EEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKK!
Just posted my first fic on AO3!!!
@ghost-mantis @redwingskyfiresslayz @mothnem @luckycavy117 @kanohivolitakk @tiredspacedragon @reignitedprimes @randomyetnot @ambulance-mom @crystaltoa
Sorry for spam tagging I'm just so excited! Dhfhfjskkwks!
Fair warning: am dyslexic so errors are going to be a thing
“The tracks lead into the rust sea.” Thundercracker muttered while crouching to get a good look at the imprints left in the loose dirt. “Is this killer crazy? First they take their victims faceplates and then they walk off into the most dangerous desert on Cybertron…”
Starscream approached Thundercracker quickly whilst also noticing the tracks. "I know right, the rust sea is nothing but a desert wasteland. No energy fields, no fuel stations, nothing to recharge an engine or spark with out there. Let alone any way back from it, it’s a one way trip for your energy core. I’m guessing they really are either suicidal or crazy.”
“Then again… Megatron himself has survived several expeditions out there. So it’s not completely impossible, maybe the killer knows the lay of the land.” The blue Seeker mused.
“I bet on crazy.”
"You would probably be right in putting all your credits on that bet. Though there are some... interesting theories I have heard about Megatron surviving his trips to the rust sea. I could share one with you if you want." Starscream offered.
“You mean the ones that say Megatron got help from a cult of murderous savages?” Thundercracker scoffed at his leader as he got up and dusted off the sand sticking to his shins. “One bot surviving in the Rust Sea by sheer luck, that I can believe. A whole tribe or clan? I’m not so sure.”
Starscream snickered at Thundercracker's reaction. "I have been informed by a well-documented source that Megatron indeed did receive 'help' from a group of... I believe the word was 'cultists'? They were a sect from the ancient city of Vos, and practiced a religion called 'Dacronism' or something to that effect. They had a history of ritual sacrifice and cannibalism..."
“Draco? As in- the ancient Vosian root word for ‘a tear’?” He asked with a raised brow ridge. “If that’s the case, that tracks with the name of the religion. If they did all that then there would be plenty to cry about.”
Starscream’s optics gleamed at the bot’s knowledge of the ancient language and customs of Vos. He gave a small smirk of approval before answering. “Indeed, Draco as in ‘tears’ or a ‘tear’, I am impressed that you noticed that. I see someone was not dozing off during their ancient history classes.”
“Unlike Skywarp.” Thundercracker snickered after adjusting his pack of supplies as he and Starscream followed the trail deeper into the desert.
Starscream chuckled at Thundercracker's comment about the absent-minded Skywarp. "Indeed he is, and that is why I am glad he is not here for this little excursion. He would have likely wandered deep into the rust sea looking for a fight or some sort of ‘trophy’. You should be honored that I have chosen to accompany you and not him..."
“Our gain is Soundwave’s loss.” Thundercracker agreed. “He’s stuck practically babysitting ’warp.”
"Soundwave is a tough old bot, I’m sure he and the idiot will be fine... probably... maybe..." He mumbled the last words to himself as he began to observe the tracks a bit more carefully.
Thundercracker paused for a moment, listening to the crunching noise of sand under their peds as well as the breeze that had be occurring since the early hours of that morning.
“The wind is picking up speed. It better not result in a rust-storm.”
Starscream looks up to the sky, noticing a faint orange hue to the clouds as he nods in agreement. "This does not bode well... I believe that our killer may have been lucky last time and somehow avoiding the upcoming storm, though we are stuck in it. It looks to be a large one too, I can barely make out the details up here..."
As he mentions this the sand slowly begins picking up momentum, with small specks of rust-red dust beginning to sprinkle into the seeker's optics lightly.
“There’s a crevice in the rocks up ahead- let’s get moving.” Thundercracker said hurriedly while grabbing Starscream’s servo to drag him to shelter.
The blue mech had a right to be worried.
After all, everyone knew that if you could already see the beginnings of a rust-storm, it was FAR too late to try to outrun or outfly it.
Starscream was abruptly dragged away from the coming sand-storm and into a small crevice in the rocks without much warning, although he was far from being upset or frustrated about it.
He sighed in relief as he looked around, spotting several pieces of rusted rock and scrap as well as an old dead plant. He then looked back to the blue seeker, nodding his head to show approval over the decision made. "A wise choice, this sand-storm could have proven fatal for us had we been caught in the open."
“Good thing this cave opening was here.” Thundercracker chuckled as he put down his pack and sat down on a bulky piece of rock. “Now we can get the sand out of our seams and rest for a while until the storm passes.”
Starscream joined him on the makeshift throne, taking his own pack off to store for later. He looked around the small cave, noticing a bit of rust-dust covering the ground, and even some spots of rust-red sand that had leaked inside from a crack. "Quite lucky indeed, I agree. Resting for a little while before continuing our investigation seems like a good idea."
“Part of me hopes that slagger is caught in it. It would serve the bot right for terminating Cloudchaser.” Thundercracker sighed, referring to the murderer they both had been tracking for the better part of a week and a half.
A smirk of satisfaction spread across the seeker’s faceplate at the thought of the murderer being caught in the storm, and likely suffering a very bad end due to his actions.
“I completely agree, it is well deserved. Perhaps we will find them out there once the storm passes… either that or they will simply just ‘go offline’ and leave behind a very rusty corpse.”
“Mmn.” Thudercracker hummed to his trinemate, absentmindedly picking at the clumps of sand that were stuck in between Starscream’s plating.
The seeker smiled as he watched Thundercracker pick at the clumps of sand in between his plating and laughed softly at the bot’s behaviour. He then leaned back on the boulder against the wall of the cave in silence, before speaking.
"You did well today in tracking the footsteps out here, I do believe you have a knack for it." He said before beginning to pick through the sand clumps of his own plating as well.
“Skywarp probably would have noticed them first. But I can do it in a pinch. He gave me some pointers last month, however I didn’t expect to put it to practice so soon.” Thundercracker replied as he continued to preen the Winglord.
There was one piece of some sort of flimsy desert weed stuck in a particularly deep bend in a transformation seam.
With a laser-like focus he tried to remove it on one go-
only to have the brittle thing break in half with the other bit still struck in the armor on Starscream’s side.
The blue Guardian grumbled something under his breath with a small hiss, clearly displeased at the dead bit of flora that DARED to make his shelf appointed task more difficult.
Starscream gave a soft chuckle for a moment at the mention of the hothead. "Indeed he would have, the idiot can see things that I cannot even see despite my superior optics."
At the sight of the broken piece of plant caught in the deep bend of a transformation seam, he began to help with removing it by getting a better grip with his claw, getting a firm grasp around the piece before taking it out as best as he could.
"There you are, all clean..."
“And now we can transform without sounding like we’ve been through a grinder.” Thundercracker said before glancing at the thin cave opening and watching the rust storm continue to pick up pace.
Seeing that it still wasn’t letting up, he elected to go through his bag of supplies and bring out two energon rations and a fuel warmer in order to cook some dinner.
Starscream chuckled at Thundercracker's reference of sounding like a grinder, before his wings sensors flicked slightly at the idea of cooking up something to eat.
"Mmm, that sounds like an excellent idea, it would be preferable to be eating something other than energon rations, even if they’re good for our systems. What are you planning to cook?"
“You know the ones with that terrible fake-tasting cyber-deer meat flavor?” Thundcracker asked after powering up the heater.
It was better than the usual flavorless rations… but still, it just wasn’t the same as the real deal.
Starscream gave a low growl at the mention of the artificial deer meat flavour, “It is like they purposely make the flavour so terribly artificial, even though they could be making it delicious, why do they make it as poor as they do? If I ever have a chance to change the recipe of these rations you can bet that I will make sure to improve the taste.”
“Probably the same problem everyone else on Cybertron has, low resources.” Thundercracker guessed while watching the two bowls warm up. “Can’t spend too much when supplies used to make rations could be used elsewhere.”
"Mhm, you are most likely correct. They always claim that resources are needed for 'more important things' on Cybertron, yet we are fighting a constant war in which we are all expendable soldiers fighting over those very same resources. I find such a thing to be quite illogical and ridiculous, a few extra flavourants would not hinder any production." Starscream grumbled.
“Meh, it probably won’t last much longer. Megatron’s already taken over well over half of the planet. The way I see it; Deceptions win, Vos gets to be an independent nation again, and things go back to normal. Fuel included.” Thundercracker replied while giving him a casual shrug.
A small clatter echoed throughout the cave system, causing the blue guardian to raise a brow in interest.
Starscream's optics focused in on the clattered followed by a frown on his faceplate. "Hmm, you may be right, but that is a lot of assumptions and hopes for one to rely upon when dealing with Megatron."
At the last sound the seeker's optics began to scan their surroundings, his senses immediately picking up the sound of something scraping against one of the cave's rocky walls followed by an eerie chittering and skittering noise.
“I’m betting on you, not Megatron. He does the hard work, we swoop in and take the crown.” Thundercracker chuckled before getting up and softly stepping towards the source of the noise.
After examining the pile of rubble for a long silent moment, he made is move-
and roughly snatched up a very startled brown and tan Seeker by the their back plating that was completely covered in thick layers of rust dust, the pile of rocks rolling onto the floor upon being disturbed by the sudden movement.
“Let go!” The scrawny yet curvy creature hissed in a highly pitched tone as it attempted to thrash and squirm out of the guardian’s tight grasp.
“Well well, looks like we got a little spy here that was prepping for an ambush~.” Thundercracker announced with a triumphant smirk.
Starscream rose from the ground and approached the site of the commotion, his mind racing as he scanned the surroundings and searched for any other hidden bot in the darkly lit area. He then saw Thundercracker holding the seeker with both hands firmly gripped onto his back plate. While the seeker was squirming and struggling to get out of Thundercracker's grasp, Starscream approached the pair.
"Well, well... I am surprised to see someone here. How long were you going to wait there before attacking us?"
“Wasn’t!” The brown and tan flyer growled while swiping their claws at the arm that was connected to the hand holding them. “My cave! Live here!”
Thundercracker didn’t let go despite the burning sensation of dozens of small scratches being left on his wrist plates.
“Yeah yeah, likely story.” Thundercracker scoffed.
"Your cave? This cave is certainly a strange place to build a nest... how long have you been living here for?" Starscream asked the seeker in a sceptical tone before continuing to scan the area for a potential second bot nearby.
it was quiet minus the trio and the winds of the rust storm happening outside. Not a single other being to be found.
“Since I was 14000. It not strange! It keeps warm in the cold breeze season-“ The stranger said defensively.
“You were abandoned here… as a juvenile?” Thundercracker interrupted.
The brown and tan bot tilted their helm to one side when they noticed both Starscream’s and Thundercracker’s exchange worried glances at each other.
“Yes? I don’t get the issue.” They answered. “I’m grown and not with the spirits. I get by fine.”
The duo exchanged yet another worried glance at each other at the revelation of the stranger's age and origin. They both looked to be somewhat concerned about just how a young bot would have been abandoned near the Rust Belt, where living conditions were so harsh.
"14000 cycles old back then… yet you still look like a juvenile?" Starscream asked in a concerned yet doubtful tone.
The stranger’s lips puckered as if they had been given a rotten fruit and crossed their arms, apparently feeling insulted twice now. “I’m 25,999.”
Thundercracker gently placed the earth toned Seeker down on the ground, seeing as the bot didn’t seem to mean any real harm.
“Almost 26,000 huh?” The blue guardian remarked.
Almost three years younger than Thundercracker and Starscream and the currently absent Skywarp.
“Yes.” They confirmed.
The seeing seeker's lips puckered made Starscream have a chuckle in his mind, though he held his laughter in as he then responded to the stranger.
"Well, you certainly look far younger than you claim. Your size and proportions as well as your behaviour all point to you being much younger, though you are certainly an interesting fellow. Can I ask just what makes you so small? The lack of resources? Or is it a genetic defect that affects your whole species?"
“Pardon?” The feminine flyer asked while frowning.
“You know, desert dwellers.” Thundercracker said slowly as if he was speaking to the ultimate dimwit.
“I live in desert, it be true, has nothin’ to do with my hight.” The brown and tan bot grumbled.
“… so you’re a runt.” Thundercracker snickered.
“Get bit.” The stranger replied a huff, their wings on their back hiking up slightly out of irritation.
Starscream couldn’t help but wheeze at Thundercracker’s comment of referring to the seeker as a ‘runt’ causing him to turn away and bury his face into his shoulder plate to hide the fact he was laughing.
Meanwhile, The guardian of Vos tried not to outright cackling at the fact that they were annoying a Seeker that was not of average hight for their frame-type.
“Oh... are you feeling offended by our little words little one?” *Starscream teased*.
“You come into my home uninvited to mock me.” The brown Seeker deadpanned while aggressively poking Starscream’s lower arm. “Yes. Am insulted.”
“Hmmm, how about... we apologize for our words and in return you give us your name.” Starscream offered in a tone that he hoped would entice the seeker into agreeing to the trade to end the current tense atmosphere that was being produced by the seeker’s temper.
Although, in the back of his mind... he was thinking of the possible outcomes that could happen if the seeker refused.
“No trick or hurt?” The desert dweller asked skeptically.
“None. We could share rations if you want? As payment for allowing us to shelter here.” Thundecracker offered.
There was a pause for a beat as they glared at the pair of Decepticons.
Then two.
“…Fine. I’m Lazerhowl.” The bot finally answered. “I use feminine identifiers.”
"Indeed there will be no trickery. And you will receive no hurt from us, Lazerhowl."
Starscream said with the hint of a mischievous grin returning to his tone. While his optics began to scan her frame, making note of small details and markings.
"Now that the formalities are dealt with... may I ask a simple question?"
“Yes?” LaserHowl replied, sitting down next to Thundercracker by the fuel warmer.
"The question I wish to ask of you is where did you learn to speak Cybertronian? You speak the language quite well for one who apparently lived alone near the Rust Belt. Surely the isolation from large cities that you lived in would not have left you with the ability to communicate easily with us Decepticons." Starscream asked with genuine curiosity though still the hint of a smirk that he knew would make the seeker irritated.
“Not the first purple-face to stop by.” The femme answered. “The last one wasn’t nice…”
A WHAt face??
Starscream’s optics gave a quick wide flash in surprise to the remark of a prior ‘purple face’ having visited this cave at some point in time.
“A purple face? What exactly do you mean by that?”
“Purple-face.” LaserHowl repeated as she pointed to the purple Fallen-shaped emblem on Starscream’s wings.
Right. The emblem was shaped like the ancient depiction of The Fallen’s face.
“Huh. That’s rather apt.” Thundercracker mumered as he checked on the two bowls’ progress.
Starscream’s mind was buzzing with speculation at the name of this prior visitor. Though his thoughts turned toward feeling indignant at being referred to as a ‘Purple-Face’.
“I can see the resemblance.” He spoke in a tone that was almost too playful despite the fact he felt somewhat insulted by being referred to as a ‘purple-face’. The seeker was being a pain in the aft.
“Last one boast about being… erm- great lier? Was very rude when I patch him up.” She attempted to explain.
“You mean Decepticon.” Thundercracker snorted. “He wasn’t talking about lying. He was stating his rank and faction.”
The brown and tan bot wrinkled her nose in disbelief. “But Deception…? That outsider word for lie, no?”
“No. Decepticon.” The bulky blue guardian corrected.
“I’m- my helm hurts.” LaserHowl complained in confusion while rubbing her forehead. “You purple-faces have many many almost same words that mean different things.”
Starscream laughed softly in amusement at the constant stream of confused facial expressions being made by the primitive seeker. They were clearly struggling to keep up with the concept of multiple language dialects that were very similar but also slightly different in terms of meaning.
“What the guardian was referring to was the term ‘Decepticon’, you are correct. Though, it is a word that is derived from the translation of the word ‘Deception’, its meaning and usage are very different despite the source word being similar in this case.”
“Oh.” LaserHowl said quietly as it dawned on her what the two were getting at. “Decepticon, be clan name?”
“Sure. Close enough.” Thundercracker grunted as he handed Starscream a bowl of warmed liquid energon.
Starscream hummed in acknowledgment at the stranger’s new understanding as he took the bowl from Thundercracker before replying.
“Yes. Decepticon is our Clan name. Now what is the name of your Clan?”
“The Steel Lake kin.” She answered.
"The Steel Lake kin?" Starscream asked, looking at the seeker curiously to see if he could detect a slight tone of falsehood in her reply. As he didn’t remember hearing that clan before.
“Yes. Before rust sea, was lake of water steel.” She confirmed.
“A lake of molten steel.” Thundercracker hummed thoughtfully before taking his bowl off the heater.
“Records back home show it hasn’t been anything but desert for dozens or even hundreds of millennia… how did you come across that knowledge in the middle of aft-frag-nowhere?”
“Elders tell stories in warm season.” LaserHowl stated.
This information caused Starscream to flash a very wide smirk before he leaned back on his wings and kicked his feet on the ground.
"Oh, that old excuse? My dear, it's common knowledge that Cybertronian elders tend towards embellishing tales like this to make it seem as though our species' past wasn't as grim as it actually was. Tell me, do these ‘Elders’ of yours also claim that 'Cybertron was once a paradise and that its history has been slowly and painfully corrupted?'"
“No. It was all bad then. Too much houses and people. mean people. Wanted everythin’ for themselves.” LaserHowl said with a shrug. “Elders say Primus scoop up water steel to give us place to live.”
Starscream seemed somewhat taken aback by the lady’s reply.
"Did... Did you not come from an educated background? Or did your parents not bother to educate you on the history of our people to even a minor degree?"
“Elders teach. Teach us of ancestors and survival. And numbers.” She said.
“That’s all you need out here I guess. It’s better to teach hatchlings and new-sparks out to not die in the heat or eaten by a ironwolf instead of letting them get terminated.” Thundercracker sighed out after taking a few sips of his meal as he listened.
Starscream raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
"It is commendable that your elders chose to prioritize survival over teaching you the historical significance of the history of our species. Though I must ask, since it was not taught to you... how did you learn to speak regular Neocybex?"
“Learn by watchin’ outsiders like you. Some trade trinkets, others get lost and stuck. I help. Learn as I help and with lots of pointin’ at things and sayin’ words.” LaserHowl explained with a small smile.
Starscream seemed somewhat surprised by how informal and simple the seeker's explanation was. The seeker had never even received basic teachings in Cybertronian from a scholar or professor.
"I see... so you learnt via exposure. And your elders simply allowed your curiosity to guide you in that regard?"
“Elders… not like it. They not see point in it.” She admitted.
“Hmmm...” Starscream said ponderously, before letting out a slight sigh as he sat back straight.
“I suppose there is no harm in allowing you to ask us some questions as well, so please, ask us your one question.”
“Why you out in storm?” She asked quietly.
“We’re hunting a murderer. One that killed several of our ‘clanmates’ without any valid reason.” Thundercracker replied, using terms that she would understand.
“One that run out to rust sea?” LaserHowl inquired. “That why you accuse me of ambush before?”
“Correct.” Starscream answered, feeling a mix of emotions at the sudden question that the seeker had asked.
“That is indeed the reason why we accused you of setting an ambush on us when we were initially discovered at first. We did not know who you were and we did not know your motives. So, we were understandably cautious.”
“I see…” She whispered. “Sad news to hear. Sorry for your losses.”
The seeker's condolences caught Starscream off guard and he felt a slight twinge of guilt for how he had treated the seeker despite being on edge because of the recent attack their clan suffered. He tried to ignore the feeling as he focused back on the conversation.
“Yes. It is upsetting. Hence why I am hunting the culprit that is responsible for their deaths.”
“gi fe min bruc ca iu inspa greo.” LaserHowl said to herself solemnly in a strange tongue.
“I beg your pardon?” Starscream asked curiously, tilting his head as he attempted to parse out the bizarre language being spoken in front of him.
“May they rest well in The Infinite Home.” She translated. “Us steel lake kin say it for the dead.”
“Oh. Like a prayer.” Thundercracker said awkwardly as he polished up the dishes with a cleanser and placed them into his supply pack.
It was odd to hear the femme speak of Primus and the afterlife as if it were real, as most bots these days didn’t actually believe in religion in general.
Seriously- She couldn’t be crazy enough to put stock in such things…
Right?
Starscream’s optics flashed with concern for a split second at the seeker’s language, he could be mistaken but he had heard parts of it being spoken before in a book of Cybertronian scriptures that had belonged to his father before his defection to the cause of the Decepticon rebellion against the Autobot led alliance.
“You believe in The Infinity Home?” Starscream asked curiously, wondering if the seeker was simply a religious nutcase.
“Infinite Home.” LaserHowl corrected. “And yes. I believe.”
The brown and tan bot’s belief in the concept of the ‘infinite home’ further confirmed Starscreams belief in the seeker being unhinged.
“Unbelievable…” Starscream muttered to himself as he scoffed at the idea of the 'infinite home' being real.
“What, problem?” The brown and tan flyer asked sassily while resting her servos on her hips.
This hadn’t been the first time she’d had such conversations.
"The infinite home is nothing more than a fairy tale told to small children in order to keep them at ease with the idea of the inevitability of permanent termination. The concept of it being real is ridiculous and I do not believe you are naive enough to truly believe it is real." Starscream said firmly.
“Agree to disagree. You ain’t the first outsider to say so.” She replied with a grin.
Starscream snorted in derision. “What? Are you going to tell me you believe in the ‘Matrix of Leadership’ or in ‘Primus’ as well?”
”Did- did you not understand story about Primus removin’ the water-steel lake five minutes ago or…?”
Thundercracker groaned wordlessly in annoyance at the mention of the supposed origin story of the tribe of desert dwellers.
Starscream frowned. This was beginning to become increasingly annoying to him as the seeker continued to make these references to such an unbelievable story. Clearly the seeker was either a nutcase or a liar.
“You truly believe that a benevolent god known as Primus removed an ocean of molten steel from our planet’s surface?”
“Yes.” LaserHowl replied. “The border around desert is hand-shaped. I’ve seen results of what my ancestors saw.”
“Yeah. And I know of a planet with a continent shaped like a boot. The sea of rust isn’t special.” Thundercracker muttered sarcastically at her under his breath.
StarscreStarscream froze noticeably at the information the desert dweller had given him.
“So you’re serious? You believe that these geographical phenomena are evidence of a divine entity’s intervention on our home world?”
“Yes, and yes.” The brown and tan femme said as she glanced at the wide crevasse in the cave wall that acted as an entrance and listened to the sounds of the winds of the ruststorm dying down slightly.
Starscream paused for a moment as he once again considered the possibility that the seeker was truly a delusional cultist. Then, he decided to ask one more question; one that any sane person would likely be unable to answer.
“Then why doesn’t Primus intervene and save all our species from this never-ending war between the Autobot and Decepticon factions?”
“Free will. He knows you outsiders won’t stop the fights even if he helped either of your clans win. He lets you have choices and respects them, as any father should. Cosmic fathers or otherwise included.” LaserHowl explained.
Starscream was once again stumped. He had tried many arguments to make the seeker question her faith in Primus; but, all had failed.
“Then why did Primus intervene in the first place with the removal of the molten sea of steel?” Starscream asked pointedly.
“We wanted to leave and be away from bad people that would hurt us. We not wanna fight. We asked for assistance, Primus then provided us with a place we wouldn’t be willingly followed into. He respected our wishes. It is a harsh life here yes, deadly even- but it’s ours.” LaserHowl stated unflinchingly in the face of an irritated member of Decepticon high command. No doubt having practice with the cons he had dealt with in the past.
The femme’s response left Starscream utterly speechless as he realized his attempts to make her see the ridiculousness of her beliefs were futile.
Starscream could feel Thundercracker beside him judging the primitive with a dismissive sneer, but he was too annoyed by the whole argument that had transpired between him and the seeker to comment on it.
“Storm’s almost gone.” Thundercracker remarked while putting the fuel warmer away, clearly uncomfortable and trying to change the topic.
“Yes. I believe so.” LaserHowl agreed.
Starscream had no objection to moving on from the 'serious' nature of the previous argument, and so he did just that; by speaking up and saying the following words.
“Indeed, it appears to have finally ceased. Now we can depart from this place of refuge and leave this strange encounter behind.”
“If Primus was actually real, I’d thank him.” The Guardian said in relief at the thought of leaving the cave weirdo behind.
“Agree to disagree.” LaserHowl said, repeating the saying she had used earlier. “Safe travels.”
“Good luck with your ‘divine beliefs’ little one.”
Starscream said with a patronizing tone, making a point of emphasizing his disbelief in the faith that the seeker so clearly held.
“Same with the hunt you are on, ‘tall ones’.” She playfully replied as the pair departed, not giving any indication that she knew that Starscream had just insulted her.
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