Chapter Text
Starscream didn’t consider himself the most loyal to many bots, and it was safe to say that others didn’t think the same either. He was known as a selfish traitor, hellbent on overthrowing Megatron at a moments notice so he could become the ruler of the Decepticons. For the longest time, that’s how it had been when Starscream was the Decepticon second-in-command… and then he had run away from the faction out of fear for his life.
For as long as he could recall; his wants and needs were simple, and he relished in security, safety in energon. That’s when Arachnid had come onto the scene, she destroyed his sense of security by betraying him and making him believe that Megatron wanted to truly get rid of him. So he decided to try his luck with the Autobots. Lot of good that decision did him, he screwed it up almost instantly when he revealed that he was the murderer of Cliffjumper. It was there that he learned very quickly that Autobots didn’t compartmentalize their grief and hold it down under lock and key to get through the gruesome war, rather the bots seemed to let it fuel them for battle. He was lucky that Arcee had spared him, and he never forgot the debt he owed her for it. Starscream then went rogue, hiding in the abandoned Harbinger and utilizing all the resources he had to keep living.
Then he learned of the Omega Keys, and he finally found his way back into safety. Utilizing all resources he had available, he was able to trick the Autobots and retrieve all three keys that were in their possession.
He practically sauntered his way back onto his old stomping ground on the Nemesis, revealing his usefulness to Megatron once more after showing off the keys he stole. Of course, Megatron did scare the everloving scrap out of him with the cortical psychic patch and making him believe he’d be terminated, but instead he was welcomed back, got his old rank back, and was given his T-cog transplant as requested.
His security was re-established, and he felt safe once again. The Decepticons were back on top, and Starscream stood with them. Optimus was deemed dead and soon, they were hunting for the remains.
Then Shockwave came back, a bot that everyone believed was dead. Starscream himself didn’t expect the other to be alive either, having never seen Shockwave exit the space bridge. Now the scientist was back, and proving himself ever-valuable with the introduction of his latest abomination capable of tracking autobots with a simple drop of a bot’s spilt energon. The beast terrified Starscream, but he wasn’t allowed to let it show since he was now in charge of taming the beast when Shockwave was unavailable.
Oh and then, any kindness Megatron had towards Starscream evaporated the moment that Optimus was revealed to still be alive and better than when they’d last seen him. The punch to the face from Ultra Magnus stung worse after that bitter defeat.
It didn't matter, they were on top before! They could get there again, and he would do everything in his power to make sure Megatron got the upper hand again. Hopefully without more Predacons being made if he could help it.
So he endured it all, made up new ideas and new schemes, did what he could to give the Decepticons a tactical edge with everything. He was the brains behind turning Predaking’s rage towards the Autobots when they realized having sentient Predacons were dangerous to have as an asset now that they proved to have the ability of transformation and sentience. And while his attempt to be rid of Shockwave was a failure for that mission, because of it, the scientist was able to discover the possibility of creating cybermatter.
They would be able to revive their planet! Even after the destruction of the first Omega Lock, they now held the possibility of trying one more time! They needed Ratchet’s assistance on perfecting the Synth-En formula, and after a little capture and convincing, Ratchet was on board with the Omega Lock reconstruction project.
Then when he served his use, he was dealt with! Well… almost.
Predaking allowed Ratchet to explain why the Autobots were behind the death of his brethren, and Predaking used his brains. Because of the beastly bot’s rampage, Ratchet was able to live long enough and the Decepticons were halted in their progress long enough for the Autobots to board and attack.
The fight was honestly a blur to Starscream, he did vaguely remember seeing the Autobot scout get shot and killed, his body falling into the powered up Omega Lock. Though all Starscream could really comprehensively remember, was when Megatron ended up getting stabbed through the chest with the Star Saber.
When Megatron had fallen at the hands of that yellow scout, the overwhelming grief nearly consumed Starscream as he shrieked of vengeance. Oh how he wanted to swoop down like a deadly hawk and sink his claws deep into the scout’s newly fixed voicebox, to tear him to shreds and avenge his master. The same master that he once tried to kill numerous times himself, but Starscream had changed, realized the error of his ways and pledged total loyalty to him. The Decepticon warlord could have snuffed his spark out numerous times and yet he continuously spared him. When he finally came back and was welcomed back into the ranks, and when Dreadwing had nearly killed him, Megatron saved him! That had to mean something… right?
His body lunged towards the yellow scout, murderous intentions quickly flowing through his anguished processor. Had Shockwave not wrapped an arm around his waist and yanked him off to safety, Starscream likely would have died at Autobot hands in his rage-fueled attempt at revenge. They were both soon cramped into a small one-bot escape pod, and the long trip back to Cybertron would be murder on his wings… but they would survive to avenge Megatron another day. The Decepticon cause would continue to survive because of Shockwave’s decision, he still didn’t have to like the uncomfortable feeling of practically straddling the emotionless scientist’s legs while his wings were uncomfortably smushed into whatever position he could fit them into. Complaints quickly flowed out of Starscream, but they were only met with a tired ‘do you intend to whine for the duration of the voyage?’
Thankfully Shockwave was able to activate the pod’s stasis feature, that way they didn’t have to engage in conversation or bicker for the whole flight back to their dead planet. Starscream was eternally grateful for that, but stasis for the flier often meant that he was constantly thinking or in a neverending nightmare of old punishments and pain. With this forceful stasis, Starscream was left to ponder and reflect about the results of their last battle, the people that they had lost as a result of their millennia of fighting.
He drifted into stasis, floating in a sea of questions he couldn’t quite answer or think long enough about. What happened to Soundwave? Did Knockout make it off the ship as well? Was Predaking still alive after his attack on Megatron? Why did Shockwave stop him from attacking after Megatron’s death? What was left for himself now that the war was over? Was the war truly over?
Such questions still lingered in his head when he felt Shockwave nudging him awake and stating plainly that they had arrived to Cybertron. The aerial commander’s optics opened and readjusted to the new surroundings for a few moments on the planet before he sucked in a vent and noticed that the planet’s once grey and dull husk was now glowing with a brilliant blue. The Autobots must have revived the planet’s core with the Omega Lock, a brilliant use of the finite resource that Megatron didn’t even think of using. A small feeling of bitterness bloomed in Starscream’s chest as he thought of his old master again, he thought back to when the lock had first been destroyed by Optimus Prime. Megatron didn’t seem to care that their only chance to revive Cybertron had been destroyed when it happened, even Soundwave had visibly looked enraged by the Prime’s actions. Then when they managed to rebuild the Omega Lock, instead of using it to revive their dead planet, Megatron still decided to use the incredibly finite material towards cyberforming the Earth in his seemingly never-ending quest to one-up the Prime. Suddenly, the jet was feeling just a little less sad towards the death of his leader, but only a little… for now.
Starscream continued to stare at the revived planet; if he continued to look over its surface, he’d be able to see the ruins of his old home of Vos. Already, he made plans to fly out there and pay his respects to those he buried. His trine-brothers, comrades, any friends that made it their dying wish to be buried in the remains of their home. To think that he was one of the few; if not the last, still living Vosians was painful. He hadn’t really had the time during all the battles to really process those he lost, the culture and language that would be neigh forgotten to time itself. A deep, mournful wail threatened to boil up into the surface but Starscream refused to let it out. He was still in Shockwave’s presence, and he would not allow himself to look weak in front of the emotionless scientist.
Said scientist was now saying something about re-working his predacon project, so they could enact a full takeover and win as Decepticons. Starscream couldn’t help but let out a sigh, did prolonging the fight really matter anymore? It felt pretty clear that the winners in this war were the Autobots. Nevertheless, he still went along with it and agreed with one condition.
“Ah yes, always a price for your agreement. What is it you want?” Shockwave sighed out, sounding almost annoyed… well about as annoyed as he could be for such an ‘emotionless being.’ Shockwave likely expected his begrudging partner to demand being the supreme ruler of the planet, or something like that. But Starscream could only stare at his servos and then back at the planet before he started.
“I would like… my old frame back. As soon as we get back onto the planet, I want to be back in my old frame.” He replied simply, watching through the porthole of their escape pod as Shockwave piloted them to the ruins of Kaon. He refused to be in this small, weak frame any longer. Sure, he was even faster than he’d been in his old frame, but it lacked the heavy-duty interstellar armor plating that he used to use for traveling the cosmos like he had all those eons ago. Starscream only heard Shockwave grunt at his request, but he knew the cyclops was surprised to hear that it was his only request, after everything that Starscream had done, the simple request was unexpected and a little out of character for the seeker. Starscream didn’t elaborate either, he has his reasons for getting his frame changed and none of those reasons required Shockwave to know.
Once their pod had landed just on the outskirts of Kaon and the door hissed open, Starscream was the first one to clamber out with the passion of a newly formed cybertronian. Oh how he just wanted to take off and stop at the ruins of Vos, abandon Shockwave and whatever insane idea he had planned for revenge… but he still had to regain his frame, so he would play nice for now, then when he’d helped Shockwave enough he’d leave the planet and make his way back to Earth. There was someone left behind on that planet, someone that Starscream promised himself to bring home but couldn’t with the war going on. As Starscream’s thoughts drifted towards frozen winds and screams that fell on deaf audials, he shook his head and took in a deep vent to really settle in the fact that he was back on his planet, he was home .
Shockwave was slower in getting out of the pod, now that Starscream’s own frame wasn’t digging into him, he had time to move around stiff joints and recalibrate anything that was sticking as he got up. The open area was still a welcome relief, but Shockwave did not indulge in the sights of their ruined planet; it didn’t matter to him if the planet was either functional or desolate. What mattered to him was science and progress, so as long as he was able to continue with his exploits unhindered, Shockwave didn’t really care. What the scientist did somewhat care about, was that Starscream only wanted his old frame back, a large and bulky frame that was capable of both withstanding long interstellar travel and being quite fast with the powerful jets it was equipped with. He remembered back when the jet had been critically damaged during the war, Megatron himself had brought the little traitor in, Shockwave thought that he’d just be getting a new cadaver to play around with at the time only for Megatron to state that he wanted Starscream alive but in a weaker and faster body. For the life of him, Shockwave still didn’t understand the logic of his leader, but he still did… and boy had Starscream’s reaction to his new frame been a rough one. The jet had screamed and lashed out at everything when he wasn’t stumbling around at his sudden lack of weight, though Shockwave believed the ones that acted the worst had been the surviving Vosians and Starscream’s own trinemates. Starscream himself, while being angered at the loss of his old frame, adapted to his new one quickly after the initial blow-up and was soon walking around as if he’d been forged that way, although his self-assurance in his own safety was greatly diminished and that was something that Megatron seemed most pleased in.
“Shockwave, are you just going to stand there? Or are we standing around and waiting for the Autobots to come and get us?” Starscream called out, making a signature scowl that brought Shockwave back to the present. The scientist decided to shelve his thoughts on Starscream’s request for his old frame, the jet was right, they needed to get to one of his labs. With only a shake of his head, Shockwave transformed into his tank form and drove off in the direction towards Kaon and Starscream was soon following behind.
“My lab in Kaon is my largest, it should have more than enough parts to remake your previous frame, as well as enough tools for us to work on the actual task at hand.” Shockwave stated through their comms as Starscream started to lazily fly around, clearly the jet wanted nothing more than to speed around and look everything over, but since he didn’t know where Shockwave’s base was he simply couldn’t go the speed he wanted to.
“I do hope that for both of our sakes, that Kaon isn’t still swarmed with scraplets. Disgusting little creatures.” Starscream shuddered at the thought of those small bot killing creatures. He’d personally had too many close calls with those creatures and frankly didn’t like the idea of going over to an area notorious for being infested with scraplets during the war. Shockwave didn’t seem all that bothered though.
“Rest assured in your life Starscream, I had deterrents created to keep them away from my labs and where I reside. They are currently located somewhere in the ruins of Iacon and it is more likely that the Autobots will be dealing with the small pests as we speak.” Shockwave replied simply. “Now cease whining, we are almost there.”
The ruins of Kaon were still imposing, Starscream personally didn’t see much of a difference between how it used to look and now. Perhaps having to do with him not visiting the large city very often, he’d been too occupied with keeping his own city protected and thriving as its leader. Flying through the ruins now, Starscream began to think about how he hadn’t really tried to ask how Megatron felt about losing his home in the war, though from how non-challant he’d been when the planet died, Starscream had a feeling that he didn’t quite mind seeing his home decay.
Once he saw Shockwave slow and transform back to his bipedal form, Starscream quickly did the same, following the scientist through the ruins and stopping in an alleyway. A hint of nervousness briefly occupied Starscream’s thoughts before he watched Shockwave tap something into a hidden panel and reveal a lab. The door ominously slid open and Starscream had to hold back a ‘mad scientist’ comment as he followed the tank down into the lab.
“So this is why the Autobots could never track you down or find all of your labs… clever.” Starscream muttered out, not entirely enthusiastic about going underground.. but he managed far worse. At least he managed to compliment the other’s creativity without purging out his intake, he still didn’t quite like Shockwave, but he told himself to play nice.
“Your compliment is unnecessary. I simply did what was logical, being a person that practices controversial sciences, it was only logical to have my work be hidden away.” Shockwave replied simply, shrugging slightly before they walked through the passageway and into a rather large cavern that housed various equipment, spare energon rations, and datapads were stacked everywhere. Starscream felt some nostalgia from his old days as a Cybertronian scientist, when he and his partner would-
No! He shook his head of those memories, they didn’t serve him a purpose right now. All that mattered right now was getting his old frame back, and if it meant helping Shockwave for it, he’d do it.
“Well, it was a smart decision.. logically. Now the Autobots will not be able to find us as we work, I’d rather they not learn of me returning to my old frame, at least not yet. When will you be able to do that?” Starscream asked, picking up a stray datapad and looking over its contents before Shockwave swiped it from his clawed servos and placed it back onto the table. Clearly believing Starscream incapable or unworthy of looking at any of his work.
“I will need to obtain the full information of your old frame first. Then I will need to look over my supplies to see if I have the materials needed for such a drastic change.” Shockwave replied bluntly, Starscream wasted no time in opening up his subspace and producing a drive for Shockwave. He was eager to get started on his frame change.
“The schematics will contain all materials needed for my frame, I’ve been holding onto this for a long time.” Starscream replied, offering a smirk when Shockwave took the drive from him. He soon held his servos behind his back and tilted his head slightly, an air of professionalism radiating off him as he focused on the task at hand. “While you look over the data, shall I get to work on your little pet project?”