Log: Skyfire meets Matrix!Starscream
So. ...Bet you've all be wondering what exactly happened between Skyfire and Matrix!Starscream up in space, right? Well, here ya go. 'Bout time too, huh? :x
Takes place directly after Slagfest 2007.
Skyfire: Space was cold, as always. Cold and empty and bleak. But never before had the shuttle mech ever felt such despair when out within the darkness of space. But that was likely because he'd never been alone before, either... He'd always had his /partner/ by his side, or in his hold, or was going to return to his side after only a short trip alone...
Now, it was impossible. His partner was, for all intents and purposes, dead. /Dead/. His body was dead, and he was...a /Matrix/. He was no longer Starscream. His Unicron-touched spark was the core to the Martix of Conquest. Immortal and yet, by the looks of things, lost to him forever. Oh, he would keep his mate's spark safe. He would guard the Matrix from anyone who would dare try and take it, try and /use it/ for their own goals. He would do it forever if he had to. He knew Starscream would never want to be /used/ like that, to fulfill Unicron's purpose for him... He would guard it with his life.
But it didn't make the loss any easier to bear. The shuttle mech let out a wail that went unheard in the vacuum of space. Starscream. His Starscream was /gone/, and there was nothing he could do about it, but pine over his entrapped spark for the rest of his days. Skyfire could not help but wonder if this was anything like what Starscream had gone though after the ice had claimed him... If it had hurt this slagging /bad/… His spark ached in his chest, feeling small and shriveled and weak.
Skyfire: Skyfire shivered as he continued mindlessly on towards his destination. He shouldn't be this cold himself. Space was frigid but it never affected him. He was built for this, after all. Only actual frozen ice in his joints - something atmospheric - could get to him, normally. But the gaping fusion burn in his side was letting the cold in through his armor and deep into his systems, and the splotchy, frozen trail of energon between him and earth meant those systems were getting less heat and less antifreezing chemicals delivered to them then they should be. That said, his side was a frozen slurry of blue, staticky energon - that, at least, was holding further loss of energon from his fuel lines back.
Or at least, it had been, until he began his decent onto Io. Jupiter was bright and warm in the thin sky of the moon, low and looming on the horizon as he finally transformed and put down on the cracked and geologically unstable planetoid, the frozen slush at his side already melting from the heat. He looked around with dim, nearly purple optics, slow with cold and despair, and confused at his surroundings. He didn't even know why he was here, but Io had been marked in his internal maps as his favorite location in the entire solar system, and his body had gone into near total autopilot. His mind had been completely out of it the entire journey. Grief had made him incoherent. The first passage from earth had been full of nothing but loud, unheard and unanswered keens; intakes gasping on non-existent air, wailing with grief, he had flown away from the potential danger to Starscream's matrix, and towards the other place with the best memories the registered as a safe haven.
Skyfire: Memories that were now surfacing as the towering white mech slowly took in the ever-changing landscape of the unstable moon. Skyfire trembled slightly as he took it all in, shuffling slowly over towards a large boulder next to one of those bubbling cauldrons of geologic soup he and Starscream were so fond of… Skyfire slumped down against it with a muffled sob, not noticing or simply not caring as he went and scrapped up his entire back in the process, denting armor. Draping a shaking hand over his optics, head falling back against the rock face with a dull clang, he sat near the pool, metal slowly warming back up as he continued to whimper quietly, caught between the urge to sit in silent despair and to scream until his vocalizer offlined, now that their was air to do it in.
Starscream: '/ssk.../'
It's an odd sound, almost mistakable for some malfunction, or the hiss of the molten sulfer compounds. Except that it comes straight into Skyfire's processor, without going through his auditory sensors, and except that the Matrix in Skyfire's cockpit crackles uncertainly in time with the sound that isn't a sound.
Skyfire: Skyfire shifts slightly at that sound/feel, the sensation niggling at the back of his mind, but he is so deep within his morose depression it barely registers to his higher functions. He shivers again and stretches out a bit closer to the bubbling pool, the half-frozen energon on his side beginning to melt into a thin flow trickling down his side and into the gritty, rocky strata of the moon.
Starscream: 'Sssssk - Ssskyf'r?' the not-sound comes again, the Matrix flickering more strongly. 'Sskyfir'...'
Skyfire: Skyfire reacts more this time, hand over his dimmed optics drifting down down as he lifts his head slowly, sure he is registering sound from somewhere but there is no one here. Oh, it sounds like /something/ he knows, alright, but... He grunts, voice hoarse and staticky and painful from his journey-long breakdown. "Hnn... ‘lucinating, now...."
Starscream: 'Skyf'r...' The Matrix pulses again, staticky tendrils lightly stinging the inner front of Skyfire's cockpit. 'Why're we... on... io?'
Skyfire: Skyfire's optics slowly go /wide/ this time, head quickly shaking in denial and he tenses against his rock, hand going down to his cockpit with the tingling sting from within, blue-tinted light shining on his palm from within. His spark twinged painfully, fluttering in his chest was sudden, irrational /hope/. That wasn't...it couldn't... /Impossible/. It couldn't be, not even with how much he /wanted/ it to be true (would beg, /do/ anything for it to be true)...could it? ".......S'..Star...scream?" He whispered, voice breaking, staring down at his canopy with painfully apparent longing and desperate, fragile /hope/.
Starscream: 'Why /io?/ ...skyfire! you can hear me...' The not-voice sounds more and more like Starscream, and now a retroactively surprised Starscream, at that. 'you can, can't you?'
Skyfire: "Starsc-zhz-ream!" he shouts, voice fritzing out from the sheer volume and earlier misuse, as he stumbles to his feet, gasping as stumbling slightly as his side /burns/ with pain, weakness shooting down that side of his body, but he forces himself up despite that, completely ignoring it in favor of...of /Starscream's voice/. How? How could that be? A matrix never /spoke/ as far as he knew! He was a /part/ of it now... He had no body, nothing /left/... Starscream should be...should be... Skyfire swallowed, optics flicking about as through expecting to see Starscream himself lurking about - or perhaps scanning the area for anything usually. He was hardly being logical at that moment - before placing his hand over his cockpit again.
"St-Starscream... Is...Is that you...?" He croaks, pleadingly.
Starscream: 'don't do that! you're hurt, aren't you? i remember...' Something flickers in front of Skyfire's optics, red and blue and white and /wings,/ the Matrix in his cockpit crackling in distress.
Skyfire: Skyfire's optics go wide with that vague flicker of an outline, so shocked he stumbles back further, the one leg below the fusion cannon wound giving out, mostly from shock, forcing him into a vaguely controlled fall to his knees, his optics never straying from the spot in front of him the...the /thing/ appeared. Skyfire blindly raises a hand to his cockpit as he feels the crackling within, suddenly /trembling/ all over.
"S-starscream...? ...Wh-where...H-how...?" He chokes, intakes catching on new sobs as his voice cuts off, incoherent with emotion.
Starscream: 'don't know! i will kill him for doing this to you, though, i will KILL him...' The flickers brighten, the Matrix crackling with power inside Skyfire's cockpit even as that vague, transparent outline of Starscream becomes more distinct.
Skyfire: "Nnn...me...but../You/?" Skyfire whimpers incoherently, still staring at the flickering outline with naked awe and hope and /grief/, the hand over his cockpit tightening so hard that armor-glass squeals, before he finally retracts the canopy back, cupping a hand around the matrix, but not touching; fear of breaking the illusion standing in front of him rather then the crackles dancing against his palm keeping him from actually /touching/ it. "Star...scream...is that- ..really you...?" He asks shakily, wings arched high and trembling.
Starscream: 'he - am i dead? i think i'm dead, aren't i...' The flicker stills, leaving that transparent Seeker shape, now looking at his own hands. 'it's me! it's - i think it's me? i'm starscream, i know that. but that's... ...that's not /all/ i am, anymore...'
Skyfire: Is it...it might really be /him/, his Starscream. Somehow, from within the matrix... And with that, Skyfire feels a deep flicker of terror in his spark. Its not /all he is/...? If that is really Starscream - really something from /his/ Starscream's spark, then...then what else /was in there/ now? The shuttle mech struggled to stand again, dragging himself up on shaky thrusters with his good leg. The effort in the slight move left him panting. He eyed the transparent Starscream shape - was he really there, or was he still really within the matrix sitting in his own chest? He stretched out a shaky hand to the shape curiosity and desperate hope driving him on.
Starscream: 'don't try to stand up, you're hurt,' the ghostly Starscream shape commands, trying to push Skyfire back down. The ghost jerks backwards as his touch goes /through/ Skyfire, horrified.
Skyfire: "Oh-!" Skyfire gasps as Starscream's transparent /hand/ goes through his arm, a cold tingle shooting through his armor and permeating deep into the circuits. He jolts back slightly in shock, optics wide. “S-starscr-eam…?” He whispers, turning his arm slowly in a daze.
Starscream: The ghost stares at his hands, touching his own arm as if expecting to be intangible to himself as well. 'i don't think i want to do that again...'
Skyfire: Skyfire, however, is having none of that, and steps awkwardly forward in curious horror, fingertips grazing the barest edge of the ghost's 'armor'. He shivers as his fingertips tingle and go numb with cold that has little to do with actual temperature. "....how?" he murmurs, his other hand still cupped around the matrix.
Starscream: Starscream backs up again, out of range. 'i don't know. i wanted to see - better, it's hard to explain, and... skyfire, /why/ are we on io? you're hurt.'
Skyfire: Skyfire starts to step forward again, disturbed but morbidly intent on the transparent Starscream, before drawing up short, blinking at Starscream's question. The shock of ghost!Starscream has not done anything good for Skyfire's currently mental state. "Why...? I..I'm not sure. I just wanted to...to get /away/. Get away from anyone who might try to, to take you from me..." He whispers, hand gently wrapping around the matrix, "I...just kind of...woke up here? Its one of the top locations on my internal flight map...?"
Starscream: 'i won't let them. we need to go back, skyfire. you're hurt.' Starscream drifts back towards Skyfire, reaching out. 'you need to call someone for help, you won't manage re-entry like this...'
Skyfire: Skyfire hisses angrily, almost ferally, shaking his head and stepping back. "'m /not/ going back there. Damn the lot of them, I am /not going back/!" He snarls, trembling with sudden anger.
Starscream: 'i'll kill them afterwards if you want, but you're hurt and you need help,' Starscream insists. 'i'll fly you there /myself/ if you don't go!'
Skyfire: "I'm /fine/, Starscream. I can manage without them!" Skyfire growls stubbornly, face softening slightly at Starscream's declaration. "...And how are you planning on doing /that/?" He asks, voice a great deal quieter, but no less resolutely.
Starscream: 'i don't know but i'll find a way! ...let me try something? i think i can...' Starscream drifts a little closer, watching Skyfire with something rather akin to his plotting, scheming face.
Skyfire: Skyfire eyes Starscream doubtfully, vaguely wary, but he doesn't back away. "You think you can /what/? What are you going to try...? I have no desire to go back, no matter what you're plotting..."
Starscream: 'let me... ...i think...' Starscream disappears, abruptly. "Yes!" says Skyfire's /own/ vocalizer, but it doesn't sound like him at all, as though he were doing an imitation of Starscream.
Skyfire:Skyfire yelps at the sudden sensation - or tries to. It comes out more like a garbled squawk, as it was a struggle to even access his vocalizer. He 'felt' another force there; something else that was in 'place' and using his own vocalizer. He stumbled back again, optics wide and staring at the place Starscream's shade had been moments before. 'Starscream! How?' He thought, trying to actually say the same thing, pushing back against the 'feel' within with only the slightest beginnings of worry. Did Starscream just /possess him/?
Starscream: The 'presence' retreats, letting Skyfire have the use of his vocalizer back - but not for long. "I am /so/ slagging brilliant," Skyfire's voice rasps again, triumphantly. "...does it hurt or anything? It's - you're /warm,/ and..."
Skyfire: ::N-no..It doesn't /hurt/, though it probably could if I had to stuggle more against you...:: He says over his comm speakers, finally thinking to use it, and shakes his head - easily, and without having to try, which he idly finds odd, as Starscream somehow seems to be controlling only a single part of him at a time... ::....warm?:: Skyfire asks, curious and oddly concerned. ::...what does that feel like to /you/, then....?::
Starscream: "...Cold," Skyfire's voice decides. "I think - I think I could take control of all of you. .../so you're going to go back and get someone to fix you, or /I will,//" the ghost threatens, returning to the subject at hand.
Skyfire: ::......are you going to try if I don't?:: Skyfire asks neutrally, oddly curious about whether or not Starscream could pull it off - but Primus /damn/ he does not want to go back...
Starscream: "Mmhm," Starscream agrees, and Skyfire loses control of considerably more of his body, because the ghost rather rudely possesses enough of Skyfire's own hands and torso to look at the fusion cannon wound in his side.
Skyfire: "Sck-!" Skyfire garbles something statically out through his vocalizer automatically, with the sudden overpowering of a good-portion of his motor functions, a tendril of panic seeping into his processor. ::Starscream! What are you doing!::
Starscream: "...should I stop? Does it hurt?" the ghost asks, concerned, even as he is engaged in trying to fix what he can of that wound, wiping away half-frozen energon slush.
Skyfire: ::It..It doesn't feel right...It doesn't /hurt/, but... It feels /weird/ Starscream... Like...being restrained against your will...:: Skyfire says awkwardly, loosing steam and going quiet towards the end. If it was anyone else, he would have likely freaked out long before now, and would be struggling against the 'presence' holding back his control. And he feels slightly bad for implying what /Starscream/ is doing is isn't right; if he /asked/ he'd likely...
Starscream: "...oh." The ghost lets go, abruptly, all the way, and the Matrix in Skyfire's cockpit dims a little. 'sorry,' comes the insubstantial voice-that-isn't.
Skyfire: Skyfire immediately winces, apologetic; raising a hand up to the Matrix in his still-open cockpit and hesitantly running his hand along to the sharp spines projecting from it. "I...Starscream, I didn't mean..." He sighs. "Its /alright/..."
Starscream: The Matrix brightens a little at the touch. '...that's kind of sensitive, skyfire!' Starscream protests, almost laughing. 'i won't do it again without you saying i can, unless you refuse to go back to earth again.'
Skyfire: Skyfire sighs in relief - he would never want to hurt Starscream, even accidentally like that, despite his own discomfort. He pauses in his touches, grinning slightly. "I still have no desire to go back to earth right now, but...you can feel that?" Skyfire asks, unable to help touching a fingertip to the top of one spine.
Starscream: 'yes. yes i can, and i did mean it about sensitive, skyfire!' Starscream half-yelps, the Matrix flickering bright for a moment. 'remember what that thing is /made/ out of...!'
Skyfire: "OH-! Spark chamber, right..." Skyfire says with a sheepish grin, chuckling as he pulls away from it. "I won't mess with that, then... Unless you /want me to/..." Skyfire says, grin deepening into something more like a smirk, weak though it was. /Primus/ he was greatful Starscream could still be with him, this much at least...
Starscream: Starscream makes a sound that isn't exactly a thrum, but is a good imitation of it. 'but you need to at least stop the flow of energon. it being iced closed does not count, skyfire.'
Skyfire: Skyfire thrums back lightly at Starscream, probably giving him a bit more of a rumbling vibration through his cockpit then he actually intended, before sighing and glancing down at his side, making a face at the sight. He runs a scan on the area, frown deepening at the internal readout, really not liking how deep the fusion burns go below the actual wound. No wonder it was still leaking energon, his internal shutoff valve circuitry was fried within the burn radius. With a wince, he shut off the energon lines to most of the surrounding area, a good chunk of his side going numb and cool with the action. "...I don't suppose you know how to fix fusion wounds, do you?" Skyfire asks, all to well aware of the likelihood of the answer, which only serves to make him twitch slightly with suppressed anger.
Starscream: 'let me?' Starscream asks hopefully, but doesn't 'grab' Skyfire's hands again. 'i do, at least enough to let you get atmospheric on earth without help...'
Skyfire: Skyfire nods, bringing his hands down to the matrix again, though he doesn't touch it. With the lack of the Starscream /ghost/ floating in front of him at the moment, its the closest he feels he can come to actually talking to his face. "...Its alright. You can try. I..don't mind." Skyfire says with a small smile. "It should be interesting, at least." he laughs.
Starscream: 'all right. ...i'll try to take over this time, to see if i can,' Starscream says decisively, and does - just that, twisting around to do what he can for the fusion cannon wound with what he has - which is to say, very little.
Skyfire: Skyfire forces down the urge to struggle or panic as his body is suddenly no longer under his own control. He can feel Starscream's 'presence' now more strongly then he could before, and its decidedly /odd/. His circuits go tingly and vaguely numb, but not nearly in the same way they did earlier, when Starscream merely passed through him. The sensation is strange, and definitely like feeling another's presence, only its within his circuits and not outside them, and the sense of 'Starscream' seems to warm with time. Which reassures Skyfire greatly, as as he can't even reach his comm... even though he does try, and only ends up making garbled static as he 'presses' against Starscream's control. 'Starscream.. I can't.... Oh, I wish you'd ease up a bit...I can't /speak/...' he thinks to himself, trying not to panic and settles for 'pressing' against Starscream a bit, trying to get his attention.
Starscream: "You're so /warm,/" Skyfire's voice says without his input, arms briefly hugging himself. "...I'll let go a little, you can't talk, can you..." He does just that, letting the comm system out of his control even as he goes back to the task at hand of blocking energon lines and repairing what he can. It's... not fun; Starscream apparently believes that dulling sensory-receptors on oneself means that you can't feel what you're doing.
Skyfire: ::...ah-! T-thank you... I was starting to ...um, /panic/ a there a little bit...:: Skyfire says, voice only mildly shaky over the comm. He quickly changes the subject as he settles 'back in' to the parts of his own body he still controls, and is unfortunately still very much able to /feel/ everything that is happening to him, and can't even /wince/ to express it. It is disconcerting to say the least. ::And /warm/? What do you mean? Are you cold where you are...or as /what/ you are? It felt cold when you passed through me before...?::
Starscream: "It's - cold," Starscream says vaguely. "It's just cold." His fingers are as alarmingly deft as ever, scraping off metal pulverized by the fusion cannon and tamping energon lines closed. "I didn't mean to make you panic; I thought you'd like it better if I didn't go - /in/ as much as I think I can..."
Skyfire: Skyfire, as he can still feel everything, can still /see/ everything as well, as watches as his own large hands are used with skill not his own to fix the fusion wound. Despite the ache, it is fascinating...Though Starscream's words are much more so. ::/In/? What do you mean?::
Starscream: "...There's - Skyfire, I'm using the best terminology I can!" Starscream protests, with a half-laugh, hands never stopping their work. "There're... /layers./ Of you. And I'm not very far inside at all, just enough to be warm and to control some functions. ...it's so strange not having claws," he adds absently.
Skyfire: Skyfire chuckles lightly in response, thinking. ::I'm sure i must feel rather large and clunky compared to your usual body... But layers though...? Now I'm curious. You feel very strongly in control as it is, I don't know how you could do more...Unless you could somehow get inside my processor functions or something...:: Skyfire says, with a hint of apprehension...and unfailing curiosity.
Starscream: "I think I could, actually," Starscream says contemplatively, still working. "But I didn't think you wanted me to try."
Skyfire: If Skyfire could, he'd be frowning at the moment, as he thinks. ::...I don't deny that it certainly would be /strange/ and quiet possibly unsettling, but... I'm curious. And I do trust you not to ...take advantage of it, or something, and to stop if I ask... So I don't mind if we try and see what happens. It would probably be wise to know what you are capable of doing like this, at the very least, I would think.::
Starscream: "I could experiment on someone else when we got back," Starscream offers. "So that you wouldn't have to be uncomfortable..."
Skyfire: Skyfire hisses lightly. ::That won't be necessary, Starscream. You can try. I trust you to...pull back? if it gets to uncomfortable for me. Besides, I want to help /you/ with this. ....And this way, at least, neither of us have to be /alone/...:: He finishes quietly.
Starscream: "/Never/ going to leave you alone. Slag, now you have /proof/ that you can't get rid of me," Starscream remarks with a certain amount of gallows humor. And then shifts a little inside Skyfire's processor, sinking in deeper...
Skyfire: And as Starscream presses in deeper, Skyfire carefully tries to remain neutral and analyze the situation, even as he feels more and more odd and somewhat trapped within his own bodily shell as the feeling deepens. He can slowly feel his sensory input from the rest of his body fade, everything going dim, before /everything/ seems to cut off and go dark - painlessly, despite the growing panic, like dropping into recharge, but with no way to wake himself back up and no time to call out...
Starscream: Starscream pauses. "Skyfire?" he asks. "...I think I put you out," he says to nobody in particular, and eases back up, despite the warmth, that addictive, /living/ warmth that he never knew mechs had until he'd lost it himself. It was an /effort/ to hold himself in there, just /so/ deep, no deeper, but he tried his best. "Are you there?" he asks
Skyfire: Slowly, Skyfire's senses come back online, and he 'reconnects' with his own body disconcerted to find out he can't /move/ it, before groggily remembering what was going on. ::...oh... :: He moans as he find the comm line, finding his bearings, ::Starscream...? What happened?::
Starscream: "Are you all right? I think you blacked out," Starscream explains, Skyfire's fingers twitching in that patented Starscream nervous gesture.
Skyfire: ::..Oh? /OH/...I'm fine...I think. It didn't /hurt/ or anything...It was mildly...well, frightening, but I guess the only reason why I blacked out was because I was disconnected from /everything/... Everything went dark and senseless, so I think I...went into recharge? Almost...? It was strange, but not painful nor would it be horribly unpleasant to experience again, since I actually know what to expect now... Was that as deep as you can go? What was it like on your end?:: Skyfire asks.
Starscream: "It was - no, it's not as far in as I think I can fit," Starscream answers, taking the most important questions first. "As long as you're not hurt, I can see what else I can do - it was just... warm, as far as I was concerned. It's a little difficult to stay inside at all, but it's worth it for the warmth..."
Skyfire: ::Is it? Diffucult to stay inside, that is? To stay down that deep or to stay in me at all? And you're welcome to stay as in as long as you like, so long as I get to use my body every once in while.:: Skyfire says warmly with a laugh. ::...And you can try again if you like, though if I'm going to keep on getting knocked out we can take a break after this next try so I can watch you finish up on my side. Might as well not waste the learning experience, even with as sour as the situation behind it is...::
Starscream: "At all. It's... ...your chassis knows I'm /not/ supposed to be here, I think," Starscream laughs, a little uncomfortably. He was doing his /absolute/ best to ignore that fact; it wasn't easy to think of the moment of his -- of his /death/ -- as just another of Megatron's fits that hadn't actually killed him, but he tried. "Let me see how much I can fit inside you..." And he does, Skyfire's turbines humming in satisfaction at the warmth without any input from Skyfire himself at all.
Skyfire: Again, Skyfire feels himself sinking down into sensory-deprived oblivion, everything going dark and numb and sleepy. He's most definitely in what feels like unusually deep, unconscious recharge when he feels a flicker of...something, something rather like thought seeping through, and his mind rises up slightly once more. It feels surreal, like a recharge cognitive cycle - a dream - which probably makes sense, as his mind and his spark are still his own, so he should be able to dream, at least, wherever he is... Still, that almost feels like... 'Starscream...?' Skyfire asks, or maybe just thinks to himself, its so hard to tell...
Starscream: Concern and surprise and startlement surge up in Skyfire's thoughts, all consolidating into 'skyfire! are you all right? i thought you were asleep...'
Skyfire: His own surprise echoes out, adding itself to the mix of thoughts swirling around in the dark place. Starscream could hear him? Where they him his mind or Starscream's, now? 'Starscream...? How...? Can you hear me?' He thinks, or projects, or maybe just /feels/ back 'towards' the other presence. He wonders if Starscream can somehow read his thoughts like this, which gives him a tiny twinge of concern, but that is greatly outweighed by the /relief/ he feels, now that it seems like Starscream can speak to him like this. It’s oddly comforting...
Starscream: Recognition and relief and surprise and reassurance swirl back around Skyfire's mind, equivalent to 'i can hear you!' It's a quiet throb in the back of the ghost's mind, muted but /there,/ like standing as close as possible to a fire and unable to go nearer because of the heat in its heart.
Skyfire: Happiness and pleasure and comfort are passed back through Skyfire's mind, curiosity blooming out as well with the potential implications. 'I can hear you as well - this is fascinating…your presence 'woke' me from where ever I was...And now I can hear and feel you...It's almost like interfacing, actually, only numb and without the raw pleasure...' he notes, radiating coy amusement.
Starscream: 'that's inferior, then,' Starscream says, with mock haughtiness.
Skyfire: Skyfire laughs, his amusement literally palpable. 'So it is, but for what we are doing right now, it works just fine. Can you still out through my optics right now? Are you still connected to everything, even while I can hear and 'feel' you in here? I wonder if we can communicate like this while I'm more conscious...'
Starscream: 'oh, yes. it feels - not like it's /my/ body, but warm. i can still feel everything...'
Skyfire: '...I'm glad your warm and comfortable in there, at least. If it makes this entire mess more bearable for you i don't mind this at all. Is this as far down 'within' as you can go?'
Starscream: 'i think so. it's - /too/ warm, otherwise. like trying to hold a fusion reaction in your hands. it's hard to hold myself down here, but it's so warm, it's worth it...'
Skyfire: 'Strange...Is it me holding you back from going in further, or is it you? Or both of us? While strange, your 'presence' in here is comforting... I meant what I said about comparing it to interfacing earlier. The fact that I can feel you in here like this, even somewhat numbly, is.../wonderful/.' Skyfire says, happiness and pleasure - content pleasure and relief - echo across between them.
Starscream: 'i don't know. it's... a strain, but it would be like putting your hands in a fusion reactor. /too/ warm, i think...' Starscream's own relaxation purrs a counterpoint to Skyfire's pleasure, as Skyfire doesn't seem damaged at all by this. Calculation follows soon after, as Starscream apparently starts to plan again. 'should i finish fixing your side while you can't feel it?'
Skyfire: 'Hnn... I suppose that makes sense. Our sparks and minds are still seperate, after all. I wonder if we could somehow communicate like this without my mind going down so deep within my own subconscious for it to be able to occur...' Skyfire wonders, his contentment and never-ending curiosity passing back in response to Starscream's own emotions. 'And I don't know. I wanted to watch what you where doing, so I'd know how to do it myself should the need arise. And the fact is, I don't want you to be stuck experiencing my pain while you fix it...'
Starscream: 'i have no idea. shall we try?' Starscream offers, curiosity matching Skyfire's. 'i'll give you the how-to; it's nothing very major at all.'
Skyfire: 'We should!' Skyfire agrees eagerly, gently 'pressing' against Starscream's presence as he attempted to begin the slow climb back up to coherency. '..I'm going to try coming back 'up' and awake now, Starscream. Try...I don't know, none of this makes very much sense, but... Try easing up on the control, without loosing whatever that warm connection is, maybe? Let me up while still talking to me?' He asked, pushing 'up' while 'clinging' to Starscream's presence at the same time, hoping it would do the trick.
Starscream: 'i'll try,' Starscream says dubiously, and apparently does try to do just that.
Skyfire: Skyfire mentally 'nods' his agreement and continues 'pressing' upwards, towards sensation and physical coherency and /light/. At one point he feels himself slipping 'away' from Starscream, even as he continues upward, nearly blanking out at the sudden pass from dream-state, to unconscious sleep, to wakefulness, but manages to bypass that unconscious state entirely as he is suddenly awake and /overwhelmed/ with sensation and input from his own body, having a momentary, pale-imitation of the sensory reconnection Starscream went through when he possessed Skyfire. Dizzy and off-balance within his own head, Skyfire groans. 'Nnn...Starscream...?'\
Starscream: 'skyfire? are you all right?' Starscream asks, 'shifting' almost uncomfortably as he makes 'room' for Skyfire in their apparently-now-shared head. Some part of him revolted at the notion, telling him to shove down, to crush, to /take/ this body for his own - but Starscream shoved down that part, because this was /Skyfire./
Skyfire: 'Huh...? I think so...' Skyfire replies, hesitantly at first before he mentally 'straightens out', registering connections with everything and seeing out his own optics once more. He gives a easy tug on his own body, testing out how much control he currently has with it.
Starscream: 'You want it back -?' Starscream asks, and this time, Skyfire's body moves of its own accord - even though Starscream is still /inside./
Skyfire: 'Hm? No, i was just testing it out... But his is fascinating! I can still hear you, and sense your presence, though its not as deep as it was before, /and/ It seems to be much easier to switch between us now. Are you comfortable where you are, Starscream? Is it alright for you in there?' Skyfire asks with concern, though he is still elated over the new 'connection' between them.
Starscream: "I'm fine! Not as warm, but it's not as hard to stay like this, too...' Starscream replies, pleased, but using Skyfire's vocalizer again. "I don't like leaving you with a hole in your side," he adds, bending again to his work.
Skyfire: Skyfire physically winces slightly as Starscream begins, but willingly cedes all motor control to Starscream to allow him to work the repairs as efficiently as possible - though, being as stubborn as he is, he takes in as much of the pain intake as their shared control of his body will allow for. It was /his/ wound, not Starscream’s - and while they would likely be sharing Skyfire's body until they managed to do something about Starscream's notable /lack/ of one, Skyfire wasn't about to shove his pain off on his mate. And on that subject... '...I'm sorry, Starscream. I didn't think about it at the time, but I left your body where it fell back in the base. I probably should have brought it with me, but I was more worried about protecting your matrix at the time. I don't think it would have done any good, but...I'm sorry.' he says randomly, suddenly morose.
Starscream: "Those slaggers have probably /blown it up!/" Starscream says indignantly. "After the slagging /celebration,/ anyway."
Skyfire: Skyfire winces again, this time from not from pain, and only internally, which is probably a good thing as Starscream has his body working on rather delicate areas at the moment, not that Skyfire really notices. 'I...I'm sorry, Starscream. I ...wasn't exactly thinking clearly at the time... I might have been able to carry your....your b-body in my cargo bay if I had thought about it, but...' And Skyfire goes quiet within their mind, retreating to a far 'corner' of it with a slight whimper, suddenly nearly as depressed and wary as he was when he first arrived on Io. Despite his joy of having Starscream essentially returned to him, Skyfire is obviously very much /not/ over Starscream's initial 'death'.
Starscream: "...No, /no,/ that's slagging ridiculous, you couldn't have done that," Starscream says, with a burst of true indignation at the very thought. "I'll just kill them all and mount their heads on top of the base in retaliation; it'll be fine. It'll be fun, you'll like it." He 'follows' Skyfire doggedly, trying to project out /love/ and /confidence/ and /surety/ at him.
Skyfire: Skyfire whimpers again, faintly, as Starscream reaches out to him, radiating depression and regret and dejection, keeping to his corner, but not retreating. He /clings/ to Starscream's offered love when it 'reaches' him, melting into Starscream's presence with a mental howl of anguish as everything from that day rises up again painfully, making him mentally shake and tremble within their shared mind, his emotional response easily visible and laid bare to the other.
Starscream: "Come on, Skyfire, it's all right," Starscream coaxes aloud, projecting /love/ and /devotion/ and /reassurance/ at him as hard as he can, trying to tamp down his own fear and everything that goes into trying not to /think/ about it.
Skyfire: Skyfire moans in Starscream's mental embrace, his /fear/ and raw /anguish/ from seeing Starscream like that, lying there, dead and /ripped open/ echoing out between them; his own franticly returned /love/ and /devotion/ are as needy as they are giving. Within Skyfire's body, his spark gives a pained twinge with the remembered agony, making systems flicker slightly with a surge - Skyfire saw his greatest fear come to life that day, and it hurt him down to the core.
Starscream: Starscream wraps Skyfire's arms around their shared body, trying to project the depths of reassurance and love (and, on a deeper level than that which he is trying to impress on Skyfire right now, an abiding /awe/ that Skyfire could possibly love him /that much/).
Skyfire: Summarily comforted, both inside and out, Skyfire is slowly calmed and soothed, relaxing utterly into that reassurance and surrendering to that projected /love/, though his mental trembling persists for some time. His spark quiets as well, pained fluttering subsiding, even though a residual ache is left in its wake. /Primus/ he never wanted to go through something like that ever /again/... Skyfire finally relaxes his mental death grip on Starscream, though he continues to hold on to him tightly, reveling in the simple fact that he /can/, projecting his own /awe/ and sleepy /wonder/, constantly both underlaid and overlapped with his persistent /love/ and loyal /devotion/. He gives Starscream gentle nudge, the emotional equivalent of a nuzzle, when he feels up existing outside his emotional breakdown once more.
Starscream: Starscream croons aloud, projecting /love/ and accompanying /devotion/ as strongly as he can. "I'm all right, Skyfire, I really am..."
Skyfire: 'I.../Primus/, Starscream, I was so scared... No matter what I knew about your matrix, I still thought I'd lost you forever. Even /after/ I saw the matrix, I still didn't know if I had or not...' Skyfire says softly, voice heavy with emotional need, even as he continues to calm, shakes smoothing out thanks to Starscream's own constant love reaching out and filling the needy parts of Skyfire mind. '...You can stay in here with me forever if you have to, share my body, just don't /leave me/...' Skyfire whimpers quietly, enfolding his mental self around Starscream's, pressing tight and projecting every last scrap of /lovelovelove/ he can at him.
Starscream: "I didn't... I'm /sorry,/ Skyfire - I just, I meant to /trap/ him in there and get /out.../" Starscream babbles, projecting /love/ and /I'm sorry/ for all he's worth. "I'll /never/ leave you, Primus - /never./"
Skyfire: 'Nonono! Starscream, /no/! It wasn't your fault, love! You did so good! You were so good, and it may have been crazy and reckless but you were so brave for trying to get him in there and out of the way! I'm so damn /proud/ of you, for what you tried to do! It wasn't your fault this happened, love! It isn't! It's /his/ fault, /his fault/ for hurting you, and /mine/ for not getting there sooner to try and stop him, and-! Primus, Starscream, /it is not your fault/ this happened to you!' Skyfire rambles back, protesting, even as a part of his mind thrums blissfully at Starscream's reassurance, latching onto that promise and strengthening itself with it.
Starscream: "It wasn't brave," Starscream protests aloud, belied by the flush of incredulous pleasure. "He wasn't going to /follow/ anyone else down to the lab, because he thought I /had/ the slagging shard, not that it was in the lab... ...and, fine, I did, but I meant to get /out/ before he - slagged me up but /good./" Something in him cringes, still trying hard just to think of it as /damage,/ not death.
Skyfire: 'It /was/, it /was/, Starscream...' Skyfire croons, projecting /pride/ and /adoration/, as well as old /concern/ and /regret/. 'I just wish you'd told me what you were planning to /do/. I could have /helped/...'
Starscream: Some part of Starscream melts, soaking everything in like a sponge in the desert. "I didn't slagging /know/ what I was doing until I did it. It seemed like a good idea at the time..." And it had; Megatron hadn't been following anyone towards the lab, no matter how they drove him, and if nobody else could provoke Megatron into a chase, it was Starscream.
Skyfire: '..Still... I should have gotten there sooner...' Skyfire continues to press /reassurance/ and /love/ towards Starscream, subconsciously noting Starscream's reaction to it and not letting up, mentally curling close and 'holding' him, drawing himself out of his mental corner, his frantic need ebbing away.
Starscream: "He blew the hallway up," Starscream points out, nowithstanding the melted parts of him basking in the /love/ and /pride/, sending back /love/ and /reassurance/ and a touch of indignation at Skyfire blaming himself. "I'm not going to slagging blame /you/ for /him./"
Skyfire: Skyfire just gives the mental equivalent of a shrug, purring at the love being projected out from Starscream. His spark thrums slightly in his chest, reassured and soothed and echoing /contentment/ out, both mentally and physically, tension in Skyfire's systems dropping noticeably, despite Starscream's control. '...you're here still, somehow, and that’s all that matters right now...' Skyfire says softly, pulling back enough to let Starscream continue what he was doing before if he wants, but not letting go completely, taking advantage of the odd connection between them shamelessly.
Starscream: "...slagging straight I am," Starscream agrees, and goes back to work putting together a patch for Skyfire's side, echoing Skyfire's mental purr. "We can talk more on the way home; I don't know how well this will take re-entry and I want someone with tools to look at it..."
Skyfire: A mental sigh echoes within their shared mind, /reluctance/ obvious. '...I still don't want to go back, Starscream...' Skyfire says, idly watching Starscream work on his side and noting the procedure.
Starscream: Starscream meets that /reluctance/ with /determination,/ just as strong. "We can kill them afterwards if we want, honest," he promises. "But you need more repair than I can do right now."
Skyfire: 'I...I can't help but /hate/ them right now... I don't /want/ to, but... The thought of seeing /Prime/, or /Megatron/...' Skyfire's mental voice growls, anger and helpless rage blooming in his thoughts...and a bit of fear and sadness, as well. He doesn't want to face it.
Starscream: "We can kill them if you want," Starscream offers again, and he /means/ it down to his spark, radiating a chill sort of fierceness - strangely enough, he's less bothered by his own death than Skyfire, so it's not quite the desire to kill them, but the cold determination to kill anything that hurt /Skyfire./
Skyfire: 'I...' Skyfire starts, feeling a niggling tingle of worry at the direction Starscream's chilling thoughts where heading, but.../did/ he want to kill them? Surely not /everyone/. Most of them had little to do with this mess, even if he had absolutely no desire to deal with any of them right now, if ever again, but...but /Megatron/. Oh, how he /hated/ that mech. Skyfire had never hated anything in his entire existence more then he loathed and despised the Decepticon leader. Whatever had been the cause of his glitch, or virus, or whatever had pushed Megatron into the rage that was actually responsible for Starscream's death, it made no difference. He was responsible. Before this, he had known Megatron was a threat to Starscream's life - and he had been oh so horribly /right/, no matter how the situation had come about. If Skyfire wanted anyone dead, it would be him.
As for Prime... he was just as responsible for this mess. His refusal to employ a watch-guard on Megatron, as one had been put on him during the Nemesis problem... was an unforgivable mistake on his part. Prime would never hold the same position of respect in his optics ever again, no matter what. But did he want Prime /dead/...? He honestly didn't know.
'...I don't want to kill everyone, Starscream. I just don't care to see anyone else right now...'
Starscream: Starscream waits, in a type of quiescence that says, clearly, that their lives are entirely in Skyfire's hands as far as he's concerned. He may come as close to respecting Prime as he's ever going to, but Megatron goes without saying and if Skyfire truly wants Prime dead, then dead Prime will become. "You have to, because you /need/ to get this fixed, Skyfire. I promise I'll make sure you black out when we catch a medic, if that's what you want, but you need to go; I can't fix this fully."
Skyfire: 'I....Fine. /Fine/, I'll go back. But only to get fixed...And /only/ because you're stuck in here, too...' Skyfire says, reluctantly, conceding with no small amount of hesitation and discomfort.
Starscream: "I'm not /stuck,/" Starscream starts, indignant, only to cut himself off with a surge of emotions that give the impression that he wishes he hadn't said anything, because that's part of Skyfire's reasoning.
Skyfire: ''Stuck' as in stuck here with my pain if you want to have a warm body at the moment, Starscream, not 'stuck', as in forced to be here...' Skyfire corrects with a small wave of amusement at Starscream's hasty mental backpeddling. 'I don't see anyone /else/ around here willing to let you possess them...' Skyfire teases, making their optics flicker out towards the bare expanse of moon rock.
Starscream: "...oh," Starscream says, deflating. "...well. Yes."
Skyfire: Skyfire laughs softly, and mentally curls around Starscream again, comforting. 'So...if you want to continue, we can leave...' Skyfire says with a sigh, flicking one last glance out at Io's rocky landscape before passing control over to Starscream once more.
Starscream: "...tomorrow. You need to recharge and let some self-repair happen," Starscream says. "And if they've already desecrated my body like I know they have, then hurrying won't help it."
Skyfire: There is a surge of /anger/ and /indignation/ from Skyfire at the the thought of Starscream's body being /desecrated/, deep and dark, before he bites it back with noticeable difficulty. '..Alright then. Recharge... you too then, Starscream? If you can...?' Skyfire says, changing the subject.
Starscream: "One way to find out! I'll let you go; it takes concentration to stay inside you..." And just like that, Starscream is gone, completely gone, and the Matrix pulses, crackling. 'it feels good, but it's hard to keep up,' that thready not-voice explains.
Skyfire: Skyfire stumbles forward slightly as that support and control from Starscream vanishes, his spark giving a small throb of longing as his presence leaves. He straightens back up and tests out his limbs, running a hand over his recently partially-repaired side. "Ah... alright then, I guess." Skyfire says, reluctant to have him gone, and likely /cold/ again, but not wanting him to tire out, either. Who knew what could happen to him if he lost all his energy?
With a sigh and a rather stiff stretch, the shuttle mech shuffled on over to the nearest thermal pool and eased himself down next to it to try and get some recharge; it was soothingly warm next to the pool, and through it wasn't likely, perhaps Starscream could feel the warmth there, too.
~
(LJ-ify your IMs before pasting!)
Takes place directly after Slagfest 2007.
Skyfire: Space was cold, as always. Cold and empty and bleak. But never before had the shuttle mech ever felt such despair when out within the darkness of space. But that was likely because he'd never been alone before, either... He'd always had his /partner/ by his side, or in his hold, or was going to return to his side after only a short trip alone...
Now, it was impossible. His partner was, for all intents and purposes, dead. /Dead/. His body was dead, and he was...a /Matrix/. He was no longer Starscream. His Unicron-touched spark was the core to the Martix of Conquest. Immortal and yet, by the looks of things, lost to him forever. Oh, he would keep his mate's spark safe. He would guard the Matrix from anyone who would dare try and take it, try and /use it/ for their own goals. He would do it forever if he had to. He knew Starscream would never want to be /used/ like that, to fulfill Unicron's purpose for him... He would guard it with his life.
But it didn't make the loss any easier to bear. The shuttle mech let out a wail that went unheard in the vacuum of space. Starscream. His Starscream was /gone/, and there was nothing he could do about it, but pine over his entrapped spark for the rest of his days. Skyfire could not help but wonder if this was anything like what Starscream had gone though after the ice had claimed him... If it had hurt this slagging /bad/… His spark ached in his chest, feeling small and shriveled and weak.
Skyfire: Skyfire shivered as he continued mindlessly on towards his destination. He shouldn't be this cold himself. Space was frigid but it never affected him. He was built for this, after all. Only actual frozen ice in his joints - something atmospheric - could get to him, normally. But the gaping fusion burn in his side was letting the cold in through his armor and deep into his systems, and the splotchy, frozen trail of energon between him and earth meant those systems were getting less heat and less antifreezing chemicals delivered to them then they should be. That said, his side was a frozen slurry of blue, staticky energon - that, at least, was holding further loss of energon from his fuel lines back.
Or at least, it had been, until he began his decent onto Io. Jupiter was bright and warm in the thin sky of the moon, low and looming on the horizon as he finally transformed and put down on the cracked and geologically unstable planetoid, the frozen slush at his side already melting from the heat. He looked around with dim, nearly purple optics, slow with cold and despair, and confused at his surroundings. He didn't even know why he was here, but Io had been marked in his internal maps as his favorite location in the entire solar system, and his body had gone into near total autopilot. His mind had been completely out of it the entire journey. Grief had made him incoherent. The first passage from earth had been full of nothing but loud, unheard and unanswered keens; intakes gasping on non-existent air, wailing with grief, he had flown away from the potential danger to Starscream's matrix, and towards the other place with the best memories the registered as a safe haven.
Skyfire: Memories that were now surfacing as the towering white mech slowly took in the ever-changing landscape of the unstable moon. Skyfire trembled slightly as he took it all in, shuffling slowly over towards a large boulder next to one of those bubbling cauldrons of geologic soup he and Starscream were so fond of… Skyfire slumped down against it with a muffled sob, not noticing or simply not caring as he went and scrapped up his entire back in the process, denting armor. Draping a shaking hand over his optics, head falling back against the rock face with a dull clang, he sat near the pool, metal slowly warming back up as he continued to whimper quietly, caught between the urge to sit in silent despair and to scream until his vocalizer offlined, now that their was air to do it in.
Starscream: '/ssk.../'
It's an odd sound, almost mistakable for some malfunction, or the hiss of the molten sulfer compounds. Except that it comes straight into Skyfire's processor, without going through his auditory sensors, and except that the Matrix in Skyfire's cockpit crackles uncertainly in time with the sound that isn't a sound.
Skyfire: Skyfire shifts slightly at that sound/feel, the sensation niggling at the back of his mind, but he is so deep within his morose depression it barely registers to his higher functions. He shivers again and stretches out a bit closer to the bubbling pool, the half-frozen energon on his side beginning to melt into a thin flow trickling down his side and into the gritty, rocky strata of the moon.
Starscream: 'Sssssk - Ssskyf'r?' the not-sound comes again, the Matrix flickering more strongly. 'Sskyfir'...'
Skyfire: Skyfire reacts more this time, hand over his dimmed optics drifting down down as he lifts his head slowly, sure he is registering sound from somewhere but there is no one here. Oh, it sounds like /something/ he knows, alright, but... He grunts, voice hoarse and staticky and painful from his journey-long breakdown. "Hnn... ‘lucinating, now...."
Starscream: 'Skyf'r...' The Matrix pulses again, staticky tendrils lightly stinging the inner front of Skyfire's cockpit. 'Why're we... on... io?'
Skyfire: Skyfire's optics slowly go /wide/ this time, head quickly shaking in denial and he tenses against his rock, hand going down to his cockpit with the tingling sting from within, blue-tinted light shining on his palm from within. His spark twinged painfully, fluttering in his chest was sudden, irrational /hope/. That wasn't...it couldn't... /Impossible/. It couldn't be, not even with how much he /wanted/ it to be true (would beg, /do/ anything for it to be true)...could it? ".......S'..Star...scream?" He whispered, voice breaking, staring down at his canopy with painfully apparent longing and desperate, fragile /hope/.
Starscream: 'Why /io?/ ...skyfire! you can hear me...' The not-voice sounds more and more like Starscream, and now a retroactively surprised Starscream, at that. 'you can, can't you?'
Skyfire: "Starsc-zhz-ream!" he shouts, voice fritzing out from the sheer volume and earlier misuse, as he stumbles to his feet, gasping as stumbling slightly as his side /burns/ with pain, weakness shooting down that side of his body, but he forces himself up despite that, completely ignoring it in favor of...of /Starscream's voice/. How? How could that be? A matrix never /spoke/ as far as he knew! He was a /part/ of it now... He had no body, nothing /left/... Starscream should be...should be... Skyfire swallowed, optics flicking about as through expecting to see Starscream himself lurking about - or perhaps scanning the area for anything usually. He was hardly being logical at that moment - before placing his hand over his cockpit again.
"St-Starscream... Is...Is that you...?" He croaks, pleadingly.
Starscream: 'don't do that! you're hurt, aren't you? i remember...' Something flickers in front of Skyfire's optics, red and blue and white and /wings,/ the Matrix in his cockpit crackling in distress.
Skyfire: Skyfire's optics go wide with that vague flicker of an outline, so shocked he stumbles back further, the one leg below the fusion cannon wound giving out, mostly from shock, forcing him into a vaguely controlled fall to his knees, his optics never straying from the spot in front of him the...the /thing/ appeared. Skyfire blindly raises a hand to his cockpit as he feels the crackling within, suddenly /trembling/ all over.
"S-starscream...? ...Wh-where...H-how...?" He chokes, intakes catching on new sobs as his voice cuts off, incoherent with emotion.
Starscream: 'don't know! i will kill him for doing this to you, though, i will KILL him...' The flickers brighten, the Matrix crackling with power inside Skyfire's cockpit even as that vague, transparent outline of Starscream becomes more distinct.
Skyfire: "Nnn...me...but../You/?" Skyfire whimpers incoherently, still staring at the flickering outline with naked awe and hope and /grief/, the hand over his cockpit tightening so hard that armor-glass squeals, before he finally retracts the canopy back, cupping a hand around the matrix, but not touching; fear of breaking the illusion standing in front of him rather then the crackles dancing against his palm keeping him from actually /touching/ it. "Star...scream...is that- ..really you...?" He asks shakily, wings arched high and trembling.
Starscream: 'he - am i dead? i think i'm dead, aren't i...' The flicker stills, leaving that transparent Seeker shape, now looking at his own hands. 'it's me! it's - i think it's me? i'm starscream, i know that. but that's... ...that's not /all/ i am, anymore...'
Skyfire: Is it...it might really be /him/, his Starscream. Somehow, from within the matrix... And with that, Skyfire feels a deep flicker of terror in his spark. Its not /all he is/...? If that is really Starscream - really something from /his/ Starscream's spark, then...then what else /was in there/ now? The shuttle mech struggled to stand again, dragging himself up on shaky thrusters with his good leg. The effort in the slight move left him panting. He eyed the transparent Starscream shape - was he really there, or was he still really within the matrix sitting in his own chest? He stretched out a shaky hand to the shape curiosity and desperate hope driving him on.
Starscream: 'don't try to stand up, you're hurt,' the ghostly Starscream shape commands, trying to push Skyfire back down. The ghost jerks backwards as his touch goes /through/ Skyfire, horrified.
Skyfire: "Oh-!" Skyfire gasps as Starscream's transparent /hand/ goes through his arm, a cold tingle shooting through his armor and permeating deep into the circuits. He jolts back slightly in shock, optics wide. “S-starscr-eam…?” He whispers, turning his arm slowly in a daze.
Starscream: The ghost stares at his hands, touching his own arm as if expecting to be intangible to himself as well. 'i don't think i want to do that again...'
Skyfire: Skyfire, however, is having none of that, and steps awkwardly forward in curious horror, fingertips grazing the barest edge of the ghost's 'armor'. He shivers as his fingertips tingle and go numb with cold that has little to do with actual temperature. "....how?" he murmurs, his other hand still cupped around the matrix.
Starscream: Starscream backs up again, out of range. 'i don't know. i wanted to see - better, it's hard to explain, and... skyfire, /why/ are we on io? you're hurt.'
Skyfire: Skyfire starts to step forward again, disturbed but morbidly intent on the transparent Starscream, before drawing up short, blinking at Starscream's question. The shock of ghost!Starscream has not done anything good for Skyfire's currently mental state. "Why...? I..I'm not sure. I just wanted to...to get /away/. Get away from anyone who might try to, to take you from me..." He whispers, hand gently wrapping around the matrix, "I...just kind of...woke up here? Its one of the top locations on my internal flight map...?"
Starscream: 'i won't let them. we need to go back, skyfire. you're hurt.' Starscream drifts back towards Skyfire, reaching out. 'you need to call someone for help, you won't manage re-entry like this...'
Skyfire: Skyfire hisses angrily, almost ferally, shaking his head and stepping back. "'m /not/ going back there. Damn the lot of them, I am /not going back/!" He snarls, trembling with sudden anger.
Starscream: 'i'll kill them afterwards if you want, but you're hurt and you need help,' Starscream insists. 'i'll fly you there /myself/ if you don't go!'
Skyfire: "I'm /fine/, Starscream. I can manage without them!" Skyfire growls stubbornly, face softening slightly at Starscream's declaration. "...And how are you planning on doing /that/?" He asks, voice a great deal quieter, but no less resolutely.
Starscream: 'i don't know but i'll find a way! ...let me try something? i think i can...' Starscream drifts a little closer, watching Skyfire with something rather akin to his plotting, scheming face.
Skyfire: Skyfire eyes Starscream doubtfully, vaguely wary, but he doesn't back away. "You think you can /what/? What are you going to try...? I have no desire to go back, no matter what you're plotting..."
Starscream: 'let me... ...i think...' Starscream disappears, abruptly. "Yes!" says Skyfire's /own/ vocalizer, but it doesn't sound like him at all, as though he were doing an imitation of Starscream.
Skyfire:Skyfire yelps at the sudden sensation - or tries to. It comes out more like a garbled squawk, as it was a struggle to even access his vocalizer. He 'felt' another force there; something else that was in 'place' and using his own vocalizer. He stumbled back again, optics wide and staring at the place Starscream's shade had been moments before. 'Starscream! How?' He thought, trying to actually say the same thing, pushing back against the 'feel' within with only the slightest beginnings of worry. Did Starscream just /possess him/?
Starscream: The 'presence' retreats, letting Skyfire have the use of his vocalizer back - but not for long. "I am /so/ slagging brilliant," Skyfire's voice rasps again, triumphantly. "...does it hurt or anything? It's - you're /warm,/ and..."
Skyfire: ::N-no..It doesn't /hurt/, though it probably could if I had to stuggle more against you...:: He says over his comm speakers, finally thinking to use it, and shakes his head - easily, and without having to try, which he idly finds odd, as Starscream somehow seems to be controlling only a single part of him at a time... ::....warm?:: Skyfire asks, curious and oddly concerned. ::...what does that feel like to /you/, then....?::
Starscream: "...Cold," Skyfire's voice decides. "I think - I think I could take control of all of you. .../so you're going to go back and get someone to fix you, or /I will,//" the ghost threatens, returning to the subject at hand.
Skyfire: ::......are you going to try if I don't?:: Skyfire asks neutrally, oddly curious about whether or not Starscream could pull it off - but Primus /damn/ he does not want to go back...
Starscream: "Mmhm," Starscream agrees, and Skyfire loses control of considerably more of his body, because the ghost rather rudely possesses enough of Skyfire's own hands and torso to look at the fusion cannon wound in his side.
Skyfire: "Sck-!" Skyfire garbles something statically out through his vocalizer automatically, with the sudden overpowering of a good-portion of his motor functions, a tendril of panic seeping into his processor. ::Starscream! What are you doing!::
Starscream: "...should I stop? Does it hurt?" the ghost asks, concerned, even as he is engaged in trying to fix what he can of that wound, wiping away half-frozen energon slush.
Skyfire: ::It..It doesn't feel right...It doesn't /hurt/, but... It feels /weird/ Starscream... Like...being restrained against your will...:: Skyfire says awkwardly, loosing steam and going quiet towards the end. If it was anyone else, he would have likely freaked out long before now, and would be struggling against the 'presence' holding back his control. And he feels slightly bad for implying what /Starscream/ is doing is isn't right; if he /asked/ he'd likely...
Starscream: "...oh." The ghost lets go, abruptly, all the way, and the Matrix in Skyfire's cockpit dims a little. 'sorry,' comes the insubstantial voice-that-isn't.
Skyfire: Skyfire immediately winces, apologetic; raising a hand up to the Matrix in his still-open cockpit and hesitantly running his hand along to the sharp spines projecting from it. "I...Starscream, I didn't mean..." He sighs. "Its /alright/..."
Starscream: The Matrix brightens a little at the touch. '...that's kind of sensitive, skyfire!' Starscream protests, almost laughing. 'i won't do it again without you saying i can, unless you refuse to go back to earth again.'
Skyfire: Skyfire sighs in relief - he would never want to hurt Starscream, even accidentally like that, despite his own discomfort. He pauses in his touches, grinning slightly. "I still have no desire to go back to earth right now, but...you can feel that?" Skyfire asks, unable to help touching a fingertip to the top of one spine.
Starscream: 'yes. yes i can, and i did mean it about sensitive, skyfire!' Starscream half-yelps, the Matrix flickering bright for a moment. 'remember what that thing is /made/ out of...!'
Skyfire: "OH-! Spark chamber, right..." Skyfire says with a sheepish grin, chuckling as he pulls away from it. "I won't mess with that, then... Unless you /want me to/..." Skyfire says, grin deepening into something more like a smirk, weak though it was. /Primus/ he was greatful Starscream could still be with him, this much at least...
Starscream: Starscream makes a sound that isn't exactly a thrum, but is a good imitation of it. 'but you need to at least stop the flow of energon. it being iced closed does not count, skyfire.'
Skyfire: Skyfire thrums back lightly at Starscream, probably giving him a bit more of a rumbling vibration through his cockpit then he actually intended, before sighing and glancing down at his side, making a face at the sight. He runs a scan on the area, frown deepening at the internal readout, really not liking how deep the fusion burns go below the actual wound. No wonder it was still leaking energon, his internal shutoff valve circuitry was fried within the burn radius. With a wince, he shut off the energon lines to most of the surrounding area, a good chunk of his side going numb and cool with the action. "...I don't suppose you know how to fix fusion wounds, do you?" Skyfire asks, all to well aware of the likelihood of the answer, which only serves to make him twitch slightly with suppressed anger.
Starscream: 'let me?' Starscream asks hopefully, but doesn't 'grab' Skyfire's hands again. 'i do, at least enough to let you get atmospheric on earth without help...'
Skyfire: Skyfire nods, bringing his hands down to the matrix again, though he doesn't touch it. With the lack of the Starscream /ghost/ floating in front of him at the moment, its the closest he feels he can come to actually talking to his face. "...Its alright. You can try. I..don't mind." Skyfire says with a small smile. "It should be interesting, at least." he laughs.
Starscream: 'all right. ...i'll try to take over this time, to see if i can,' Starscream says decisively, and does - just that, twisting around to do what he can for the fusion cannon wound with what he has - which is to say, very little.
Skyfire: Skyfire forces down the urge to struggle or panic as his body is suddenly no longer under his own control. He can feel Starscream's 'presence' now more strongly then he could before, and its decidedly /odd/. His circuits go tingly and vaguely numb, but not nearly in the same way they did earlier, when Starscream merely passed through him. The sensation is strange, and definitely like feeling another's presence, only its within his circuits and not outside them, and the sense of 'Starscream' seems to warm with time. Which reassures Skyfire greatly, as as he can't even reach his comm... even though he does try, and only ends up making garbled static as he 'presses' against Starscream's control. 'Starscream.. I can't.... Oh, I wish you'd ease up a bit...I can't /speak/...' he thinks to himself, trying not to panic and settles for 'pressing' against Starscream a bit, trying to get his attention.
Starscream: "You're so /warm,/" Skyfire's voice says without his input, arms briefly hugging himself. "...I'll let go a little, you can't talk, can you..." He does just that, letting the comm system out of his control even as he goes back to the task at hand of blocking energon lines and repairing what he can. It's... not fun; Starscream apparently believes that dulling sensory-receptors on oneself means that you can't feel what you're doing.
Skyfire: ::...ah-! T-thank you... I was starting to ...um, /panic/ a there a little bit...:: Skyfire says, voice only mildly shaky over the comm. He quickly changes the subject as he settles 'back in' to the parts of his own body he still controls, and is unfortunately still very much able to /feel/ everything that is happening to him, and can't even /wince/ to express it. It is disconcerting to say the least. ::And /warm/? What do you mean? Are you cold where you are...or as /what/ you are? It felt cold when you passed through me before...?::
Starscream: "It's - cold," Starscream says vaguely. "It's just cold." His fingers are as alarmingly deft as ever, scraping off metal pulverized by the fusion cannon and tamping energon lines closed. "I didn't mean to make you panic; I thought you'd like it better if I didn't go - /in/ as much as I think I can..."
Skyfire: Skyfire, as he can still feel everything, can still /see/ everything as well, as watches as his own large hands are used with skill not his own to fix the fusion wound. Despite the ache, it is fascinating...Though Starscream's words are much more so. ::/In/? What do you mean?::
Starscream: "...There's - Skyfire, I'm using the best terminology I can!" Starscream protests, with a half-laugh, hands never stopping their work. "There're... /layers./ Of you. And I'm not very far inside at all, just enough to be warm and to control some functions. ...it's so strange not having claws," he adds absently.
Skyfire: Skyfire chuckles lightly in response, thinking. ::I'm sure i must feel rather large and clunky compared to your usual body... But layers though...? Now I'm curious. You feel very strongly in control as it is, I don't know how you could do more...Unless you could somehow get inside my processor functions or something...:: Skyfire says, with a hint of apprehension...and unfailing curiosity.
Starscream: "I think I could, actually," Starscream says contemplatively, still working. "But I didn't think you wanted me to try."
Skyfire: If Skyfire could, he'd be frowning at the moment, as he thinks. ::...I don't deny that it certainly would be /strange/ and quiet possibly unsettling, but... I'm curious. And I do trust you not to ...take advantage of it, or something, and to stop if I ask... So I don't mind if we try and see what happens. It would probably be wise to know what you are capable of doing like this, at the very least, I would think.::
Starscream: "I could experiment on someone else when we got back," Starscream offers. "So that you wouldn't have to be uncomfortable..."
Skyfire: Skyfire hisses lightly. ::That won't be necessary, Starscream. You can try. I trust you to...pull back? if it gets to uncomfortable for me. Besides, I want to help /you/ with this. ....And this way, at least, neither of us have to be /alone/...:: He finishes quietly.
Starscream: "/Never/ going to leave you alone. Slag, now you have /proof/ that you can't get rid of me," Starscream remarks with a certain amount of gallows humor. And then shifts a little inside Skyfire's processor, sinking in deeper...
Skyfire: And as Starscream presses in deeper, Skyfire carefully tries to remain neutral and analyze the situation, even as he feels more and more odd and somewhat trapped within his own bodily shell as the feeling deepens. He can slowly feel his sensory input from the rest of his body fade, everything going dim, before /everything/ seems to cut off and go dark - painlessly, despite the growing panic, like dropping into recharge, but with no way to wake himself back up and no time to call out...
Starscream: Starscream pauses. "Skyfire?" he asks. "...I think I put you out," he says to nobody in particular, and eases back up, despite the warmth, that addictive, /living/ warmth that he never knew mechs had until he'd lost it himself. It was an /effort/ to hold himself in there, just /so/ deep, no deeper, but he tried his best. "Are you there?" he asks
Skyfire: Slowly, Skyfire's senses come back online, and he 'reconnects' with his own body disconcerted to find out he can't /move/ it, before groggily remembering what was going on. ::...oh... :: He moans as he find the comm line, finding his bearings, ::Starscream...? What happened?::
Starscream: "Are you all right? I think you blacked out," Starscream explains, Skyfire's fingers twitching in that patented Starscream nervous gesture.
Skyfire: ::..Oh? /OH/...I'm fine...I think. It didn't /hurt/ or anything...It was mildly...well, frightening, but I guess the only reason why I blacked out was because I was disconnected from /everything/... Everything went dark and senseless, so I think I...went into recharge? Almost...? It was strange, but not painful nor would it be horribly unpleasant to experience again, since I actually know what to expect now... Was that as deep as you can go? What was it like on your end?:: Skyfire asks.
Starscream: "It was - no, it's not as far in as I think I can fit," Starscream answers, taking the most important questions first. "As long as you're not hurt, I can see what else I can do - it was just... warm, as far as I was concerned. It's a little difficult to stay inside at all, but it's worth it for the warmth..."
Skyfire: ::Is it? Diffucult to stay inside, that is? To stay down that deep or to stay in me at all? And you're welcome to stay as in as long as you like, so long as I get to use my body every once in while.:: Skyfire says warmly with a laugh. ::...And you can try again if you like, though if I'm going to keep on getting knocked out we can take a break after this next try so I can watch you finish up on my side. Might as well not waste the learning experience, even with as sour as the situation behind it is...::
Starscream: "At all. It's... ...your chassis knows I'm /not/ supposed to be here, I think," Starscream laughs, a little uncomfortably. He was doing his /absolute/ best to ignore that fact; it wasn't easy to think of the moment of his -- of his /death/ -- as just another of Megatron's fits that hadn't actually killed him, but he tried. "Let me see how much I can fit inside you..." And he does, Skyfire's turbines humming in satisfaction at the warmth without any input from Skyfire himself at all.
Skyfire: Again, Skyfire feels himself sinking down into sensory-deprived oblivion, everything going dark and numb and sleepy. He's most definitely in what feels like unusually deep, unconscious recharge when he feels a flicker of...something, something rather like thought seeping through, and his mind rises up slightly once more. It feels surreal, like a recharge cognitive cycle - a dream - which probably makes sense, as his mind and his spark are still his own, so he should be able to dream, at least, wherever he is... Still, that almost feels like... 'Starscream...?' Skyfire asks, or maybe just thinks to himself, its so hard to tell...
Starscream: Concern and surprise and startlement surge up in Skyfire's thoughts, all consolidating into 'skyfire! are you all right? i thought you were asleep...'
Skyfire: His own surprise echoes out, adding itself to the mix of thoughts swirling around in the dark place. Starscream could hear him? Where they him his mind or Starscream's, now? 'Starscream...? How...? Can you hear me?' He thinks, or projects, or maybe just /feels/ back 'towards' the other presence. He wonders if Starscream can somehow read his thoughts like this, which gives him a tiny twinge of concern, but that is greatly outweighed by the /relief/ he feels, now that it seems like Starscream can speak to him like this. It’s oddly comforting...
Starscream: Recognition and relief and surprise and reassurance swirl back around Skyfire's mind, equivalent to 'i can hear you!' It's a quiet throb in the back of the ghost's mind, muted but /there,/ like standing as close as possible to a fire and unable to go nearer because of the heat in its heart.
Skyfire: Happiness and pleasure and comfort are passed back through Skyfire's mind, curiosity blooming out as well with the potential implications. 'I can hear you as well - this is fascinating…your presence 'woke' me from where ever I was...And now I can hear and feel you...It's almost like interfacing, actually, only numb and without the raw pleasure...' he notes, radiating coy amusement.
Starscream: 'that's inferior, then,' Starscream says, with mock haughtiness.
Skyfire: Skyfire laughs, his amusement literally palpable. 'So it is, but for what we are doing right now, it works just fine. Can you still out through my optics right now? Are you still connected to everything, even while I can hear and 'feel' you in here? I wonder if we can communicate like this while I'm more conscious...'
Starscream: 'oh, yes. it feels - not like it's /my/ body, but warm. i can still feel everything...'
Skyfire: '...I'm glad your warm and comfortable in there, at least. If it makes this entire mess more bearable for you i don't mind this at all. Is this as far down 'within' as you can go?'
Starscream: 'i think so. it's - /too/ warm, otherwise. like trying to hold a fusion reaction in your hands. it's hard to hold myself down here, but it's so warm, it's worth it...'
Skyfire: 'Strange...Is it me holding you back from going in further, or is it you? Or both of us? While strange, your 'presence' in here is comforting... I meant what I said about comparing it to interfacing earlier. The fact that I can feel you in here like this, even somewhat numbly, is.../wonderful/.' Skyfire says, happiness and pleasure - content pleasure and relief - echo across between them.
Starscream: 'i don't know. it's... a strain, but it would be like putting your hands in a fusion reactor. /too/ warm, i think...' Starscream's own relaxation purrs a counterpoint to Skyfire's pleasure, as Skyfire doesn't seem damaged at all by this. Calculation follows soon after, as Starscream apparently starts to plan again. 'should i finish fixing your side while you can't feel it?'
Skyfire: 'Hnn... I suppose that makes sense. Our sparks and minds are still seperate, after all. I wonder if we could somehow communicate like this without my mind going down so deep within my own subconscious for it to be able to occur...' Skyfire wonders, his contentment and never-ending curiosity passing back in response to Starscream's own emotions. 'And I don't know. I wanted to watch what you where doing, so I'd know how to do it myself should the need arise. And the fact is, I don't want you to be stuck experiencing my pain while you fix it...'
Starscream: 'i have no idea. shall we try?' Starscream offers, curiosity matching Skyfire's. 'i'll give you the how-to; it's nothing very major at all.'
Skyfire: 'We should!' Skyfire agrees eagerly, gently 'pressing' against Starscream's presence as he attempted to begin the slow climb back up to coherency. '..I'm going to try coming back 'up' and awake now, Starscream. Try...I don't know, none of this makes very much sense, but... Try easing up on the control, without loosing whatever that warm connection is, maybe? Let me up while still talking to me?' He asked, pushing 'up' while 'clinging' to Starscream's presence at the same time, hoping it would do the trick.
Starscream: 'i'll try,' Starscream says dubiously, and apparently does try to do just that.
Skyfire: Skyfire mentally 'nods' his agreement and continues 'pressing' upwards, towards sensation and physical coherency and /light/. At one point he feels himself slipping 'away' from Starscream, even as he continues upward, nearly blanking out at the sudden pass from dream-state, to unconscious sleep, to wakefulness, but manages to bypass that unconscious state entirely as he is suddenly awake and /overwhelmed/ with sensation and input from his own body, having a momentary, pale-imitation of the sensory reconnection Starscream went through when he possessed Skyfire. Dizzy and off-balance within his own head, Skyfire groans. 'Nnn...Starscream...?'\
Starscream: 'skyfire? are you all right?' Starscream asks, 'shifting' almost uncomfortably as he makes 'room' for Skyfire in their apparently-now-shared head. Some part of him revolted at the notion, telling him to shove down, to crush, to /take/ this body for his own - but Starscream shoved down that part, because this was /Skyfire./
Skyfire: 'Huh...? I think so...' Skyfire replies, hesitantly at first before he mentally 'straightens out', registering connections with everything and seeing out his own optics once more. He gives a easy tug on his own body, testing out how much control he currently has with it.
Starscream: 'You want it back -?' Starscream asks, and this time, Skyfire's body moves of its own accord - even though Starscream is still /inside./
Skyfire: 'Hm? No, i was just testing it out... But his is fascinating! I can still hear you, and sense your presence, though its not as deep as it was before, /and/ It seems to be much easier to switch between us now. Are you comfortable where you are, Starscream? Is it alright for you in there?' Skyfire asks with concern, though he is still elated over the new 'connection' between them.
Starscream: "I'm fine! Not as warm, but it's not as hard to stay like this, too...' Starscream replies, pleased, but using Skyfire's vocalizer again. "I don't like leaving you with a hole in your side," he adds, bending again to his work.
Skyfire: Skyfire physically winces slightly as Starscream begins, but willingly cedes all motor control to Starscream to allow him to work the repairs as efficiently as possible - though, being as stubborn as he is, he takes in as much of the pain intake as their shared control of his body will allow for. It was /his/ wound, not Starscream’s - and while they would likely be sharing Skyfire's body until they managed to do something about Starscream's notable /lack/ of one, Skyfire wasn't about to shove his pain off on his mate. And on that subject... '...I'm sorry, Starscream. I didn't think about it at the time, but I left your body where it fell back in the base. I probably should have brought it with me, but I was more worried about protecting your matrix at the time. I don't think it would have done any good, but...I'm sorry.' he says randomly, suddenly morose.
Starscream: "Those slaggers have probably /blown it up!/" Starscream says indignantly. "After the slagging /celebration,/ anyway."
Skyfire: Skyfire winces again, this time from not from pain, and only internally, which is probably a good thing as Starscream has his body working on rather delicate areas at the moment, not that Skyfire really notices. 'I...I'm sorry, Starscream. I ...wasn't exactly thinking clearly at the time... I might have been able to carry your....your b-body in my cargo bay if I had thought about it, but...' And Skyfire goes quiet within their mind, retreating to a far 'corner' of it with a slight whimper, suddenly nearly as depressed and wary as he was when he first arrived on Io. Despite his joy of having Starscream essentially returned to him, Skyfire is obviously very much /not/ over Starscream's initial 'death'.
Starscream: "...No, /no,/ that's slagging ridiculous, you couldn't have done that," Starscream says, with a burst of true indignation at the very thought. "I'll just kill them all and mount their heads on top of the base in retaliation; it'll be fine. It'll be fun, you'll like it." He 'follows' Skyfire doggedly, trying to project out /love/ and /confidence/ and /surety/ at him.
Skyfire: Skyfire whimpers again, faintly, as Starscream reaches out to him, radiating depression and regret and dejection, keeping to his corner, but not retreating. He /clings/ to Starscream's offered love when it 'reaches' him, melting into Starscream's presence with a mental howl of anguish as everything from that day rises up again painfully, making him mentally shake and tremble within their shared mind, his emotional response easily visible and laid bare to the other.
Starscream: "Come on, Skyfire, it's all right," Starscream coaxes aloud, projecting /love/ and /devotion/ and /reassurance/ at him as hard as he can, trying to tamp down his own fear and everything that goes into trying not to /think/ about it.
Skyfire: Skyfire moans in Starscream's mental embrace, his /fear/ and raw /anguish/ from seeing Starscream like that, lying there, dead and /ripped open/ echoing out between them; his own franticly returned /love/ and /devotion/ are as needy as they are giving. Within Skyfire's body, his spark gives a pained twinge with the remembered agony, making systems flicker slightly with a surge - Skyfire saw his greatest fear come to life that day, and it hurt him down to the core.
Starscream: Starscream wraps Skyfire's arms around their shared body, trying to project the depths of reassurance and love (and, on a deeper level than that which he is trying to impress on Skyfire right now, an abiding /awe/ that Skyfire could possibly love him /that much/).
Skyfire: Summarily comforted, both inside and out, Skyfire is slowly calmed and soothed, relaxing utterly into that reassurance and surrendering to that projected /love/, though his mental trembling persists for some time. His spark quiets as well, pained fluttering subsiding, even though a residual ache is left in its wake. /Primus/ he never wanted to go through something like that ever /again/... Skyfire finally relaxes his mental death grip on Starscream, though he continues to hold on to him tightly, reveling in the simple fact that he /can/, projecting his own /awe/ and sleepy /wonder/, constantly both underlaid and overlapped with his persistent /love/ and loyal /devotion/. He gives Starscream gentle nudge, the emotional equivalent of a nuzzle, when he feels up existing outside his emotional breakdown once more.
Starscream: Starscream croons aloud, projecting /love/ and accompanying /devotion/ as strongly as he can. "I'm all right, Skyfire, I really am..."
Skyfire: 'I.../Primus/, Starscream, I was so scared... No matter what I knew about your matrix, I still thought I'd lost you forever. Even /after/ I saw the matrix, I still didn't know if I had or not...' Skyfire says softly, voice heavy with emotional need, even as he continues to calm, shakes smoothing out thanks to Starscream's own constant love reaching out and filling the needy parts of Skyfire mind. '...You can stay in here with me forever if you have to, share my body, just don't /leave me/...' Skyfire whimpers quietly, enfolding his mental self around Starscream's, pressing tight and projecting every last scrap of /lovelovelove/ he can at him.
Starscream: "I didn't... I'm /sorry,/ Skyfire - I just, I meant to /trap/ him in there and get /out.../" Starscream babbles, projecting /love/ and /I'm sorry/ for all he's worth. "I'll /never/ leave you, Primus - /never./"
Skyfire: 'Nonono! Starscream, /no/! It wasn't your fault, love! You did so good! You were so good, and it may have been crazy and reckless but you were so brave for trying to get him in there and out of the way! I'm so damn /proud/ of you, for what you tried to do! It wasn't your fault this happened, love! It isn't! It's /his/ fault, /his fault/ for hurting you, and /mine/ for not getting there sooner to try and stop him, and-! Primus, Starscream, /it is not your fault/ this happened to you!' Skyfire rambles back, protesting, even as a part of his mind thrums blissfully at Starscream's reassurance, latching onto that promise and strengthening itself with it.
Starscream: "It wasn't brave," Starscream protests aloud, belied by the flush of incredulous pleasure. "He wasn't going to /follow/ anyone else down to the lab, because he thought I /had/ the slagging shard, not that it was in the lab... ...and, fine, I did, but I meant to get /out/ before he - slagged me up but /good./" Something in him cringes, still trying hard just to think of it as /damage,/ not death.
Skyfire: 'It /was/, it /was/, Starscream...' Skyfire croons, projecting /pride/ and /adoration/, as well as old /concern/ and /regret/. 'I just wish you'd told me what you were planning to /do/. I could have /helped/...'
Starscream: Some part of Starscream melts, soaking everything in like a sponge in the desert. "I didn't slagging /know/ what I was doing until I did it. It seemed like a good idea at the time..." And it had; Megatron hadn't been following anyone towards the lab, no matter how they drove him, and if nobody else could provoke Megatron into a chase, it was Starscream.
Skyfire: '..Still... I should have gotten there sooner...' Skyfire continues to press /reassurance/ and /love/ towards Starscream, subconsciously noting Starscream's reaction to it and not letting up, mentally curling close and 'holding' him, drawing himself out of his mental corner, his frantic need ebbing away.
Starscream: "He blew the hallway up," Starscream points out, nowithstanding the melted parts of him basking in the /love/ and /pride/, sending back /love/ and /reassurance/ and a touch of indignation at Skyfire blaming himself. "I'm not going to slagging blame /you/ for /him./"
Skyfire: Skyfire just gives the mental equivalent of a shrug, purring at the love being projected out from Starscream. His spark thrums slightly in his chest, reassured and soothed and echoing /contentment/ out, both mentally and physically, tension in Skyfire's systems dropping noticeably, despite Starscream's control. '...you're here still, somehow, and that’s all that matters right now...' Skyfire says softly, pulling back enough to let Starscream continue what he was doing before if he wants, but not letting go completely, taking advantage of the odd connection between them shamelessly.
Starscream: "...slagging straight I am," Starscream agrees, and goes back to work putting together a patch for Skyfire's side, echoing Skyfire's mental purr. "We can talk more on the way home; I don't know how well this will take re-entry and I want someone with tools to look at it..."
Skyfire: A mental sigh echoes within their shared mind, /reluctance/ obvious. '...I still don't want to go back, Starscream...' Skyfire says, idly watching Starscream work on his side and noting the procedure.
Starscream: Starscream meets that /reluctance/ with /determination,/ just as strong. "We can kill them afterwards if we want, honest," he promises. "But you need more repair than I can do right now."
Skyfire: 'I...I can't help but /hate/ them right now... I don't /want/ to, but... The thought of seeing /Prime/, or /Megatron/...' Skyfire's mental voice growls, anger and helpless rage blooming in his thoughts...and a bit of fear and sadness, as well. He doesn't want to face it.
Starscream: "We can kill them if you want," Starscream offers again, and he /means/ it down to his spark, radiating a chill sort of fierceness - strangely enough, he's less bothered by his own death than Skyfire, so it's not quite the desire to kill them, but the cold determination to kill anything that hurt /Skyfire./
Skyfire: 'I...' Skyfire starts, feeling a niggling tingle of worry at the direction Starscream's chilling thoughts where heading, but.../did/ he want to kill them? Surely not /everyone/. Most of them had little to do with this mess, even if he had absolutely no desire to deal with any of them right now, if ever again, but...but /Megatron/. Oh, how he /hated/ that mech. Skyfire had never hated anything in his entire existence more then he loathed and despised the Decepticon leader. Whatever had been the cause of his glitch, or virus, or whatever had pushed Megatron into the rage that was actually responsible for Starscream's death, it made no difference. He was responsible. Before this, he had known Megatron was a threat to Starscream's life - and he had been oh so horribly /right/, no matter how the situation had come about. If Skyfire wanted anyone dead, it would be him.
As for Prime... he was just as responsible for this mess. His refusal to employ a watch-guard on Megatron, as one had been put on him during the Nemesis problem... was an unforgivable mistake on his part. Prime would never hold the same position of respect in his optics ever again, no matter what. But did he want Prime /dead/...? He honestly didn't know.
'...I don't want to kill everyone, Starscream. I just don't care to see anyone else right now...'
Starscream: Starscream waits, in a type of quiescence that says, clearly, that their lives are entirely in Skyfire's hands as far as he's concerned. He may come as close to respecting Prime as he's ever going to, but Megatron goes without saying and if Skyfire truly wants Prime dead, then dead Prime will become. "You have to, because you /need/ to get this fixed, Skyfire. I promise I'll make sure you black out when we catch a medic, if that's what you want, but you need to go; I can't fix this fully."
Skyfire: 'I....Fine. /Fine/, I'll go back. But only to get fixed...And /only/ because you're stuck in here, too...' Skyfire says, reluctantly, conceding with no small amount of hesitation and discomfort.
Starscream: "I'm not /stuck,/" Starscream starts, indignant, only to cut himself off with a surge of emotions that give the impression that he wishes he hadn't said anything, because that's part of Skyfire's reasoning.
Skyfire: ''Stuck' as in stuck here with my pain if you want to have a warm body at the moment, Starscream, not 'stuck', as in forced to be here...' Skyfire corrects with a small wave of amusement at Starscream's hasty mental backpeddling. 'I don't see anyone /else/ around here willing to let you possess them...' Skyfire teases, making their optics flicker out towards the bare expanse of moon rock.
Starscream: "...oh," Starscream says, deflating. "...well. Yes."
Skyfire: Skyfire laughs softly, and mentally curls around Starscream again, comforting. 'So...if you want to continue, we can leave...' Skyfire says with a sigh, flicking one last glance out at Io's rocky landscape before passing control over to Starscream once more.
Starscream: "...tomorrow. You need to recharge and let some self-repair happen," Starscream says. "And if they've already desecrated my body like I know they have, then hurrying won't help it."
Skyfire: There is a surge of /anger/ and /indignation/ from Skyfire at the the thought of Starscream's body being /desecrated/, deep and dark, before he bites it back with noticeable difficulty. '..Alright then. Recharge... you too then, Starscream? If you can...?' Skyfire says, changing the subject.
Starscream: "One way to find out! I'll let you go; it takes concentration to stay inside you..." And just like that, Starscream is gone, completely gone, and the Matrix pulses, crackling. 'it feels good, but it's hard to keep up,' that thready not-voice explains.
Skyfire: Skyfire stumbles forward slightly as that support and control from Starscream vanishes, his spark giving a small throb of longing as his presence leaves. He straightens back up and tests out his limbs, running a hand over his recently partially-repaired side. "Ah... alright then, I guess." Skyfire says, reluctant to have him gone, and likely /cold/ again, but not wanting him to tire out, either. Who knew what could happen to him if he lost all his energy?
With a sigh and a rather stiff stretch, the shuttle mech shuffled on over to the nearest thermal pool and eased himself down next to it to try and get some recharge; it was soothingly warm next to the pool, and through it wasn't likely, perhaps Starscream could feel the warmth there, too.
~
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