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Ambrosia	By : CGH Category: Transformers > Beast Wars Views: 4288 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers: Beast Wars, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Part 1
- 2-Part 2
- 3-Part 3
- 4-Part 4
- 5-Part 5
- 6-Part 6
- 7-Part 7
- 8-Part 8
- 9-Part 9
- 10-FINALE
- 5
- 6
- 7
Disbelief tugged at Starscream's fuel tank. Relief flooded him upon seeing white light glowing through Unicron's fingers. Unicron was still alive--just unconscious. His darkened optics were like two black voids devouring the stripes on his cheeks. Light and shadow raced over his form as his body rotated gently in the darkness. Unicron had never looked so vulnerable before. In any other situation, Starscream would have been awed by the beautiful patterns Unicron's wing array made around his body and the delicate way his outstretched hand appeared to pull the stars within reach.
"Unicron!" Starscream shouted. He...he caused himself so much pain that he passed out! Why, Unicron? Why?
Several moments passed--moments filled with an encroaching shockwave--before the dark god's red optics came back online. He straightened, licking his lips while his Spark retracted and his chest plates snapped shut. Coolant beads the size of asteroids emerged when he pulled his wing digits out of his access port.
A black hole formed in the supernova's center. The matter thrown out began doubling back on itself, falling into the newborn gravity well.
The same hand Unicron used to abuse his Spark reached out. Starscream landed on the broad palm. Unicron's hand trembled enough to make Starscream lose his footing and fall on his backside.
As usual, his face was inscrutable. Did he even care that he caused unnecessary concern?
"Don't ever..." Starscream kicked Unicron's thumb. Like kicking a mountain, but he didn't care. He flipped his engine nozzles over and fired his null rays on the same space he kicked. It didn't do any damage. Starscream whirled back around to meet Unicron's eyes, his own optics glowing like orange hellfire. He thought he'd explode in rage. "Don't EVER scare me that way again!"
Without a word, Unicron turned so they faced the newborn black hole. Its reflection shimmered in his red optics. He still cycled heavily, his huge chest visibly moving.
"That has been my life," the dark god whispered, "That is what life has done to me. That is the picture of my hate. Isn't it remarkable how beautiful it looks from here? But get too close and it destroys you."
Unicron picked the worst possible time to wax poetic. Starscream's self-preservation senses ran in overdrive. He stomped on Unicron's palm, shouting, "We really should get out of here!"
"No."
The energon drained from Starscream's face. "I'm all for stellar phenomenon...but...we're too close!"
"Starscream, trust me."
Before Starscream could ask further questions, Unicron rose up. The shockwave was a white ring from the exploded star's equatorial region, a flying concussion of stellar matter and kinetic force. It spread into the blackness like a pond ripple. Colors--mostly red from hydrogen--propagated as previously invisible interstellar gas reacted to the radiation. Unicron turned his back to the wave. Space dust lingering around his feet splayed out, pushed by the thrusters in his soles.
Then the wave slammed into them. They fell back into its outer edge and Starscream cringed in anticipation of being vaporized. He was surprised to find himself still intact. Not only intact, but moving sideways across the expelled matter. Unicron had his knees bent and his toes pointed forward. Beneath his feet, probably less than a light year, a white wall of death. Up ahead, stellar dust glowed as the wave swept it up.
"This is crazy!"
"Would you like to try?"
"No!"
"Yes, you do." Reality melted and Unicron's arms held him from behind. "Now," Ignoring Starscream's protests, Unicron guided him to bend his knees and point his toes forward. "The dangerous part is one light year away from us. We are on the outermost edge of the wave."
Panting, trying not to panic, Starscream clung to the hands resting against his chest. He didn't dare look up to see how fast they were moving.
"Nothing can catch us here," Unicron whispered in his ear. He lifted his hands up and away, spreading Starscream's arms. Suddenly it was just his hands keeping Starscream stable in the chaos.
Starscream shot Unicron a nervous glance.
Unicron pulled him deeper into the wave, "Stop doubting yourself." Then he towed him back to the outer edge and let go.
"UNICRON!" Starscream shrieked...only to find he wasn't burning, vaporizing or melting. Not yet, anyway.
Unicron cut past him, posed like a human surfer on an invisible board. "Catch me."
And he sailed off, his metal feet generating a tremendous, curling wake.
"Hey!"
Damn you! Starscream tried not to look up or down, focusing single mindedly on Unicron's glittering wing array, which he kept splayed for balance. He fired off his boosters, leaned forward and Unicron's image grew in his optics. "Got y--"
Unicron sailed deeper into the gas. Starscream lost sight of him in the blinding light.
Hands grabbed him from behind. "A noble attempt, but don't call it a failure."
"I didn't succeed." Starscream muttered, sneering at himself.
"You knew your goal and attempted to reach it--and despite not succeeding, you still attained the desired result." Unicron purred, flicking his glossa across Starscream's audio sensor. He lifted them both off the wave. Starscream hung there in Unicron's arms as devastation reigned beneath them. Gas, debris and even planets were swept into the fury.
"This is what I've done to your life, Starscream." Unicron said, gesturing below.
Starscream gazed expectantly at the spreading destruction moving away from the black hole. In its damaging wake, gas clouds glowed and churned. In a few millennia this nebula might birth a star cluster.
I see now...
Unicron was a wave that reawakened his interest in beauty and creation. He evoked emotions, awoke sensation and forced him to see the universe his way in all its imperfect clarity. And for all of it, he felt like he still knew so little about the giant mech. Looking to the side, he studied his godly companion's schooled expression. What was it that looked different about him? Was it always there and he just didn't notice?
"And that," Unicron faced a gas cloud excited into diffuse yellow-green luminescence, "is what you've done to mine."
There was so little light there...yet it was there. A piece of space previously cold and dark now promised future heat and warmth. And it existed far enough away that the black hole wouldn't consume it.
Starscream's throat clutched and he focused his optics on Unicron's perfect face. Unicron turned his head to look back. His eyes glowed softly, alive and lifeless at the same time. Starscream didn't let his gaze waver. So many things went on behind those red optics. The deadness in his eyes silenced the life behind them, rendering its screams unheard.
"I never expected events to play out this way."
"Huh?"
Unicron chuckled humorlessly. "You weren't the only one gaining knowledge from all this. Would you like to know what I learned from you?"
Starscream frowned, "Uh...sure..."
Unicron took Starscream's face in his hands. His optics faded. Starscream froze when the god�s face inched closer. He saw the silver lips part just a second before they touched his own. It was a slow, tender kiss that felt different from the way they kissed during sex. No tugging, no invading tongue and no fangs, just a smooth, silky warmth. Starscream remembered kissing Unicron this way when he conquered his falling phobia.
"Mm," he shut off his optics and cupped the back of Unicron's head, melting under the unusual display of tenderness. The hands on his back rubbed slowly up and down. This new caress stirred the feelings that made Starscream's mind spin. To be held and kissed this way...he wasn't used to it, and he realized he loved it. Arousal tickled his neural sensors, but it wasn't like every other time. Usually, sexual desire began as buzzing in his cone. This new sensation ran deeper...it was in his cone, yes, but it also surrounded his Spark chamber. A burning ache to merge, to see Unicron arch in pleasure and join him in something holier than life itself.
Unicron drew back and powered up his optics. His face remained expressionless--no, wait...it wasn't. There was something so subtly different that Starscream couldn't put his finger on it. The corners of Unicron's mouth looked tense and his optics squinted just slightly. Maybe it was how the light caught his cheek. Or was it his piercing gaze?
"Wow," Starscream said...because he really didn't know what to say after a kiss like that. "Um, you um...you passed."
Another soft chuckle.
Starscream frowned up at Unicron's face. Something had changed in him. His movements were different and the mocking aura around him wasn't there.
Then Unicron turned the universe upside down.
"It's time for you to go back."
It felt like someone punched Starscream in the gut. Go back? No! It was too sudden, too soon!
"Just like that? What--I'm not ready! I--"
"I have nothing more to teach you, Starscream," Unicron cut him off. "You have grown confident. You have the skills you need to assert yourself before Megatron." His thumb traced Starscream's bottom lip. "You're ready to take what you want."
The stars stopped moving...when did they start flying in the first place? Starscream glanced down to discover a familiar yellow main sequence star far below. The planets whirling around it were in the same formation as before. Starscream's jaw dropped. How was that possible? They were gone for...weeks...maybe even months! He shot a questioning look up at Unicron, and all he got in return was an amused smirk.
Your perception of time isn't the same as mine.
That was all Unicron said on the matter. Starscream shook his head. Naturally, Unicron wouldn't explain it.
He lingered with his head on Unicron's chest, his optics directed at the distant glow of the sun. How could he just drop everything and return to his cage? With Unicron, he felt more free than he ever had since the war began and now...to go back into his pain...he wanted to scream.
"I--guess I should go," said Starscream. Better to go now before his desire to stay got any worse. He wanted to thank Unicron, but didn't know how. It angered him. Maybe putting his lessons to use would be thanks enough. Yeah, that'd work. He planted his hands flat on Unicron's chest and prepared to push off.
"Starscream, wait." Unicron tightened his grip.
Starscream tilted his head back, "Yeah?"
"Yes."
"Huh?" He hated it when Unicron played these word games! "Yes what?"
"Once, when I was recharging, I heard you ask yourself if gods dream. The answer is yes."
Oh. Well, this was certainly awkward and unexpected. Starscream bit his lower lip. "What do you dream about?"
Rather than answer, Unicron just cupped Starscream's face in one hand. His lips stiffened into an almost-smile. It actually reached his eyes, if only for a nanosecond, before his expression morphed back to deadpan.
"Unicron?"
The hand on his cheek trembled. He took ages to speak and Starscream realized he wasn't the only one stalling. "It's time."
Starscream stared hard at the inner corner of Unicron's left eye--at the tiny, growing beads of moisture glistening gently in the dim lighting.
Everything began to make sense.
Those times he felt eyes on him, the late nights that didn't feel as lonely as they should have...this immortal being seeking him out and the naked longing in that same being's eyes that flickered like sunlight dimly shining through a crack in stone...the anguish he displayed after his recharge overload...how he spoke of Primacron with utter loathing...his knee-jerk response to Starscream's drunken advances...the way he sometimes stiffened when touched unexpectedly...the painful way he overloaded himself a short time ago...
How could I be so blind?
Starscream turned his head, looking at Unicron with new understanding. Unicron's face was deadpan, it always was, but his optics betrayed him. They did every single time their gazes met and he was too ignorant to see it before because he foolishly refused to believe such a being had any emotions left. But here, now, with their Sparks almost touching, he heard a silent scream of anguish ringing out from the depths of Unicron's mind. A scream all too familiar because it sounded just like his own.
His mind flashed back, grasping at a question Unicron answered shortly after they met...
"What would a god like you know about pain?"
"Enough to be its prisoner."
...and reality crystallized in a resounding crash. A flash of fire followed by thunder moving between them like a stitch linking their pasts together.
I've figured it out. You always seemed to understand my pain... Starscream gazed straight into the Chaos-bringer's burning optics, ...it's because Primacron treated you the way Megatron treats me, isn't it? You know how I feel because you went through it too.
Unicron's optics widened and his entire body went rigid. Starscream felt the arms holding him slide away. Unicron turned his back, the first time he ever so blatantly broke eye contact. His wing array tensed like long fingers that cast shadows over his form. He floated there in utter stillness. A being of stone covered in micro fractures.
Then he faced Starscream again and there was no mistaking the dewy gleam welling in both optics. His pursed lips trembled and his fists were balled, clutching at his last threads of self control, but it fell away just enough to bare his pain in all its agonizing splendor.
For that moment, that frozen heartbeat in time, the line between god and mortal ceased to exist. Starscream saw Unicron standing before him, still the same face, same body, but now he knew Unicron screamed inside just like he did. Except nobody heard Unicron. Nobody stopped or looked his way. Nobody spared a moment to worry when his screams faded to silence.
Unicron clenched his teeth and tilted his head back. His entire body shook like a naked human in snow. The moisture gathering on his optics reached a critical mass and threatened to dribble down his face.
Starscream extended both hands and used his thumbs to wipe the droplets away before they fell. "Don't you hate it when space dust makes your optics water? It gives me the shakes, too. Especially when I let it build up for so long," he mused, choosing not to directly speak of the lapse in Unicron's stoic demeanor. No matter how beautiful it was to see true emotion at last, he kept up the façade. "It's going to take more than that to get it off."
"Starscream..."
"I'm not leaving until I'm sure you can see where you're going."
Unicron stared at him, wide-eyed, a look of pain and relief. His intakes cycled in spasms and more tears welled up, betraying his otherwise straight face. Starscream brushed them away as they appeared. The moisture wicked off his fingers and froze solid in the cold vacuum. Unicron never made a sound. He just shook all over, gasping in short bursts through clenched teeth.
Starscream kept up the pretense until the tears stopped building. Then he leaned over, pecked the bridge of Unicron's nose and pretended to examine his optics. "There, now they're cleaner...must feel good to clean the old optics off once in awhile, don't you agree?"
"...Indeed."
Time restarted again, smoothing Unicron's vulnerable moment behind the wall of pride he built so high around himself. Only this time, Starscream stood within those same walls. He saw the real being behind them...and it bore the same scars he did.
Unicron drifted across the veil of the Milky Way, his wing array sparkling in its glow. He still consumed all the beauty of his environment. Seeing his tears didn't change the awe he inspired. Starscream thought they were beautiful--emotions were gorgeous things--and knowing that even the largest living being could still feel through his self-imposed prison made him seem less distant. Still a god, still powerful...but not out of reach.
"Your artist is showing," Unicron said. For a moment, he put his hands on his hips and flared his array, and then relaxed to his original stance. Did he just strike a pose?
Starscream bit his lip and smiled. "It's your fault."
Unicron leaned forward, letting his forehead touch Starscream's. "Starscream..." His optics were dim like the newly excited nebula they left behind. "We are one in the same."
Reaching up, Starscream cupped Unicron's face in both hands and lightly kissed his mouth. Primus and all that was holy, he didn't imagine choking up on this moment. Yet there he was, tears welling in his eyes. "Will you be okay?"
He felt Unicron's thumbs stroke his cheeks, catching his tears before they escaped. The fresh, frozen droplets mingled amidst the ones still lingering in the area.
Looking up, Unicron caught two and balanced them on his silver palm. He closed his fist, crushing them. Then he opened his fingers and stared at the glittery sheen clinging to his hand.
"Perhaps, someday," the dark god finally replied. He jerked his hand to the side and the ice dust flew off into the void.
Starscream hung his head. "I feel like such a fool."
"Why?"
"I--thought you had no emotions."
Unicron's mouth twitched, "Pain is my prison. You are the daylight that creeps under the door, a reminder that I am not alone."
Starscream clung to each nanosecond, staring through his new eyes at Unicron, at all the feeling he'd been blinded to before. Unicron's red optics had gone from deadened nothing to dynamic, sparkling ruby depths. The whole reason he saw his own reflection was because he and Unicron shared the same pain. It made him regret all those moments where he saw that pain surface and dismissed it as apathy.
"You're a metaphorical bastard, Unicron. Start writing it down. Cybertron is lacking in good poetry lately."
"I could say the same about its art." Unicron countered, faint amusement present in his tone.
Starscream snorted. "Touché."
Unicron looked away. "You should go. I can't keep the solar system out of synch forever--and don't ask, it'd take too long to explain. Let's call it phenomenal cosmic powers and leave it at that."
He smirked and dropped his illusion, then plucked Starscream off the amethyst jewel on his helm and held him on his palm. His massive optics were dim suns in the darkness.
Starscream folded himself into jet mode. He wanted to say something to Unicron. Some last words...but he couldn't think of a thing. Goodbye, maybe? No, he hated goodbyes. He settled for something lame and generic instead: "See you around."
And Unicron tossed him gently upwards as if releasing a dove.
Starscream fired his thrusters the second he left Unicron's palm. The freedom, the sheer, utter thrill, wrenched a joyous whoop from the top of his voice, and he barrel rolled as he sailed through the vacuum.
The first gate station rushed up at him faster than it shrank when he left. It was like falling, but not as terrifying. He transformed to bot mode and angled his thrusters to slow himself so he wouldn't crash. Then he looked up and his optics zoomed in on the tiny speck floating in the distance. He saw Unicron in profile against the galactic hub, a creature of majesty. The giant Transformer's legs retracted as he transformed into his alternate mode.
...Unicron...
Unicron's head turned. His red optics pierced the dark distance.
Remember, Starscream...the ultimate choice is yours. Choose wisely.
He finished his transformation and vanished slowly from Starscream's optic range.
.o
"Hey, Starscream! I thought you were going away."
Starscream smirked at Demolishor. Whatever Unicron did to alter the time stream, it was good enough that Starscream didn't get caught coming back to base.
He strode past Demolishor and entered the corridor with his head up high. "I did go away. Away from you."
"Yeah--but Megatron doesn't like it when you go taking off without telling him first."
He rounded on the cannon-shouldered Transformer, his orange eyes burning, "What are you going to do about it, Demolishor?"
Demolishor jerked as if Starscream's glare physically pushed him backwards. He crossed his arms and cocked his head, his green optics glowing eerily in the low lighting. "I--don't want to be in the middle of your screw-ups. Megatron is gonna kill you one of these days if you don't cool it."
Ooh, it felt so good to feel powerful! Starscream almost laughed in Demolishor's blocky face.
"I want front row seats for that fight," Cyclonus said. He was leaning on the doorway to the corridor with his arms crossed. Demolishor turned to look at him. Cyclonus smirked and Demolishor bit his lip.
Starscream sighed. Demolishor was annoying enough. Now Cyclonus had to get involved. Neither of them had a clue what he went through, what humiliation Megatron made him suffer and the mask he had to wear. At least he'd take that mask off and throw it down soon. Maybe not tonight or tomorrow...but soon.
"What have we here?" purred a low voice. Starscream looked over at the purple and silver form of Sideways. He was a liquid shadow who seemed to flow around corners. "Starscream has a lot to think about. Let him be."
"Aw, c'mon! We were just teasing," Cyclonus complained.
"We still have to finish that warp gate recheck. Megatron's mad that's acting up again. Let's go, Cyclonus!" Demolishor said, though he appeared reluctant to leave. He did eventually with the ever-complaining Cyclonus hot on his heels.
Sideways stayed in the doorway until they left. Then he uncrossed his arms and strolled up to Starscream, intentionally invading his personal space. Starscream sneered and stared into Sideways' cold optics. This caused the purple Transformer to chuckle.
"Unicron taught you well."
"Huh? How do you--"
"It's my business to know." Sideways said. "Just like I know what that coward Megatron does to you."
"What? Why you..." Starscream pulled out his wing blade, pressed it to Sideways' throat and snarled, "You better not tell anyone!" He pronounced each word like acid, his threat very real, "Or I swear, I'll hunt you down and slice you to pieces! What happens between me and Megatron is my business, not yours! You got that?"
Sideways slid his finger across the blade like a caress. Pushing it away, he got nose to face-shield with Starscream. His eyes tilted to indicate he smiled behind his mask. "Starscream, I hope you succeed."
"This is none of your business!"
"I've seen what he does." said Sideways. His optics flickered with...sympathy?
"And you didn't try to stop him?" Starscream tightened his grip on his blade as fury spread like fire across his circuitry. Controlling himself took monumental effort. Like beating down a tornado. In a strangled tone that grated off his vocal processors, he whispered, "You didn't stop it..."
"No. But you will, and I'll know when it's happening." Sideways held Starscream's eyes as he brushed past him.
Starscream slid his blade back into place above his shoulder and resolved himself to silence. He sat down in front of the wall monitor and flipped it on. Sometimes he ran across interesting transmissions from Earth that took his mind off his troubles. One of his favorites was a human cartoon with a cynical robot who consumed alcohol as fuel.
"...what an awful dream! Ones and zeroes everywhere...and I thought I saw a two..."
"Don't worry, Bender, there's no such thing as two."
Starscream snorted and shook his head.
Footsteps banged through the doorway.
Without turning around, Starscream grumbled, "Demolishor! Get back to your post!"
"And when are you going to go back to yours?" purred a voice the Seeker didn't expect.
Starscream leapt up and whirled to face Megatron. "Sir!"
Megatron's face remained impassive. His red optics glared menacingly, bearing down so much that Starscream barely managed not to look away.
"Well?"
It was too soon. He hadn't even tucked his experience away in his memory yet. His mind blanked out and stretched with nothing to grasp onto.
"I--" Starscream fought down the familiar dread trying to surface. Megatron didn't have that sexual gleam in his eye, so at least he knew he wasn't going to suffer that humiliation right now. He hardened his expression, "I was just preparing to go."
Those red eyes continued their unfaltering gaze. So empty, like ice. "Good. Get to it."
Starscream returned the stare. He imagined his gaze alone had the power to shove Megatron back out the doorway. They stood there for over a minute, just looking each other square in the optics. Starscream used the moment to admire his terrible master--his handsome mouth and how the light caught his optics. He was so dark compared to Unicron's brilliant golden armor. It was sad, really, that such good looks were wasted on his hideous personality.
Finally, Megatron growled and stepped aside from the doorway. In doing so, he dropped his gaze.
Yes! Triumph nearly made Starscream cry out. That was too easy. He bit his lip to hide his smirk and brushed past the taller Cybertronian. "As you command, Megatron."
As he passed Megatron, he felt a hand touch his aft. The touch halted him briefly in his tracks. His confidence rattled like the loose contents of an overfull crate. Burning hatred crackled across his optics and it took everything in his power not to pull his wing blade and run his leader through right there in the hall.
"I have duties to attend to," he said flatly, showing no reaction the unwanted grope.
"Yes, Starscream. Go do them."
Starscream walked away less confident than he was a moment ago. He forgot to keep his back straight as he trudged along. Heat from his leader's optics stabbed his back until he turned the corner, and only then did the stinging sensation fade.
You win THIS time, Megatron. But just you wait...you'll get yours.
.o
Stare-downs between Starscream and Megatron became a daily occurrence. Megatron, now suspicious of his loyalty, started to watch him more closely. Starscream felt his eyes on him everywhere like a blowtorch against his metal body. He couldn't very well drop everything to meet that cold stare every second of every day--Unicron didn't teach him to do that anyway. Staring matches were reserved for face to face encounters.
...and the scariest came after a failed attempt to capture another Mini-Con. The mission failed because Cyclonus and Demolishor warped to the wrong coordinates. Megatron sent Starscream after them--and when he arrived he found them already engaging the Autobots. He took a shot to the side in all the confusion. The wound didn't seem too bad until Hot Shot knocked Cyclonus against the injury. Something severed and he went down.
Starscream didn't remember returning to base. He came back online in the repair bay to Megatron's icy eyes boring down on him. Backlit as he was by the harsh overhead lights, he looked like a malevolent nightmare creature. Briefly, Starscream wondered what he found attractive about his leader in the first place--because now he didn't see it anymore. Yes, he was a good-looking bot, but his scowl twisted away any beauty he possessed.
"Nice to see you're finally awake." Megatron said acidly.
"Where are--"
"They were already debriefed. You failed to retrieve the Mini-Con. You would have taken it had you not typed in the wrong coordinates," he slapped his hand down on the table, just inches from Starscream's hip. The nearness of his fingers made Starscream's circuits tingle, and not in a pleasant way. "It makes me question your loyalty. Again."
Starscream wanted to crawl out of his metal skin. He pushed himself to sit and scooted away from Megatron's hand, grimacing at his still-sore side. He resisted the urge to cradle the wound.
"We--were pinned down," Starscream said through gritted teeth.
"It's not like you to go down this easy, Starscream. Your Spark wasn't in the fight this time. You were distracted. Care to tell me why?"
"What--of course my Spark was in it! Why would I lose on purpose?"
Megatron's expression remained unreadable, his voice a low rumble, "You know what your problem is? You don't know where your loyalties lie." He came closer, his lips hot against Starscream's audio input relay. "You listen too much to your conscience. You've become weak."
Another pang shot up Starscream's side, or was it his Spark that ached this time? Megatron stared daggers at the side of his head. Starscream finally turned to glower back, lips pursed in a line. He could remember the days when he joined Megatron's army. Back then--a long time ago--he would have thrown himself into a sun at his leader's command. Megatron was a god to him at first. Handsome, imposing and--most of all--powerful. Everyone regarded Megatron with the utmost respect. Starscream used to tell himself he wanted to be like that someday.
Starscream couldn't recall when he began to doubt his place in the war. Was it the time he saw Megatron destroy a base of Autobots just coming online for the first time? Perhaps it was the way Megatron treated the weak with contempt. Or maybe it was the humans. They were...kind...to him, especially Alexis. He forced himself not to think of her. She probably hated him now. They all did. He'd betrayed their trust, shattered it with his treachery. And the only person he could turn to was probably in another galaxy by now, eating a planet.
Heh, Unicron... Starscream felt his lips twitch into a smirk. In his mind, clear as day, he could picture Unicron sitting in Megatron's throne. His memory flicked to that last, gentle kiss and how his insides clenched. If he searched deep enough he'd realize that he did feel something towards the giant god. Was it love, lust or infatuation? Hard to say for sure...he just knew he wished he could repeat their parting kiss again, or--
Sudden pain startled him out of his thoughts. He clutched the side of his head and turned instinctively to glare at the source. His orange optics met Megatron's seething red ones.
"Seems you still need some straightening out. You will meet me in the throne room tomorrow. It's going to hurt and it will continue to hurt until you become obedient again. Don't make me come looking for you, pet. Am I clear?"
The words sent a chill down Starscream's back. It seemed too soon! What if his wound wasn't repaired in time? What if Megatron attacked the wound, rendering him helpless?
Starscream held Megatron's gaze, his expression neutral. His stare gradually hardened. No, no more doubting. Tomorrow night, Megatron would be the one lying on his back, panting and desperate for completion. Pain didn't matter--pain was weakness leaving the body. Only death would conquer him. He still had the right to choose his fate so long as energon flowed through his body.
Megatron's gaze remained unwavering. He sneered and quickly got up. Starscream kept watching him as if his optics alone would melt his leader into slag. If looks could kill, Megatron would have died a thousand times right there. All the hate and contempt Unicron made him feel began to well up through his circuits. Starscream remembered how the hatred excited Unicron. To his complete shock, he realized it was turning him on, too.
"You've become insolent."
Megatron backhanded Starscream in a flash of motion. The light followed his purple fingers like glowing blades. Starscream moved with the blow and immediately returned his gaze to his leader's optics. He felt like a cord wrapped itself around his head and forced his back straight. The tightening spread down his throat, across his chassis and into his fingers, which twitched. Megatron's stare scrutinized his every feature, tearing him apart layer by layer, circuit by circuit until nothing remained. That's what he was in his leaders eyes: nothing. No act, no sin and no amount of pleading would ever change that. His life had no value.
Starscream expected the realization to hurt. He waited for it.
Nothing. Not a twinge. No guilt, nothing.
...you are even better looking than he is. He's jealous of that, Starscream.
Your presence has always posed a threat to him. You have what he wants. He can't have that, so he doesn't want you to have it either...
"And still you look at me like some lovesick rodent." Loathing flared across Megatron's face. It was in the light catching his fangs and the sneer curling his lips.
Starscream almost laughed in his face. He remembered how Unicron said he tended to broadcast his emotions. It must be true if Megatron noticed a change in his expression, however subtle.
Megatron huffed contemptuously before turning and exiting the medical bay. His slamming footsteps slowly faded down the corridor. The tension abated with the closing of the doors.
Starscream clutched his sore jaw and laid back on the table. He shook all over, his wings rattling against the tabletop. That had been one of the scariest moments of his life. Being defiant behind Megatron's back was one thing--being this defiant to his face was another. Knowing he did it here planted a seed of confidence in the back of his mind. Maybe this small victory would lead to the big one tomorrow night.
He smiled and let his optics go dark.
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Ambrosia