Log: Prime and Megatron make Starscream talk about being dead.
Prime saw something peculiar in Starscream's corpse, during Slagfest 2007. Something... very, very peculiar. He wants to investigate this, and as Starscream is dead and not receiving messages at this time, he comms Skyfire about it.
Optimus Prime (11:10:07 PM): \\Skyfire?\\
Skyfire (11:10:49 PM): ::...........::
Optimus Prime (11:11:13 PM): \\Skyfire, it's Optimus Prime. Respond.\\ *Beat* \\Please.\\
Optimus Prime (11:11:36 PM): *Is currently seated in his & Megs quarters, gazing at their terminal*
Skyfire (11:12:01 PM): '..Starscream. Prime just commed me' *sounds upset*
Starscream (11:12:42 PM): 'slaggers, all. there's all kinds of things he could want, and i'm not sure i want him to have any of them.'
Megatron (11:12:46 PM): *Is sitting nearby, looking rather grim.*
Skyfire (11:13:00 PM): ::........::
Skyfire (11:13:25 PM): 'well I certainly don't either. I /don't/ want to talk to that slagger, either...'
Optimus Prime (11:13:28 PM): *Grimly* \\I know you're recieving.\\
Starscream (11:14:04 PM): 'we should probably see what he wants, so we can tell him to slag off.'
Skyfire (11:14:34 PM): *growls a bit* '...fine'
Skyfire (11:15:09 PM): ::.....what the slag do you want?:: *low and almost hateful, with the beginnings of a growl*
Optimus Prime (11:15:19 PM): ....
Optimus Prime (11:15:43 PM): *Almost looks like he's been hit for a moment, but doesn't betray any of that in his comm* \\To talk. It's important.\\
Megatron (11:15:47 PM): *Turns and looks at Prime, trying to gauge his face*
Megatron (11:15:58 PM): .....
Megatron (11:16:15 PM): *That look causes him to bristle slightly*
Optimus Prime (11:16:16 PM): *does Not Look Happy. Meets Megatron's gaze silently*
Optimus Prime (11:16:22 PM): ...Skyfire. *Explaination*
Megatron (11:16:32 PM): .......
Megatron (11:16:38 PM): What does he want?
Optimus Prime (11:16:49 PM): For me to leave him alone, I assume.
Megatron (11:17:10 PM): Hn....
Megatron (11:17:28 PM): Why don't you? Talking to that emotional giant is pointless.
Optimus Prime (11:17:38 PM): I need to find out about Starscream.
Megatron (11:18:08 PM): He's dead. He's still a son of a glitch. *Grumbles*
Optimus Prime (11:18:29 PM): But is he working with Unicron.
Megatron (11:18:38 PM): ......
Megatron (11:18:50 PM): *goes quiet*
Skyfire (11:18:58 PM): ::...what is there to talk about?:: *short and snappish*
Optimus Prime (11:19:31 PM): \\Starscream, for one.\\
Skyfire (11:20:57 PM): *tenses, both mentally and physically, even more then he already was. /Hate/ echoes through his mind briefly*
Skyfire (11:21:31 PM): ::.....no. I have absolutely no desire to discuss /that/ with /you/. Or anyone. Ever.::
Starscream (11:21:36 PM): *some part of him comes close to /purring/ at that hatred; he prefers to tell himself it's at how defensive Skyfire is of him*
Megatron (11:23:39 PM): ....
Optimus Prime (11:23:40 PM): \\In all honestly I'm not interested either, but I will not let this go. I am asking you to respect my authority as leader of the Autobots and meet with me in person. Or I can find you - it's your choice.\\
Skyfire (11:25:56 PM): *hate /jumps/ at that, and he hisses with anger, bristling* ::Respect?! Respect what? The fact this entire situation is largely your fault to /begin with/? I see nothing to /respect/ there!::
Optimus Prime (11:26:27 PM): *Grips his fists, narrowing his optics*
Megatron (11:28:02 PM): *Is watching Prime intently, optics narrowing. He's not privy to the conversation, but he can guess at what's being said.*
Optimus Prime (11:28:36 PM): \\I have had enough with taking blame for results that I had no control over. Yes, it could have been handled differently, and yes, it may have saved Starscream's life.\\
Optimus Prime (11:28:38 PM): \\That said, what happened was NOT my fault, and I am NOT going to waste away blaming myself for it when I could do something more productive - like work with what we have and salvage this.\\
Optimus Prime (11:28:43 PM): \\I am not going to be a scapegoat.\\
Optimus Prime (11:30:10 PM): \\Not when this reeks of Unicron's handiwork.\\
Starscream (11:32:18 PM): *reaches out and 'taps' at the commlines, taking them over briefly* ::Don't try to make excuses for Megatron's spark dysfunction, Prime.:: *even his commed voice sounds more like Skyfire imitating Starscream than himself*
Optimus Prime (11:32:41 PM): \\...\\
Optimus Prime (11:32:47 PM): \\Starscream?\\
Megatron (11:34:07 PM): *Rises from his seat, watching Prime with a frown. Would really like to know what's going on, what's being said.*
Optimus Prime (11:34:15 PM): *has 'WTF' face*
Skyfire (11:35:13 PM): *comm lines fritz with static, and there is a snarl as Skyfire's voice goes back to normal*
Skyfire (11:35:15 PM): ::A /scapegoat/?! Hardly! Your letting /Megatron/ run about the base, when you /should/ have had him locked up - like you would have for anyone else, including /yourself/ - /is/ your fault!::
Megatron (11:35:41 PM): What is going on? *Snarls quietly*
Optimus Prime (11:35:48 PM): ...
Optimus Prime (11:36:12 PM): *Does Megatron the favor of giving him a quick file of what's been said so far - and ever-so-subtly opening the comm to include him as well*
Megatron (11:37:04 PM): *Reads through it quickly, scowl getting darker and darker*
Optimus Prime (11:38:24 PM): \\You're right - I should have done things differently. I let myself be blinded. But I will not be blind in this case, not when there is so much at stake. This isn't about me, or you, or Starscream, or Megatron.
Skyfire (11:38:59 PM): *snarls and rages a bit in his mind, mentally 'brushing up against' Starscream, subconciously seeking comfort*
Optimus Prime (11:39:11 PM): \\This is about a threat that I will not let endanger the entirety of our species - and other ones.\\
Megatron (11:39:34 PM): ::Starscream:: *quietly* ::I suggest you bring yourself and Skyfire to our quarters.*
Skyfire (11:41:03 PM): *goes still for all of a second mentally at the sound of that voice, before his mind bursts with pure /hate/ and /rage/, and a feral snarl fills the comm line*
Optimus Prime (11:41:35 PM): *Private to Megatron* \\That isn't Skyfire.\\ *Well, it is - but by his tone and context? There's something wrong*
Starscream (11:41:40 PM): *static garbles Skyfire's snarl again to Starscream* ::Or you'll /what,/ Megatron?::
Megatron (11:42:24 PM): ::Do you want to find out, Starscream.:: *He's not looking at Prime now, just staring off into space*
Megatron (11:42:39 PM): ::Think hard.::
Skyfire (11:44:16 PM): *the comm line breaks and goes to static as Skyfire pushes through* ::Get. That. Miserable. Effin' /SLAGGER/. Off. My. /PRIMUS DAMNED! COMM LINE/!:: *screeches*
Optimus Prime (11:44:35 PM): \\No.\\
Optimus Prime (11:44:46 PM): \\You wanted to include him, so here he is.\\
Optimus Prime (11:44:57 PM): *Unimpressed!Tone*
Starscream (11:44:57 PM): *and static again as Starscream yanks the comm back* ::I'm thinking that your not terribly oblique threat against Skyfire is laughable, is what I'm /thinking,/ Megatron.:: */all/ scorn*
Optimus Prime (11:45:07 PM): ...
Optimus Prime (11:45:09 PM): *Looks at Megatron?*
Skyfire (11:46:25 PM): *pants and trembles in the back of their shared mind, utterly /raging/, but trying to force it down*
Megatron (11:47:09 PM): ::Oh? Very well.:: *Cuts the comm and starts to rise*
Starscream (11:47:36 PM): *is probably not very calming himself, as he is flashing with quick bursts of pure, cold rage*
Optimus Prime (11:47:48 PM): *Is not going to take this*
Optimus Prime (11:48:06 PM): *In the most authoritive voice he has, the one that commanded an army:* \\Enough.\\
Megatron (11:48:17 PM): *Heading for the door and.....stops*
Skyfire (11:50:37 PM): *only feels another burst of anger at Primes voice, even though his mind does clear a tiny bit*
Megatron (11:52:42 PM): *Looks over his shoulder coolly*
Starscream (11:52:55 PM): *a pause, and:* ::Mmmm?:: *it's more a lilting wordless interrogative than anything else - everything in Starscream that stares into the face of the fusion cannon and curses its owner plus, right now, a good deal /more/*
Optimus Prime (11:53:12 PM): \\Skyfire.\\ *Not angry - just firm.* \\You're carrying Starscream's Matrix?\\
Optimus Prime (11:53:45 PM): *Still seated, optics bright...but narrowed. This is Prime's Unhappy!Face*
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Megatron (12:00:38 AM): *crosses his arms, waiting*
Starscream (12:00:42 AM): ::I don't have one.:: *one is sure that Megatron knows that sly tone of voice /very/ well, however sharpened it is right now*
Optimus Prime (12:03:04 AM): \\I suppose that thing that Skyfire pulled out of your chassis was a keepsake, then.\\
Starscream (12:03:59 AM): ::I don't /have/ one.:: *almost as though laughing at some private joke*
Optimus Prime (12:04:12 AM): \\Then what the slag was that?\\
Starscream (12:05:22 AM): ::What do you think it was? I don't /have/ one.:: *still with that odd, amused emphasis on 'have'*
Optimus Prime (12:05:35 AM): \\...\\
Optimus Prime (12:05:47 AM): \\Why don't you tell me.\\
Skyfire (12:05:50 AM): *isn't sure if he wants to laugh or bang his head against a wall at Starscream's answers, though his amusment is cutting through his anger a bit more,
Skyfire (12:05:55 AM): *allowing him to focus a little better so that he isn't completely frothing with rage*
Optimus Prime (12:05:56 AM): \\I'm not interested in playing games.\\
Starscream (12:07:28 AM): *snickers nastily over the comm, and doesn't answer*
Optimus Prime (12:08:09 AM): *To Megatron* \\What is he laughing about?\\
Megatron (12:08:58 AM): ::He's lying.::
Optimus Prime (12:09:09 AM): \\I couldn't tell.\\
Megatron (12:09:18 AM): *Gives Prime a look*
Optimus Prime (12:09:31 AM): *Exhales...slightly apologetic look in response*
Megatron (12:09:37 AM): ::He was my second for vorns....trust me, I know.::
Starscream (12:09:37 AM): *isn't, /technically,/ lying, which is the best /part/*
Optimus Prime (12:10:11 AM): *Back to Skyfire/Starscream* \\Starscream, remember that time in your laboratory?\\
Starscream (12:11:30 AM): *aaaaand the snickering stops* ::You wouldn't.::
Optimus Prime (12:11:39 AM): \\I would.\\
Skyfire (12:11:48 AM): *isn't sure what Prime is talking about at first, before....'oh.'*
Starscream (12:11:49 AM): ::...fine.::
Optimus Prime (12:11:55 AM): \\Thank you.\\
Megatron (12:12:06 AM): ...
Skyfire (12:13:21 AM): 'Starscream? What are you going to tell them?' *bristling at the idea that Prime can blackmail Starscream like this*
Starscream (12:13:28 AM): ::...I still don't /have/ one, you know.:: *if any mech can mix 'sulky' and 'smugly amused at his own cleverness', it's Starscream*
Optimus Prime (12:13:41 AM): *Exhales*
Optimus Prime (12:13:48 AM): \\Then what is your link to it?\\
Starscream (12:15:17 AM): ::Very clever, Prime.::
Optimus Prime (12:15:39 AM): \\That's not an answer.\\
Starscream (12:16:07 AM): ::No, it's not.::
Optimus Prime (12:16:30 AM): \\Are you going to start giving me answers, or should I start talking instead?\\
Megatron (12:16:56 AM): Start talking....he's not going to give you anything helpful.
Optimus Prime (12:17:18 AM): *Barest hint of a smile at Megatron*
Starscream (12:17:37 AM): ::....::
Optimus Prime (12:18:59 AM): \\Hmmm.\\
Starscream (12:19:02 AM): *roils inside Skyfire's mind, contradictory urges towards the prevention of utter humiliation and survival warring with each other*
Megatron (12:19:15 AM): *Makes his way back to a chair and sits down* .....Usually, I ignore him when he gets this way. Drives him crazy.
Optimus Prime (12:19:23 AM): \\Anyone have Bonecrusher's comm frequency handy?\\
Megatron (12:19:28 AM): Then he rats himself out....
Megatron (12:19:44 AM): *eyes him*
Optimus Prime (12:19:48 AM): *Innocent*
Megatron (12:19:49 AM): I do. Why?
Optimus Prime (12:20:03 AM): Effect.
Megatron (12:20:29 AM): *Doesn't quite understand, but sends it anyway*
Skyfire (12:20:38 AM): *hisses and presses up against Starscream in their mind, trying to calm him, anger surging towards Prime for this*
Starscream (12:21:44 AM): ::And here I thought the Autobot Matrix-holder was supposed to be honorable or something like that.:: *snide and snarly* ::You might as well do it, Prime, because I can just kill Bonecrusher and have done. Yes, I think that'll do.::
Optimus Prime (12:22:01 AM): \\Do you want to know something I've learned, Starscream?\\
Optimus Prime (12:22:24 AM): \\Honorable mechs sometimes have to do dishonorable things. If this is what it takes to ensure the safety of my mechs - then I embrace it.\\
Optimus Prime (12:22:31 AM): \\Death is final.\\
Optimus Prime (12:22:35 AM): \\Humilation lasts for eternity.\\
Starscream (12:24:29 AM): ::I imagine I can comfort myself with your piled corpses in a blackened crater.:: *and that does not... exactly... sound like Starscream, even through Skyfire's vocalizer*
Optimus Prime (12:24:48 AM): \\Have you been speaking with the Fallen, then?\\
Megatron (12:24:50 AM): .....
Optimus Prime (12:24:55 AM): \\How long have you been taking orders from them?\\
Starscream (12:27:33 AM): *the comm is almost lost in a scream of staticky rage and actual surprised affront* ::/Never!/ Never, never, /never/ how /dare you/ --::
Optimus Prime: *And /that/ gives him more information than he'd hoped*
Optimus Prime (1:06:19 AM): *Apparently...you just have to remember how to deal with Starscream. Sternly* \\What am I supposed to think? You have given me no sign that you're -not- their puppet.\\
Megatron: *Smirks slightly at Prime*
Optimus Prime: \\Which makes me wonder just how long you've been under their heel.\\
Optimus Prime: \\Is that not a Matrix at all...but a mind-controlling device? What are you doing to Skyfire, Starscream?\\
Megatron: ::I always knew you were power hungry, Starscream....but this...it's a new low, even for you.::
Skyfire (1:13:40 AM): *the comm line crackles as Skyfire takes it back momentarily, and he hisses with a sudden raging spike of angerand indignation* ::You-! Leave him alone you cog sucking /slaggers/!::
Skyfire (1:13:42 AM): *Bellows, voice warped with rage, making the comm line fritz with the force, and it doesn't sound much like Skyfire at all, despite not sounding like Starscream either*
Starscream (1:14:03 AM): *the comm screeches electronic feedback as it's twisted back into a higher pitch* ::You don't know a /God damn thing!/:: *and -- comm is cut*
Optimus Prime (1:14:13 AM): ...
Megatron (1:14:15 AM): ....
Optimus Prime (1:14:20 AM): *Looks at Megatron, arching his opticbrow. Wow*
Optimus Prime (1:14:35 AM): ...think I went too far?
Megatron (1:14:43 AM): ...no.
Megatron (1:14:47 AM): Not far enough.
Optimus Prime (1:14:47 AM): Hn.
Optimus Prime (1:14:55 AM): \\Then why don't you teach me.\\
Megatron (1:14:59 AM): *stands up and starts for the door*
Optimus Prime (1:15:02 AM): Don't.
Optimus Prime (1:15:05 AM): Not yet,
Megatron (1:15:16 AM): Just come with me.
Optimus Prime (1:15:18 AM): ...
Optimus Prime (1:15:30 AM): *Sigh, then gets to his feet, and follows*
Megatron (1:15:31 AM): ....please.
Optimus Prime (1:15:40 AM): Coming. *Soft smile*
Megatron (1:17:06 AM): *Smiles back, though it's a bit grim*
Megatron (1:17:38 AM): *And starts down the hall, heading for Starscream and Skyfire's room. Sometimes, talking doesn't get things done...*
Optimus Prime (1:17:44 AM): \\I will not leave this alone, because as I said, I have no reason /not/ to think that one of if not the both of you are working for Unicron.\\
Optimus Prime (1:19:01 AM): *Follows*
Starscream (1:20:01 AM): *would be panting if only he could, practically vibrating back and forth inside Skyfire's processor* 'slag them slag them slag them they don't know a Primus-/damned/ thing!
Starscream (1:20:04 AM): skyfire, we need to leave - prime won't settle for /that,/ slagger that he is...'
Skyfire (1:21:19 AM): *is doing plenty of panting for the both of them, intakes whirling angrily, weapons systems bristling* '.....where, then?'
Megatron (1:21:21 AM): *Is closing in on their room*
Starscream (1:21:46 AM): '/anywhere./ out. out, out, /out./'
Megatron (1:21:49 AM): *Pauses when the door comes into view and looks behind at Prime*
Starscream (1:22:00 AM): ::/I would sooner die than serve Unicron!/:: *almost howled*
Megatron (1:22:25 AM): Whatever happens...just stay out of my way, alright?
Optimus Prime (1:22:30 AM): ...
Skyfire (1:22:44 AM): 'slag.' *passes through there room and goes through the side door, into the lab. They'll leave through the /other/ door, thanks*
Optimus Prime (1:23:13 AM): *Slight nod, moving forwards, past the door. Is planning on taking up a post there, but he pauses - are those footsteps?*
Skyfire (1:23:19 AM): 'Starscream? Take my weapons systems if you must...'
Optimus Prime (1:23:23 AM): \\What about stopping him?\\
Megatron (1:23:47 AM): Just watch. *Punches in the code and steps inside*
Starscream (1:23:52 AM): 'your weapons systems? no, i think i'll take /megatron's.../'
Megatron (1:23:56 AM): Staaaaarscreaaaaaaam!
Megatron (1:24:01 AM): You little coward!
Megatron (1:24:11 AM): Running away again, are you?
Megatron (1:24:16 AM): *Yes, he's bellowing*
Skyfire (1:24:21 AM): 'Wait, what?'
Starscream (1:24:49 AM): *and Starscream /drops/ out of Skyfire, abruptly shimmering into existence in front of Megatron*
Skyfire (1:24:51 AM): *will DEFINITELY be overhauling his LOCK SYSTEM after all this, thanks*
Megatron (1:25:12 AM): There you are.
Optimus Prime (1:25:20 AM): *Peeks in*
Optimus Prime (1:25:21 AM): ....
Optimus Prime (1:25:23 AM): *blinkblink*
Megatron (1:25:31 AM): *And quickly unsubs a duckie*
Megatron (1:25:34 AM): Beeeep!
Megatron (1:26:42 AM): *Even though it passes through the ghost mech, it was worth it*
Starscream (1:26:47 AM): *...okay, so the duckie passes /through/ Starscream's nose a little, but it works as the ghost goes cross-eyed to follow the movement*
Skyfire (1:27:01 AM): *gasps and stumbles as Starscream passes out of his body, watching from the safety of the other door in the lab and....trips over his own feet when /Megatron/ pulls out the duck*
Megatron (1:27:24 AM): *Tosses the duck at Skyfire* Catch!
Optimus Prime (1:27:41 AM): .....
Optimus Prime (1:27:54 AM): o_o
Starscream (1:27:57 AM): ...you are slagging dysfunctional, megatron.
Skyfire (1:28:17 AM): *jumps back from the duck as through he expects it to explode, staring at Megatron like they have /both/ lost their minds*
Megatron (1:28:19 AM): I'm not the one overclocking my mate's processor.
Megatron (1:28:28 AM): Look at him. *gestures to Skyfire*
Starscream (1:29:24 AM): ...i am /not/ - *that's automatic if ever there was an answer, but the ghost twists to look anyway*
Megatron (1:29:48 AM): You're destroying him....*quietly*
Skyfire (1:30:18 AM): *is standing there, still rather stupified by the duck. o_0*
Megatron (1:30:31 AM): ...and you don't even care. *almost a whisper*
Optimus Prime (1:31:00 AM): *Walks in slowly* Starscream.
Starscream (1:31:48 AM): i'm /not!/ i - /no/ i /wouldn't.../ shut up! *spins, insubstantial, back to face Prime*
Starscream (1:31:57 AM): *backs up as he approaches*
Megatron (1:32:36 AM): *Steps aside for Prime*
Megatron (1:33:17 AM): *But remains looking at Screamer*
Megatron (1:33:21 AM): You are...
Optimus Prime (1:34:24 AM): You may not be under Unicron's control, but I'm willing to bet my Matrix that he had something to do with how you are right now. I'm not blaming him for it - but that's besides the point.
Optimus Prime (1:34:29 AM): The point is, whatever he touches - he corrupts. Twists. You've got to realize that you've been affected by this...and you're affecting Skyfire as well. I am asking you to help me...
Optimus Prime (1:34:37 AM): *Pauses, then shakes his head*...no, I'm not. What I'm asking is for you to /let me/ help you.
Optimus Prime (1:34:38 AM): I swear to you on the Autobot Matrix of Leadership - on my own Spark that I will find a way to restore your life, even at the cost of my own. Just...let's solve this. It cannot be done without you. For Skyfire, if no one else.
Skyfire (1:34:47 AM): *shakes it off as he sees Starscream backing away from them - he can't make out the words they are saying, but /No/! /NO/!* Leave him alone, damn you!
Megatron (1:35:28 AM): Do you want him back or not!? *Snarling at Skyfire*
Megatron (1:35:50 AM): You're just as bad as he is!
Skyfire (1:37:20 AM): We don't need your help! You're the reason he's like this IN THE FIRST PLACE! *screams*
Optimus Prime (1:37:38 AM): *Doesn't look at Skyfire - his attention is fully on Starscream's ghost*
Megatron (1:37:54 AM): *Just shakes his head*
Skyfire (1:38:52 AM): *would come closer to them - the urge to /obliterate/ Megatron is burning in his spark - but he won't risk Starscream's matrix - his /spark/ - just for that*
Optimus Prime (1:39:18 AM): *Slowly holds out his hand*
Starscream (1:39:22 AM): ...no, i... you can't /possibly/ - i /told/ you he /did/ something to me! *backing up, step by step* you - you're talking like you'd help me but /you wouldn't if you knew.../
Optimus Prime (1:39:45 AM): I will never turn my back on someone who needs help.
Optimus Prime (1:40:17 AM): *Remains where he is* He may have done something to you, but whatever it is - I, /we/ can help you. We will, if you'll let us.
Optimus Prime (1:40:21 AM): Please, Starscream.
Megatron (1:40:51 AM): ...for him. *Points at Skyfire*
Megatron (1:40:55 AM): Before you kill him.
Starscream (1:41:21 AM): you'd kill me... Destroy me. I would, you. *and there's that... not quite Starscream intonation again*
Megatron (1:41:22 AM): Or worse....twist him until he's no longer anyone we recognize.
Optimus Prime (1:41:37 AM): Good thing I'm not you, right? *Humorless smile*
Optimus Prime (1:42:04 AM): I'm not going to hurt you. There's nothing I -could- do to hurt you worse than what Unicron can - and will do.
Optimus Prime (1:42:34 AM): What I can do is work to save you.
Skyfire (1:43:19 AM): *catches a bit of those words this time - and its hard to miss the pointing* Stop using me against him! *howls, getting slightly frantic for Starscream - this can't be good for his mental state right now, he knows*
Megatron (1:43:32 AM): And you...
Megatron (1:44:29 AM): *Looks at Skyfire* You're doing nothing to help him with all this...drama. If anything, you're making the situation worse. Do you want him back or not? Prime can help him far more than you can ever hope to....
Megatron (1:44:37 AM): And you deny him that?
Starscream (1:44:42 AM): I'm not his. He made me, but I have no alleigance to him. You, Megatron, know that I have never /served/ a leader well.
Megatron (1:44:44 AM): For your own selfishness?
Optimus Prime (1:45:10 AM): Then don't serve us. Work with us.
Megatron (1:45:11 AM): *Looks back at Starscream* ....no. But well enough, in your own way.
Optimus Prime (1:45:22 AM): It's a far better choice than what Unicron would give you.
Starscream (1:46:01 AM): I /make/ no alliance with him, /servant/ of Primus! *sweeps a hand to the side, fierce and dismissive*
Skyfire (1:46:01 AM): *snarls* Shut up! You don't know a Primus damned thing about all this! *clenches his dentals, shoulder cannons twitching*
Megatron (1:46:52 AM): Listen to yourself, Starscream.....
Megatron (1:47:15 AM): He's got you already...
Optimus Prime (1:47:28 AM): Call me what you will. The fact remains that I could turn away from Primus at any time, and he wouldn't try to stop me. Where as Unicron will always have his tendrils on you, unless we can find a way to remove them.
Optimus Prime (1:48:46 AM): *Empathetically* We can do it, Starscream. We can stop him.
Optimus Prime (1:48:59 AM): You can.
Megatron (1:49:59 AM): *And to Skyfire* I know enough just by looking at the two of you. You can't help him. Not with this. It's beyond your precious science.
Skyfire (1:53:02 AM): *stance goes more aggressive and his voice drops, low and angry, and more deadly then anything that's ever come out of Skyfire's vocalizer before this* You. Don't. Know. SHIT.
Optimus Prime (1:54:07 AM): Do you, then, Skyfire?
Megatron (1:54:12 AM): *Is unimpressed by the bigger mech.*
Optimus Prime (1:54:12 AM): Do you know?
Starscream (1:54:50 AM): *head snaps up and around to Skyfire again, a purr soft in his insubstantial turbines at the /hatred./ despite the worry on his face, because Skyfire /doesn't sound like that/*
Megatron (1:55:20 AM): See what I mean, Starscream....
Megatron (1:55:30 AM): Look at him...
Megatron (1:55:50 AM): Really look at him....
Skyfire (1:55:51 AM): *straightens and glares down at the other two mechs from across the room* I know what I need to know.
Starscream (1:55:56 AM): i know, slag you, i /know!/ *backing away from /everyone/ now*
Optimus Prime (1:56:10 AM): Or is that what Unicron wants you to know?
Megatron (1:56:36 AM): ....it's not like you to back away from the truth.
Optimus Prime (1:57:08 AM): Starscream...in all honesty...what have you got to lose at this point by trusting me?
Skyfire (1:57:42 AM): I know more about this then you two do! *sharp*
Optimus Prime (1:57:44 AM): What do either of you have to lose?
Megatron (1:58:42 AM): I think you know what you want to know...and have thrown the rest of it out the window, Skyfire.
Megatron (1:59:00 AM): ....that pride of yours will be your undoing. Trust me, I know.
Starscream (1:59:19 AM): i don't know what would /happen.../ i - prime, maybe /you/ could turn away from primus, but how about what you've got in your chest?
Starscream (1:59:36 AM): I'm not /just/ Starscream, after all.
Optimus Prime (1:59:40 AM): ...
Optimus Prime (1:59:46 AM): ...you /are/ it...?
Megatron (2:00:03 AM): ....
Skyfire (2:00:41 AM): And I think you like making damn assumptions about things you don't know slag about, just because it makes you feel so-! *cuts off when Prime finally catches on, hissing quietly*
Optimus Prime (2:00:44 AM): *Comprehension slowly dawns on him*
Starscream (2:01:49 AM): i /told/ you he did something to me.
Optimus Prime (2:01:53 AM): ...
Optimus Prime (2:02:18 AM): What I said...stands, Starscream. I will save you, if you'll let me try - even if I die in the process of doing so.
Optimus Prime (2:02:46 AM): But I can't make you make that decision.
Optimus Prime (2:02:49 AM): It's your choice.
Megatron (2:03:10 AM): ......
Starscream (2:03:55 AM): ....
Megatron: *Has gone utterly still*
Optimus Prime (2:18:17 AM): [00:06] JetFireintheSky: *grunts sharply, though not because any outside source, and he lifts his arm to his side, kneading his fingers against his nosecone armor with a look of buried discomfort*
Starscream (2:19:31 AM): ...i...
Optimus Prime (2:21:21 AM): *Doesn't say anything - just waits*
Starscream (2:24:22 AM): .../No./ No! I am Starscream, I am / Conquest,/ and I will /not/ be /destroyed!/
Starscream (2:24:31 AM): *the ghost disappears, and suddenly /Skyfire/ is moving, his face losing that emotional rage and twisting into a sneer. His shoulder cannons, already armed, let loose a barrage even as the shuttle pulls out his rifle. It is all /entirely/ aimed at Prime.*
Megatron (2:24:34 AM): ....
Starscream (2:24:40 AM): *His shoulder cannons, already armed, let loose a barrage even as the shuttle pulls out his rifle. It is all /entirely/ aimed at Prime.*
Megatron (2:25:00 AM): *Grabs Prime and jerks him out of the way*
Optimus Prime (2:25:29 AM): *-oshi*
Optimus Prime (2:25:59 AM): *Pulled out of the way, even as he reaches back for his blaster and kicks it on a setting he had Wheeljack add. It was supposed to be enough to take Megatron down without killing him - a stun blast*
Optimus Prime (2:26:06 AM): *Let's see if it'll work now - levels it at Skyfire, and /fires/*
Megatron (2:26:10 AM): *Rounds on Skyfire, snarling*
Skyfire (2:27:20 AM): *barely has time for a mental shriek of shock and /pain/ as he shoved down to the darknest depths of his own mind, forced down into a recharge-like state...by /Starscream/...*
Megatron (2:28:17 AM): *Starts advancing on the bigger mech* ::Starscream, you pathetic little fool.::
Starscream (2:29:03 AM): Not that easy! I can do this all /day!/ *laughs, a sound that sounds even worse coming from Skyfire's vocalizer, and drops the body as soon as he'd gotten it*
Starscream (2:29:22 AM): *Skyfire already starts to slump and fall even before Prime's stun blast hits him*
Optimus Prime (2:29:34 AM): Starscream, /look what you're doing/!
Megatron (2:29:38 AM): *Growls harshly*
Megatron (2:29:46 AM): *His own guns coming on line*
Starscream (2:30:06 AM): *and then he's in /Megatron's/ processor, all sharp, cold claws and the sort of wild, untrammeled ambition that Megatron knows /well/*
Megatron (2:30:42 AM): *Lets out a howl*
Megatron (2:31:06 AM): *Grasping his helm and snarling in pure rage*
Optimus Prime (2:31:33 AM): *Spins around at the howl, searching for an unseen enemy - optics land on Megatron as two and two goes together. He doesn't fire here, no - he accesses the bond*
Megatron (2:31:38 AM): ::GET OUT::
Optimus Prime (2:31:40 AM): *GET OUT OF HIM.*
Starscream (2:31:59 AM): */shoves/ at Megatron's mind, trying to press it down into the same forced recharge that he'd sent Skyfire into, laughing - and even for Starscream, that's not a sane sound*
Megatron (2:32:04 AM): *Every mental barrier he's ever constructed to hold 'it' back comes slamming down into place*
Megatron (2:33:17 AM): *He sinks to his knees gripping his helm, snarling and spitting as he fights back. He's not going back to that place. He's not. No no no no NO!*
Optimus Prime (2:33:22 AM): You want to fight, Starscream? Fight /ME/!
Megatron (2:33:23 AM): NOOooooo!!!
Starscream (2:33:33 AM): Eeve - bette -r! *it comes out of Megatron's voice, but the horrible slurring as the two fight over control is worse than Skyfire and Starscream /ever/ did*
Optimus Prime (2:33:57 AM): *Even as he's running over, gun still primed (pardon the pun) and ready as he reaches to grab Megatron's shoulder*
Starscream (2:34:24 AM): *pries hard at Megatron's motor controls, trying to swipe hard at Prime, claws crooked*
Megatron (2:34:29 AM): ::GET OUUUUUT!::
Megatron (2:35:03 AM): *Claws flex and he ends up backhanding Prime away*
Optimus Prime (2:35:30 AM): *Stumbles backwards a single step from the blow - then narrows his optics, mutters an apology that can be felt through the bond, and levels his gun at Megatron*
Megatron (2:35:57 AM): *Snarls loudly, and smashes his head into the floor*
Optimus Prime (2:35:59 AM): *Hates it, but will not hesitate ever again. Pulls the trigger*
Starscream (2:36:05 AM): *just /laughs/* G - o n k-- ll him!
Megatron (2:36:12 AM): ::NO---::
Optimus Prime (2:36:24 AM): *Darkly* Like I said, Starscream. You want to fight.
Optimus Prime (2:36:26 AM): Try fighting /me/.
Starscream (2:36:56 AM): *drops Megatron, fast, and then he's back in Skyfire, struggling against the stun blast*
Megatron (2:36:58 AM): *Takes a the hit which rolls him across the floor*
Skyfire (2:38:05 AM): *twitches slightly on the floor, mind slowly awakening, dragging itself out of the darkness - before being slammed into again by Starscream as he re-enters the body*
Optimus Prime (2:38:06 AM): *Would comm for assistance, but Starscream'd just posess the new mechs - or so he thinks. Double-checks to make sure Megatron's systems are stable - thatprobablydidn'tfeeltoogoodissorrybondedlovesyuo*
Optimus Prime (2:38:37 AM): *Manually offs his motor controls, just in case - then runs over towards Skyfire to do the same*
Starscream (2:39:14 AM): This /is/ fighting you! *laughing, /not/ sane*
Optimus Prime (2:39:28 AM): You're going to kill them both. *Grim*
Optimus Prime (2:39:41 AM): How many have to die for his thirst to be sated?
Optimus Prime (2:39:49 AM): *Note the usage of his, and not yours*
Starscream (2:40:01 AM): There's an entire base full of mechs! This is nothing of /his,/ Optimus Prime, this is /all mine!/
Optimus Prime (2:40:02 AM): How many more are you going to kill for him?
Optimus Prime (2:40:15 AM): *And now - kneeling by Skyfire*
Optimus Prime (2:40:20 AM): *In fact, reaching for his cockpit*
Optimus Prime: *Fumbles to open it with one hand*
Starscream (2:59:37 AM): *something in Skyfire's cockpit /flares,/ those same arcs of lightning that flung mechs across the room - Skyfire's cockpit shatters, the faux-glass not standing up to the thing inside*
Optimus Prime (3:02:30 AM): *May be Optimus Prime, but still can't take that sort of thing without a grunt - and, well, being thrown across the room as well.*
Optimus Prime (3:02:31 AM): * He lands on his side, hard, but doesn't stay down for even an astrosecond, immediatly getting to his feet and scrambling back towards the other* *Inside his own chest, something behind his Spark hums*
Starscream (3:03:43 AM): *whatever is in Skyfire's cockpit screams back, a noise no mech ever made or could make*
Skyfire (3:06:05 AM): *howls wordlessly inside their shared mind with shock and emotional /pain/ at Starscream's unexpected surge of forceful control over his body, his dazed mind fighting and quickly loosing against the forced recharge*
Optimus Prime (3:07:06 AM): *Doesn't stop. Doesn't pause. In an instant he's on Skyfire again, blaster forgotten as he forces aside parts, optics blazing white as his hands search for the source of the chaos*
Skyfire (3:07:17 AM): *against the second forced recharge
Megatron (3:08:54 AM): *Can hear what's going on, but can't move. Growls, hurt, angry, and quite frankly, scared for Prime's life*
Starscream (3:09:10 AM): Wait - wait - /no!/ *whatever unearthly tones were behind Starscream's voice before, now it's just him, through Skyfire's vocalizer, and Prime doesn't /have/ to force parts aside*
Starscream (3:09:15 AM): *Starscream uses Skyfire's hand and pulls the Matrix out himself, /flinging/ himself hard across the room*
Starscream (3:10:25 AM): *just like that, he's gone again, not even floating as a ghost, and all that there is the slender, spikily curved red and blue Matrix, barely glowing at all*
Optimus Prime (3:10:48 AM): *Looks up, optics slitted, but bright enough where it hurts to /look/ at them. For a moment it looks like he's going to rip through inner circuitry regardless of Skyfire/Starscream's pleading, but he doesn't*
Optimus Prime (3:10:48 AM): *Instead - he pulls his hands out, rising up slowly as he gazes down at the opposing Matrix*
Starscream (3:11:29 AM): i didn't - i didn't mean - prime, /help me!/
Optimus Prime (3:11:51 AM): What do you need me to do. *There's something else in his voice - multiple somethings, echoing his words*
Optimus Prime (3:12:18 AM): *Or - not an echo. A chorus, almost*
Megatron (3:12:24 AM): ....
Skyfire (3:13:42 AM): *whimpers softly, coming around painfully; mind stunned and aching from the rapid abuse, and there is also this odd, distant feeling of /loss/...*
Starscream (3:14:00 AM): i don't /know!/ please, i /beg/ you! i am /so hungry.../
Optimus Prime (3:23:16 AM): *Silently walks over to the opposing Matrix, kneeling down and reaching to pick it up*
Starscream (3:24:28 AM): *it isn't quite possible for the Matrix of Conquest to flinch in this form, but it desperately wants to*
Skyfire (3:26:39 AM): *groans and shifts awkardly on the floor, chest all burst open and leaking a thin trail of energon, trying to shake his head and clear that incohernet, muddled feeling from his processor*
Optimus Prime (3:27:20 AM): *Touches it*
Megatron (3:27:26 AM): *Still unable to move*
Optimus Prime (3:27:37 AM): *has The Touch*
Optimus Prime (3:30:22 AM): *Gingerly makes to pick it up in both hands*
Starscream (3:32:51 AM): *makes a thin little hurt sound, trembling even though that should be impossible, dim with fear in the hands of the Prime*
Skyfire (3:33:10 AM): *blinks and stares out grogglily, trying to focus...and cries out quietly with shock and horror as he sees Prime with Starscream's matrix in his hands, his own flying up to his ripped open chest with a squeak of shock and pain*
Optimus Prime (3:35:01 AM): *Speaks again, with that same chorus of voices - a few may or may not be familiar, despite the fact that they're not Optimus'* We will help you. Stay true, Starscream. But for now, rest.
Skyfire (3:35:10 AM): N-no-! Don't 'urt him! *cries out, voice slurring slightly and weak with from damage and fatigue. Primus, no, it was going to happen /again/, right in front of him-!*
Optimus Prime (3:38:27 AM): *Runs his hand over the other Matrix in a surprisingly gentle motion as he stands, and then moves over to Skyfire. Inclines his head slightly, blinking white optics before shifting his grip on the Matrix to a one-handed one*
Optimus Prime (3:38:27 AM): *Then bends over to help up Skyfire*
Skyfire (3:41:20 AM): *whimpers and reaches out, not for Prime, but for the matrix* Noooo... I can't...I can't /loose him/ again... *intakes sob weakly*
Optimus Prime (3:44:05 AM): He will not be lost. *Moves with a certain...grace that isn't normal for Optimus, pulling Skyfire's arm around him before now moving for Megatron*
Skyfire (3:49:27 AM): *stumbles up next to Prime, /deeply/ uncomfortable with Starscream's /spark/ in the hands of the other* ..Don't...Give him /back/... *quiet groan - its not the /matrix/ pulling at him, but the need to protect the /spark/*
Optimus Prime (3:51:07 AM): *Doesn't say anything to that, helping Skyfire down to Megatron. From there, he kneels down again, before offering the Matrix to Skyfire* Hold him. *And with that said, moves to reactivate Megatron's controls and help -him- up*
Megatron (3:53:26 AM): *Grunts as he's helped up, optics on Prime. He's worried, angry, hurt...Glances at the matrix in Skyfire's hands, then back to Prime*
Skyfire (3:54:25 AM): *takes the matrix /gladly/, more then words can say; pressing the red and blue metal to him carefully, lovingly; calming greatly once Starscream is back in his own hands*
Optimus Prime (3:56:23 AM): *And now that he - they - are all together, will be helping the two mechs that can stand to the medbay. His optics are still blazing white, face unlike his usual self. But with each step, they dim slightly.*
Optimus Prime (3:56:24 AM): *Not entirely, but slowly returning back to a more managable brightness*
Starscream (3:57:05 AM): *is quiet and dim in Skyfire's hands, flickering like a candle*
Megatron (3:59:42 AM): *Is unbelievably quiet, casting a glance at Prime now and again*
Skyfire (3:59:45 AM): *clings to Starscream's matrix and follows in a daze, petting soothingly at the warm metal with tiny little movements of his fingertips. Not letting go again, nononono...please no...*
Optimus Prime (4:03:16 AM): *It isn't long before they arrive and he sets first Megatron, then Skyfire down. With the latter he pauses, raising the other's chin with a finger so that their optics meet*
Optimus Prime (4:03:18 AM): To save him, you must first let him go. If you are so afraid to lose him that you cannot - then you surely will.
Optimus Prime (4:03:19 AM): *And with that, the optics flicker off, then back to blue...and he slumps to the side, against the wall, looking utterly exhausted*
Megatron (4:04:37 AM): *Gets shakily to his feet, going to Prime's side* ::Are you alright?::
Optimus Prime (4:06:04 AM): *Exhaustion*
Optimus Prime (4:06:20 AM): \\...tired...\\
Megatron (4:06:51 AM): *Concern*
Megatron (4:07:00 AM): ::Then rest::
Optimus Prime (4:09:33 AM): *Leans towards Megatron, looking up at him*
Skyfire (4:09:38 AM): *shakes his head away from Prime's touch, frowning. He'd physically let go of Starscream when it was actually /safe/ to...*
Megatron (4:11:04 AM): *Takes his arm and leads him to a berth* ::Recharge. I'll watch over you....and them.::
Optimus Prime (4:13:05 AM): *Is mostly dead weight, though he tries to stand on his own. He doesn't make it very far until he collapses on the berth, more than willing to take that as a command and obey*
Optimus Prime (4:13:18 AM): \\.....thank you.....\\
Skyfire (4:13:51 AM): *stumbles on over to a berth, curling up on it and around the matrix, stroking very lightly at the spires on it, and gazing down at it thoughfully*
Megatron (4:14:06 AM): *Pulls up a stool and sits down, giving Prime's arm a slight squeeze* ::Thank you....::
Optimus Prime (4:15:54 AM): *No response. He's out, period.*
Skyfire (4:17:44 AM): *he had every reason in the world to cling to the matrix - /Starscream/. He'd lost him once, right before his optics. In his views at first, today they had wanted to take Starscream away from him /again/.
Skyfire (4:17:46 AM): He was paranoid, and for a reason*
Skyfire (4:19:26 AM): *However...he certainly would never turn down a chance to get Starscream back - back to /normal/, whole and /himself/ again... he wouldn't... aaand drifts off into a fitful recharge with that thought lingering on his mind*
(LJ-ify your IMs before pasting!)
Optimus Prime (11:10:07 PM): \\Skyfire?\\
Skyfire (11:10:49 PM): ::...........::
Optimus Prime (11:11:13 PM): \\Skyfire, it's Optimus Prime. Respond.\\ *Beat* \\Please.\\
Optimus Prime (11:11:36 PM): *Is currently seated in his & Megs quarters, gazing at their terminal*
Skyfire (11:12:01 PM): '..Starscream. Prime just commed me' *sounds upset*
Starscream (11:12:42 PM): 'slaggers, all. there's all kinds of things he could want, and i'm not sure i want him to have any of them.'
Megatron (11:12:46 PM): *Is sitting nearby, looking rather grim.*
Skyfire (11:13:00 PM): ::........::
Skyfire (11:13:25 PM): 'well I certainly don't either. I /don't/ want to talk to that slagger, either...'
Optimus Prime (11:13:28 PM): *Grimly* \\I know you're recieving.\\
Starscream (11:14:04 PM): 'we should probably see what he wants, so we can tell him to slag off.'
Skyfire (11:14:34 PM): *growls a bit* '...fine'
Skyfire (11:15:09 PM): ::.....what the slag do you want?:: *low and almost hateful, with the beginnings of a growl*
Optimus Prime (11:15:19 PM): ....
Optimus Prime (11:15:43 PM): *Almost looks like he's been hit for a moment, but doesn't betray any of that in his comm* \\To talk. It's important.\\
Megatron (11:15:47 PM): *Turns and looks at Prime, trying to gauge his face*
Megatron (11:15:58 PM): .....
Megatron (11:16:15 PM): *That look causes him to bristle slightly*
Optimus Prime (11:16:16 PM): *does Not Look Happy. Meets Megatron's gaze silently*
Optimus Prime (11:16:22 PM): ...Skyfire. *Explaination*
Megatron (11:16:32 PM): .......
Megatron (11:16:38 PM): What does he want?
Optimus Prime (11:16:49 PM): For me to leave him alone, I assume.
Megatron (11:17:10 PM): Hn....
Megatron (11:17:28 PM): Why don't you? Talking to that emotional giant is pointless.
Optimus Prime (11:17:38 PM): I need to find out about Starscream.
Megatron (11:18:08 PM): He's dead. He's still a son of a glitch. *Grumbles*
Optimus Prime (11:18:29 PM): But is he working with Unicron.
Megatron (11:18:38 PM): ......
Megatron (11:18:50 PM): *goes quiet*
Skyfire (11:18:58 PM): ::...what is there to talk about?:: *short and snappish*
Optimus Prime (11:19:31 PM): \\Starscream, for one.\\
Skyfire (11:20:57 PM): *tenses, both mentally and physically, even more then he already was. /Hate/ echoes through his mind briefly*
Skyfire (11:21:31 PM): ::.....no. I have absolutely no desire to discuss /that/ with /you/. Or anyone. Ever.::
Starscream (11:21:36 PM): *some part of him comes close to /purring/ at that hatred; he prefers to tell himself it's at how defensive Skyfire is of him*
Megatron (11:23:39 PM): ....
Optimus Prime (11:23:40 PM): \\In all honestly I'm not interested either, but I will not let this go. I am asking you to respect my authority as leader of the Autobots and meet with me in person. Or I can find you - it's your choice.\\
Skyfire (11:25:56 PM): *hate /jumps/ at that, and he hisses with anger, bristling* ::Respect?! Respect what? The fact this entire situation is largely your fault to /begin with/? I see nothing to /respect/ there!::
Optimus Prime (11:26:27 PM): *Grips his fists, narrowing his optics*
Megatron (11:28:02 PM): *Is watching Prime intently, optics narrowing. He's not privy to the conversation, but he can guess at what's being said.*
Optimus Prime (11:28:36 PM): \\I have had enough with taking blame for results that I had no control over. Yes, it could have been handled differently, and yes, it may have saved Starscream's life.\\
Optimus Prime (11:28:38 PM): \\That said, what happened was NOT my fault, and I am NOT going to waste away blaming myself for it when I could do something more productive - like work with what we have and salvage this.\\
Optimus Prime (11:28:43 PM): \\I am not going to be a scapegoat.\\
Optimus Prime (11:30:10 PM): \\Not when this reeks of Unicron's handiwork.\\
Starscream (11:32:18 PM): *reaches out and 'taps' at the commlines, taking them over briefly* ::Don't try to make excuses for Megatron's spark dysfunction, Prime.:: *even his commed voice sounds more like Skyfire imitating Starscream than himself*
Optimus Prime (11:32:41 PM): \\...\\
Optimus Prime (11:32:47 PM): \\Starscream?\\
Megatron (11:34:07 PM): *Rises from his seat, watching Prime with a frown. Would really like to know what's going on, what's being said.*
Optimus Prime (11:34:15 PM): *has 'WTF' face*
Skyfire (11:35:13 PM): *comm lines fritz with static, and there is a snarl as Skyfire's voice goes back to normal*
Skyfire (11:35:15 PM): ::A /scapegoat/?! Hardly! Your letting /Megatron/ run about the base, when you /should/ have had him locked up - like you would have for anyone else, including /yourself/ - /is/ your fault!::
Megatron (11:35:41 PM): What is going on? *Snarls quietly*
Optimus Prime (11:35:48 PM): ...
Optimus Prime (11:36:12 PM): *Does Megatron the favor of giving him a quick file of what's been said so far - and ever-so-subtly opening the comm to include him as well*
Megatron (11:37:04 PM): *Reads through it quickly, scowl getting darker and darker*
Optimus Prime (11:38:24 PM): \\You're right - I should have done things differently. I let myself be blinded. But I will not be blind in this case, not when there is so much at stake. This isn't about me, or you, or Starscream, or Megatron.
Skyfire (11:38:59 PM): *snarls and rages a bit in his mind, mentally 'brushing up against' Starscream, subconciously seeking comfort*
Optimus Prime (11:39:11 PM): \\This is about a threat that I will not let endanger the entirety of our species - and other ones.\\
Megatron (11:39:34 PM): ::Starscream:: *quietly* ::I suggest you bring yourself and Skyfire to our quarters.*
Skyfire (11:41:03 PM): *goes still for all of a second mentally at the sound of that voice, before his mind bursts with pure /hate/ and /rage/, and a feral snarl fills the comm line*
Optimus Prime (11:41:35 PM): *Private to Megatron* \\That isn't Skyfire.\\ *Well, it is - but by his tone and context? There's something wrong*
Starscream (11:41:40 PM): *static garbles Skyfire's snarl again to Starscream* ::Or you'll /what,/ Megatron?::
Megatron (11:42:24 PM): ::Do you want to find out, Starscream.:: *He's not looking at Prime now, just staring off into space*
Megatron (11:42:39 PM): ::Think hard.::
Skyfire (11:44:16 PM): *the comm line breaks and goes to static as Skyfire pushes through* ::Get. That. Miserable. Effin' /SLAGGER/. Off. My. /PRIMUS DAMNED! COMM LINE/!:: *screeches*
Optimus Prime (11:44:35 PM): \\No.\\
Optimus Prime (11:44:46 PM): \\You wanted to include him, so here he is.\\
Optimus Prime (11:44:57 PM): *Unimpressed!Tone*
Starscream (11:44:57 PM): *and static again as Starscream yanks the comm back* ::I'm thinking that your not terribly oblique threat against Skyfire is laughable, is what I'm /thinking,/ Megatron.:: */all/ scorn*
Optimus Prime (11:45:07 PM): ...
Optimus Prime (11:45:09 PM): *Looks at Megatron?*
Skyfire (11:46:25 PM): *pants and trembles in the back of their shared mind, utterly /raging/, but trying to force it down*
Megatron (11:47:09 PM): ::Oh? Very well.:: *Cuts the comm and starts to rise*
Starscream (11:47:36 PM): *is probably not very calming himself, as he is flashing with quick bursts of pure, cold rage*
Optimus Prime (11:47:48 PM): *Is not going to take this*
Optimus Prime (11:48:06 PM): *In the most authoritive voice he has, the one that commanded an army:* \\Enough.\\
Megatron (11:48:17 PM): *Heading for the door and.....stops*
Skyfire (11:50:37 PM): *only feels another burst of anger at Primes voice, even though his mind does clear a tiny bit*
Megatron (11:52:42 PM): *Looks over his shoulder coolly*
Starscream (11:52:55 PM): *a pause, and:* ::Mmmm?:: *it's more a lilting wordless interrogative than anything else - everything in Starscream that stares into the face of the fusion cannon and curses its owner plus, right now, a good deal /more/*
Optimus Prime (11:53:12 PM): \\Skyfire.\\ *Not angry - just firm.* \\You're carrying Starscream's Matrix?\\
Optimus Prime (11:53:45 PM): *Still seated, optics bright...but narrowed. This is Prime's Unhappy!Face*
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Megatron (12:00:38 AM): *crosses his arms, waiting*
Starscream (12:00:42 AM): ::I don't have one.:: *one is sure that Megatron knows that sly tone of voice /very/ well, however sharpened it is right now*
Optimus Prime (12:03:04 AM): \\I suppose that thing that Skyfire pulled out of your chassis was a keepsake, then.\\
Starscream (12:03:59 AM): ::I don't /have/ one.:: *almost as though laughing at some private joke*
Optimus Prime (12:04:12 AM): \\Then what the slag was that?\\
Starscream (12:05:22 AM): ::What do you think it was? I don't /have/ one.:: *still with that odd, amused emphasis on 'have'*
Optimus Prime (12:05:35 AM): \\...\\
Optimus Prime (12:05:47 AM): \\Why don't you tell me.\\
Skyfire (12:05:50 AM): *isn't sure if he wants to laugh or bang his head against a wall at Starscream's answers, though his amusment is cutting through his anger a bit more,
Skyfire (12:05:55 AM): *allowing him to focus a little better so that he isn't completely frothing with rage*
Optimus Prime (12:05:56 AM): \\I'm not interested in playing games.\\
Starscream (12:07:28 AM): *snickers nastily over the comm, and doesn't answer*
Optimus Prime (12:08:09 AM): *To Megatron* \\What is he laughing about?\\
Megatron (12:08:58 AM): ::He's lying.::
Optimus Prime (12:09:09 AM): \\I couldn't tell.\\
Megatron (12:09:18 AM): *Gives Prime a look*
Optimus Prime (12:09:31 AM): *Exhales...slightly apologetic look in response*
Megatron (12:09:37 AM): ::He was my second for vorns....trust me, I know.::
Starscream (12:09:37 AM): *isn't, /technically,/ lying, which is the best /part/*
Optimus Prime (12:10:11 AM): *Back to Skyfire/Starscream* \\Starscream, remember that time in your laboratory?\\
Starscream (12:11:30 AM): *aaaaand the snickering stops* ::You wouldn't.::
Optimus Prime (12:11:39 AM): \\I would.\\
Skyfire (12:11:48 AM): *isn't sure what Prime is talking about at first, before....'oh.'*
Starscream (12:11:49 AM): ::...fine.::
Optimus Prime (12:11:55 AM): \\Thank you.\\
Megatron (12:12:06 AM): ...
Skyfire (12:13:21 AM): 'Starscream? What are you going to tell them?' *bristling at the idea that Prime can blackmail Starscream like this*
Starscream (12:13:28 AM): ::...I still don't /have/ one, you know.:: *if any mech can mix 'sulky' and 'smugly amused at his own cleverness', it's Starscream*
Optimus Prime (12:13:41 AM): *Exhales*
Optimus Prime (12:13:48 AM): \\Then what is your link to it?\\
Starscream (12:15:17 AM): ::Very clever, Prime.::
Optimus Prime (12:15:39 AM): \\That's not an answer.\\
Starscream (12:16:07 AM): ::No, it's not.::
Optimus Prime (12:16:30 AM): \\Are you going to start giving me answers, or should I start talking instead?\\
Megatron (12:16:56 AM): Start talking....he's not going to give you anything helpful.
Optimus Prime (12:17:18 AM): *Barest hint of a smile at Megatron*
Starscream (12:17:37 AM): ::....::
Optimus Prime (12:18:59 AM): \\Hmmm.\\
Starscream (12:19:02 AM): *roils inside Skyfire's mind, contradictory urges towards the prevention of utter humiliation and survival warring with each other*
Megatron (12:19:15 AM): *Makes his way back to a chair and sits down* .....Usually, I ignore him when he gets this way. Drives him crazy.
Optimus Prime (12:19:23 AM): \\Anyone have Bonecrusher's comm frequency handy?\\
Megatron (12:19:28 AM): Then he rats himself out....
Megatron (12:19:44 AM): *eyes him*
Optimus Prime (12:19:48 AM): *Innocent*
Megatron (12:19:49 AM): I do. Why?
Optimus Prime (12:20:03 AM): Effect.
Megatron (12:20:29 AM): *Doesn't quite understand, but sends it anyway*
Skyfire (12:20:38 AM): *hisses and presses up against Starscream in their mind, trying to calm him, anger surging towards Prime for this*
Starscream (12:21:44 AM): ::And here I thought the Autobot Matrix-holder was supposed to be honorable or something like that.:: *snide and snarly* ::You might as well do it, Prime, because I can just kill Bonecrusher and have done. Yes, I think that'll do.::
Optimus Prime (12:22:01 AM): \\Do you want to know something I've learned, Starscream?\\
Optimus Prime (12:22:24 AM): \\Honorable mechs sometimes have to do dishonorable things. If this is what it takes to ensure the safety of my mechs - then I embrace it.\\
Optimus Prime (12:22:31 AM): \\Death is final.\\
Optimus Prime (12:22:35 AM): \\Humilation lasts for eternity.\\
Starscream (12:24:29 AM): ::I imagine I can comfort myself with your piled corpses in a blackened crater.:: *and that does not... exactly... sound like Starscream, even through Skyfire's vocalizer*
Optimus Prime (12:24:48 AM): \\Have you been speaking with the Fallen, then?\\
Megatron (12:24:50 AM): .....
Optimus Prime (12:24:55 AM): \\How long have you been taking orders from them?\\
Starscream (12:27:33 AM): *the comm is almost lost in a scream of staticky rage and actual surprised affront* ::/Never!/ Never, never, /never/ how /dare you/ --::
Optimus Prime: *And /that/ gives him more information than he'd hoped*
Optimus Prime (1:06:19 AM): *Apparently...you just have to remember how to deal with Starscream. Sternly* \\What am I supposed to think? You have given me no sign that you're -not- their puppet.\\
Megatron: *Smirks slightly at Prime*
Optimus Prime: \\Which makes me wonder just how long you've been under their heel.\\
Optimus Prime: \\Is that not a Matrix at all...but a mind-controlling device? What are you doing to Skyfire, Starscream?\\
Megatron: ::I always knew you were power hungry, Starscream....but this...it's a new low, even for you.::
Skyfire (1:13:40 AM): *the comm line crackles as Skyfire takes it back momentarily, and he hisses with a sudden raging spike of angerand indignation* ::You-! Leave him alone you cog sucking /slaggers/!::
Skyfire (1:13:42 AM): *Bellows, voice warped with rage, making the comm line fritz with the force, and it doesn't sound much like Skyfire at all, despite not sounding like Starscream either*
Starscream (1:14:03 AM): *the comm screeches electronic feedback as it's twisted back into a higher pitch* ::You don't know a /God damn thing!/:: *and -- comm is cut*
Optimus Prime (1:14:13 AM): ...
Megatron (1:14:15 AM): ....
Optimus Prime (1:14:20 AM): *Looks at Megatron, arching his opticbrow. Wow*
Optimus Prime (1:14:35 AM): ...think I went too far?
Megatron (1:14:43 AM): ...no.
Megatron (1:14:47 AM): Not far enough.
Optimus Prime (1:14:47 AM): Hn.
Optimus Prime (1:14:55 AM): \\Then why don't you teach me.\\
Megatron (1:14:59 AM): *stands up and starts for the door*
Optimus Prime (1:15:02 AM): Don't.
Optimus Prime (1:15:05 AM): Not yet,
Megatron (1:15:16 AM): Just come with me.
Optimus Prime (1:15:18 AM): ...
Optimus Prime (1:15:30 AM): *Sigh, then gets to his feet, and follows*
Megatron (1:15:31 AM): ....please.
Optimus Prime (1:15:40 AM): Coming. *Soft smile*
Megatron (1:17:06 AM): *Smiles back, though it's a bit grim*
Megatron (1:17:38 AM): *And starts down the hall, heading for Starscream and Skyfire's room. Sometimes, talking doesn't get things done...*
Optimus Prime (1:17:44 AM): \\I will not leave this alone, because as I said, I have no reason /not/ to think that one of if not the both of you are working for Unicron.\\
Optimus Prime (1:19:01 AM): *Follows*
Starscream (1:20:01 AM): *would be panting if only he could, practically vibrating back and forth inside Skyfire's processor* 'slag them slag them slag them they don't know a Primus-/damned/ thing!
Starscream (1:20:04 AM): skyfire, we need to leave - prime won't settle for /that,/ slagger that he is...'
Skyfire (1:21:19 AM): *is doing plenty of panting for the both of them, intakes whirling angrily, weapons systems bristling* '.....where, then?'
Megatron (1:21:21 AM): *Is closing in on their room*
Starscream (1:21:46 AM): '/anywhere./ out. out, out, /out./'
Megatron (1:21:49 AM): *Pauses when the door comes into view and looks behind at Prime*
Starscream (1:22:00 AM): ::/I would sooner die than serve Unicron!/:: *almost howled*
Megatron (1:22:25 AM): Whatever happens...just stay out of my way, alright?
Optimus Prime (1:22:30 AM): ...
Skyfire (1:22:44 AM): 'slag.' *passes through there room and goes through the side door, into the lab. They'll leave through the /other/ door, thanks*
Optimus Prime (1:23:13 AM): *Slight nod, moving forwards, past the door. Is planning on taking up a post there, but he pauses - are those footsteps?*
Skyfire (1:23:19 AM): 'Starscream? Take my weapons systems if you must...'
Optimus Prime (1:23:23 AM): \\What about stopping him?\\
Megatron (1:23:47 AM): Just watch. *Punches in the code and steps inside*
Starscream (1:23:52 AM): 'your weapons systems? no, i think i'll take /megatron's.../'
Megatron (1:23:56 AM): Staaaaarscreaaaaaaam!
Megatron (1:24:01 AM): You little coward!
Megatron (1:24:11 AM): Running away again, are you?
Megatron (1:24:16 AM): *Yes, he's bellowing*
Skyfire (1:24:21 AM): 'Wait, what?'
Starscream (1:24:49 AM): *and Starscream /drops/ out of Skyfire, abruptly shimmering into existence in front of Megatron*
Skyfire (1:24:51 AM): *will DEFINITELY be overhauling his LOCK SYSTEM after all this, thanks*
Megatron (1:25:12 AM): There you are.
Optimus Prime (1:25:20 AM): *Peeks in*
Optimus Prime (1:25:21 AM): ....
Optimus Prime (1:25:23 AM): *blinkblink*
Megatron (1:25:31 AM): *And quickly unsubs a duckie*
Megatron (1:25:34 AM): Beeeep!
Megatron (1:26:42 AM): *Even though it passes through the ghost mech, it was worth it*
Starscream (1:26:47 AM): *...okay, so the duckie passes /through/ Starscream's nose a little, but it works as the ghost goes cross-eyed to follow the movement*
Skyfire (1:27:01 AM): *gasps and stumbles as Starscream passes out of his body, watching from the safety of the other door in the lab and....trips over his own feet when /Megatron/ pulls out the duck*
Megatron (1:27:24 AM): *Tosses the duck at Skyfire* Catch!
Optimus Prime (1:27:41 AM): .....
Optimus Prime (1:27:54 AM): o_o
Starscream (1:27:57 AM): ...you are slagging dysfunctional, megatron.
Skyfire (1:28:17 AM): *jumps back from the duck as through he expects it to explode, staring at Megatron like they have /both/ lost their minds*
Megatron (1:28:19 AM): I'm not the one overclocking my mate's processor.
Megatron (1:28:28 AM): Look at him. *gestures to Skyfire*
Starscream (1:29:24 AM): ...i am /not/ - *that's automatic if ever there was an answer, but the ghost twists to look anyway*
Megatron (1:29:48 AM): You're destroying him....*quietly*
Skyfire (1:30:18 AM): *is standing there, still rather stupified by the duck. o_0*
Megatron (1:30:31 AM): ...and you don't even care. *almost a whisper*
Optimus Prime (1:31:00 AM): *Walks in slowly* Starscream.
Starscream (1:31:48 AM): i'm /not!/ i - /no/ i /wouldn't.../ shut up! *spins, insubstantial, back to face Prime*
Starscream (1:31:57 AM): *backs up as he approaches*
Megatron (1:32:36 AM): *Steps aside for Prime*
Megatron (1:33:17 AM): *But remains looking at Screamer*
Megatron (1:33:21 AM): You are...
Optimus Prime (1:34:24 AM): You may not be under Unicron's control, but I'm willing to bet my Matrix that he had something to do with how you are right now. I'm not blaming him for it - but that's besides the point.
Optimus Prime (1:34:29 AM): The point is, whatever he touches - he corrupts. Twists. You've got to realize that you've been affected by this...and you're affecting Skyfire as well. I am asking you to help me...
Optimus Prime (1:34:37 AM): *Pauses, then shakes his head*...no, I'm not. What I'm asking is for you to /let me/ help you.
Optimus Prime (1:34:38 AM): I swear to you on the Autobot Matrix of Leadership - on my own Spark that I will find a way to restore your life, even at the cost of my own. Just...let's solve this. It cannot be done without you. For Skyfire, if no one else.
Skyfire (1:34:47 AM): *shakes it off as he sees Starscream backing away from them - he can't make out the words they are saying, but /No/! /NO/!* Leave him alone, damn you!
Megatron (1:35:28 AM): Do you want him back or not!? *Snarling at Skyfire*
Megatron (1:35:50 AM): You're just as bad as he is!
Skyfire (1:37:20 AM): We don't need your help! You're the reason he's like this IN THE FIRST PLACE! *screams*
Optimus Prime (1:37:38 AM): *Doesn't look at Skyfire - his attention is fully on Starscream's ghost*
Megatron (1:37:54 AM): *Just shakes his head*
Skyfire (1:38:52 AM): *would come closer to them - the urge to /obliterate/ Megatron is burning in his spark - but he won't risk Starscream's matrix - his /spark/ - just for that*
Optimus Prime (1:39:18 AM): *Slowly holds out his hand*
Starscream (1:39:22 AM): ...no, i... you can't /possibly/ - i /told/ you he /did/ something to me! *backing up, step by step* you - you're talking like you'd help me but /you wouldn't if you knew.../
Optimus Prime (1:39:45 AM): I will never turn my back on someone who needs help.
Optimus Prime (1:40:17 AM): *Remains where he is* He may have done something to you, but whatever it is - I, /we/ can help you. We will, if you'll let us.
Optimus Prime (1:40:21 AM): Please, Starscream.
Megatron (1:40:51 AM): ...for him. *Points at Skyfire*
Megatron (1:40:55 AM): Before you kill him.
Starscream (1:41:21 AM): you'd kill me... Destroy me. I would, you. *and there's that... not quite Starscream intonation again*
Megatron (1:41:22 AM): Or worse....twist him until he's no longer anyone we recognize.
Optimus Prime (1:41:37 AM): Good thing I'm not you, right? *Humorless smile*
Optimus Prime (1:42:04 AM): I'm not going to hurt you. There's nothing I -could- do to hurt you worse than what Unicron can - and will do.
Optimus Prime (1:42:34 AM): What I can do is work to save you.
Skyfire (1:43:19 AM): *catches a bit of those words this time - and its hard to miss the pointing* Stop using me against him! *howls, getting slightly frantic for Starscream - this can't be good for his mental state right now, he knows*
Megatron (1:43:32 AM): And you...
Megatron (1:44:29 AM): *Looks at Skyfire* You're doing nothing to help him with all this...drama. If anything, you're making the situation worse. Do you want him back or not? Prime can help him far more than you can ever hope to....
Megatron (1:44:37 AM): And you deny him that?
Starscream (1:44:42 AM): I'm not his. He made me, but I have no alleigance to him. You, Megatron, know that I have never /served/ a leader well.
Megatron (1:44:44 AM): For your own selfishness?
Optimus Prime (1:45:10 AM): Then don't serve us. Work with us.
Megatron (1:45:11 AM): *Looks back at Starscream* ....no. But well enough, in your own way.
Optimus Prime (1:45:22 AM): It's a far better choice than what Unicron would give you.
Starscream (1:46:01 AM): I /make/ no alliance with him, /servant/ of Primus! *sweeps a hand to the side, fierce and dismissive*
Skyfire (1:46:01 AM): *snarls* Shut up! You don't know a Primus damned thing about all this! *clenches his dentals, shoulder cannons twitching*
Megatron (1:46:52 AM): Listen to yourself, Starscream.....
Megatron (1:47:15 AM): He's got you already...
Optimus Prime (1:47:28 AM): Call me what you will. The fact remains that I could turn away from Primus at any time, and he wouldn't try to stop me. Where as Unicron will always have his tendrils on you, unless we can find a way to remove them.
Optimus Prime (1:48:46 AM): *Empathetically* We can do it, Starscream. We can stop him.
Optimus Prime (1:48:59 AM): You can.
Megatron (1:49:59 AM): *And to Skyfire* I know enough just by looking at the two of you. You can't help him. Not with this. It's beyond your precious science.
Skyfire (1:53:02 AM): *stance goes more aggressive and his voice drops, low and angry, and more deadly then anything that's ever come out of Skyfire's vocalizer before this* You. Don't. Know. SHIT.
Optimus Prime (1:54:07 AM): Do you, then, Skyfire?
Megatron (1:54:12 AM): *Is unimpressed by the bigger mech.*
Optimus Prime (1:54:12 AM): Do you know?
Starscream (1:54:50 AM): *head snaps up and around to Skyfire again, a purr soft in his insubstantial turbines at the /hatred./ despite the worry on his face, because Skyfire /doesn't sound like that/*
Megatron (1:55:20 AM): See what I mean, Starscream....
Megatron (1:55:30 AM): Look at him...
Megatron (1:55:50 AM): Really look at him....
Skyfire (1:55:51 AM): *straightens and glares down at the other two mechs from across the room* I know what I need to know.
Starscream (1:55:56 AM): i know, slag you, i /know!/ *backing away from /everyone/ now*
Optimus Prime (1:56:10 AM): Or is that what Unicron wants you to know?
Megatron (1:56:36 AM): ....it's not like you to back away from the truth.
Optimus Prime (1:57:08 AM): Starscream...in all honesty...what have you got to lose at this point by trusting me?
Skyfire (1:57:42 AM): I know more about this then you two do! *sharp*
Optimus Prime (1:57:44 AM): What do either of you have to lose?
Megatron (1:58:42 AM): I think you know what you want to know...and have thrown the rest of it out the window, Skyfire.
Megatron (1:59:00 AM): ....that pride of yours will be your undoing. Trust me, I know.
Starscream (1:59:19 AM): i don't know what would /happen.../ i - prime, maybe /you/ could turn away from primus, but how about what you've got in your chest?
Starscream (1:59:36 AM): I'm not /just/ Starscream, after all.
Optimus Prime (1:59:40 AM): ...
Optimus Prime (1:59:46 AM): ...you /are/ it...?
Megatron (2:00:03 AM): ....
Skyfire (2:00:41 AM): And I think you like making damn assumptions about things you don't know slag about, just because it makes you feel so-! *cuts off when Prime finally catches on, hissing quietly*
Optimus Prime (2:00:44 AM): *Comprehension slowly dawns on him*
Starscream (2:01:49 AM): i /told/ you he did something to me.
Optimus Prime (2:01:53 AM): ...
Optimus Prime (2:02:18 AM): What I said...stands, Starscream. I will save you, if you'll let me try - even if I die in the process of doing so.
Optimus Prime (2:02:46 AM): But I can't make you make that decision.
Optimus Prime (2:02:49 AM): It's your choice.
Megatron (2:03:10 AM): ......
Starscream (2:03:55 AM): ....
Megatron: *Has gone utterly still*
Optimus Prime (2:18:17 AM): [00:06] JetFireintheSky: *grunts sharply, though not because any outside source, and he lifts his arm to his side, kneading his fingers against his nosecone armor with a look of buried discomfort*
Starscream (2:19:31 AM): ...i...
Optimus Prime (2:21:21 AM): *Doesn't say anything - just waits*
Starscream (2:24:22 AM): .../No./ No! I am Starscream, I am / Conquest,/ and I will /not/ be /destroyed!/
Starscream (2:24:31 AM): *the ghost disappears, and suddenly /Skyfire/ is moving, his face losing that emotional rage and twisting into a sneer. His shoulder cannons, already armed, let loose a barrage even as the shuttle pulls out his rifle. It is all /entirely/ aimed at Prime.*
Megatron (2:24:34 AM): ....
Starscream (2:24:40 AM): *His shoulder cannons, already armed, let loose a barrage even as the shuttle pulls out his rifle. It is all /entirely/ aimed at Prime.*
Megatron (2:25:00 AM): *Grabs Prime and jerks him out of the way*
Optimus Prime (2:25:29 AM): *-oshi*
Optimus Prime (2:25:59 AM): *Pulled out of the way, even as he reaches back for his blaster and kicks it on a setting he had Wheeljack add. It was supposed to be enough to take Megatron down without killing him - a stun blast*
Optimus Prime (2:26:06 AM): *Let's see if it'll work now - levels it at Skyfire, and /fires/*
Megatron (2:26:10 AM): *Rounds on Skyfire, snarling*
Skyfire (2:27:20 AM): *barely has time for a mental shriek of shock and /pain/ as he shoved down to the darknest depths of his own mind, forced down into a recharge-like state...by /Starscream/...*
Megatron (2:28:17 AM): *Starts advancing on the bigger mech* ::Starscream, you pathetic little fool.::
Starscream (2:29:03 AM): Not that easy! I can do this all /day!/ *laughs, a sound that sounds even worse coming from Skyfire's vocalizer, and drops the body as soon as he'd gotten it*
Starscream (2:29:22 AM): *Skyfire already starts to slump and fall even before Prime's stun blast hits him*
Optimus Prime (2:29:34 AM): Starscream, /look what you're doing/!
Megatron (2:29:38 AM): *Growls harshly*
Megatron (2:29:46 AM): *His own guns coming on line*
Starscream (2:30:06 AM): *and then he's in /Megatron's/ processor, all sharp, cold claws and the sort of wild, untrammeled ambition that Megatron knows /well/*
Megatron (2:30:42 AM): *Lets out a howl*
Megatron (2:31:06 AM): *Grasping his helm and snarling in pure rage*
Optimus Prime (2:31:33 AM): *Spins around at the howl, searching for an unseen enemy - optics land on Megatron as two and two goes together. He doesn't fire here, no - he accesses the bond*
Megatron (2:31:38 AM): ::GET OUT::
Optimus Prime (2:31:40 AM): *GET OUT OF HIM.*
Starscream (2:31:59 AM): */shoves/ at Megatron's mind, trying to press it down into the same forced recharge that he'd sent Skyfire into, laughing - and even for Starscream, that's not a sane sound*
Megatron (2:32:04 AM): *Every mental barrier he's ever constructed to hold 'it' back comes slamming down into place*
Megatron (2:33:17 AM): *He sinks to his knees gripping his helm, snarling and spitting as he fights back. He's not going back to that place. He's not. No no no no NO!*
Optimus Prime (2:33:22 AM): You want to fight, Starscream? Fight /ME/!
Megatron (2:33:23 AM): NOOooooo!!!
Starscream (2:33:33 AM): Eeve - bette -r! *it comes out of Megatron's voice, but the horrible slurring as the two fight over control is worse than Skyfire and Starscream /ever/ did*
Optimus Prime (2:33:57 AM): *Even as he's running over, gun still primed (pardon the pun) and ready as he reaches to grab Megatron's shoulder*
Starscream (2:34:24 AM): *pries hard at Megatron's motor controls, trying to swipe hard at Prime, claws crooked*
Megatron (2:34:29 AM): ::GET OUUUUUT!::
Megatron (2:35:03 AM): *Claws flex and he ends up backhanding Prime away*
Optimus Prime (2:35:30 AM): *Stumbles backwards a single step from the blow - then narrows his optics, mutters an apology that can be felt through the bond, and levels his gun at Megatron*
Megatron (2:35:57 AM): *Snarls loudly, and smashes his head into the floor*
Optimus Prime (2:35:59 AM): *Hates it, but will not hesitate ever again. Pulls the trigger*
Starscream (2:36:05 AM): *just /laughs/* G - o n k-- ll him!
Megatron (2:36:12 AM): ::NO---::
Optimus Prime (2:36:24 AM): *Darkly* Like I said, Starscream. You want to fight.
Optimus Prime (2:36:26 AM): Try fighting /me/.
Starscream (2:36:56 AM): *drops Megatron, fast, and then he's back in Skyfire, struggling against the stun blast*
Megatron (2:36:58 AM): *Takes a the hit which rolls him across the floor*
Skyfire (2:38:05 AM): *twitches slightly on the floor, mind slowly awakening, dragging itself out of the darkness - before being slammed into again by Starscream as he re-enters the body*
Optimus Prime (2:38:06 AM): *Would comm for assistance, but Starscream'd just posess the new mechs - or so he thinks. Double-checks to make sure Megatron's systems are stable - thatprobablydidn'tfeeltoogoodissorrybondedlovesyuo*
Optimus Prime (2:38:37 AM): *Manually offs his motor controls, just in case - then runs over towards Skyfire to do the same*
Starscream (2:39:14 AM): This /is/ fighting you! *laughing, /not/ sane*
Optimus Prime (2:39:28 AM): You're going to kill them both. *Grim*
Optimus Prime (2:39:41 AM): How many have to die for his thirst to be sated?
Optimus Prime (2:39:49 AM): *Note the usage of his, and not yours*
Starscream (2:40:01 AM): There's an entire base full of mechs! This is nothing of /his,/ Optimus Prime, this is /all mine!/
Optimus Prime (2:40:02 AM): How many more are you going to kill for him?
Optimus Prime (2:40:15 AM): *And now - kneeling by Skyfire*
Optimus Prime (2:40:20 AM): *In fact, reaching for his cockpit*
Optimus Prime: *Fumbles to open it with one hand*
Starscream (2:59:37 AM): *something in Skyfire's cockpit /flares,/ those same arcs of lightning that flung mechs across the room - Skyfire's cockpit shatters, the faux-glass not standing up to the thing inside*
Optimus Prime (3:02:30 AM): *May be Optimus Prime, but still can't take that sort of thing without a grunt - and, well, being thrown across the room as well.*
Optimus Prime (3:02:31 AM): * He lands on his side, hard, but doesn't stay down for even an astrosecond, immediatly getting to his feet and scrambling back towards the other* *Inside his own chest, something behind his Spark hums*
Starscream (3:03:43 AM): *whatever is in Skyfire's cockpit screams back, a noise no mech ever made or could make*
Skyfire (3:06:05 AM): *howls wordlessly inside their shared mind with shock and emotional /pain/ at Starscream's unexpected surge of forceful control over his body, his dazed mind fighting and quickly loosing against the forced recharge*
Optimus Prime (3:07:06 AM): *Doesn't stop. Doesn't pause. In an instant he's on Skyfire again, blaster forgotten as he forces aside parts, optics blazing white as his hands search for the source of the chaos*
Skyfire (3:07:17 AM): *against the second forced recharge
Megatron (3:08:54 AM): *Can hear what's going on, but can't move. Growls, hurt, angry, and quite frankly, scared for Prime's life*
Starscream (3:09:10 AM): Wait - wait - /no!/ *whatever unearthly tones were behind Starscream's voice before, now it's just him, through Skyfire's vocalizer, and Prime doesn't /have/ to force parts aside*
Starscream (3:09:15 AM): *Starscream uses Skyfire's hand and pulls the Matrix out himself, /flinging/ himself hard across the room*
Starscream (3:10:25 AM): *just like that, he's gone again, not even floating as a ghost, and all that there is the slender, spikily curved red and blue Matrix, barely glowing at all*
Optimus Prime (3:10:48 AM): *Looks up, optics slitted, but bright enough where it hurts to /look/ at them. For a moment it looks like he's going to rip through inner circuitry regardless of Skyfire/Starscream's pleading, but he doesn't*
Optimus Prime (3:10:48 AM): *Instead - he pulls his hands out, rising up slowly as he gazes down at the opposing Matrix*
Starscream (3:11:29 AM): i didn't - i didn't mean - prime, /help me!/
Optimus Prime (3:11:51 AM): What do you need me to do. *There's something else in his voice - multiple somethings, echoing his words*
Optimus Prime (3:12:18 AM): *Or - not an echo. A chorus, almost*
Megatron (3:12:24 AM): ....
Skyfire (3:13:42 AM): *whimpers softly, coming around painfully; mind stunned and aching from the rapid abuse, and there is also this odd, distant feeling of /loss/...*
Starscream (3:14:00 AM): i don't /know!/ please, i /beg/ you! i am /so hungry.../
Optimus Prime (3:23:16 AM): *Silently walks over to the opposing Matrix, kneeling down and reaching to pick it up*
Starscream (3:24:28 AM): *it isn't quite possible for the Matrix of Conquest to flinch in this form, but it desperately wants to*
Skyfire (3:26:39 AM): *groans and shifts awkardly on the floor, chest all burst open and leaking a thin trail of energon, trying to shake his head and clear that incohernet, muddled feeling from his processor*
Optimus Prime (3:27:20 AM): *Touches it*
Megatron (3:27:26 AM): *Still unable to move*
Optimus Prime (3:27:37 AM): *has The Touch*
Optimus Prime (3:30:22 AM): *Gingerly makes to pick it up in both hands*
Starscream (3:32:51 AM): *makes a thin little hurt sound, trembling even though that should be impossible, dim with fear in the hands of the Prime*
Skyfire (3:33:10 AM): *blinks and stares out grogglily, trying to focus...and cries out quietly with shock and horror as he sees Prime with Starscream's matrix in his hands, his own flying up to his ripped open chest with a squeak of shock and pain*
Optimus Prime (3:35:01 AM): *Speaks again, with that same chorus of voices - a few may or may not be familiar, despite the fact that they're not Optimus'* We will help you. Stay true, Starscream. But for now, rest.
Skyfire (3:35:10 AM): N-no-! Don't 'urt him! *cries out, voice slurring slightly and weak with from damage and fatigue. Primus, no, it was going to happen /again/, right in front of him-!*
Optimus Prime (3:38:27 AM): *Runs his hand over the other Matrix in a surprisingly gentle motion as he stands, and then moves over to Skyfire. Inclines his head slightly, blinking white optics before shifting his grip on the Matrix to a one-handed one*
Optimus Prime (3:38:27 AM): *Then bends over to help up Skyfire*
Skyfire (3:41:20 AM): *whimpers and reaches out, not for Prime, but for the matrix* Noooo... I can't...I can't /loose him/ again... *intakes sob weakly*
Optimus Prime (3:44:05 AM): He will not be lost. *Moves with a certain...grace that isn't normal for Optimus, pulling Skyfire's arm around him before now moving for Megatron*
Skyfire (3:49:27 AM): *stumbles up next to Prime, /deeply/ uncomfortable with Starscream's /spark/ in the hands of the other* ..Don't...Give him /back/... *quiet groan - its not the /matrix/ pulling at him, but the need to protect the /spark/*
Optimus Prime (3:51:07 AM): *Doesn't say anything to that, helping Skyfire down to Megatron. From there, he kneels down again, before offering the Matrix to Skyfire* Hold him. *And with that said, moves to reactivate Megatron's controls and help -him- up*
Megatron (3:53:26 AM): *Grunts as he's helped up, optics on Prime. He's worried, angry, hurt...Glances at the matrix in Skyfire's hands, then back to Prime*
Skyfire (3:54:25 AM): *takes the matrix /gladly/, more then words can say; pressing the red and blue metal to him carefully, lovingly; calming greatly once Starscream is back in his own hands*
Optimus Prime (3:56:23 AM): *And now that he - they - are all together, will be helping the two mechs that can stand to the medbay. His optics are still blazing white, face unlike his usual self. But with each step, they dim slightly.*
Optimus Prime (3:56:24 AM): *Not entirely, but slowly returning back to a more managable brightness*
Starscream (3:57:05 AM): *is quiet and dim in Skyfire's hands, flickering like a candle*
Megatron (3:59:42 AM): *Is unbelievably quiet, casting a glance at Prime now and again*
Skyfire (3:59:45 AM): *clings to Starscream's matrix and follows in a daze, petting soothingly at the warm metal with tiny little movements of his fingertips. Not letting go again, nononono...please no...*
Optimus Prime (4:03:16 AM): *It isn't long before they arrive and he sets first Megatron, then Skyfire down. With the latter he pauses, raising the other's chin with a finger so that their optics meet*
Optimus Prime (4:03:18 AM): To save him, you must first let him go. If you are so afraid to lose him that you cannot - then you surely will.
Optimus Prime (4:03:19 AM): *And with that, the optics flicker off, then back to blue...and he slumps to the side, against the wall, looking utterly exhausted*
Megatron (4:04:37 AM): *Gets shakily to his feet, going to Prime's side* ::Are you alright?::
Optimus Prime (4:06:04 AM): *Exhaustion*
Optimus Prime (4:06:20 AM): \\...tired...\\
Megatron (4:06:51 AM): *Concern*
Megatron (4:07:00 AM): ::Then rest::
Optimus Prime (4:09:33 AM): *Leans towards Megatron, looking up at him*
Skyfire (4:09:38 AM): *shakes his head away from Prime's touch, frowning. He'd physically let go of Starscream when it was actually /safe/ to...*
Megatron (4:11:04 AM): *Takes his arm and leads him to a berth* ::Recharge. I'll watch over you....and them.::
Optimus Prime (4:13:05 AM): *Is mostly dead weight, though he tries to stand on his own. He doesn't make it very far until he collapses on the berth, more than willing to take that as a command and obey*
Optimus Prime (4:13:18 AM): \\.....thank you.....\\
Skyfire (4:13:51 AM): *stumbles on over to a berth, curling up on it and around the matrix, stroking very lightly at the spires on it, and gazing down at it thoughfully*
Megatron (4:14:06 AM): *Pulls up a stool and sits down, giving Prime's arm a slight squeeze* ::Thank you....::
Optimus Prime (4:15:54 AM): *No response. He's out, period.*
Skyfire (4:17:44 AM): *he had every reason in the world to cling to the matrix - /Starscream/. He'd lost him once, right before his optics. In his views at first, today they had wanted to take Starscream away from him /again/.
Skyfire (4:17:46 AM): He was paranoid, and for a reason*
Skyfire (4:19:26 AM): *However...he certainly would never turn down a chance to get Starscream back - back to /normal/, whole and /himself/ again... he wouldn't... aaand drifts off into a fitful recharge with that thought lingering on his mind*
(LJ-ify your IMs before pasting!)