Chapter Text
33. Test his patience (Part 2)
Starscream is hard to kill; this is the one constant that genuinely baffles you.
He's not particularly strong or skilled enough to survive the many attempts at his life. He has no one at his corner who's willing to sacrifice themselves for him. He’s not immortal, indestructible or anything like yourself either. He’s just… unnaturally lucky.
It's annoying, you think. But you suppose his survival is not that outlandish this time around.
You gave Soundwave the Harbinger’s coordinates with the purpose of having Starscream executed. With no Omega keys to barter for his life, Starscream should've been as good as dead. However, it would seem that Megatron doesn't want to give Starscream the easy way out, and Dreadwing has yet to learn about the fate Starscream damned his spark-brother to.
You can see how the seeker survived.
Albeit, not unscathed, you purse your lips at the sight of the downed and beaten former second commander on Knockout’s medical berth. Your expression twitches into a grimace when you spot his torn wings that were brought with him. Megatron would be the one to decide when Knockout could weld the wings back on Starscream.
Still, you’ve essentially got rid of him before he could learn about the red energon. The Autobots ought to retrieve it without problems. You did all this away from them; you don't necessarily have to be in close proximity to help.
I can work with this.
“Honestly, Starscream, how you managed to still gain Lord Megatron’s mercy is a wonder,” Knockout drawls, finishing up hooking Starscream to multiple machines. You think you hear actual fascination in his tone, and frankly, it’s warranted.
“You consider this mercy?” Starscream rasps, sneering.
“Depends if you believe death is a mercy,” Knockout says, calibrating the display of Starscream’s vitals on the medbay monitor. “There are worse fates than being demoted as my medical assistant.”
“In case you haven't noticed yet, doctor,” Starscream sarcastically says, almost hisses, “my issue is not my demotion but rather the fact that I’ve been beaten to an inch of my life.”
“Nothing I haven't fixed before,” Knockout shrugs.
“I’m grounded!” Starscream snarls, his body jerking then wincing from his agitated injuries.
“But alive,” is Knockout’s final input, and at this, Starscream remains contemplatively silent. Or maybe seething.
You can't exactly tell when you’re hidden away from him.
Staying quiet behind one of Knockout’s tools perched on his many shelves, you shamelessly eavesdrop on their conversation, not even bothering to distract yourself from listening.
After Knockout practically threw you here when foot soldiers charged in with an injured Starscream, you deduce that Soundwave alerted the medic beforehand. You conclude to yourself that he’s strict on having only Knockout know of your existence.
Unfortunately for Soundwave, you’re not as cooperative as Knockout; so, you don't waste time on sabotaging him.
“Megatron sure is one sadistic bastard, huh,” you speak out loud, making sure that your voice would reach Starscream. You know it does when you hear the seeker audibly gasp.
“I thought I told you to stay hidden,” you hear Knockout grit out.
“I am hidden,” you say cheekily.
“Not, if you don't keep quiet!” He impatiently scolds you.
“Who’s there?!” Starscream finally speaks out, alarmed.
“Your conscience, telling you that the Decepticons are a lost cause.” Your lips hold back a grin.
“Don’t—” Knockout pauses, flabbergasted, then exasperatedly asks you, “Can’t you see where treason has brought him?!”
“Who are you talking to?!” Starscream nearly sits upright on his berth to search for you. “Where are they?!”
After much commotion from his patient, Knockout sighs, annoyed, “You might as well come out before you could convince him he attained psychosis from his dented helm.”
You don't need further instructions than that, as you eagerly step away from your hiding place.
“Yo,” you greet a bewildered Starscream.
“You have an organic onboard?!” Starscream’s optics practically bulge out of their sockets when they spot you, the red lights almost a perfect circle.
“Yes, this is my…” Knockout takes a moment to think. “Pet.”
“What are you talking about? If anything, I’m Soundwave’s pet.” You pause, baffled with yourself. “Wait. No. I’m no one’s pet; I’m a prisoner.”
You can see the medic resisting the urge to groan out loud from having you involve Soundwave’s name in this mess to Starscream.
“You are really making my job harder than it needs to be,” Knockout says, and you just innocently smile at him.
“What is going on here?!” Starscream asks, and you don’t skip a beat on answering him.
“Essentially? A hostage situation.”
“Soundwave placed a human in my care,” Knockout immediately corrects, acting as your personal community note. “And it's supposed to remain a guarded secret.” At this, he pointedly glares at you, as if wordlessly daring you to say more about it. It’s a mistake on his part, as you’re particularly a very daring individual; Soundwave can attest to that.
“Not really.” You wave a hand dismissively. “As long as Megatron doesn't learn of me, it's all good.”
“Soundwave would— Megatron doesn't— Soundwave is hiding you from Megatron?!” Starscream looks so scandalized by the idea. “He— You— B-but, why?!”
“Because I can loop time every time I die, and Megatron keeps killing me,” you casually answer. Knockout looks at you, bemused.
“You’re really trying to sell that bit, aren't you.” He doesn’t say it like a question. Then, he addresses Starscream, resigned to provide further context. “Soundwave is convinced that the human knows something of a game changer in our war.”
“If that were true, then why not just torture it?” Ah, now you remember why you don’t feel that bad when you’re essentially the reason Starscream is in the medbay.
“Because then I’d die, and time will reset,” you airily say, not phased by the seeker’s suggestion.
“Will you stop telling people that?!” Knockout scolds you, then presses a few digits on his helm’s forehead, as if willing a headache to pass. He tries to end the discussion with a curt explanation. “Soundwave has strictly prohibited harm and death towards the human. I don't know our Surveillance Officer’s processor’s inner workings, but I would rather not test his patience. As your physician, I recommend you do the same for your sake.”
“How do I know this isn't some loyalty test?” Starscream asks, rightfully suspicious. “You expect me to believe that Soundwave of all bots wouldn't tell Megatron a-about— this?!”
Because you’re a vindictive asshole, you nod your head, encouraging his paranoia, “Huh, good catch.”
Knockout looks at you, horrified, “Don't confuse him!”
After much needed explanations, Knockout eventually convinces Starscream not to tattle. It was an uphill battle on Knockout’s part, much to your amusement, but the final nail to Starscream’s doubt is that if you truly were Soundwave’s guarded secret, then why in the damned Pits would Megatron choose to believe Starscream over Soundwave?
And well, Starscream has had enough of conspiracies.
For now, you sardonically think.
…
It’s dinner time, and somehow, Knockout got you a burger meal— drink and fries included.
You didn’t question him on how he attained it; in fact, you’re more curious on how he tolerated handling the greasy stuff in his interiors. Still, you didn’t say anything when you took it, hunger rendering you silent as you devour the junkfood.
Of course, a bedridden Starscream has nothing better to do than judge your species’ nutrition. With no Knockout around to mitigate this upcoming disaster, Starscream voices his opinion out loud.
“How dreadful, having to consume something of similar biological makeup just to sustain oneself,” he sneers, disgusted by the concept of organics consuming other organics.
You pause from taking another bite of your burger, choosing to look at Starscream in amused disbelief.
“Your species is more horrifyingly eldritch than mine,” you say as a matter of fact, not really offended. “You are literally thriving from the blood of your god, which is essentially just a planet-sized Cybertronian. Fucking mosquitoes, the lot of you.”
“Th-that's different!” Starscream says, as if he doesn’t look briefly mortified with the mental image you gave him. “At least we don't butcher our nutrition source! It's violent and barbaric!”
“You act as if you didn’t have miners specifically for your food source—”
“Regardless, we can live off our average rations for days!” He cuts you off, then condescendingly smirks at you. “Such labor on your species’ part for one meal when it can’t even sustain you for an entire day. That’s not even accounting for your other needs. Curious why Soundwave would not extort such weaknesses to squeeze information out of you.”
You’re aware that this is Starscream’s one of many pitiful attempts to assuage his bruised ego; a coping mechanism of sorts from recovering from a near-death beating and having a human witness one of his most vulnerable moments. It’s a balm to himself and a warning to you— that even when he’s on death’s door, you’re still inferior to him.
Had you been a little more merciful, a little more patient, you would’ve taken his insults lying down and given him this small win.
Alas, you’re testy from your overall circumstance, and you have no other available outlet for your simmering frustrations than the downed seeker.
“That's some big talk for a species with very flammable blood. Have you seen what would happen if a Cybertronian swallowed a lit firecracker? Crazy,” you offhandedly say, taking a bite of your sandwich. Chewing, you add, “You sleep with your mouth open, by the way.”
Starscream blinks, looks away, and wisely stays silent.
…
You can't say you have a positively glowing opinion on Starscream.
Traitor, backstabber, coward, and personally, your most frequent killer— he is all of these things and more. He’s the type who would recklessly sacrifice pawns if it means he gets to live a second longer. However, in the grand scheme of things, he's not really a big threat by himself.
If you were to describe him, he’s that small domino piece that triggers the biggest disasters. You’re honestly stunned that a lot of the Autobots’ problems stem from him when you’ve started tracing cause and effects that dictate a timeline.
Despite this, you’ve had somewhat of an amicable relationship with him in one timeline.
Once upon a time, in a dark energon-induced zombie apocalypse, Starscream was forced to align with the Autobots. Frankly, everyone was against letting him in the team— so was Starscream, himself, actually— but Optimus argued that no factions exist in the apocalypse, as it's no longer about clashing ideologies but rather about collective survival.
Much to your surprise, it was Bumblebee who gave Starscream a real chance. And to your even bigger surprise, Starscream gave him a chance too. Both have developed an unlikely friendship: a relationship of sarcasm and non-heated teasing; of permanent scars both psychological and physical.
And Starscream… permanently stayed after everything was over. He made a place for himself in your family, even slowly unlearning his prejudice against humans.
But for that to happen, Bee has to sacrifice himself for Starscream to cull the latter’s ambitions. It was an extreme scenario with so much loss and too little gain, that you decided to prevent all factors that led to it.
You love Bee more than you could've loved Starscream; one of them had to go. You suppose that Starscream being your most frequent killer doesn't help his case.
If only Starscream's loyalty could be guaranteed without sacrificing an Autobot life, you think, as you watch Starscream polish Knockout’s medical tools with barely hidden contempt. He was recently taken out of bed rest, free to move as long as he doesn't do any extensively physical movements until his meldings harden through.
Starscream’s progress as Knockout’s assistant is not so great, considering that the seeker is not used to manual labor. Or medicine. Though, his temperament lately is… meek, to put it lightly; not yet assertive or testing the waters, as his incident was too recent.
You wonder if you can form a relationship with him without Bee as your bridge.
“Sorry I couldn't save you,” you impulsively say, causing Starscream to pause his scrubbing.
“What delusions are you possibly blabbering about now?” He sneers, and the curiosity you asked yourself is answered by the reminder of his obvious disdain for humanity.
That’s right, you think bitterly. He’d have to see me as an equal first.
To him, you're not a person. At best, you’d just be a trophy pet to him.
“Nothing,” you tell him, looking away. “Just lamenting on what could've been.”
He scoffs and goes back to work, lest he’d experience Knockout’s lectures again. The medic is clearly lording his authority over the former second commander. You suspect it's some kind of payback.
Starscream’s scrubbing is particularly too loud for you that day.
…
After about three days, you ask Knockout to bring you to Soundwave. Knockout is surprisingly compliant of your request.
When left alone with Soundwave, you straightforwardly tell him, “If you encounter Cylas, I recommend you kill him.”
It's his choice if he’d follow your suggestion. If he does, he’d be doing everyone a favor; if he doesn't, well…
It's his consequence to bear.
…
A week later, you find a strapped Cylas on the medbay’s berth. You keep in a mocking smirk, excited to see how Soundwave would react to this timeline’s conclusion.
As per their script, Starscream and Knockout kickstart the creation of the zombie plague.
With no Airachnid onboard to collectively gather the Insecticons, the Nemesis’ crew are too scattered apart to properly contain the infection.
The Nemesis falls.
34. Told you so
Sitting on your usual log, you smugly gaze up at Soundwave who has come to retrieve you. His visor doesn't give any expression away, but you know.
“What’d I tell ya?” You sharply grin.
The game of chicken continues.