two, Starscreams."
"Oh, c'mon, Prime!" the Air Commander exclaimed, "You can say anything you want about the Matrix and all this slag…. I admit the idea is appealing, but you cannot take these tales seriously!"
The Autobot Leader turned towards him and glared at him with a mix of seriousness and authority. "Are you truly willing to question whether or not you have an immortal spark, Starscream? Your counterpart has already shown he might own one."
Starscream trailed off. To tell the truth, he was too overwhelmed by the news and he didn't know what to do about it. In his scientist mind, everything sounded pointless and nonsensical, but he couldn't help but think perhaps his counterpart was right. Unicron or not, something important was going on, and he knew it was more important that the war itself.
Under such circumstances, everything in his life seemed to have turned really dangerous, and that wasn't something he had ever wanted.
What, then, could he do?
A.N
*(1) Sadly, this wouldn't be the very first time a Spanish politician doesn't attend important issues because it's his day off.