(no subject)
The first log for this thread.
****
Starscream: Prime. This is Starscream; Skyfire is having a crisis of conscience. What do I say to him to make him feel better? I don't have a conscience, everybody knows that!
Optimus Prime: A cri...what happened, Starscream?
Optimus Prime: *BIG BOSS PRIME VOICE.*
Starscream: He's feeling guilty about totaling that base. I don't know why. He keeps saying something about being no better than Sector 7...
Optimus Prime: *Grimaces, not that Starscream can see it - it's almost audiable* Slag it. He's not 'as bad as they are.' Are his comms working?
Starscream: I'm not sure he'd answer, but you can try. He won't let me check him for damage...
Optimus Prime: Alright. Talk with him. Don't let him out of your sight. Hold him if you have to.
Starscream: You don't have to tell me my business, Prime.
Optimus Prime: I'm not telling you yo-damn it. That's not what I meant.
Optimus Prime: He knows he's better than them. As for what happened, that was beyond his - or anyone else's - control.
Starscream: I know that.
Optimus Prime: Tell him it.
Optimus Prime: Whatever protests he has, whatever guilt he's feeling - do not let him drown in it.
Optimus Prime: And so help me Primus, don't say anything stupid.
Starscream: Slag you, Prime. I want him happy far more than you ever could.
Optimus Prime: Then prove it now.
Starscream: You think I'd've asked you for help if I didn't intend to?
Optimus Prime: *Resisting the urge to say something else, gets back on the subject* What is your status now?
Starscream: I'm holding on to him. I won't let him go anywhere; he's overheating and I don't like the sound of his intakes.
Optimus Prime: All right. I'm trying to talk with him.
Starscream: Good. Make him feel better.
Optimus Prime: *Dryly* I'm going to need your help.
Optimus Prime: I'm going to be blunt. I do not like you, Starscream. Your logic confuses and, at times, angers me. But you are one of the few if not the only person who will be able to get to Skyfire now. He needs someone who knows him - he needs you.
Starscream: I know that. I don't know how to make him feel better. I don't like you either, Prime. I hate everything you stand for, but I know that you have a conscience and might possibly know what I should say to make Skyfire feel better. Now tell me what to do.
Optimus Prime: *Pause*
Optimus Prime:...
Optimus Prime: *Evenly* Do you love him?
Starscream: Of course I do.
Optimus Prime: Tell him that.
Optimus Prime: Tell him he is a good person.
Starscream: I told him that... will it help?
Optimus Prime: He hates himself, and he needs to know that someone doesn't. Yes. It will help. He's hurting over what he's done, because he lost control, he killed and he enjoyed it. Before you say anything, no, that's not a good thing. There is something wrong with that, for him - for us. But that doesn't matter, because he knows what he's done...and he needs to know that this doesn't make him any less of what he was before. All it means is that he knows what happens when he loses himself...and now he can stop it from happening again.
Tell him all of this in your own words, Starscream. Don't filter mine.
Starscream: Feh. Like I'd ever filter your words. ...That will work?
Optimus Prime: It may. It may not. There is no surefire way to save someone from themselves.
Optimus Prime: Believe me, I know.
Starscream: ...
Optimus Prime: Sometimes, all you can do is love them, even when they're hurting, and stop them from getting any worse. You can show them how to come back...but in the end, it is ultimately up to them.
Starscream: ...that's really not what I want to hear, Prime...
Optimus Prime: I don't always have all the answers, Starscream.
Starscream: Primus, I know that. Or if you do, they're the wrong ones.
Optimus Prime: Find your own, then.
Starscream: I have mine. I wanted you to fix him.
Optimus Prime: You're the one that came to me asking for help.
Optimus Prime: I'm trying, damn it.
Optimus Prime: No one deserves to feel like that.
Optimus Prime: No one.
Starscream: Skyfire doesn't, and that's all I care about.
Optimus Prime: I've done what I can.
Optimus Prime: It's all up to you now.
Starscream: ...thank you.
Optimus Prime: You're welcome.
****
Starscream: Prime. This is Starscream; Skyfire is having a crisis of conscience. What do I say to him to make him feel better? I don't have a conscience, everybody knows that!
Optimus Prime: A cri...what happened, Starscream?
Optimus Prime: *BIG BOSS PRIME VOICE.*
Starscream: He's feeling guilty about totaling that base. I don't know why. He keeps saying something about being no better than Sector 7...
Optimus Prime: *Grimaces, not that Starscream can see it - it's almost audiable* Slag it. He's not 'as bad as they are.' Are his comms working?
Starscream: I'm not sure he'd answer, but you can try. He won't let me check him for damage...
Optimus Prime: Alright. Talk with him. Don't let him out of your sight. Hold him if you have to.
Starscream: You don't have to tell me my business, Prime.
Optimus Prime: I'm not telling you yo-damn it. That's not what I meant.
Optimus Prime: He knows he's better than them. As for what happened, that was beyond his - or anyone else's - control.
Starscream: I know that.
Optimus Prime: Tell him it.
Optimus Prime: Whatever protests he has, whatever guilt he's feeling - do not let him drown in it.
Optimus Prime: And so help me Primus, don't say anything stupid.
Starscream: Slag you, Prime. I want him happy far more than you ever could.
Optimus Prime: Then prove it now.
Starscream: You think I'd've asked you for help if I didn't intend to?
Optimus Prime: *Resisting the urge to say something else, gets back on the subject* What is your status now?
Starscream: I'm holding on to him. I won't let him go anywhere; he's overheating and I don't like the sound of his intakes.
Optimus Prime: All right. I'm trying to talk with him.
Starscream: Good. Make him feel better.
Optimus Prime: *Dryly* I'm going to need your help.
Optimus Prime: I'm going to be blunt. I do not like you, Starscream. Your logic confuses and, at times, angers me. But you are one of the few if not the only person who will be able to get to Skyfire now. He needs someone who knows him - he needs you.
Starscream: I know that. I don't know how to make him feel better. I don't like you either, Prime. I hate everything you stand for, but I know that you have a conscience and might possibly know what I should say to make Skyfire feel better. Now tell me what to do.
Optimus Prime: *Pause*
Optimus Prime:...
Optimus Prime: *Evenly* Do you love him?
Starscream: Of course I do.
Optimus Prime: Tell him that.
Optimus Prime: Tell him he is a good person.
Starscream: I told him that... will it help?
Optimus Prime: He hates himself, and he needs to know that someone doesn't. Yes. It will help. He's hurting over what he's done, because he lost control, he killed and he enjoyed it. Before you say anything, no, that's not a good thing. There is something wrong with that, for him - for us. But that doesn't matter, because he knows what he's done...and he needs to know that this doesn't make him any less of what he was before. All it means is that he knows what happens when he loses himself...and now he can stop it from happening again.
Tell him all of this in your own words, Starscream. Don't filter mine.
Starscream: Feh. Like I'd ever filter your words. ...That will work?
Optimus Prime: It may. It may not. There is no surefire way to save someone from themselves.
Optimus Prime: Believe me, I know.
Starscream: ...
Optimus Prime: Sometimes, all you can do is love them, even when they're hurting, and stop them from getting any worse. You can show them how to come back...but in the end, it is ultimately up to them.
Starscream: ...that's really not what I want to hear, Prime...
Optimus Prime: I don't always have all the answers, Starscream.
Starscream: Primus, I know that. Or if you do, they're the wrong ones.
Optimus Prime: Find your own, then.
Starscream: I have mine. I wanted you to fix him.
Optimus Prime: You're the one that came to me asking for help.
Optimus Prime: I'm trying, damn it.
Optimus Prime: No one deserves to feel like that.
Optimus Prime: No one.
Starscream: Skyfire doesn't, and that's all I care about.
Optimus Prime: I've done what I can.
Optimus Prime: It's all up to you now.
Starscream: ...thank you.
Optimus Prime: You're welcome.