I do love me some parental!Starscream.
Contains DOTM spoilers.
Uploaded: July 13/11
Prompt: Sentinel Prime / Starscream / disagreement
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"What," Sentinel Prime demanded, "Are those."
The depth of revulsion in his tone was enough to make Starscream stop in his tracks. He had no idea what had prompted the sudden disgust; some sort of organic species, perhaps? There were certainly enough of them on this slagging planet. A sweep of both optics and sensors revealed nothing out of the ordinary, though, and he was back at square one.
"That you're holding."
Starscream looked down. Then, slowly, back up. "They are sparklings, my liege."
The Prime leaned down to study them closely. The elder of the two, Thundercracker, shrank back into Starscream's grasp. The younger, Skywarp, leaned forward eagerly. He began to chirp; Starscream let him. Surely no harm -
"And what, precisely, are... sparklings."
Starscream suddenly didn't like where this was going. The mech could be as moody as Megatron - he'd learned that the hard way. The sparklings were far too delicate to take any sort of punishment, and while Megatron at least acknowledged this the Prime would not. At least not yet. It was a prudent precaution, then, to pull Skywarp back against his half-sibling and cover them both with his free hand.
It took him a few moments more to speak. He had to explain things delicately, lest the Prime do something rash. "After the Allspark was... lost," he said, "The Fallen revealed another method of creating sparks. It requires two or more mechs, in close contact; they split off and then combine a piece of their own sparks..." he trailed off.
That expression was murderous.
Starscream backed up a step. No, he did not like where this was going. His turbines started and then cut out just as fast. No. Cowardice was not an option, not yet anyway. His sparklings made small, frightened noises, reacting to the tension in his frame. 'No teleporting,' he hummed to Skywarp. The sparkling didn't have that kind of energy. It would kill him, whether or not he ended up warping into a solid object.
The Prime, too, seemed to restrain himself; he straightened and turned away. Both of his hands were curled into fists. Starscream studied his back intently even as he ushered the sparklings into his frame. They'd be far safer there, with his armor shielding them. He wasn't done yet.
Surely the Prime could be persuaded to change his views, even if only for the good of Cybertron. It had worked millennia ago for Megatron. Skywarp and Thundercracker were by far the healthiest of the remaining sparklings. They were the offspring of the Fallen and Megatron, respectively. And the offspring of a Prime would no doubt be equal in strength...
"My liege..." Starscream stepped forward. "You are old and wise, and far more powerful than the rabble our forces consist of." Flattery will get you everywhere, it's true. Sentinel looked over his shoulder. Starscream felt that familiar anticipation creep up on him. Maybe this would work. "A sparkling is as powerful as its creators. Perhaps you and I might..."
The blow was fast enough that Starscream couldn't even begin to dodge it. One moment he was standing - the next he was skidding backwards over the loose earth. Skywarp began to trill in fear, high and constant. Dizzily, he was glad that Sentinel had targeted his head rather than his chest.
Then the Prime was leaning over him, as closely as he could without overbalancing himself. Starscream tensed in response and shuffled back. He had no room to maneuver, or to escape into the sky. If Sentinel moved to attack, if he tried to hurt the sparklings... he half-transformed his hand into his missile launcher before he got ahold of himself.
"Those creatures are abominations," Sentinel snarled. Some part of him was approving of the sheer amount of hatred in the Prime's voice. Most of him was too busy panicking for the sparklings' sake. The Prime was glaring at his chest. More precisely at Skywarp, who was still wailing.
'Be quiet!' Starscream hissed. He turned himself carefully, just enough to put more armor between them and the Prime. It made his own spark an easier target, but he couldn't care less. No one would harm his sparklings while he still lived. No one.
With a final snort of revulsion, Sentinel straightened. He stalked away and Starscream was on his feet in moments.
"Keep those things out of my sight."
Starscream didn't reply. He had already launched himself into the air. He needed to find somewhere to hide them, and he needed to do it now.