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Megatron wasn't worried when the reports started flowing in about the volcano. This accursed planet had often annoyed him with its geological activeness; it was almost rote.
“She’s young,” Starscream had said with a shrug when he had asked about it. “Still stretching her legs. In the scheme of things, it’s actually more interesting-”
“That’s enough. I don’t need a lecture, professor.”
Starscream had glowered, then grumbled something traitorous, but Megatron had let it slide. Like he usually did.
Still, this volcano was really upsetting the humans. Their news broadcasts could talk of nothing else, and it irked him. Megatron wanted to know if they suspected the next target of an energy raid, but they couldn’t be bothered to talk about any other subject.
“Is this something we should be worried about?” he asked.
Starscream bit his lower lip, watching the news broadcast a little closer. “I… let me get back to you on that, my lord.”
Megatron had shrugged, going back to more plots and schemes for energon creation.
“Tighten your legs together,” he growled, snapping his hips harder. He was so close, damn it, right on the edge, trying to find that delicious friction. “You’re so damn wet.”
Starscream’s slack face scrunched slightly to glare at him. “Some- would call it- a good thing,” he said haltingly between thrusts.
“I am not- some,” Megatron rumbled, pressing his hands and weight down to pin Starscream’s wings to the berth. Starscream hissed, arching his hips to meet Megatron’s rhythm.
Starscream rolled his optics. “I’ll just stop being turned on then. Thank you for your instruction, my Lord.”
Megatron smirked and increased his pace, tensing his muscles to punctuate his fervor and push his seeker to overload. Starscream had already overloaded three times but had demanded more. The greedy thing had wrapped his legs around Megatron and refused to let him leave until he had wrung more pleasure from the warlord.
“I don’t think you can go again,” Megatron teased.
“Watch me,” Starscream said with a gasp, throwing his helm back. "And I'm taking you with me!"
His valve clenched, squeezing around Megatron with incredible force. Megatron doubled over, his face falling into Starscream’s neck. His overload was pulled from him, mirroring Starscream’s climax in passion. Divested of his transfluid and strength, all he could do was bask in Starscream’s scent and the gentle thrum of his engines.
They lay there, panting, and Megatron could feel Starscream’s smirk against his cheek.
“I told you to never underestimate me,” Starscream murmured.
Annoyingly, talk of the volcano only intensified.
“I thought you said it wasn’t something we should be worried about,” Megatron said, coming in from the elevator. “Prime reached out to me asking for a fragging truce to fix it?”
Starscream was biting his thumb as he watched a screen overhead. He kept running the same simulations repeatedly, and the same result appeared on the screen. “Hmm- what?”
Megatron narrowed his optics. “You said it wasn’t important.”
Starscream’s optics were wide, and his thumb slowly fell from his lips. “It appears I might have been mistaken,” he replied quietly.
Megatron rolled his optics. “I’m not working with Prime on this. You better figure it out.”
And he left the room, ending the conversation.
They stood on the cliff's edge, watching the thing writhe and seethe on itself as if it were breathing.
“It’s not… alive, is it?” Motormaster asked, crossing his arms.
“No, it’s not alive, you idiot,” Onslaught said.
Megatron noticed the scientist types from both factions were all huddled together. Starscream was gesticulating wildly, arguing with the Autobot microscope. Megatron couldn’t quite understand what they were talking about, but it appeared Starscream disagreed with them.
“You would just sit here and die slowly, then?” Starscream cried at the pinnacle of his screech. The Autobots were unused to his decibel ability and winced. Megatron didn't feel sorry for them because they were the ones who had gotten him worked up in the first place.
“We can’t interfere with this planet’s natural course of events!” Perceptor's poshly accented voice warbled. “We can go into stasis if we can’t get the energy we need to stay online until we can be rescued. But humans have nowhere to go and can’t survive on any of the surrounding planets without our help. They should be our top priority for our assistance.”
Starscream sneered. “I don’t fragging care about the natives, Perceptor. And how does that make sense—you can’t interfere with the planet, but you can try and save a handful of fleshlings? Make up your damn mind!”
“Starscream surprisingly has a point,” Wheeljack said. “Either we are completely hands-off, or we go full hands-on. Ethics are kind of a luxury we can’t afford.”
“And being in stasis on an unstable, geologically active planet might not be a good long-term plan for us,” Skyfire said. “Speaking from experience.”
“We’ve all done it before,” Hook said, barely qualifying to be in the conversation.
“And I’m still finding bugs in our coding from it,” Ratchet replied tersely. “But what alternative do we have?”
Starscream’s wings flared. “We go in and adjust the chamber’s flow. Altering the pressure inside will at least change this doomsday, no-sum scenario into something else-”
“Altering the flow will kill any number of settlements around the base-” Perceptor retorted.
Starscream was apoplectic. “THEY ARE GOING TO DIE ANYWAY!”
“Then how do you decide who lives and who dies?” Perceptor yelled back. “Tell me— how?” The rest of the Autobots looked chagrined, looking down at the ground. “Are any of you prepared to make that decision?” Starscream, however, looked like he was winding up with a new argument.
“Perhaps we don’t decide at all,” Optimus said, appearing beside them. “As we cannot change the final outcome, attempting to alter events here would only give false hope.”
Starscream started shaking his helm angrily. “There is a chance that we can stop this-“
“Miniscule, Star,” Skyfire said solemnly.
“Don’t call me that,” Starscream bristled. “You Autobots are supposed to be full of hope and all that fragging nonsense. I can’t believe you will resign us to starve until we fall asleep.”
“There are many other factors to consider than our comfort,” Optimus replied gently.
Starscream clenched his denta and threw his arms in the air. “You all are morons!” he cried, stomping away. He gave an angry wing flick as he passed Megatron.
“You need to control your mechs,” Optimus said, glaring after Starscream.
Megatron snorted. “I’ve been trying for years,” he replied, rolling his optics. “But in this case, I wonder if you should push your mechs more.”
Optimus’s optics were flat, and Megatron knew he had gotten to him. Megatron shrugged and walked away, trying to find his irritated second-in-command.
“Lord Megatron,” Soundwave said, stepping into his path. “Shockwave is on the line.”
Megatron sighed. “Send him to my comm.”
“Lord Megatron, I was so distressed to hear about your situation,” he said. “When will you be coming through the space bridge?”
Megatron kept wading through the crowd, looking for those silver-gray wings. “I’m not, Shockwave,” he replied. “I’m staying with everyone else.”
Shockwave started sputtering. “Absolutely- absolutely not! We have the energon to bring at least you through- my Lord, the Decepticons can’t lose you- I can’t lose you again!”
Megatron frowned, actually feeling slightly guilty at Shockwave’s words. The situation was indeed unfair, especially to him. He would have to carry the torch of the Decepticons again after being alone for so many millennia. “Shockwave, I can’t abandon these mechs here. I have a duty to them too- but I trust you more,” he said, twisting his frame to step around the Constructicons who were sharing some “end of the world” high grade with the Aerialbots. “I trust you to rescue us once the planet runs out of energy and we go into stasis. Tell me you can do this.”
“My Lord, I would do anything for you. But you could win the war if you came home.”
Megatron finally found the irritated ball of wings he was looking for. Starscream was yelling at his trine, as they were the only ones that would listen to his tirade. Skywarp and Thundercracker looked strained but were listening to their trineleader’s rant.
"I would be the only one able to come through- I wouldn't have the force of the army behind me," Megatron replied, moving towards the three seekers.
Starscream turned to see Megatron approaching. He had a strange look on his face- fear, maybe? Determination? Megatron could not decipher it.
"There are so many variables that could go wrong with this plan; I'm surprised Starscream is letting you go through with it."
"Letting me?" Megatron replied with a huff. "He does seem to be trying his best to undermine the whole thing." He smirked at Starscream’s frowning face.
Starscream turned away and put more distance between them. Megatron sighed.
"There will be a communications blackout immediately after the volcano erupts. Talk to Soundwave to continue any preparations."
"Yes, my Lord," Shockwave replied mournfully. "It's been an honor."
"Megatron, out."
The ground rumbled under their pedes, shuddering slightly before relaxing. The scientists had said this was a safe distance away to observe their doom, but the sounds still made everyone jumpy.
"Wonder what he meant by that," he overheard Thundercracker say as Starscream moved further away. "No one is underestimating him, as far as I know."
"Who knows," Skywarp said irritably.
Megatron frowned and made his way back to Perceptor. The microscope seemed tired but didn't back away when Megatron approached.
"What is actually wrong with Starscream's plan? Try to use small words."
Perceptor frowned but shrugged. "It had virtually no chance of succeeding and is highly dangerous not only to the mech who goes in there to divert the pressure, but it could make the situation worse."
"Worse?"
Perceptor's flat look told Megatron he was teetering on the edge of the microscope’s patience. “Instead of us peacefully watching the explosion from here, we could be met with the full force of an explosion 100 times greater than the human's entire nuclear arsenal. We would be more than just atomized- we would be figments of the imaginations of the people that once knew us.”
Megatron swallowed around a dry mouth. “Vivid imagery,” he replied sourly and walked back, trying to find Starscream again.
Starscream was going to be hell to live with until he got this out of his system. Megatron was probably the only one that would be able to talk him down and get him to stop annoying everyone with his hypothetical theory. It sounded purely academic at this point, as his peers didn’t give it any merit.
Yet again, Megatron was waylaid. Optimus Prime reached out a hand and put it on his shoulder. “I wanted to apologize for earlier,” he said gently. “I was out of line.”
Megatron sighed dramatically. “It’s fine. Under significant pressure and all that,” he replied with a wave of his hand, still looking out amongst the crowd. “Starscream also has that effect on people.”
“He looked upset,” Optimus added. “I wondered if I should apologize.”
Megatron almost rolled his optics. “You’ll spoil him. I try not to even recognize the behavior because otherwise, it gives him-”
Megatron was cut off by the sound of transformation and a jet engine.
His optics snapped to the air as his tanks flipped, seeing Starscream fly off overhead in the direction of the volcano.
“No,” he said as a curse. “NO! THUNDERCRACKER! SKYWARP!”
The two other seekers scrambled up to their pedes, jumping into the sky. “The idiot!” Skywarp cursed as he gunned his engines and flew off.
“Down him, if you have to,” Megatron said, opening his comms to the two seekers. On a different, more intimate line he always maintained with his second, he calmly said, “What the frag are you doing?”
“I’m proving a point!” Starscream screeched into his audial. “No one was listening to me, so I will make you all listen and prove I was right!”
“Perceptor tells me you may be right, and you also might kill all of us in the process,” he said, still trying to remain calm.
“What is he doing?!” Perceptor said. Skyfire took a step towards the volcano like he, too, was going to go after the moron, but there was no way he had the speed to catch up.
“Perceptor and the rest of them are cowards. They discounted me because they wanted to protect their precious humans. No one takes me seriously!”
Megatron wished he had Starscream nearby so that he could shake him. “Perhaps you are right,” Megatron agreed, though he clenched his jaw as he said so. “Come back so that we can convince them together.”
There was a slight pause. “You don’t think I’m right either. You just don’t want me to embarrass you.”
Megatron pinched the bridge of his nose. “What is embarrassing is you are behaving like a sparkling instead of an Elite Decepticon second-in-command!” he switched to his other frequency. “Skywarp, use your outlier and take him down!”
“I’m going to, sir! It’s just that he knows my moves, so I have to time this right.”
Megatron growled in frustration. He felt a tap on his shoulder and nearly punched Optimus for interrupting him.
“What’s happening?” Optimus asked.
Megatron didn’t want to tell him that he had lost control of his excitable soldier, but one look at Perceptor and the other scientists reminded him of what was at stake. Starscream’s judgment was sometimes… flawed.
“Starscream is investigating alternatives,” he snapped, returning to his comms and ignoring Optimus again. “If you both don’t shoot him down now, I’m going to cut your energon ration in half!”
That got them moving. They twisted apart, with Skywarp going high and Thundercracker going low, attempting a pincer movement to capture their trineleader. Starscream saw them coming and slowed his engines, so they overshot him and nearly collided with each other.
Skywarp quickly recovered, transforming into root mode and warping into Starscream’s path to attempt to grab him. Starscream gunned his engines, slamming his nosecone to hit Skywarp in the abdomen, winding him. He then transformed and gave Skywarp a punch in the face for good measure.
Thundercracker appeared behind Starscream, grabbing him under the arms to secure him. Even from miles away, Megatron could see Starscream’s furious face as he reached up and grabbed Thundercracker’s shoulder vent and threw the seeker into Skywarp.
“Of all the times to show your incompetence against one smaller seeker,” Megatron groaned, wiping his face with his hand.
Starscream twitched his wings, transformed, and continued his path to the volcano. He quickly reached it and disappeared into an opening in the side, no longer in view.
“Megatron?” Optimus said nervously at his side. “If he sets it off-”
“I’m aware!” he bellowed, stepping away. “Soundwave- shoot anyone who gets near me. I have to focus.”
Soundwave nodded, and there was the low hum of his shoulder-gun warming up. Megatron ignored the shocked looks of the Autobots, who were all voicing their displeasure at the aggressive action.
“You have everyone’s attention now,” he sent to Starscream, staring off at the volcano, trying to imagine the seeker running through an old lava tube.
“Good,” Starscream replied. “I’ll expect accolades upon my return.”
Megatron cast his tired gaze to the sky, trying to reign in his glossa that wanted to tell Starscream precisely what kind of accolades he’d be getting once Megatron got his hands on his pretty little neck.
“Lord Megatron, sir,” Thundercracker’s nervous voice said, filtering over the comm. “The opening he used to get in caved in. We can’t follow him.”
There was an unpleasant feeling in Megatron’s spark.
“You’re trapped inside,” Megatron said calmly. “Do you have a plan to get out?”
There was a short pause, and Megatron imagined Starscream was using his sensors to confirm the situation. “Y-yes, of course,” Starscream stammered. “The lava tube I’m in leads to the main magma chamber and then the main funnel- I can always fly out that way.”
Megatron traced his glossa on the inside of his cheek. “Nevertheless. Perhaps you should come back now? It would be prudent in case you are further trapped-”
“Not until I prove you all wrong!”
Megatron muted his comm, shouting to the sky in frustration. “ONSLAUGHT!” he yelled. The mech snapped his helm up at attention. “Get your mechs in position to get over there. Combine into Bruticus and drag Starscream out if you have to.”
“That’s not a good idea,” Skyfire said solemnly. “Our latest estimates say that the eruption will occur in a few minutes. Bruticus can’t do anything that fast.”
Megatron’s optics paled. “Starscream,” he said with faux calm. “Get your shiny metal aft out of there. The eruption is in ten minutes.”
Starscream exvented harshly. “I still have time-”
“DAMN IT, STARSCREAM. LEAVE IMMEDIATELY, OR SO HELP ME-”
“DONE!” Starscream screeched in triumph. “Ask your new favorite scientists about the outcome of this eruption now! Please take pictures of their faces.”
Megatron relaxed, exventing the air he had been unintentionally holding. “Rerun the scenario,” he called. Everyone’s helm swiveled to look at Perceptor with anticipation.
Before the analysis could be completed, a low rumble echoed across the landscape.
Everyone twitched in nervousness. Some mechs even took a few steps back, like running could save them from anything if this suddenly got worse.
“You’re leaving, right?” Megatron said into his comm.
“So worried,” Starscream purred. “One might think you actually want me-”
A loud blast of static interrupted Starscream’s voice. Megatron snapped his gaze to the volcano that was suddenly billowing a lot more smoke than before. The ground seized, throwing all of them off of their pedes.
Megatron managed to pull himself upright. “I better hear your thrusters in the next five seconds.”
“Ugh- what?” Starscream replied. There was the sound of some scraping and movement on his end. “Give me a minute; that tremor knocked some rocks loose.”
Megatron was about to yell that he didn’t have a minute, but Optimus’s yell drew his attention away. A huge crevasse had opened up in the ground, yawning open with molten rock issuing forth and threatening some bots that hadn’t gotten out of the way in time. It looked to be both Autobots and Decepticons clinging to the walls.
He rolled his optics. A little lava couldn’t hurt a Cybertronian, but it could melt a limb or two off if they hadn’t upgraded their armor lately. It would still be painful, for sure.
He ran over to help, but Primus knew why. Idiots should be left to their fate.
“M-Megatron?” Starscream’s voice called quietly over the comm.
Megatron heaved a little yellow bot off the cliffside, depositing him not too gently on the ground next to him. “I’m busy, you winged idiot. Get out of there and come help us.”
“I can’t. Those rocks blocked the exit both ways. You will have to come get me.”
Megatron yelled at the sky, angrily stomping over to the Constructicons. “Time to move; Starscream got himself trapped,” he growled.
He was greeted with blank, frightened looks.
“What? It’s time to move!” Megatron bellowed, stepping forward.
“Megatron,” Scrapper said with surprising gentleness. “There is no time.”
Megatron gaped for a moment beside himself with fury. But scanning their faces, he realized no amount of intimidation would get them any closer to the volcano and its lethal blast radius.
He stepped back and immediately went to his comms. "SKYWARP! Get your stupid trineleader out of the volcano."
"Skywarp is unconscious. When Starscream threw me, I hit his helm," Thundercracker said, his voice trembling. "What do you mean- he's not out yet?"
"What's taking so long?!" Starscream screeched in his audial.
Megatron muted Starscream, wheeling around to look for another option.
“Is something wrong?” Optimus asked, clearly the only mech brave (or stupid) enough to approach him.
He didn’t have time for this. Starscream didn’t have time for this.
“Starscream is trapped,” he said, looking around at each mech to try and find a solution. To his surprise, his spark began to pulse faster in his chest- and not from the thrill of a fight.
“She’s gonna blow!” Wheeljack helpfully supplied, yelling over the din.
“There has to be something- someone-” Megatron said as much to Optimus as himself. He racked his processor, trying to think of a way out of this, but he was drawing a blank. And time was not on his side.
“Megatron, I- it would be suicide,” Optimus replied, also so helpful. “He’s managed to redirect the force of the blast, so it doesn’t set off the chain reaction and destroy the planet’s surface, but this will still be a huge, explosive eruption. This will still kill everything within the blast radius, and even our plating is not durable enough to withstand it.”
“Megatron?” Starscream’s tremulous voice said in his audial. “I hacked your mute button, you moron. How dare you?! Where the frag is my rescue?!”
“I’ll go myself,” Megatron said, stepping toward the edge of their little plateau. He wasn’t as fast as a seeker, and he wasn’t as good at digging into a volcano as the Constructicons, but he had more durable plating than the average mech-
“Even if you do that, you won’t reach him in time,” Optimus said. He glanced to the side, away from Megatron, and it was with some frustration that he noticed Soundwave appeared out of the crowd and in front of Megatron’s path, apparently summoned by Prime's worried look.
“M-Megatron?! Answer me!”
Megatron stared at Soundwave for a long time, knowing he didn’t have time to fight him and rescue Starscream too. “You know he’ll die,” he said to his old friend.
Soundwave stared back and then slowly nodded his helm. “Affirmative.”
“MEG-“
Megatron finally broke. His shoulders slumped, his optics softened, and he cast his gaze to the ground. “I’m coming. I’m- I’m coming," he lied into his comms.
“What’s the point of being a leader if you can’t even rescue your second-in-command?!” Starscream screeched back. There was a note of relief to his voice, though, at finally being answered.
“I’m coming. I promise,” he lied again as he sat down heavily on a small outcropping of rock so he had a clear view of the volcano.
"You better. I don’t- I don’t want to die. You all aren't worth it."
Megatron wiped his hand down his face. He was dimly aware of mechs stepping away from him as if sensing his despair, even if they weren't privy to all the details.
This couldn't be happening.
"If we aren't worth it, then why did you do this?" Megatron asked, his voice raspy with exhaustion.
"I didn’t think- look, I always get away with everything," Starscream replied hysterically. "I’m always able to stretch and break the rules, which always works out for me. Why wouldn't it work out now?" Again, Starscream gave a thin, reedy laugh that sounded more bitter than amused. "You promise you are coming?"
Megatron hated himself. "I’m on my way."
"It’s so dark in here," Starscream continued. "And fragging tighter than your aft." He paused, maybe waiting for Megatron to comment, but Megatron was reeling, and he barely understood the tease. Starscream sighed. "What’s the point in being heroic if you aren’t around to see the aftermath?! To hear everyone praise you with honor and accolades- get a few statues, maybe a victory frag or two- that's the only reason people do slag like this. Otherwise, it's just empty vanity."
Megatron chose not to comment on the idea of empty vanity when it came to Starscream. Not now, anyway.
Megatron still couldn't believe this was happening. Was he going to have to listen to Starscream as he died? Should he keep lying, or would the truth be better? He didn't know.
Starscream shifted on the other end of the comm and then growled. "This is your fault!"
"I… know," Megatron agreed. He had no idea how it could possibly be his fault, but he was tired of arguing. They had argued for more than enough lifetimes.
“Don’t- ugh- don’t sound like that. Don’t agree with me! Be normal! Fight back when I'm being unreasonable, you ignoramus." Megatron didn't say anything back, unable to muster the energy to pretend to be cross.
He looked around, noticing that some of the Autobots and Decepticons were whispering in confusion, giving him furtive looks. Not all of them likely understood the significance of Starscream's flight and his continued absence from their gathering. They'd know soon enough, he supposed.
"Please- just. Megatron- please. Please, I don’t want to die. I’m sorry. I beg of you; please don’t leave me here. I’m sorry."
He sounded so scared.
"I’m- I’m coming," Megatron said, his voice thick. "You just need to be patient."
There was a brief period of silence and then some noises like sniffling from the other end. Soundwave broke his imperious stance, instead coming to sit next to Megatron on the rock. His field was warm and full of gentle understanding.
Megatron swallowed. Hearing Starscream likely crying made him angry. “You aren’t scared, are you?"
"Of course not- why would I be scared? There's nothing to be scared of! Because you are coming."
"Yes, Starscream. I said I was."
"Ugh, it’s so hot. My helm is pounding. My vents can’t keep up and cool me down, and I’m getting sluggish. I can feel lag starting to creep up in my processor." He stopped for a moment, then "Is that you? Finally, coming, eh? I hear rumbling."
Megatron had done many hard, nearly impossible feats over the millennia. He had also lost countless soldiers to various things- and he didn't know all their names.
But this. This was hard.
"Yes," he said. "That’s… me. I'm almost there."
Starscream gave an irritated sigh but remained quiet for a moment, letting Megatron get lost in his thoughts. Distantly he noticed Thundercracker had returned holding an unconscious Skywarp in his arms. He had some hope that the seeker would have woken by now, but slowly he began to accept that nothing could be done.
"I know it’s hard, being all alone in the dark," Megatron started, clenching his fist slowly. He imagined Starscream in that chamber, laying against the craggy wall, desperately trying to fight the rising temperature and the panic bubbling in his tanks. "And I know it's hard for you to think of anyone other than yourself. But… you did good today, Starscream."
Starscream snorted. Then, he gave a bark of a laugh. The laugh continued, growing louder, more bitter, and unhinged. "Are you- are you praising me? Oh, frag. Oh, frag, I’m gonna die. You- you think I’m gonna die-” he hiccupped through his rapidly rising pitch. He was breathing heavily, hitching every so often with a rasp. “You aren’t coming, are you?”
Megatron bowed his helm. “I told you I would.”
“Yes, but so many other times, you lied to me. You’ve been lying about everything.” Starscream gave a nervous laugh. “You know, I believed you for a second. I really did. Finally rid of me, then? Congratulations.”
“No, that’s not- Soundwave won’t let me leave. And even if I did come, it wouldn’t matter. No one can get there in time.”
“Well, there is Skywarp-
Megatron exvented. “Unconscious. You knocked him out when trying to get to the volcano.”
“Mm,” Starscream replied. He sat with that news for a moment as if mulling it over. Megatron could almost see him in the dark, with a myriad of emotions flickering through his face. “Then I suppose I’m the author of my own destruction? No one to blame but myself?” His voice sounded small and brittle.
“No. No, you were stupid, but there are others to blame for… underestimating you,” Megatron said, glancing at the scientists. They appeared to still be arguing, but they seemed… happier, almost. “You were right, you know.”
“And I’m paying the price for it,” Starscream replied hotly. “Well, I wish I could say I’m surprised at this situation. You always fail me when I need you most.”
Megatron heard every word like a whip against his plating and knew they would haunt him for the rest of his days. It was so like Starscream to drip poison into his audials, even now. Even when they had so many other things they could be saying. Things that could give closure and healing- no. Starscream wanted this to hurt and hurt it did.
“I wish things were different,” Megatron replied. His voice was so faint he wasn’t sure he had actually said them.
They were quiet for the next few moments, both of them absorbing reality. Distantly, Megatron heard a countdown and could almost feel the strange excitement from the fields of mechs around him. These mechs likely didn’t know the turmoil happening with Megatron and why he sat apart with his stoic Communications Officer by his side, staring off at the volcano. It seemed most of them were treating the impending eruption like a fireworks display- with enthusiastic anticipation.
The ground shook again.
“I’m not even going to say it,” Starscream said suddenly. “I’m about to die, and I’m not going to say anything. You don’t get that from me, you understand?”
Megatron furrowed his brow, suddenly feeling wrung and hollowed out. “Star, I really don’t.”
“I’m not going to say anything to you- I’m not- Not anything like I lo-”
He saw it before he heard it. The comm cut out, and the volcano’s mound seized and burst apart with such a concussion that the shockwave hit them and knocked them off their pedes. Rock and lava flew out at incredible speed from the explosion, hitting everything in the radius and crushing it to smithereens. Gases and ash began billowing out, along with astonishing heat and smoke.
Megatron stared, watching the eruption. He hoped to see a flash of dove-gray metal with a hint of red and blue flying out of there, but the place where Starscream had been trapped had been utterly destroyed.
He thought he saw a flash of light, almost like a small orb, spin out of the volcano and go into the sky. But surely he was seeing things.
Starscream was gone. And Megatron remained.
He didn't know how long he sat there on the rock, staring at the place Starscream should have been, but wasn't.
Soundwave had stood up some time ago to stand at his back, presumably trying to give him the semblance of privacy and protect him from inane conversations of random mechs. Unfortunately, Megatron was far too numb to appreciate the gesture.
He cast a glance at Thundercracker and Skywarp who were quietly holding each other, forlornly looking at the sky. Occasionally one of them would rub their chestplates as if it hurt them. They stood out amongst all the other mechs celebrating with their pinched expressions and silent tears.
That was confirmation enough, then. Megatron knew already, but seeing the obvious effects of a broken trinebond made it real.
Skyfire came by at one point, not intimidated by Soundwave's presence or gun. He shouted for a few minutes, angrily gesticulating in the air. Megatron kind of thought had he shown a fraction of this passion, he might have made a good Decepticon. Still, he didn’t turn around to face him, and let the shuttle have his tantrum of impotence. Because in the end, he, too, did nothing to save Starscream.
With some cruel parting words that Megatron didn't hear, Skyfire departed with a devastated look on his face.
His foggy mind slightly cleared when Optimus appeared from the celebrating throng. Soundwave looked like he was going to try and stand up to the Autobot leader but then lowered his weapon and stepped aside.
Optimus sat down next to him on the rock. “I am sorry,” he said gently.
Megatron arched an optic ridge but didn’t reply.
“It’s hard when the people we are supposed to protect stubbornly ignore us,” Optimus continued, staring off at the bubbling volcano. “But he did save not only us, but an entire planet of organisms.”
“That was not his intention,” Megatron replied, his voice raw.
“No, I don’t doubt it. But we are still grateful for his sacrifice.”
Megatron clenched his jaw. “Is there a point to your pontificating, Prime?”
Optimus sighed. “I wanted to know if you wanted to extend our truce into a more… permanent arrangement. We had agreed to cease hostilities if the planet ran out of energy, but I have a lot of nervous mechs that want to know if the situation has changed now that Starscream rerolled the dice.”
Megatron still didn’t look at him, staring ahead. In truth, he was done. He had been for some time, and this was as good an excuse as any to wrap it up and pack it in. Everyone had lost their taste for violence and death after facing their mortality down the funnel of an explosive geological event. No one would blame him.
Still, part of him wanted to spit in Optimus’s face. Perhaps that was the part of him that Starscream had been fond of.
Well. It was over now, anyway.
“Draft a treaty. We’ll review it,” Megatron finally said.
Optimus stared at him, studying his face. He stood, gave a curt nod, and left Megatron to his… thoughts.
He wasn’t ready to call it grief yet, but it had the shape and weight of it.
Soundwave sat down again, taking Prime’s place.
Taking the gesture for the invitation he thought it was, Megatron sighed. “I didn’t think he would be felled by something so… common,” he said quietly. “It feels cheap and unworthy of him.”
“Starscream: Actions have consequences. Autobots love humans. Humans owe Starscream their lives. Autobots are in debt to Starscream’s actions. Consequences are in Megatron’s favor.”
Megatron huffed a half-hearted laugh. “He was lucky.”
“Don’t underestimate him,” Soundwave replied.
Megatron turned his helm to see Soundwave’s visor glittering with amusement. This time Megatron let a ghost of a smile form on his lips. “I suppose.” He sighed again, shaking his helm. “I always thought he’d be too stubborn to die.”
“Starscream: Bad at taking orders, even from fate.”
Megatron let his smile widen. “You’re right. What was I thinking.” He stood, dusting a light coat of ash off of his plating. “He’ll get to the Pit and demand the Unmaker make him a new body.”
Soundwave inclined his helm in agreement and stood, too, walking ahead of Megatron to keep curious mechs back.
And though Megatron could still feel a hole in his chest where he thought his spark should be, something kept telling him he hadn’t seen the last of that annoying seeker.