The beasts of war feed only on the meats of war [SEMI-OPEN, IN-PROGRESS...]

[loltraitorlol]

WHO: Starscream, People listed here, civvies!
WHAT: Starscream tries to take over the world! He fails. ... yep.
WHEN: Noon on the 2nd of August.
WHERE: THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING
WARNINGS: Violence, character death, robots.
NOTES: here is a rough outline of how shit is going down. HERE IS AN EVEN SHORTER VERSION.Also tag your own selves in kthx

Comments

INSANE SECOND CHECKING IN!

[notsoloyal]

It was finally time, after so much planning and discovering Starscream's notes. Shockwave had moved up to the position of Second, since Soundwave's death, not that it mattered much considering how many of them were left. And Soundwave... He was not thinking about that today. There was too much at stake.

Or he'd try to keep it out of his mind.

If he could.

Were this plan to fail, it would spell doom for the Decepticon empire. It would all be over. He knew the calculations, there was a good chance that the plan would fail, he'd told that to Starscream long ago. He had to remain focused, keep the plan on the tracks to victory. It had to succeed, for their continued survival, and to bring home to them. To stop being so weak. Feeling so weak.

Of course he was breaking down. Focus had been hard for him since Soundwave had exploded. There'd been a swell of emotions swirling around inside him, and he started to care less and less about everything that wasn't getting the Communications Officer back. But Soundwave would want this victory, he was certain.

Focus. Focus.

This plan was forcing him to break a promise, but that was hardly of any concern. He said he would leave Waspinator alone, but well. That was who Starscream had selected to be the sacrifice. Get him strapped to the device. Focus.

He could do that.

YAY

[loltraitorlol]

It wasn't as if Decepticons were particularly well known for keeping their promises.

Starscream watched Shockwave carefully. He was worried, deeply worried about his second's emotional state. Primus knew his own status was bad - and how much worse would Shockwave be? Shockwave, who as a result of never having had emotions before had no coping mechanisms? Shockwave, who had been so much closer to Soundwave?

No. He, too, would focus on this task. This had to work. For the Empire. For himself.

YES YAY NOW ALL WE NEED IS CAKE.

[notsoloyal]

Waspinator had woken up. Woken and begun screaming.

Joy.

"Would you be quiet!" Shockwave grumbled, moving towards the bug.

Focus.

He had work to do. He had to. Waspinator's pleas aside, he was the only expendable- no. No he wasn't. But he was the easiest, and they already had him, no going back. He was useless otherwise, so might as well. No point keeping him around for this New Cybertron. No point at all.

He tried to remain quiet for a while, slowly working at moving Waspinator and hooking him up to the machine, until Waspinator's screaming started getting to him.

"Take your complaints up with Starscream."

YAY CAKE

[loltraitorlol]

Starscream sighed, and moved to hover quietly behind Shockwave. He did not speak to his lieutenant, but he did frown.

Focus, Shockwave. focus.

"Waspinator, please. I assure you, this will not hurt. It is for the good of Cybertronians. For the good of Cybertron."

Of course, Starscream's voice was hardly reassuring. And the bit about hurting was a lie. If he was correct, this would be agonizing.

Necessary sacrifices. Besides, if that stubborn glitch - the Porter - kept on functioning after this, she'd probably bring him back just fine a few days later. Regrettably human, but that was easily fixed.

[theprimerprime]

"Starscream!"

Sentinel barged in with the distinctly purposeful stride of a man on a mission. At first, fixed entirely on his objective, he didn't seem to notice Shockwave and Dr. Horrible, or the ominous machinery that had taken over the entire top of the building.

"What the frag do you think you're doing? Your drones are treating this like some sort of military operation. People are panicking in the streets. This wasn't part of the plan!"

He intended to continue, intended to ream Starscream unmercifully for the damage this would undoubtedly do to his already dinged reputation. But he was silenced when his eyes fell on Waspinator. Restrained, terrified, Waspinator. Something was very wrong.

He turned his gaze warily back to Starscream, suddenly on his guard.

"...What's going on here?"

*punts posting order out the window*

[loltraitorlol]

Oh, this was getting. Ah. Awkward.

Starscream rubbed at his temples, shuttering his optics and groaning. Between Waspinator's buzzing, Shockwave's irritation, and then Sentinel and Billy's questions, he felt like he was about to blow a gasket.

"He'll be fine! After, you know. Three days to a week. If the Porter decides to - well."

He sighed, tapping the controls to bring up the large and intimidating energon blade to hover just above Waspinator.

"We need to destabilize a living spark to power the machine, that's all," he said. "Necessary sacrifices. I mean, really, you can't build a new chassis without smelting some iron first, yes?"

Oh, this would not go over well.

[notsoloyal]

Awkward, unwanted-- At least everything was directed to Starscream. Let the seeker handle it all. Although Shockwave still had to listen to it.

Come on, focus.

How hard could that be? Waspinator was practically ready, he just had to make some last checks to be sure it would all work as planned. This was for the Decepticon army, it needed to be done. They were all counting on this to work, to bring a little home to this organic planet. And just think how pleased Soundwave would be when he got back. He would certainly prefer a more home like setting, just as he had preferred regaining his inorganic state. He could do this. Conquest was the primary function of all Decepticons. Being human could not force him to remove that.

Being human would never change his function.

Just ignore everyone else around him, despite the noise. Especially ignore that frown Starscream had given him. He was fine.

"It is just about ready, Starscream." he droned, trying to remain focused.

[theprimerprime]

Sentinel winced at the sound of Waspinator's increasingly panicked shrieks. And now he had a gun pointed at his face. Fantastic.

"Put that thing away before I take it and stick it someplace you won't like," he growled, glaring unmercifully at Dr. Horrible. He did not have time for this right now. He shoved the gun aside, pushed past the dismayed evildoer and made a beeline for Starscream.

"You're going to kill him?! You scheming spawn of a glitch. You never told me anyone was going to die in all this. This isn't how it was supposed to happen! And you know what I think? I think you've been lying to me all along. This isn't about helping the Cybertronians in this city. This is just another of your dirty Decepticon grabs for power."

[loltraitorlol]

"Put it away, Dr. Horrible, he's with me," snapped Starscream. Then Waspinator started screaming again and Sentinel...

Oh, for Spark's sake.

"Necessary sacrifices!" he snarled. "Necessary sacrifices, Sentinel! I need to destabilize a spark to get the coordinates to link into the Vector Sigma network!"

"And I say again it's more than a simple power grab! and more even than that short-sighted goal of simply helping your Autobots. This is... this is the rebirth of Cybertron itself! The restoration of our race!"

[theprimerprime]

To Sentinel's credit, he thought about it. He thought about being able to finally feel like he was home again. He thought about his team, about how much better their lives would be if they were transformed the way he had been. He thought about Blackarachnia, of finally freeing her from the organic shackles she'd been bound in, even in their own world. Of giving her the chance to be herself again, her true self.

He thought about the battle being waged outside, and which side of it would be judged the heroes.

He thought about Optimus and Vector, what they would think.

He thought about Waspinator. Granted, the Predacon was obnoxious, and a nuisance, and, well, a Predacon. But factions and personal misgivings aside, he had opened his home to Waspinator. Waspinator had denounced his own kind and lived among them. In some strange way of thinking about it, Waspinator was an Autobot now. And no Autobot - no, no Cybertronian - deserved the fate Starscream had planned for him.

He imagined the look on Metabee's face if he found out that Waspinator had died.

In retrospect, perhaps it wasn't such a difficult decision after all.

"Restore this."

He made a run for the machine.

Time was short and he knew it. Rather than mess with the restraints, Sentinel simply ripped the apparatus Waspinator was strapped to off of the larger structure. Wires snapped and sparked; metal shrieked as it twisted and broke. Once he had Waspinator safely away from that awful crystal, he snapped the restraints and set him loose.

"Get out of here," he urged the Predacon. "I've got this."

He drew his lance from subspace and started back toward the machine. He would tear the thing apart, if that's what it took. The rebirth of his home wasn't worth the cost of anyone's life.

ELLE YOU CAN HOP IN AT ANY TIME NOW

[loltraitorlol]

No.

No, absolutely not. Absolutely fragging not.

Time seemed to slow down as his processor started to overclock. Sentinel was too close, and he couldn't force his body to react in time (he'd blame it on headiness from energon radiation).

Not here. Not now. Not again. He couldn't fail, could not fail!

"STOP, you fool!" he shouted, his voice screeching higher and higher, nearing hysterics. "FOOL! TRAITOR! I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER THAN TO TRUST AN AUTOBOT-"

Why wasn't he processing correctly. How was Sentinel even beginning to move on from letting Waspinator go and cutting important relays and -

He screamed.

He screamed in rage, then pointed both hands at Sentinel as his upper arms transformed, the long points of null-rays emerging from underneath his metal skin. His relays - as well as the floor under his feet - flashed brilliant violet as he shot an electromagnetic pulse at Sentinel with a roar.