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The sun had always happened to rise earlier in Iacon than in the other cities on Cybertron, mechs from early legends said that this happened because it was closest to the very core of Primus himself... that probably wasn't true, but it was gorgeous anyways. The light would filter through buildings and glass, bringing color and light to the previously darkened city, chasing away the shadows and the evil things that went bump in the night. Iacon’s sunrises were nothing like his home cities, but Starscream found himself enjoying them anyways, especially when he had the company of one purple Prime- who would always keep to his duty of taking care of the seeker, bringing him a hot steaming cube of energon. They would sit on the balcony together, Starscream with his focals on- reading some new scientific journal, and Megatronus just enjoying the sun… enjoying his own Star.
Those were the mornings that Starscream enjoyed, the ones that he craved with every fiber of his spark, the ones that he would enjoy after his Prime would return from a long mission- knowing that Megatronus had done everything in his power to claw his way back home to him. Primus, Starscream loved that mech.
This cycle, as the seeker roused from his recharge, found that the sunlight just annoyed him. The curtains not doing their job of blocking out the light properly, making his optics burn as he threw his servos over them to try to block everything. Well, maybe that was not a great start to his day, but at least he would be able to spend time with his beloved- his return had been promised and Starscream trusted Megatronus.
Starscream threw a servo onto the other side of the berth, searching for the familiar warmth of Megatronus’s large frame, and was disappointed when he found it cold and untouched. Hm, maybe he was just in the kitchen? The Prime had taken a liking to cooking recently, so it would not be strange to find him there.
Pedes hit the cold floor as the seeker dragged himself and his covers from the berth, and started to walk into the kitchen, expecting the smell of some treats- of energon- but once again, nothing. The kitchen had been darkened, everything left in the place it had been when they had finished refueling the night before. Starscream frowned, had Megatronus not returned yet? He tried to calm his nerves, by looking at the alarm device next to the berth, it was still early.
Dragging himself back into the warm berth- back underneath the covers and insulation sheets, he moved to grab his comm device and click it on, loading up all the messages that he had missed while he was in recharge. There were so many… it was hard to keep up with them all. Just fellow guard members, some from his trine, a message from Soundwave- nothing too important. Reading further up the list, Starscream was pleased to see that there were a few from Megatronus too, that was a good sign! It meant that the Prime had managed to make it back after all. What a relief.
Starscream smiled softly at nothing in particular, before deciding that he should probably get out of berth and go greet Megatronus himself. Stubborn mech was probably being held up in the medbay or something, he could use some encouragement. Nothing encouraged the Prime better than a freshly polished seeker in his vision.
...
Heading down the stairs of the Primal Bascila, the seeker found that the entire complex was silent, which was strange. Usually war campaigns made mechs cheer, made them celebrate and drink, but there was none of that this time. Just an uncomfortable silence and a lack of mechs. Seriously, where was everyone? The medbay was empty, the halls empty- the only chatter coming from the war room. Hm, maybe everyone had just gotten caught up in a meeting. Primes tended to love to speak.
“Hey, Screamer… I wouldn’t go in there if I was you.” Skywarp said, knocking Starscream out of his trance, as the tricolored seeker had his servo in the door, “Major bad idea. Just trust me, it’s for your own good. Sentinel ordered me to keep you out.”
Starscream looked at his trinemate with a confused glare, what in Primus’s name was he talking about? Since when did Sentinel have the authority to order him to do anything? He was just some glorified secretary, not anything special.
“I outrank Sentinel, I do not have to listen to a word that imbicile speaks. Nor do I care about his orders anyways, I can go wherever I fragging please.” The seeker snorted, rolling his optics at Skywarp, “I just need to speak with Megatronus, that is all. Get him! Or I will personally blast down this door myself and walk in, I swear to Primus!”
Skywarp looked like he was about to activate his vocalizer and speak but was cut off by the door opening and Sentinel standing in the frame of it, servos on his hips. His optics turning to Starscream as he gave him an upset look before speaking, “Ah, Starscream, I need to speak with you in private. Come in, right now.”
The seeker followed Sentinel into the empty war room and found that he was being pushed into a chair by the Primal tactician, Airachnid. Starscream didn’t like the looks that either of the bots in the room were giving him, they both reeked of anger and pride and fear… something wasn’t right about all this.
As Sentinel and Starscream sat at the table, the blue and gold mech took a deep vent in and looked right at Starscream, “Starscream, I am so sorry to have to be the one to tell you this- you know I hate giving bad news, I’ve never liked it…” He murmured to the seeker- a guilty look on his faceplates, “The mission did not go as planned, it didn’t go well. Starscream, no one made it out alive. The Primes, we cannot locate them or their life signals, they’re offline.”
Starscream sat for a moment, just staring at Sentinel as he tried to process what he had just heard, this mech had to be insane- how could you just loose thirteen mechs- Primes, for Primus’s sake! Starscream gave him a look out of the corner of his optic as he said, “That’s not true, that cannot be… no. I refuse to believe it! It would take more than a few secondary lifeforms to snuff the spark of a Prime, there is no way that all thirteen of them didn’t survive! Just find them, Sentinel, it is not that hard to locate a mech!” He just shouted, pushing his chair back as he got to his pedes and started to pace.
“Starscream, we did our best- but there were too many of them and we- we don’t have the resources to make another trip out there to find them. I’m sorry Starscream, but they aren’t coming back. We must look to the future here; we must look at our options!” Sentinel said, standing to his own pedes as he watched the seeker, “We need leadership, we need a solid plan! The Quintessons will take this an opportunity to seize control over Cybertron. I am the only one left who can stop this, I must surrender to them!”
The seeker was busy rubbing his optics, back turned to Sentinel as he tried to hide the coolant that threatened to spill from his optics, “You have no right to lead, you were the one who gave them that information! You got them killed because you couldn’t bother to realize it was an obvious trap! You’re honestly a fragging idiot Sentinel, I have no idea why Primus made you.” He screeched, throwing his wet servos around as he stomped right up to the mech, “Surrendering to them will solve nothing, they will use us for all we are worth, and then still want more- you’re dishonoring the goals of the Primes, of Megatronus himself! This idiot stunt will just harm everyone, and then get us all killed.”
Sentinel took a deep vent in as he turned to look at Airachnid, who had been standing beside him the entire time, and gave her a nod, before speaking, “As the new Prime- the last mech created by his servos, I outrank you, Starscream. Either you stand with me and help, or you stand against me. Do not disappoint poor Megatronus, what would he think if he could see you now? The Primes tried to call for your help, for the help of the guard, but received no answer- because their leader was enjoying some beauty recharge. You could have helped save them then, but you didn’t. Help save them now! Help me find the matrix, help me surrender, and you could have everything you’ve ever wanted.”
Why did it matter if he joined Sentinel or not? He would never have everything he wanted. Sure, Starscream enjoyed the finer things- jewels, crowns, fancy polish, but none of that paled in comparison to the life that he wanted with his Prime, with Megatronus! He would give up the fanciest crown in all of Cybertron, if it meant that he could be held tight and safe in the Prime’s arms one last time, to hear his soothing timbre, to get knocked out of bed, to lose in a fight! To kiss! To interface! That’s all he wanted. Sentinel had ruined that for him, he would never follow him.
“No. I will never side with the mech who let the Primes loose, who lost Megatronus. Go frag yourself, Sentinel, die for all I care. Surrender yourself, try to find that matrix, what do I care- you will always loose. You’re no Prime.” He snapped, walking towards the door, “If you won’t find Megatronus, I’ll find him myself.”
Starscream let the doors slam behind him as he left the room, grabbing Skywarp’s servo and yanking him along. He was leaving, taking his guard, and leaving. He wouldn’t possibly risk leaving the lives of his seekers to this irresponsible idiot mech. No, they would be safer with him. He had failed Megatronus, but he would not fail his own mechs.
…
It would be vorns later, when the seeker would find himself stuck on the surface with the guard. They had built him a throne, regarded him as their leader, it was everything that he had wanted. Right? Adoring fans, the ability to get payback on Sentinel, no dead seekers.
But Starscream’s spark still felt empty, a part of it was missing. Something that he could never replace, nothing could ever fill that hole again. The pain was still fresh, the seeker would never get over it, no matter how much he lied. Because at the end of the day, Starscream would be the one in berth, reading through messages on a long-deactivated comms system, trying to find comfort in the last moments his beloved had been alive. He would be the one letting coolant run from his optics as he cuddled the device to his chassis.
[ Star! My Star, we are surrounded! I have three on me, there are too many, I can barely see! If I do not leave this cave alive, I want you to know that I love you- my dearspark. I will always love you. I do not want you to become bitter and lose yourself, please do not destroy my Star in your grief. You will see me again soon, I promise. I love you, my supernova- my guiding star! Forgive me! ]
The message ended there every time. It never changed, nothing about it ever changed, besides the date. Time would continue to pass, and Starscream couldn’t stop it. He didn’t care to. Nothing mattered anymore anyways, perhaps Primus would be merciful and give him a second chance, or just snuff his spark now. Neither of those two options ever happened, typical.
“I forgive you, my love.” The seeker would whisper into the darkness, “I promise that I will make Sentinel pay for what he has done, I swear it on my very spark, Megatronus. I will hunt down the Quintessons who hurt you, and one day I will bring you home. You may rest easy, my Prime, I will look after you, always.”