Things are about to get weird...for these guys now

[1_true_leader]

((As assigned by HT, I'll be NPCing Sunstorm for the time being. And head's up to the crew on this, slightly different start from what was suggested.))*After leaving the Arctic -- first retrieving the pair of spears from the doorway and finding they could subspace the weapons now (and, subsequently, the entrance to the passage was sealed again)--

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(Starscream's POV )

[1_true_leader]

*Starscream turns away from Megatron, scowling and about to mutter something when he finds himself face to chest plate with another Transformer. He steps back into a tense stance and looks the stranger over...but finds he doesn't seem to be such a stranger after all. He looks like a seeker with a futuristic design...and when Starscream looks at the face, he could swear he was looking into his very own, although this one's optics are purple without any augmentation of power. In fact, the other has a faint trace of a golden glow around him. He also has a golden crown with red jewels in it perched on his head. The other is smirking and stands with an extreme confidence and strength. The other doesn't open his mouth to speak but Starscream hears a voice, deep and condescending.*

Is this all you aspire to? The contaminated power, the one who compromises in his own use, the faulty of two? I absorbed the very Spark of Primus! My path is what you should be seeking! Your own future is what you should be concerned with. Knowing you as I, the

[1_true_leader]

*Other Starscream snarls, yanking back on the blade to try to free it. Despite his own position, he shoves the barrel of the Vortex Cannon under The Emperor's chin to encourage him to let go, a bright energy gathering within the cannon's depths accompanied by the whine of its charge. He speaks, power once more thrumming through the ground and the very air.*

My ambition will ALWAYS triumph.

[starscreams_co]

Your ambition...

*Scorn fills The Emperor's voice as he looks into Other Starscream's optics unflinchingly. He's faced down worse death than this and lived.*

Because of your ambition, you have no future! I am the least likely path; you have no hope of defeating the Herald!

[1_true_leader]

*Other Starscream's voice becomes a dangerous hiss as he meets and matches The Emperor's gaze.*

My ambition is my future!

*He viciously yanks the Vortex Blade free and leaps back, raising the cannon to fire at last.*

No "Herald" or anyone else will stop me from obtaining my future...

[starscreams_co]

*The black energy constricts around his fusion cannon as The Emperor fires it at Other Starscream. In the instant that he fires, his composure shifts from confident smirk to full-fledged snarl.*

I never mourned killing you-!

[1_true_leader]

*Brilliant light envelops the end of the Vortex Cannon and the shot rockets forth.*

As if I would expect you to!

*And then Starscream finds himself snarling out loud,* My ambition IS my future!

*Time returns to normal and he sees not just the other him..but another Megatron as well. A primal scream of outrage rips from his vocalizer, but it's then that the shots from the two others collide. The resulting explosion annihilates the cavern and everything in it with a spectacular cataclysm of energies.*