Life always empty, but I will never change [OPEN]
WHO: Starscream, [OPEN] To all! He's taking visitors.
WHAT: Starscream faces down the idea of being one of the first Decepticons to suffer a slow death, rather than a quick blaze of glory. He's waiting his last few days.
WHERE: Starscream's apartment.
WHEN: All day today and tomorrow.
WARNINGS/NOTES: Soundtrack start.
( I wouldn't want to live like this forever. But change myself? Never, never!
The very thought sends shivers down my spine. I'm sure everything, everything will be fine... )
WHAT: Starscream faces down the idea of being one of the first Decepticons to suffer a slow death, rather than a quick blaze of glory. He's waiting his last few days.
WHERE: Starscream's apartment.
WHEN: All day today and tomorrow.
WARNINGS/NOTES: Soundtrack start.
( I wouldn't want to live like this forever. But change myself? Never, never!
The very thought sends shivers down my spine. I'm sure everything, everything will be fine... )
Isaac found out on his own, when he was researching quietly, typing furiously through his datapad and trying to calculate a solution. But he's exhausted everything he can do, everything he knows. Somehow, Starscream was existing without what they call a spark. Was it something Shockwave did?
Just who the hell was Shockwave, really? What did he want? Was this some kind of sick game?
Isaac sucks in a breath sharply, holding the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes. Damn it, he can't believe he's getting upset, but somehow Starscream did end up... growing on him. He got better, over the course of time. Hell, Starscream even appreciated his work. That's more of an accomplishment with the Decepticons than he expected.
But just like anyone else he tries to save, he's dying.
"Are you really going to compare this with me, Isaac?"His grip tightens on the datapad. He stares at the floor; he can feel her breathing against his neck, and he can't bear to look up ( ... )
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"Like slag." He croaks.
Slowly one arm dislodges itself from under the tarp that covers him and lands on the floor with a loud clang. Resting palm-up, one of his claws twitches a 'come here' motion, and his digits splay slightly, inviting the human to step into them.
He'd rather have Isaac where he could see him instead of some disembodied voice near the floor.
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This is just miserable, seeing Starscream like this.
"I could... rearrange the sensory nodes further. I don't know how much more effective it could be, but I could try to lessen what you feel. You'd pretty much be numb, though."
He feels helpless in this. Isaac can't save anyone except for himself, per usual.
"Do you call this thing a friend?"
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No. Not like that.
"Just. Stay with me a while." Now his highest goal is to not die alone.
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"Sure," he says quietly.
A beat. Then, "I'm sorry. That I can't fix you."
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"That's... it's not your fault." He can't really keep the disbelief from his voice. It's shocking enough that he even forgets how much he hurts for the moment.
He reaches over, lifting Isaac by his shirt and placing him where he doesn't have to strain hard to see him, rested on the peak of his canopy.
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"Are you going to whine about it? You're so damn pathetic. LOOK AT YOURSELF."
"I know!" Isaac snaps at her over his shoulder, knowing that Starscream can't see her. He shakes his head and lowers himself. "Damn it."
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A claw rests on Isaac's back awkwardly, just a bit too heavy.
"There is nothing more. You've done enough."
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"...You're taking this pretty well," Isaac mutters.
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"I'll tell you a secret, Isaac. Since you seem to be good with them." He lowers his voice, as if anyone would care to listen but the human.
"I'm afraid to die. For me? There is nothing. Emptiness. It terrifies me beyond belief."
His voice crackles faintly.
"I want to live, more than anything. But I don't have the strength for panic or crying out," His optic dims to barely a red dot, "My bravery is merely a facade put on due to weakness." It hurts to admit that more than the physical pain he's suffering.
"I don't want to die... I'm afraid. I don't want to stop existing."
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Not much else.
Starscream... has every right to be frightened. Do these synthetics even have an afterlife? Who the hell knows?
"I'm not very good at the comfort thing," Isaac says with a small, bitter laugh. "I'm sorry. I... I don't know. I've seen a lot of people die. I don't know what happens after that."
Does anything happen?
"I'm here. What do YOU think?"
Will Starscream haunt Isaac too when he dies?
"What can I do? Is there anything?" How can he make this right? Is that even possible?
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His frame trembles a bit under the human.
"Not a whole lot." He admits, claws curling around Isaac, thumb pressing against his chest gently.
"I guess. Just talk to me. This might be the last chance if you have something you want to say." He shrugs, not really thinking that Isaac would say much.
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"Don't know if I have much to say, but. Sure. I'm here. Was... was there anything you wanted to tell me?"
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Isaac looks weary, but he won't press the issue.
"I suppose." He draws his mouth into a tight line.
"I'm not sorry I brought you here." He doesn't really expect Isaac to understand. Most of his time had been invested in leaving.
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"What?" He shakes his head, as if in disbelief. "Why? I yell at you, I threaten you, I boss you around, I mouth off at you... I definitely don't get along with Magnum or any of the other Decepticons. Why the hell would you say that?"
What did Isaac add in here that made it... good?
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"You're funny. Brash. You have bearings I've never seen on a human. You're like a tiny Decepticon. Or at least you've enough attitude to be." He manages a smirk.
"You made things interesting and-" A pause to cycle air.
"I suppose that you gave a scrap about me."
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