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It was as though a switch had suddenly been flipped somewhere in Starscream, Optimus reflected.
One moment, he was confident and bold, assured in his secret trick. Then suddenly, he all but collapsed against the rocky wall, dark energon long forgotten as it fell to the ground. He vented harshly as though he was overheating, and the Seeker's optics darted around, wide and so very terrified.
Optimus was stunned. He had never seen that kind of terror before, even at the beginning of the war. It was raw and primal and filled with so much pain, Optimus had to stop himself from rushing over to comfort the mech.
The Seeker General stared at his sevro on the wall like he didn't recognise it, then, in one swift motion, he brought his other servo up and slashed against it. Bright and warm blue gushed out, and Arcee and Bulkhead shared startled looks. What were they to do in this situation? Bumblebee looked entirely lost and more than a little concerned.
Optimus moved forward almost subconsciously. He had to help! He just wasn't sure how.
Lubricant bubbled up in the seekers optics, yet he seemed... relived? He leaned further against the cliff wall, letting his helm against it, an almost manic relief now clear in his unseeing optics. He began muttering to himself, and Optimus moved closer to hear him better.
"I'm okay, I'm okay. I'm alive. I can fix everything. I can do it right this time. Im fine. Im alive. There's nothing wrong anymore. Im okay‐"
It was hard to understand what he was saying through the tears, but from what Optimus could pick up, he was more than worried. Optimus moved closer to comfort him through habit but was stopped by a loud and broken "NO!" It seemed Starscream had suddenly noticed the semi-truck's approach.
The seekers' leg struts gave out from under him as he pushed himself back, and Optimus reached to catch him, but–"Do-don’t touch me!" The Seeker all but begged, curling around himself, but he was losing too much energon. If something didn't stop the flow, he would fall into stasis lock. Or worse.
Optimus grabbed the seeker's wrist to inspect the injury. His spark felt like it had shattered when the Seeker began to sob, his free servo covering his faceplates as though to protect it from some unseen attack.
Optimus felt sick, like he was a monster. He was trying to help, but he still felt terribly guilty. Starscream had hit a fuel line. If something didn't stop the leaking, he would die. Optimus felt worse when he had to grab and move the seeker's other servo, and he only cried harder. He didn't say anything else or even try to fight Optimus off. He simply cried more. As though he had accepted his fate.
Optimus managed to turn on the grey seeker's comm eventually. He had never seen Soundwave move so fast in his life than when the groundbridge appeared. Soundwave quickly pushed him off, picking up Starscream with his cables, and carried the seeker through the groundbridge.
Arcee perfectly encapsulated everybots feeling on the matter in one sentence.
"What the frag was that!?"