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Starscream.
That lying, conniving, manipulative, cowardly, grovelling bastard had gone and gotten himself captured by the Autobots.
The first time? Airachnid’s fault - she strung him up and left him to rot underground until the Autobots stumbled across him. But this time, Starscream had somehow managed to blunder into a cyclone and get dragged through a ground bridge by Bulkhead.
Megatron had deployed countless drones in search of his former second-in-command. All they ever found were scattered traces of Starscream taking what could only be described as vacations - sometimes in the company of those insufferable human pets of the Autobots.
It was baffling at best, infuriating at worst.
Since Starscream’s disappearance, Decepticon operations had grown sloppy and chaotic. For all his faults - and Primus knew there were many - Starscream had a knack for order. He kept things running. Megatron might have been a war-forged commander, a fearsome symbol of power, but Starscream... Starscream had finesse.
The Seeker had once led the original Energon Seeker Squadron back on Cybertron, for Primus’ sake.
Knock Out sighed and reluctantly turned away from the sealed door that had once led to Starscream’s personal quarters. He still caught himself waiting – hoping - that one day the arrogant Seeker would swagger out, smirking like nothing had ever happened.
But that day might never come.
Since Starscream vanished off the northeastern coast of Australia, all communication had gone dark.
They’d kept in touch after the Airachnid incident. Their relationship was rocky - what friendship isn’t in the middle of a brutal, never-ending war? But they’d had each other’s backs. When it counted, Starscream always came through.
“You scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours.” Starscream had once said with that signature sly grin.
Now, Knock Out had lost more than a comrade. Breakdown - his Conjunx - had already been taken from him by a pack of primitive locals. And now, Starscream…
Gone.
He needed a drive. Something fast. Something loud. Anything to outrun the grief, even for a little while.
«♥»
Knock Out found himself cruising the familiar roads of Jasper, Nevada. He used to street race here - until Starscream banned him. Now, he just drove to clear his processor and feel the road hum beneath his tires.
A familiar whoosh passed overhead. He looked up. An F-16 Fighting Falcon cut across the sky, flying far too low for any human pilot.
Was that…?
He squinted, noticing welding scars along the right wing. Repaired, probably after the storm.
Suddenly, his comm link crackled to life.
“Hello, Doctor... You’re a long way from home.”
Knock Out exhaled - relief first, then fury.
“Starscream, you fragging moron! I thought you were dead!”
Starscream chuckled. “Oh, my poor dear Knock Out… It takes more than a little storm to kill me.”
“Why haven’t you reached out until now?” Knock Out hissed.
“Optimus and his merry band don’t exactly encourage me talking to former comrades.” Starscream muttered.
“You’re living with the Autobots?!” Knock Out’s steering jolted; he slammed the brakes and transformed mid-slide, skidding into bot mode and glaring up at the jet circling above.
Starscream sighed, descended, and transformed with that familiar grace.
The first thing Knock Out noticed was the colour of his optics. Blue. But they were still as menacing as his Decepticon reds.
He yelped and recoiled. “Oh, Primus!”
“Hello to you too.” Starscream said, folding his arms behind his back.
“Y-You’re an Autobot now?” Knock Out asked, voice tight.
“Affirmative. I don’t get beaten within an inch of my life for every minor misstep.” He circled Knock Out.
Knock Out stared, processor lagging. “You joined them? You - the top backstabbing, glory-hungry Seeker in Cybertronian history - joined the Autobots? Are you glitched?”
Starscream rolled his optics. “Spare me. I was tired of being Megatron’s favourite punching bag. The Autobots offered… sanctuary. Reluctantly.”
Knock Out narrowed his optics. “And what, they just handed you a shiny badge and a warm energon cube?”
Starscream snorted. “Hardly. I didn’t even mean to defect. Got stuck protecting their idiotic humans a few times. They owed me. Patched me up. It just... spiralled from there.”
Knock Out crossed his arms. “So this is your life now? Blue optics, Optimus Prime’s pet Seeker, playing nice with the fleshlings?”
“I wouldn’t go that far…” Starscream muttered.
“…I missed you, you know.” Knock Out said, quieter now. “Breakdown’s gone. The ‘Cons are falling apart. You… you were the last piece of this miserable puzzle that still made sense.”
Starscream’s posture shifted. The usual bravado dulled, replaced by something raw - regret.
“Well... I guess I could make more of an effort to call. But you’d better not rat me out to the Decepticons.”
“You have my word.” Knock Out placed a servo over his spark chamber.
Starscream offered a small, rare smile. “Thanks. Hang in there, Knock Out.”
“I’ll try, Screamer...”
Starscream nodded once - sharp, too formal. Then he turned, transformed, and roared back into the sky, the afterburn trailing behind him like a promise.
Knock Out watched him vanish into the clouds. A thousand questions burned on his tongue, but he swallowed them. He wasn’t sure he wanted the answers.
His comm link went dead. The silence that followed felt heavier than before.
“Blue optics…” He muttered. “Primus help me…”
«♥»
“And just where have you been? You’re not fully healed!” Ratchet barked the moment Starscream stepped back into the Autobot base.
“Stretching my wings. I can fly just fine.” Starscream growled. “You can’t keep me caged!”
“It’s for medical reasons!”
Starscream glared, but the fire behind his optics had dimmed. Ratchet noticed.
“What happened out there?”
“I saw Knock Out…” Starscream muttered.
“You made contact with a Decepticon?!”
“He was worried. He deserved an explanation. He was the only one on that ship who didn’t look at me like I was trash.”
Ratchet crossed his arms. “That may be true. But Knock Out is still a Decepticon. You’re walking a dangerous line.”
Starscream laughed bitterly. “Dangerous? I lived under Megatron. This is a walk in the park.”
Ratchet didn’t respond immediately. He studied Starscream - his posture, the tremor in his wings, the flicker of uncertainty in his optics.
“You’re conflicted.” He said at last, softer now. “You’ve done terrible things. But you’re trying. That counts for something.”
“Tell that to Arcee.” Starscream scoffed, looking away.
Ratchet didn’t argue. Starscream had killed Cliffjumper not that long ago when he was still a Decepticon.
“Still, if you insist on these field trips, at least keep your comms on. Let someone know where you’re going.”
“I don’t take orders from you.” Starscream shot back, but without venom. “But… fine. I’ll consider it.”
Ratchet rolled his optics and turned back to his work, muttering something about “reckless Seekers and their obsession with dramatics.”
Starscream slipped away, avoiding Bulkhead’s glowers, Bumblebee’s indifference, and Arcee’s silence - the worst of all.
He perched on a ledge outside the base as twilight crept in. The desert stretched out before him, quiet and vast.
He thought of Knock Out. The look in his optics. Like he’d seen a ghost.
Footsteps rang from behind him. Heavy. Familiar.
Optimus Prime soon stood beside him.
“You visited Knock Out.”
Starscream stiffened. “What, are you tracking me now?”
“I asked Ratchet where you went.” Optimus said evenly. “He said you saw a friend.”
“Friend’s a strong word.”
“It is.” Optimus agreed, watching the horizon. “But sometimes, strong words are the only ones worth saying.”
Starscream stayed silent.
“You’re not a prisoner here.” Optimus added. “But your choices will shape what comes next. For you. For them. For all of us.”
“And what if my choices are wrong?” Starscream asked, softer than he intended.
“Then you keep making better ones.” Optimus replied, already walking away. “That’s what redemption is.”
And just like that, he was gone, leaving Starscream alone with the weight of his own spark.