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Starscream couldn't tell whether he wanted to kneel at his feet or shove a foot directly into his face, for Megatron proved to be a deceptive individual. Even to the usually cunning seeker.
He knew the influence such a once lowly bot now had; No one killed a Cybertronian like Sentinel Prime without garnering their fair share of respect. Starscream was willing to give said respect, even at the expense of his own dignity. All because Megatron overthrew him.
He proved himself worthy of Starscream's high guard army and now ruled it, with the seeker among its ranks. The lowest ones, he guessed for sure. He wouldn't have expected anything less from their new ruthless leader.
That was where the conflict lay within him. He hated Megatron for usurping him, but the fact that he was even able to, alongside killing Sentinel Prime... Starscream would have been mad not to think him superior.
So he followed Megatron's word. Out of Iacon and back onto the surface, he followed those words as it barked order after order along the rough, ever transforming terrains. The words only ceased once night fell, and they camped out near a high cliffside for the darkness to pass. All of the bots, exhausted from the day's intense events, idled around rocks and shrubbery, recharching their energy.
Starscream caught Megatron, their fearless leader, away from the group and looking off contemplatively. He was in the darkest shadow of the cliffside, leaning against the high rock wall, but Starscream was able to identify him regardless. There was one particular feature of his that stood out.
His eyes glowed a dangerous red. One almost identical to his own.
That was almost enough for Starscream to spark kinship within him.
In a foolish act of pride, he walked over and approached his brooding leader. Looking at him now, he was reminded not only of what transpired in Iacon just earlier that day, but of when they first met. His rebellion, his drive, his power. He could still feel Megatron's servos tight around his neck, crushing his vocal processor.
An electric shiver of apprehension shot through the seeker, but he ignored it. Instead, he stopped just beside Megatron, and looked up to speak to him (he was rather annoyed by that fact, and wished the bot was still as short as when they first met, if only to give Starscream the one advantage of height).
Megatron didn't bother to acknowledge him, not with anything other than a cursory glance. Their red eyes met, and Starscream admired the danger within that burning glow.
Putting on a smirk, he spoke with confidence, and a controlled amount of reverence. "Red's a good look on you."
Megatron didn't reply but instead stared almost curiously at Starscream. A long, awkward silence passed, and the seeker's smirk threatened to break.
"Your eyes, I mean," Starscream continued, gesturing towards Megatron's face. Then, he pointed at his own. "Just like mine."
Again, Megatron didn't reply, but before Starscream could make anything of it, he... laughed. It was a short one, but sudden. Very sudden.
"Um..." Starscream furrowed his optical ridges, bringing his red eyes to a confused squint. "Did I say something funny?"
"No, no," the bot shook his helmeted head, the echo of an amused smile on his lips. "It's your voice. I really did a number on you, didn't I?"
It was true, for each time Starscream spoke, his voice came out as an odd, high-pitched, and squeaky jumble that was almost impossible to take seriously. Amidst all the commotion and battle, Starscream had barely had the time to realize the extent of the absurdity of his voice, of when Megatron nearly crushed it into oblivion. Until now, that is.
"Yes, it seems like you did," Starscream said bitterly, now realizing the two-toned squeak that came with each sentence. "Now, what are you going to do about it?"
"I don't know," Megatron shrugged. His fusion-cannon gears shifted with the action. "What am I going to do?"
"You can't just leave me like this!" Starscream scoffed, that scoff sounding more like a cough with all that static. "I sound ridiculous!"
"You should have thought about that before practically begging me to choke you," Megatron said with an edge. He stepped closer towards the seeker, who in turn took a step back. "Really, what were you trying to achieve?"
"I just wanted to see if there was any truth in all your talk," Starscream grumbled, and tried to ignore the invigorated heat that came with recalling the memory of their first spar. It was the first time in many, many cycles he ever felt so inclined to fight again, so eager. "All that big talk."
"And what's your verdict?" Megatron raised a brow, the glow in his red eyes challenging. Starscream shifted from pupil to pupil.
"It doesn't really matter at this point, doesn't it?" Starscream said, bitterness still rife in his two-toned voicebox. "You're the leader now, not me."
"Correct," Megatron said in satisfaction, and stepped even closer. Close enough now to place a finger on Starscream's chestplate, pointing accusedly at him. "And it'd do you good to remember that before you think to speak so carelessly to me."
Starscream's red eyes shot down to look at Megatron's hand, but more specifically, what was attached just above it. The barrel of his fusion-cannon stared directly at Starscream's head, or more specifically, his neck. Hesitantly, he met Megatron's gaze. Glowing, as always.
"Yes, of course..." Starscream said obediently. When Megatron didn't rescind, he swallowed the last of his pride, and muttered. "... Sir."
"Good." That satisfaction spread on Megatron's face in the form of a smirk, and he lowered his hand, taking the cannon along with him. "Consider this an extension of my last act of mercy."
He turned then to leave, but Starscream exclaimed. "Wait!"
Megatron looked at him again, but with enough consideration for Starscream to speak. "What... What about my voice?"
Megatron regarded the seeker for a moment, red eyes trailing up and down the bot's visage, before settling on his equally red eyes. Though, they didn't burn with the danger that Megatron's did.
"It's your choice; do with it what you will. I'm sure there's a medic among your ranks, isn't there?" He said, then continued in a quieter, oddly aimable tone. One none the less calculating. "But I'd keep it. Think of it as my mark."
Then, lifting a hand, he tapped the side of his helm, indicating his red eyes. It glowed brighter than it usually did. "Then I'll think of this as yours."
And with that he left, sinking further into the shadows to enjoy the last of his solace before he had to return to the role of a leader. Starscream knew he didn't go far, though, for his eyes always gave him away. Only in appearance, but never in intention. The mix of emotions within Starscream was evidence of that.
The seeker returned to the rest of the group not long after, but not without glancing back at their hidden leader. He swore that even in the distance and darkness, he could tell Megatron was looking directly at him. Red eyes locked with another.
It was a kinship borne from something terrible, and would only grow into something worse. But it was a kinship nonetheless; Perhaps one cycles long overdue.
Megatron may have damaged Starscream's voice a while beforehand, but it was only in that moment did Starscream accept the mark on him. He was a Decepticon now, even when Megatron didn't think to call themselves that yet. He was the first to be branded— the first true follower.
Later on, even when Soundwave approached Starscream with a way to fix his voicebox, the seeker refused. For so long as he spoke in that voice, each word was proof of his loyalty. As two-faced as he would turn out to be in cycles come to pass, that two-tone still remained, for in the end, his loyalty lies with the first who marked him.