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How had it come to this?
Starscream had honestly lost count of how many times they had ended up like this. He had tried, once again, to put an end to Megatron. And, once again, he found himself falling to his knees in the shadow of his former leader, energon seeping out of the various wounds scattered across his frame. He had been so close to taking the fool down... Starscream raised his burning crimson optics to glare up at the fusion cannon aimed at his face, reluctant to meet Megatron's cold gaze. Optics that once would have been glad to see the Seeker; or at least, would have tolerated it.
"I'll admit, you put up more of a fight this time, Starscream," Megatron said dispassionately, a drop of energon falling down his face from a small wound on his helm. "But as always, you disappoint me."
Starscream grit his dentae and practically snarled at that. That was part of why he'd left in the first place. The old fool had never once appreciated, let alone thanked his second-in-command, even when he had accomplished something. Starscream had devoted his loyalty to Megatron, and got nothing in return but scathing remarks and belittlement. The other Decepticons might have been happy to blindly follow the warlord regardless, but not Starscream. Not when he was treated like a piece of rust. He had been good at his job, he knew it. Becoming second-in-command was no easy task, and when Starscream finally did, he had been so full of hope. Megatron had chosen him above all the others, and for a time, treated him like it too. But before long, Starscream just became another pawn. So, after stellar-cycles of loyalty, the Seeker began to plot his revenge. If he got rid of Megatron and made himself the leader, he would never treat any Decepticon that way, no matter their rank. That, and he would finally remind Megatron what he was capable of.
Time passed slowly, until the day came when Megatron was finally offline, or so everybody thought. However, since the Decepticons scattered across the galaxy, and the warlord was soon resurrected on Earth, Starscream couldn't count that as him being a leader. But how blissful it had been to have that brute gone, to be playing by his own rules. Then Megatron returned the favour, and Starscream was offline.
Until he wasn't.
The Allspark fragment wedged into Starscream's forehelm was keeping him online. And with every attempt and failure to put Megatron offline, it continued to do so. Upon this discovery, Starscream had been ecstatic. Nobody could ever take him offline, not even Megatron himself. How many other bots could boast of such power? If he could just swipe Megatron out of the picture, the Decepticons would have no choice but to follow- no, worship him!
Despite this, Starscream had still failed each time. He had been killed countless times now, and every time he came back online, the Seeker felt less like himself. The feeling of being offline, however brief, was cold and dark. It was like an abyss, and it would have terrified even the bravest of mechs. After reliving the experience so many times, Starscream had begun to question whether his goal was worth all of this. Was it worth dying over and over? Was it worth the crushing loneliness of being labelled a traitor, and being on the run all the time? Constantly looking over his shoulder? At this point, Starscream's interest in leading the Decepticons had diminished, but the desire to prove himself to everyone hadn't. So he kept trying.
And now here he was again, his energon spilling onto the cold ground, waiting to greet the abyss again. Still, Starscream didn't falter. He stared up at Megatron defiantly, spitting some energon to the side and grinning.
"Go ahead, mighty Megatron. Put me offline. You know I'll just keep coming back," he sneered, scraping his claws across the ground as he staggered to his feet. Megatron's optics darkened a little in irritation.
"Yes, I've noticed. I don't know how, and I don't care. You are a pest, Starscream, nothing more." That stung. But the hurt instantly turned into fury, and Starscream's optics blazed with hatred. He opened his mouth to retort, but before he could form the words, Megatron harshly gripped his delicate wing and fiercely slamming the slender Seeker against the wall, causing him to cry out in pain. His wing was horribly dented now, and Megatron's body weight pinning him to the wall felt as if it would crush him. Starscream kicked and pushed at him, but when it came to raw strength, Megatron had the upper hand. Instead, Starscream continued to glare up at him, his anger never wavering.
"Oh, tell me something I don't know," he spat, which earned him another agonising grip on his wing. This time he refused to cry out. The pain let him know he was still online and fighting. "You've never treated me like anything else, even when I was loyal to you! I've never been anything more than a piece of scrap to you!"
Megatron didn't respond at first, except for digging his digits into the sensitive metal. Starscream expected to be punched, but nothing happened. At that moment, he could've sworn he saw something in Megatron's emotionless optics, but what, he couldn't quite make out. Finally he spoke, his voice still laced with irritation, but quieter. Softer, almost.
"You really are a fool, Starscream."
Megatron abruptly let go of Starscream's damaged wing and moved away, allowing the Seeker to fall to the floor with a grunt. He stared at his former second-in-command for a few long moments, his gaze cold and ruthless, though somehow thoughtful. To Starscream's surprise, Megatron turned his back and began to walk away.
What? No. How dare he? How dare he turn his back on me, Starscream thought in outrage. Struggling to his feet again, with shaky aim, he raised his cannons to fire at Megatron one last time. But Megatron had clearly anticipated this, and in the blink of an eye, he spun around and fired directly at Starscream's sparkchamber. The sound of shattering glass filled the room as the cannon pierced Starscream's chestplate, the purple shot burying itself in his already empty sparkchamber. Starscream's optics dimmed. He opened his mouth, but only static came out as he crumpled to the floor, his slender body limp as a ragdoll. He had failed yet again, and the world was quickly fading to black.
Perhaps this time I won't come back, Starscream wondered, before the darkness swallowed him.