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TFP: Mercy Ch. 1

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Chapter 1: Mercy

Mercy. That was hardly the word for what was surely going to transpire upon his return to the Nemesis. Starscream flew as slowly as he dared, trying to put as much time between him and his fate as possible. However, he knew that if he were to veer even for a moment from his path that Megatron would be upon him within a matter of minutes. At least in that instance, it would be he who was the master of his own fate rather than to lay himself at the feet of that tyrant. But no, he had pleaded, begged even for this chance. Probably the last one he would ever be given.

Starscream cursed inwardly. Stellar cycles of careful planning with nothing to gain but failure after failure. He had been wrong to pin the fool on Megatron. Just one more of the lies that he had told himself. 'Megatron is weak. He's losing his touch on reality.' All the more reason that he, Starscream, should be the leader, by force if necessary. He would use Megatron's own weaknesses against him and usurp his rule.

Fraggin' stupid.  It was all too bold. Too obvious now that he looked back on it. And to think that he even called himself a Decepticon.  Megatron and that accursed Soundwave had seen right though his façade with ease. In the three years Megatron had been absent Starscream had forgotten just how suspicious he could be. And like Starscream himself, he didn't take kindly to others questioning his authority. Yes, he'd be lucky to escape with his wings intact this time.

Coming up on the Nemesis, Starscream transformed and landed heavily on a small ledge near the hatch leading inside. His limbs still ached from the strain of holding up that boulder in the energon mine and what he wouldn't do for a nice long recharge. However, Megatron was surely expecting him on the bridge and it would not be to any advantage to keep him waiting. Steeling himself for the worst, Starscream entered.

Megatron stood with his back to him, editing a data entry on the ship's computer. Starscream waited for a minute in the silence, with nothing but the staccato taps of Megatron's deadly claws on the keypad until he could take no more of it. He made a small throat clearing sound to garner his attention. Megatron turned and glared at the noise. If looks could kill…

"Starscream, I didn't hear you enter." His words dripped with sarcasm as he finished his task with a push of a button.

"Ah, well… you were engrossed in your work I'm sure." He hastily covered. "And you know seekers, always light on our feet." He added with an anxious grin, knowing full well it would bring him nothing.

"Kneel." It was a simple command, yet there was no option of denying it. Starscream obeyed without hesitation before the looming Decepticon leader. A jolt ran through the sensory wires of his wings and they folded together almost subconsciously, all too familiar with burn of his master's fusion cannon.

"Megatron, I don't-"

"Shut up, Starscream." He walked over to where he could tower even further over the seeker and fixed him with a hard stare. "Tell me why you should still be down in that mine. What should have been your final resting place beneath a mountain of stone. Why is it that I should exterminate you right here and now?" His voice was low and quiet. Always a bad sign, as he moved to stand behind Starscream near his left side. He rested a hand on his wing, almost as a friend would place a comforting hand on one's shoulder. The act sent shivers down the seeker's spine.

"I-I don't know." Like he was going to condemn himself. He stared intently at the ground in front of him until Megatron suddenly cut him short with a small squeeze to his wing.

"Be serious here, Starscream."

"I hoarded energon for my own purposes."

"Try again." Again the hand tightened.

Starscream's optics darted around the floor, as if trying to find the answer within the patterns of metal. "I tried to raise the perfect soldier behind your back with a stolen shard of Dark Energon."

Sharp talons pierced metal plating causing him to grit his teeth, but he refused to flinch, aiming to deny Megatron of any sense of pleasure he might get from torturing him.

"I abandoned you in the mines and at the spacebridge. I directly disobeyed half your orders. I did everything in my power to put you offline." He could feel the fuselage of his wing crumpling and his internal HUD flashed a warning of some internal damage.

"Wrong." Megatron clenched his hand around the fistful of wing and ripped it back, earning an involuntary cry of pain from Starscream. Throwing down the scraps of metal, Megatron shoved him to the ground with his foot. A small trail of energon trickled from the hole before his auto-repair systems could stem the leak. "You're a coward, Starscream. You scheme behind my back and boast of it to my subordinates. Yet you accomplish nothing. Your treachery is something that I have always dealt with. But once your actions ebb into the realm of incompetence, the games you play cease to amuse me."

"What are you going to do?"

He regarded him with steely eyes for a moment, as if running through a mental list of all the consequences his traitorous second in command deserved before finally settling on the perfect one. "Return to your quarters for the time being. I'm finished with you." Megatron turned and walked out of the room, leaving Starscream to push himself up off the floor, half expecting the door to open again and for the real punishment to begin. About a cycle passed before he figured it was safe to breathe again.

"Is that it? Surely Megatron must have some other form of judgment in store…" he mused. "Not that I'm complaining." He brought a hand up to the gash in his wing to take stock of the damage. It wasn't serious. He would have to go see Knockout about a patch though. This was nothing compared to the myriad of past beatings, the most recent being in lieu of Megatron's reawakening. Funny, how the only times he seemed to find himself in the medical bay recently was to repair damage dealt by his own faction…

--

Starscream paced his quarters relentlessly, his heels punctuating the air with sharp rhythmic taps. The silence was oppressive. He couldn't stand it any longer. If Megatron was planning on driving him crazy with the near lack of consequences, it was working. There were no missions to attend to at the moment. No new drones to inspect. Nothing to do but think. And Megatron knew that. Either he's stupider than he looks or Starscream had to take advantage of this brief reprieve and think of a way to get back on top. At the same time he couldn't forget the virtues of subtlety, something that tended to slip his mind from time to time.  

He shrugged his wing joint a bit to test the repairs that Knockout had done. He who had incidentally seemed to enjoy heckling Starscream about his frequent injuries as of late almost as much as he loved polishing his own paintjob. Everything seemed to be in order however, though it would be a solar cycle or two until his auto-repair systems would finish healing the gouge completely. He'd had far worse for much more trivial mistakes.

"Hrm." He pressed a palm to him processor. He was in deep this time, no doubt. Who knew what Megatron had up his sleeve. Starscream was pretty sure his leader was at least half mad anyways. Always going on about destiny and whatnot. Predictable, he had said. Pah. As if he were one to talk. So he wants to see what I'll do under the silent treatment? Fine. Let's give him a show then…

Starscream exited into the hallway, ready to first make a beeline for the bridge. Despite his recent setbacks, nay because of them, he would probably need to reaffirm his position to Megatron as his second in command. A position that regardless of what many other Decepticons would think, was extremely difficult to maintain. His legs carried him almost automatically as he mused, and he soon found himself outside the bridge door. He hesitated. Not a megacycle after he'd been told to return to his quarters he was already defying orders. If Megatron were to suddenly have a change of spark and finally decide finish the job of terminating him…  His was not yet ready to join the well of All-Sparks just yet. He suddenly sensed a presence of someone watching him from close behind, and he whipped around to face his assailant.

"Soundwave!" For sparks sake that bot was noiseless even in motion. Overcoming his initial surprise, Starscream couldn't help a slight look of distain from crossing his face at the sight of the one who ratted him out. "I suppose you're happy that all your constant spying has finally gleaned some results with our leader." He paused for a moment in search of any reaction to this statement, but as usual not even the slightest bob of the head betrayed any emotion behind that blank faceplate. "Mum as ever I see. Not that you were ever much for conversation to begin with…" He realized he was beginning to ramble. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must go see Megatron." He was about to sidestep the faceless communications bot when a thought crossed his mind. Going to Megatron is exactly what would be anticipated of him, to make amends for his most recent blunders. There was something else however, that Megatron would never expect him to do. Made even better when relayed through the ever-loyal Soundwave.

"Soundwave, wait. This is a bit difficult for me to admit, but in light of the past few days…" He hesitated a moment.

"I've been a fool. Made mistakes. Monumental ones. I now realize I was never destined to be leader, or even an equal partner. And, I am at peace with that. I have gained a clear understanding of my place in the universe. Of who I am. Of who I was always meant to be. Starscream: second in command, humble servant to Lord Megatron. Thank you for listening, Soundwave."
Next: [link]

Surprise! I'm writing a fanfic. :party:

I've working on this for a while over at fanfiction.net, but I like it well enough that I want to share with you all here as well.

[Summary]
"Following the events of 'Rock Bottom', Starscream must pay for his treacherous actions against Megatron. But he soon learns that perhaps it is the Autobots who are the only ones who are willing to grant him one last chance. Just how far is he willing to be pushed before showing both Autobots and Decepticons what he's truly capable of?"


So kind of a 'what if' story if 'Partners had gone a little differently. The first two chapters are like a behind the scenes of Partners, then the story diverges into an AU.

Enjoy!


The chapter picture up top is a part of the illustration I made for the entire fic as a whole. The full image can be found here. [link]

Transformers belongs to Hasbro.
© 2012 - 2024 ChronosAbyss
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TransformersLover10's avatar
There is no freaking way Starscream can be an autobot.
Good chapter by the way.