Between Truth and Lies

Orbital Cycle: One day

Deca Cycle: Month

Stellar Cycle: Year

Mega Cycles: Hours

Cycle/Cycles: Passed unit/s of time

I'm quite aware that my units of time may be wrong. Just humor me. I'm also not too sure just how long The Great War went on for, so I guessed it was about one million years long and the Decepticons then looked for the allspark for what I've gathered to be about four million years. I think Starscream says just how long during the first episode, and then he admits to trying for four million stellar cycles of trying to kill Megatron. So I'm guessing the total amount of time that they've been together to be around 5 million years.



Between Truth And Lies



I was told along time ago, by a wise old mech, that within a lie hides the truth.

I personally don't care for philosophical nonsense. A lie is a lie no matter what truth hides within it's words. I really can't stand liars. I have no need for them. And any bot who has the nerve to lie to my face better be ready to suffer the consequences.

Starscream, for one, suffered those consequences.

I will never forgive him for his betrayal. He made his choice and no amount of apologies, or promises of behavior, will change that.

However I do have a certain regret for his abandonment.

He was so perfect. All those stellar cycles ago when I first set optics on that tenacious little brute, I knew he was something special. As quick as sound, as deadly as I, and a sharp wit that could lash out and bite you. Dangerous, he was. Lethal and clever and oh so proud. A perfect Decepticon for my army. I liked him from the first arrogant smirk he tossed in my direction. And back then I trusted him.

I made him my right hand mech and gave him all the power he could ask for. He used it efficiently and helped to turn the tide on many a battle. He was never afraid to charge head long into his enemies. A cruel smile splitting his sharp features as he lay waste to any Autobot in his way. And when the dust cleared he would land silently at my side, shining with the heat of war and slathered in bright glowing energon. That same prideful grin as he lifted a bloody servo to his lips, studying me as closely as I studied him. A quick taste of the fluid that trickled down his digits, awaiting approval. And I always approved. He never got tired of that. He had an addiction to my words. He craved the acknowledgement. He practically begged for more power. And I gave it to him.

It wasn't long before his intentions bloomed. For as clever and sharp as he was, Starscream was not a subtle mech. I knew when he wanted something and much like an over enthusiastic protoform he would throw small fits if he was not satisfied. But I dealt with his bouts of childish tantrums. Mostly I gave in and let him have what he wanted. His arrogance grew. His need for approval, my approval, was his motivation behind every move he made. He did his job well. Very well. Overstatisfyingly well. And as long as he kept it up I would give him anything he wanted.

Starscream was never satisfied though.

It wasn't long before my praise lost it's affect. He became so used to it, so immune, that he needed another method of quelling his addiction. He needed more from me. I was surprised by his abnormally subtle approach to it. He was young back then. Not much younger than me but war had aged me far quicker. Though, I was still a little naive in some aspects. He was never naive and seemed to know the ways of the world and all it's seediness even more so then I. I never had much of a free life in my younger cycles. I was built for the soul purpose of fighting. To lead. I never played games, socialized with others. None of that youthful nonsense. I wasn't meant for that. Starscream, however, had all that and more. He wasn't created just for battle. He spent his protoform cycles socializing with mechs his own age. He even went to school. He had a natural knack for science that was almost as impressive as his ability to fight. While he was laughing it up in a tavern with his friends, some pretty thing leaning against him, I was whisked away to war councils where I was forced to sit and listen and learn from some of the oldest Decepticons in existence. Training, planning, waiting. All for the war that I was destined to lead the Decepticons in to victory.

It was safe to say I couldn't recognize his advances right away.

I wasn't ignorant to intimacy. Whoever I shared my spare time with, before Starscream entered the scene, didn't have to hint or tease. They knew my intentions with first glance. And I, theirs. I never found one to my liking. A quick encounter and I lost interest.

He was different though.

His normal claws for attention were usually right after successful skirmishes. Standing at my side, glowing with battle lust, it was a simple inquest.

"A perfect victory today, eh Megatron?"

His bright crimson optics afire as he tossed a grin my way. The smoke and ash dancing around him with a backdrop of destruction and twisted fallen mechs from both sides. Traces of mech fluid and glowing life energy rolling down his armor, making him look all the more savage and strangely beautiful in dying light as the sun set on Cybertron.

"Perfect as always, Starscream. Thanks to you."

He would close his optics for a moment, as if savoring it. Simply radiating pride. It would always force a smirk from me.

I shouldn't have been surprised by his first attempts. At the time I passed it off as overcharged nonsense. But within the next few orbital cycles the message became quite apparent.

One of our energon raids went extremely well. Very few casualties and a huge haul recovered from the Autobots. Some of the younger mechs suggested that the spare energon should be used for indulgence rather then hidden away for future use. I didn't see the harm. I knew if I denied them this small pleasure that I could be facing some disgruntled soldiers in the future.

At first I didn't want any part in it. Not being used to large social gatherings of this nature I shied away, choosing to sit on the side lines to keep an eye out for any foolish behavior that could not be tolerated. Overcharged mechs, especially Decepticons, can be quite unpleasant.

Starscream approached me some time into the celebration. He was already feeling the effects of the energon, staggering slightly, and carrying two large and full cubes with him. I suspected he was simply over indulging and was a little caught off guard when he shoved a glowing cube into my hands. A wide grin on his face he sat down next to me with less grace then I've ever seen from him.

"Come on! Drink up! You look so boring just sitting over here by yourself!"


"Some bot's got to make sure you drunken fools don't damage yourselves."

He laughed. I had heard him laugh a few times before. Mostly when he was crushing Autobots. A cruel twisted sound that never failed to unnerve me. But this was a true genuine laugh of amusement. Not so cold and vicious, but warm and almost giddy. Much more pleasant and comforting.

He tossed an arm over my shoulder, leaning heavy on me as he lost some balance in the process. Told me to loosen up and reached over to guide the cube to my lips. I gave in and drank it down. He smiled warmly at me, placing one servo on my knee and exclaiming that that was much better. For Starscream, it was a fairly small advance.

His attention was soon drawn away from me as a fight broke out and that was as far as that had went. I shook it off easily enough. However I could feel the lingering sensation of his touch for cycles after.

The advances became more frequent even without the aid of energon. I would like to say I had more self control when it came to Starscream, but his tenacious attitude and my willingness to see him satisfied only pushed us closer to the inevitable. And much like his success in wringing out more and more praise and power from me, he quickly coaxed his way into my quarters.

I think he got tired of the subtle approach after a few deca cycles of teasing and playing. Though I was slowly catching on, I still needed complete confirmation. It was Starscream, after all. I was used to blunt and bold statements.

It had been a long orbital cycle, and an even longer cycle of battle. The other Decepticons aboard our warship headed off to recharge. The bridge was silent. I usually stayed behind after everyone else had left, making final system adjustments and checking that all was well for the night shift pilot. He hadn't arrived yet from his allotted break. I wasn't surprised by the sound of approaching pedes. I was, however, surprised by the light brush against my hip.

"It's late." Starscream circled behind me to materialize from the darkness at my side. "Why don't you head off to berth. You need your....rest, My Liege."

A sly grin as a clawed servo wandered up my arm wantonly. I merely studied the approaching digits as they walked their way up to my chin, were they lightly tickled before vanishing along with their owner. I could feel my own grin as I turned to watch my second in command leave the bridge, casting a glance over his shoulder to watch if I would follow. And of course I did. I found him leaning against my chamber door, arms crossed. Waiting for me.

"I'm glad my message finally got through that thick hide of yours."

"You're surprisingly subtle when you want to be..."

"Subtle?" He laughed. "Any other bot would have seen this coming from light-years away."

"Light-years huh?"

"Yes. But if bold is what you want...you're about to get it."

He moved like lightning, shoving me backwards until I hit the wall with a clang, and on me like a second coat of wax. His lips just barely touching mine as he pinned me there, trapping me with his smaller frame.

"Bold enough?" He chuckled, licking his lips as he stared heatedly into my optics. Teasing me.

I answered by shoving him back. He stumbled for a nano before finding himself pinned to door. His wings vibrated as he struck. He didn't struggle, but tossed his servos around me, pulling my momentum with him. Inevitable, like gravity, our lips met. One of his pedes lifting from the floor to wrap a leg around the back of mine, shamelessly, seductively, pulling me as close as possible. I managed to disengage a servo to punch the code in and open the door. It slid open behind his back, we tumbled in, and slid back into place to lock.

He somehow got the upper hand again, forcing me backwards towards the berth, his mouth still on mine, parting only when the back of my knees hit and we fell. I managed to catch a glimpse of his triumphant smirk before he was on me again, straddling my waist, servos holding my face, pulling me into a searing kiss, his hot glossa prying at my lips. My own sliding up his back, tugging him closer before I rolled, carefully minding his wings, and crushed him into the soft material of the berth. Growling, I reached up to grab his wrists, trapping them to the sides of his head.

"Oh, I like how you play rough." He snickered and drew his legs around my hips, tugging playfully.

"I couldn't let you think you were in control..." I grinned, leaning in to kiss at his neck.

"Oh but I am." He sighed. "I got you right where I want you. Driving me into your berth."

"Tricky little Glitch...." I nipped at a seem in his metal skin. "But now that I've figured you out, completely, I won't let you get the best of me again."

"Is that a challenge?" He purred. "Because right now, I'm sick of little games. You took far too long to recognize my motivations and now you're going to simplify give me what I want."

"What makes you think I'll do that?"

He grinned. So sure of himself. Rocking his hips and causing just the right amount of friction .

"Because, oh Mighty Megatron, I want you to make me yours. I want you to give me everything you've got, as fast and as hard as you can. I don't care if you dent my armor, crush my wings, tear a few wires. Just make me feel as much of you as possible."

It was an offer I couldn't refuse. He was so willing, so shameless. I gave him everything I could. Though, I wasn't as sadistic as he believed. I liked him far too much to hurt him. I did take certain liberties with him that I had never done with others. I simply smothered him with my body. Grinding him so far into that berth that we took mega cycles of polishing to remove the traces of each other's colours. I was scarred with his bright jewel tones, and he with my dull silver.

And that's how it all started.

And that was when he started spouting his own praise.

At first it was only when we were in private. His arms around my shoulders, flat on his back as I crushed him to my berth. A long line of nonsensical gibberish spilling past his lips with every spark and pulse that passed between us. Small whimpers that hide secret whispers. Promises of loyalty, victories, and the odd pet name he chose for me. "Mighty Megatron" seemed to stick and so that's what I was known as behind closed doors.

The War dragged on for nearly a million stellar cycles more. Both sides weary and near ready to do anything it would take to win. Desperate times called for desperate measures as they said. Starscream was becoming more and more desperate for it to end. And to follow character, more and more overenthusiastic and lacking patience. He wanted victory so badly he could taste it. The other's in our fleet seemed insignificant to him in comparison.

His reckless disregard for our fellow Decepticon's safety was staggering. And I could not abide by it. I knew that he was becoming nothing more then a spoiled brat. Yet I still delayed the inevitable confrontation, believing that he would snap out of it.

It wasn't until Blitzwing joined our fleet that his ego grew too unstable for me to accept any longer.

We found the triple changer staggering through a war torn battle field, having an odd conversation with himself. Starscream, Lugnut, a handful of others that have long since perished, and I were the first mech's he had seen in deca cycles. At first he didn't believe we were real. He simply regarded us with his cool calculating persona before switching to his less then stable state, giggling frantically to himself about finally going off the deep end.

It seemed the poor mech had been traumatized. He never said what happened to him. He never said how he ended up alone and shell shocked so badly. He didn't remember. We managed to get him back to a medical bot who repaired his damaged wiring. But he couldn't be fixed completely.

Blitzwing had three faces. One that he wore when he was calm. One that he wore when he was angry, and one that he wore for any bouts of happiness. However, the damage to his neurological circuitry and the fact that he had been alone in such a state for so long left the mech with three personalities. With only himself for company, his deranged mind forced him to create a matching sentient for each face. A calm collected and stable one that called itself Icy. A fierce, short tempered, hostile one that called itself Hothead. And a crazed, childlike glitch that appropriately called itself Random. Each one of these personalities could talk to each other. They each had their own mind, their own voice, and their own ideas. There was no longer one Blitzwing, but three.

While one of his personalities wanted help, the others wanted to remain the same. They held him back, to the point where one side of his body was hurting himself, the other side was trying to defend himself, and crazed laughter rang out to cheer the one mech battle on.

Finally sedated and transported to a doctor, we were able to salvage Blitzwing's original personality just enough for him to control these new found sentients that lived within him. But he was never the same.

Starscream hated him.

While Lugnut developed a quick friendship with Blitzwing, the triple changer was most thankful to me. I was, after all, able to control Hothead long enough to knock him out. Lugnut had always been faithful to me and although he spouted one too many of his own words of praise, Starscream never considered him a threat. Blitzwing, for whatever reason, was.

While I didn't think anything of Blitzwing's gratefulness to me, it seemed to stir an odd jealousy in my Commander. Random once got out of control and made a rather lecherous comment to me one cycle, that unfortunately Starscream overheard. I brushed it off, knowing full well that the other two personalities didn't quite agree with the rather suggestive offer. Starscream, in the mean while, swore a vendetta against the poor mech.

The day that Lockdown failed his mission to obtain the Autobot Intel that we desperately needed was the day that Starscream snapped. One of his mad rants ended when he drove a fist into the side of Blitzwing's head. Random couldn't surpress a giggle when watching the furious seeker, and ended up having an optic knocked out for it.

And that was when I moved in.

I broke up the impending fight, stepping in between Starscream and the advancing Lugnut, spinning the little brute around to face me before I backhanded him with all my strength. Starscream hit the floor in a daze and didn't move. I helped Blitzwing to his pedes and ordered Lugnut to take him to med bay.

I waited for the others to leave before turning to face my Commander. He was just staggering to his pedes, rubbing at his dented cheek. He glared at me with such utter loathing. I had never disciplined him. Especially not in front of others. Humiliated and forced down a peg or two, he stalked out.

Later that night I confronted him in his chamber. I half expected him to yell "go away" when walked into his berth room uninvited.

He just stared at me, watching me as I entered and closed the door, locking it behind me. Neither of us really knowing how to handle the situation. I had never had to confront him on anything in the past. A few soothing words or gentle warnings when he had gotten out of control before. But not a true lecture.

"Blitzwing's optic will heal. He won't need a replacement." I informed him to start off.

"Oh?" He raised an optic ridge, regarding me carefully. "I should care?"

"Yes you should care." I nodded gravely. "He is a vital asset to the Decepticon cause. He needs all six of them in order to function properly."

"He's nothing but a pawn!" He spat. "Used so that we may conquer Cybertron and reclaim what is rightfully ours!"

"And what is rightfully ours, Starscream?" I advanced towards him.

"Cybertron itself! Under your leadership! Our leadership!"

"And who will be left to lead if you sacrifice your pawns? Cybertron is our home, and every mech fighting has the right to call it home, just as much as you and I. Yes, many will perish, but they will not be sacrificed to quell your anger!"

"Sometimes sacrifices are necessary! If you had listened to my plan to obtain that Intel today, we would already have it and victory in our grasp!"

"Your plan had too much room for casualties! Sending in one bounty hunter reduced the risk of being attacked by Autobots."

"But he failed! Your plan failed!"

"Sometimes failures happen! It's how we pick ourselves up after we fall that keep the failure from destroying us!"

He sneered at me. The first sign of insubordination that he ever gave me. He questioned me. Tested me. He wanted to know how I would hold up against it. The first real red flag of his impeding betrayal, and I ignored it. Disregarded it. Just like I did for every vain attention grab, every sultry suggestion, and every poisonous word spoken to fellow Decepticons. I played right into his hands so well.

"I think you're loosing your edge." He muttered.

"And I think you're loosing your mind!" I growled back. "You forget yourself sometimes, Starscream. I am the leader of the Decepticons. You are my second in Command. I will rule Cybertron and gladly let you stay by my side. But keep up the kind of behavior that you displayed today, and I'll have no choice but to discipline you more often."

"Oh...believe me Mighty Megatron..." He drawled, laying it on thick. "You will never need to discipline me again."

"Good." I sighed.

I noticed that he hadn't repaired the dent to his face yet. He kept his body turned so that it was hidden from me. He shied away when I moved closer, but allowed me to reach out, cup his chin and examine the damage.

It was deep. Painful. I hated knowing that I had to inflict such a wound upon him. I hated how I marred him with such a cruel intention. I know he hated that I did it. But how much he had hated it didn't become clear to me until it snuck up and patted me on the back. Literally.

"You should have that repaired."

"I'll repair it later...after you make up for it."

He gave a small smile, pressing himself closer servos resting on my chest as he tilted his chin up to catch my lips.

I ended up spending the night. Normally we would return to our own chambers afterwards. But I felt a little extra time was needed to repair something more then dented dermal armor.

I wish it would have gotten better after that. However history played out the way it did. We lost the war. Starscream, Blitzwing, Lugnut and I managed to escape Cybertron to the far reaches of space. The Autobots had used the power of the Allspark to win and unfortunately decided to dump in somewhere where it could never be found.

Starscream blamed me for the loss of the war. He never spoke it but I felt it. And much like I did with everything else, I denied that a poison was seeping in between us. Intimacy itself became a challenge. There was just too many unspoken words, too much surprised anger and blame. We drifted apart after the first million stellar cycles of searching vainly for that damned relic. However Starscream acted like nothing was wrong. Just as I did. Sweet words carried a hint poison. Every breathy moan I would coax from him sounded too fake to take seriously. He spoke disgustingly loyal garbage to me even in the company of the others. Every inch of him radiated a pure loathing for me and his new existence, drifting through space in search of something that may never be found.

Blackarachnia soon joined our little band. She carried with her a tragic tale that she preferred to keep quiet. Although the other's were delighted, at first, to have a new face aboard our ship Starscream's mood didn't improve. After a while I just didn't care. I would enjoy his company when he let me and mourn the loss of a trusted partner in silence.

I find it tragic that it ended the way it did. Not with a whimper, but a bang. Just when the Allspark was in my grasp, when hope of returning to normal was achievable, he pulled the plan that he must have been saving for millions of stellar cycles and finally attempted to take the last thing that I could give him. My life.

I find it even more tragic that he didn't die when I in turn attempted to kill him. That he somehow got an Allspark fragment imbedded in his head and became immortal. After fifty Earth years of humiliation and helplessness, I wasn't in the mood to discuss things with him. I wanted him dead. I wanted him gone from my life before I had the chance to mourn him any more then I already did. And after fifty stellar cycles of searching space on his own, he was too deranged to listen.

Even more tragic that we ended up face to face together floating through space. I in stasis cuffs and he just a head.

At first we just stared. Glaring at each other with hate. Then we argued. Spat at each other like children until we were both too tired to keep it up. Then we actually talked. Not decent conversation, but he finally revealed to me just how long he had hated me for. Just how long he had planned to usurp my power.

"It's actually kind of interesting, isn't it?" He grinned at me. "Just how long I pretended to enjoy your company."

I could only watch him as he talked most of the time. It appalled me how he could disregard all those stellar cycles of partnership. Five million cycles of it.

"Oh you did have crafty servos and were able to force an overload...but oh SLAG how I HATED you for it..."

He laughed insanely for a moment before launching right back into it.

"You were just so stupid. Did you really think you could HIT me like that and not suffer for it!? If you had just kept your filthy servos to yourself, I might never had decided to try and kill you! I would have been satisfied with sitting on your lap for all eternity! I should really thank you for it! You made me realize just how much of a fool you really are!"

Yes I was a fool. I let the little snake become my weakness. I trusted him too much and suffered for it.

"I wanted to kill you in your very berth. You know how weak you are for me. All I'd have to do is spit some trash and you'd melt. I'd wait until you were good and distracted."

"Enough."

"I'd do that thing with my glossa I know you like. You know...the thing that makes you groan. Makes you so excited I thought you would surely blurt out the L word..."

"Shut up."

"I might have said it...told you that I loved you. Catch you off guard. We never said that word, after all. Never told each other that we were in love."

"Starscream."

"And just as you finally admitted it to me...'Ohhh Starscream I love you too-'....and that's when I'd STAB you right in the back! Or rip open your throat with my own teeth and watch as you drained to death! Laughing at you as you were betrayed by your sweet little lover and-"

"SHUT UP!"

Oh he hit so many nerves then. And how he would laugh. Every time I rose to the bait and yelled at him he would rejoice in my suffering. Luckily for me, Lugnut and the others had hired an old 'friend's' services. Only a few aggravating deca cycles later, Lockdown stumbled upon us and rescued me from that living Hell. I was back to Earth with that little traitor's head, mouth properly taped up, in only a short seven decacycles since hurtling through that space bridge.

I was never sure if Starscream was lying to me or actually telling the truth during that time of drifting through the cosmos. He always told just enough truth to hide the lies, and just enough lies to hide the truth.

I decided to keep him online. Mounted his stupid head to the wall in the control room of our new base on the moon, in the old crashed ship that the others had fixed up to resemble some form of shelter. His poisonous mouth muzzled so I didn't have to hear him. But I knew he watched. He listened. He waited. It must have been torture for the first few cycles. Not having a body and forced to live like a living ornament. The others would torment him for a while before they too grew bored of it. Even his own clones, the three that were left, didn't like to look at him anymore. Every so often one of them would flinch when he stared at them for too long. As if they were receiving a silent communication from their creator.

Those clones certainly are something else.

They don't have names yet. Apparently Starscream never bothered. It seems he didn't need to. They have their odd ways of communication. The female clone seems to be the unofficial leader of them. More of a guide then anything. She would simply call out, I was never sure to which one, and one of them would respond. Apparently the one she wanted to speak to.

It seemed they had a link between them. A way of identifying themselves and each other without verbal names or even words. And by the way they would react to their creator, even without a verbal barb, it seemed they had the same link with Starscream as well. I remembered just how few orders he had actually given his army during that whole space bridge fiasco. He must have had an alternate communication.

I just called them Female, Liar and Gold, when I wanted their attention. Sometimes a simple point and a "you" sufficed. I didn't feel the need to give them names. It wasn't my job. They didn't feel a need for it either.

I found each clone to be surprisingly interesting in their own way. The female is very smart. Very cunning, but doesn't appear to have a treacherous streak in her. She seems to be Starscream's common sense. She's very tactical and observant. She silently studies and waits before making a decision. I haven't made up my mind about her. She could be a little too clever for my liking.

The Gold one, who Blitzwing dubbed "Suck Up", is pretty much what his nick name says. He can't utter a single word without praising somebody. It's rather tedious at some times and reminds me of Starscream's unfortunate changes. I hate hearing his voice in that adoring and sickening tone. It's so honest that it unnerves me.

The Liar is probably my favorite and surprisingly the most trusted. He physically cannot tell the truth. I have to remind myself that when he spouts treachery, he's truly being loyal. He can't even say a simple "Yes Sir" because it's impossible for him to say something neutral. I assign him a task, and rather then acknowledging "Yes sir" like the others, he has to lie about something. I was a little shocked the day I told him to run a diagnostic. The response was unlike anything I ever heard.

"The sky is pink." He randomly blurted out and then slapped a hand over his mouth in horror.

I stared at him for the longest time before I repeated the order. I thought that either he was crazy, or perhaps I had misheard him.

"Go run a diagnostic on our communications terminal."

He struggled. Mouth hanging open for a moment before he grimaced and answered "You have a bolt loose on your left pede."

He was trying to acknowledge the order. Trying to say something normal. But he couldn't.

"Are you trying to say that you will obey my order?"

"No, that's not what I'm saying at all!" He replied quite huffy.

I finally understood and gave him a break. He seemed grateful and in his own way he would let me know that.

"It's ok. I know you can't tell the truth so, in a way, you can't lie to me. Just say whatever comes to mind when acknowledging an order and I'll understand.

"Oh that's horrible!" He groaned. "I'm so frustrated with you!"

I smiled.

After a while the clones started to separate. They didn't cling to each other as tightly as they had when I first arrived. They wanted to expand, make themselves known and live separate lives rather then a group of three lost clones. I spent time with each of them separately on various occasions. The little kiss aft drove me nuts after awhile. He knew it. He couldn't help it anymore then the liar could. I couldn't blame him for it. The female I found very useful for translating for the two of them, while the liar intrigued me.

I also noticed after a while that these clones had memories from Starscream's past. Not clear or coherent, but the memories and emotions were certainly there. It was made very apparent by each clone's attempt at what their predecessor had accomplished.

The female was the first one to make a move. She pretty much came right out and told me. She had memories. Feelings. Sensations that lingered that she couldn't understand, but they were stronger around me. Realizing quickly what she truly wanted she made her move to claim it. However, we both knew it wouldn't work. She reminded me too much of how Starscream used to be. It reminded her of what he used to be. It was too awkward for both of us. We never brought it up again.

The Gold one was very obvious. I doubt I have to linger on that one. But he was easily discouraged.

The Liar however, I did indulge in. After the first two made their attempts, I didn't give him the chance. I waited until the others were busy and I cornered him.

I pressed him up against a wall. I kissed at his neck, dug my digits into all the sensitive seems around his wings, didn't give him a chance to squawk out in protest. And he didn't. Immediately he half heartedly shoved at me, hissing in my audio that he wanted me to stop.

I'm not a sadistic mech. I don't find pleasure in torturing others, even if they looked like Starscream and this was a perfect opportunity to exact some fantasy revenge. Yet I wanted him to pretend to hate it. Then I knew he loved it. His lies would tell the truth that the original Starscream could never.

I pressed the pretty little thing further into the wall, growling against his collar.

"Oh I know you love this, and no amount of protest will make me stop. Unless of course you say you like it."

"Stop it!" He struggled against me, his voice sounding truly distressed. "I don't want this!"

Surprisingly his cries of protest did a world more good for me then Starscream's honest enjoyment ever did. Even before he secretly hated it.

"Oh slag...don't do this...please stop...it hurts...Oh please.."

I didn't want to be cruel but I grabbed his wing and twisted it painfully, denting the metal, curious to see what his reaction would be. Of course it was the complete opposite of how he truly felt.

"Oh that felt so good." He purred with a look of utter euphoria on his face. "I REALLY want you to do that again."

"Sorry." I kissed at the sore metal.

"You're NOT forgiven, you slag sucker!"

"I'm glad. I didn't expect you to forgive me for that."

" Well it's not ok! Just stop this!" He pleaded painfully. "I can't stand it! I hate you!"

All the truth that Starscream could never tell me. All hidden within lies. He was the only one I could truly trust so I kept going back for more of him.

Starscream was all too aware of this new development.

After the first few orbital cycles of my liaisons with his clone, I noticed certain behavior changes in all four of the Starscreams.

The female especially hated being anywhere near her predecessor. He would glare at her as if he could shoot lasers from his optics. She would wince, even when not looking at him, as if he really could. It was obvious he was bothering her with their link. I once questioned her on it. Asked her what it was that made her flinch when she was around him.

"He knows." She muttered before turning and leaving the room, apparently not in the mood to indulge me further.

He attacked the Gold clone too. I once noticed him jump as if something hot was pressed to his dermal plating. Turning around to face the original, he grimaced but managed to blurt out a few words.

"Oh you're so wise, Glorious Ornament."

However when he tormented the liar, he was ruthless and cruel.

It took a little longer to recognize his true suffering. Always being a liar, he often pretended like he was in a perfectly happy mood. A little too happy. He rarely spoke aloud to Starscream. It would have been in vain seeing as how he couldn't speak normally. He tried one day. Rather confusing jumble of thoughts that didn't quite take on a meaning. He soon stopped, strolling off as if he could burst out in a cheerful song like on so many of those stupid human televisions. It was as close to frustrated tears that he could achieve. I always knew when Starscream's harassment took it's vicious toll on him. He would be near sobbing by the time I had him overloading in my arms. I sometimes had to cover his mouth with my servo because he sounded as if I were killing him. He was just so frustrated. So tired. The only way he could show me he truly appreciated it was to act like he was truly being destroyed by it. The more I helped, the more he screamed. And that only caused his creator to push more buttons. I didn't mind the gentle protests, but some of the noises he could make where truly horrible. He was suffering. He was in pain and turmoil and he couldn't express it. He once told me, the best he could, that he wished he could express himself the way everyone else did. It took a moment for me to decode his words, but the message still rang clear. He wanted to be normal.

It was only a matter of time before that muzzle needed to be removed and a little chat to be had. Starscream had long since stopped glaring daggers at me. He was sick of trying to get a rise from me and instead focused on his clones. So when I approached him it took a while to get a response.

I ripped the tape from his mouth with a quick jerk. He looked at me blankly, as if he were watching a speck of dust floating just in front of his face. Not really intriguing, but still there none the less. Something that didn't need to be acknowledge for its vast inferiority. That was how he saw me that cycle.

"I'm not entirely sure how you're little connection works, but I would really appreciate it if you could STOP harassing the others."

"Make me." He smirked.

"I can't do that unless I smash your face in and end your miserable life once and for all. But I won't do that."

"Why don't you just smash my face in then? End this pathetic existence and my misery."

I'm not entirely sure why I didn't do it. I had stuck him down time and time again without hesitation. It only prolonged both our suffering to keep him alive and proved nothing more then a childish display of revenge. As if I were attempting to punish him by keeping him alive. Or maybe I didn't end him because I wanted answers. I wanted truth. And not just the truth that hid within the Liar's fibs. The truth that only Starscream himself could tell me.

"That would be too easy a death for you."

He didn't answer, but glanced away. He hardly had the energy to fight in the first place, but his weariness had never been more apparent to me then it was now. He looked lost. For the first time in all those cycles we had spent together, he didn't have a response. He didn't have anything to say to me. Or he didn't have anything he wanted to say.

"I won't kill you Starscream. I'm willing to offer you a compromise though."

He sneered, a short little huff.

"Oh? And what might that be?"

"You stop harassing my soldiers and I'll personally retrieve your body from the ruined mines. You'll be free to leave this planet and go where you want."

At first he thought I was joking. He stared, slack jawed at me for a moment or two before laughing hysterically.

"That's a good one! You...get my body back and let me leave this planet alive!?"

"It's true. All I want is your word that you'll never set foot on Earth again. That I'll never see your treacherous face again."

"There's got to be some horrible catch to all this!" He laughed in true amusement. "Like you'll tie me with chains and send me drifting into the sun declaring that I was 'let go'."

"No such thing shall happen." I waved at the air as if waving the thought away. "However there is a small catch."

"Here we go!" He rolled his optics. "Always a hidden price."

"How wise you are, Starscream. My price is simple though. I want a few answers to my questions. For starters...why did you betray me?"

"Easy!" He declared joyfully. "You're a fool and a failure and I hate you!"

He laughed again, a cold sound. The cruelty in his voice that I had heard so long ago while watching him battle the Autobots.

"Don't lie to me. I want the truth."

"I told you the truth!" His sinister amusement continued. "You are a fool, you are a failure, and I do hate you!"

"Is it really that hard to say, Starscream? Is it really that hard to tell me why you went from a loyal and trusted partner, to a lying, back stabbing traitor!?"

All traces of amusement vanished as quickly as it had come. He stared at me. His optics narrowing and a sneer rising on his face.

"Can you really not tell me the truth?" I continued. "Is it so hard to think back to that critical moment when you decided to throw away everything we had?"

"Unfortunately for you, Mighty Megatron, I'm not in the mood for answering questions." He glanced away. All fight draining from him.

"Really? You won't give me a simple answer to a simple question? Even for your freedom?"

"Your question's not that simple!" He snapped, suddenly looking more hostel. "And even if it was, I wouldn't tell you."

"Why won't you? You used to tell me things all the time. Sometimes you couldn't shut up. All the things you would whisper to me. All the things you would moan. They sounded so real at the time. Were they really all lies?"

"Leave me alone." He hissed.

The sound of approaching steps alerted me. Our conversation interrupted, I made to press the tape against his mouth again. Starscream barely flinched, but a recognition passed through his optics and he spoke before I silenced him once again.

"Your little toy is here."

Sure enough, the door to the main control room opened and the lying clone stepped in.

"I'll give you a little time to think about it." I whispered. "But for now, why don't you sit tight and watch."

I turned away from the miserable little ornament and acknowledged him. He immediately grimaced, looking and acting quite disgusted with the sight of me. If he had been happy to see me I would have worried. He did however smile pleasantly when glancing to his creator.

"Make sure that door is locked, won't you?" I took a seat and watched the seeker clone check the door before making his way over to me.

"You have no idea how awful it is to see you today, Megatron." He sneered at me, suddenly flinching into a smile. "And how pleasant it is to have that sweet little head on the wall grace me with his presence."

"Don't mind Starscream. He won't be bothering you for much longer. I'm sure that by the end of the orbital cycle, he'll have had a chance to rethink his position."

I reached up, grabbed the liar's wrist and tugged him into my lap. He didn't struggle like I thought he would, but immediately drew his arms around me and softly purred.

"I want him to watch us." His tone dripped with sultry lust. "I feel much more relaxed knowing that he's just across the room."

"I know it's not ideal, but just think about it for a second." I teased at a seem in his shoulder. "Think about how it would make him suffer. How it would make him feel. He's hurt you enough with his malicious taunting and constant harassment. Why not get even?"

He thought about it for a second, hesitantly shoving at me as he slowly warmed up to the idea.

"He can't even move to stop it. He's stuck. Trapped. Just like he makes you feel."

He pushed a little harder at my shoulders only to pull me close again when Starscream obviously made his objection.

"It would probably traumatize him, to hear the sound of his own voice begging for mercy while I tear at your wires and ravage your body."

His fingers dug in to my shoulder plating as he adopted a look of horror. His lips parting to whisper.

"I don't want him to watch."

I didn't have to look at him to know, but Starscream was horrified. The mech in my lap reacted to every sting that he received from his creator, but I soothed them away with a gentle kiss or tickling a wire that I knew he liked. But he had never been in such a state of confusion.

He struggled against me of course, crying out that he wanted me to stop, that he was in pain. Every so often a smile would grace his features to show when he was feeling his predecessor's wrath. But as our sparks brushed together and his system pushed to overload his messages became unclear. He tugged at me, drawing himself closer, his tone sounding almost wanton as he hissed his displeasure to me. A painful flinch as he received another sting from our voyeur. He overloaded with a rather pleasant purring sound rather then a shrill scream of pain that I was used to.

We both rebooted at the same time, but instead of jumping away from me, he sighed and relaxed against me, digits wandering over my structure in lazy patterns. The first time he ever expressed any normal affection. Yet he was whispering such terrible things. The usual lies that he told when he would attempt to flee afterwards.

It was unclear to me what he was truly feeling. I'm pretty sure he wasn't entirely aware of how to feel either. I didn't have a hope of understanding his attempts at speech. With Starscream still fuming on the wall, I stood from my seat, picking the smaller mech up with me and helped him to his pedes. The overload hit him hard, and he could barely stand on his own from the loss in energy.

"Go recharge yourself. Take as much energon from our supply as you need." I directed him to the door with a gentle shove.

He didn't question me. A small smile on his face, he left the control room.

I heard a muffled protest from the little decoration. Smiling, still fairly lazy from my own overload, I moved over to him and ripped the tape off once more.

He spat and hissed for a moment, incoherent words falling over his furious lips.

"Calm down, Starscream." I reached out to cover his mouth, pulling back at the last second as he made to bite.

"HOW DARE YOU TELL ME TO CALM DOWN YOU RUST BUCKET!!" He shrieked. "I SHOULD TEAR YOUR SLAGGING GEARS OUT FOR THAT!!"

"For what?" I asked him calmly.

"MAKING ME WATCH THAT HORRID DISPLAY!"

I smiled at him pleasantly, resting my servo against the wall just next to his face well out of biting range. "If I didn't know any better Starscream, I'd think you were envious of your clone."

He stared at me for a silent nano before bursting out in a hissy fit that was very unlike him. I couldn't catch all things he said, but I'm pretty sure he said enough to make a prostibot blush.

"YOU EVIL, EGOTISTICAL SHAFT SUCKING WRETCH!"

"Oh please, you flatter me."

"I'LL SHOVE THAT GLITCHED UP GRIN OF YOURS UP YOUR TAILPIPE IF YOU EVER....AAAAAAARRRRGG!!!"

As quickly as his fuming had started, he settled down. Optics closed, bottom lip trembling as he bit it to keep from crying out even more.

"Megatron..." He barely whispered. "Why...."

"Why what?"

He looked up at me, pain in his optics. He never looked so pathetic, so drained. So beaten. It wasn't like Starscream at all. It wasn't like MY Starscream.

"Why would you do that to me?"

"Simple." I told him. "You're a fool, and a failure. And I hate you."

"TELL ME THE TRUTH!" He lashed out. "DON'T PLAY ANYMORE GAMES WITH ME!"

"Tell me what I want to know first, and then maybe I'll tell you."

He flinched away. Optics adverted. Jaw clenched so tightly I thought it might snap off.

"You should know by now, Megatron. I already told you once. You sure are slow to pick up on things."

"This isn't like your coy little advances." I moved closer, bringing my face nearer to his. "This was something that I sincerely never saw coming. Loathing me? Maybe. You never did take defeat very well. It was easier to hate me for the loss of the war then it was to hate yourself. But to outright betray me?"

"You betrayed me first." He hissed. "You HIT me."

"I punished you for what you did to Blitzwing."

"YOU HIT ME!" He cried out again. "You struck me without a second thought! I trusted you and you just up and backhanded me! You did it once, you could do it again!"

"You were being an incomprehensible little glitch that day. I did what I believed was necessary to restore order and save you from Lugnut's wrath."

"You don't seriously expect me to believe that you hit me for my own good! That's like beating the slag out of your partner and then telling them you love them! It doesn't work!"

"I never beat the slag out of you!"

"You could have! It starts with a smack, and ends up with me in repair bay!"

"You're being ridiculous!"

"You're being stupid again! Can't you see? Can you not figure it out? How many times do I have to scream it to you before you figure it out! I LOVED you, you MORON!"

I was taken aback. I took a moment to register what he had said to me. And then it all made sense. The female had told me, the kiss aft had practically slathered me with it, even the liar hissed it to me in his feigned loathing. And now Starscream himself was smacking me in the face with it.

I shouldn't have been surprised. I shouldn't have scoffed when the message was made quite obvious, from all four of them at one time or another, over the last five million stellar cycles. Yet there I was, staring aghast at that pathetic little wallflower and suddenly everything became clear.

"I.....never knew." Was all I could say for if I called him a liar, and counter his outburst with one of my shameful displays of denial, then I would only make myself look even more foolish.

"Of course you never! You're so thick that nothing ever gets through! Slag, it took me DECACYCLES to get into your berth! So I made my choice to destroy you! If you weren't capable of figuring out how much your slap to the face had devastated me, then you could have NEVER figured out how I had truly felt about you and you could have never figured out a way to make it up to me! You were a lost cause from the beginning! It only took me a few million cycles to get a grip on reality and learn to let you go!"

I almost gasped. Slag, I was so blind. He had all that pent up in him for that long! I was amazed that he hadn't snapped during those four million cycles of senseless drifting through space and ended my existence long ago. But what could I say? What could I do? Apologize? That wouldn't be enough. His optics shone with such murder that only my death could make amends. And I could only die once. That alone couldn't satisfy him. He was such a greedy creature.

I would never stoop to apologies. It was meaningless.

"I guess there's nothing that can be done about this, is there?" I stepped back from him, watching his expressions shift from wounded to furious.

"You could always, I don't know, drop dead!" He spat.

"Well I'm not about to let myself offline anytime soon. And certainly not for you."

"You really have no shame, do you? You simply don't care what you've done to me!"

"Why should I? I treated you better then anyone else in this Spark forsaken universe could ever. I gave you everything I could and it still wasn't enough. You alone made the choices that lead us here. You ruined everything, all on your own. I hit you once for being an incomprehensible moron, and you act like I ripped out your spark."

"You can't deny me my feelings!" He shrieked. "You have no right to belittle what you did! Make it seem insignificant! Even you precious toy realized it at the end of that disgusting exchange just now. Wonder why he left looking happy? Instead of his usual misery?"

"You told him."

"Yes. Everything." He grinned in a small triumph. "He remembers how it felt to be betrayed by you. He remembers what it feels like to hate you. He feels what I feel."

"You fragged up glitch." I muttered.

"They'll all remember sooner or later. They'll all know what you did. What REALLY happened. They have the ability to think for themselves and even though they've abandoned me they'll still understand what it feels like to be me. They'll turn on you. They'll hate you as much as I, even without my influence."

"They can try it." I growled. "But I'll have mercy on them and end their lives quickly. You on the other hand, will never know that peace."

"You can punish me all you want for my treachery," He glared daggers at me, optics burning once again. "But you've already done all the damage that you could ever do to me."

I leaned down to him again, bringing my face close to his. He bared his teeth and I grinned at his attempts to look fierce.

"Oh I could always do more, but you'll end up damaging yourself with all this hate that you've poisoned yourself with. You'll never know peace because your deranged mind will never let you live it. And as far as the clone problem goes, It might be nice to hear some pleasant noises coming from that pretty little liar. Even if he's truly hating it, he'll play like he loves it. And the others already know their place. They could never get close enough to pull a stunt like you."

He sneered, and I grinned wider.

"And besides, I know that deep down in your empty little spark case, you still love me. That will torment you more then anything."

"And how did you ever come up with something so ridiculous?"

"Because, " I reached my servo up and touched his scowling face. "I still love you."

His optics grew wide as I pressed our lips together. I half expected him to bite, spit, something to push me away. Instead he froze. Jaw slack, lips sliding apart as I brushed my glossa against them, as I kissed him. When I drew away, he didn't lash out or bark or snap or anything to protest against such a bold violation of his space. He simply stared at me.

"But I guess there's nothing we can do about it now. You've made your decisions, I've made mine. I can let you go like I promised, but if I ever see you again, you'll end up just as you are now. Stuck forever, watching as I overload the scrap out somebody other then you. The liar might not be who you were, or even who you are now, but he's enough like you that I can enjoy him without the sentimentality."

I slapped the tape over his mouth once again, watching as his expression practically fell of his face. Once again he seemed drained, beaten. Defeated.

"I'll give you some more time to think about it. But just remember Starscream, you brought all this on yourself. There's nothing that you can do now to fix it. I'll never forgive you for your betrayal."

I left him without another word. He didn't even attempt to scream at me. Though I thought I heard a small injured noise from him as I left the control room.

Of course I lied to him. Not about our deal, oh no. I was willing to let him go free. I do grow tired of looking at his sour little face all day. It makes me regretful. I lied about loving him. Of course I did at one time. He was perfect, after all, for a full million stellar cycles before the end of the great war. He was loyal, trustworthy and lethal. A truly beautiful Decepticon. But now, he's a weak, pathetic, deceitful coward. It pains me in the slightest, but not enough to end his life and erase him from my existence. I can still abide him long enough to watch him destroy himself with the decision I left him. He's such a self destructive thing. And he's only lying to himself if he thinks he can escape the Hell he's trapped in. For the truth hides in those lies.

I guess that old mech was right after all. A lie can be used to tell the truth. Starscream proves it.



End