The Good, the Bad and Starscream

Chapter 23: Darkest Hour

"You... what?" Arcee whispered in disbelief.

Starscream did not say anymore. He didn't even look at Arcee. He just stared ahead of him, gaze set on something that wasn't there. His face expressed no emotion. No fear. No sadness. No anger. No guilt. Nothing. He just stared blankly in front of him, his mouth in a straight line and his optical ridges low and straight. His optics were their normal size and dilation. It was impossible to read his face. Even his wings were in their normal, high position, unable to show what he felt.

Arcee stared at the Seeker in disbelief. "You..." she repeated, then stopped herself and gazed at the Decepticons laughing by the Omega Lock, which was currently cyberforming Earth through the Space Bridge. "This isn't... We don't..."

Arcee's optics darted from Starscream to the Omega Lock and down at Jack, too upset over his planet being in danger to notice what was happening between his partner and the Seeker.

Arcee was out of her mind. She couldn't focus her anger on anything. She wasn't mad at Starscream. She was furious. She wanted to yell at him, attack him, give him a piece of her mind, avenge Cliffjumper. But with the imminent danger of Earth being cyberformed, the Decepticons having surrounded the Autobots and having full control over the Omega Lock, not to mention their human allies being in danger, there wasn't time to take it out on Starscream.

Which was exactly why he had chosen that moment to tell her. She was too confused to figure out who or what to focus her anger on. Starscream or Megatron. The death of Cliffjumper or the kidnapping of Jack. The past trauma or the present danger.

But Arcee did not have to find out. In the next moment, Optimus had converted his servo into a sword and slashed through one of the Vehicons surrounding them. The other bots looked on in surprise as Optimus stormed out from the Vehicon circle, heading for the Star Saber still planted in the ground. The Vehicons were too surprised to stop him but soon recollected themselves and started running after him.

Optimus pulled the Star Saber from the ground and swung it to wipe out the incoming Vehicon attackers. He began running towards Megatron, who had drawn his Dark Star Saber and prepared to meet Optimus in another confrontation.

But as Megatron swung his own sword, Optimus parried, causing Megatron to recoil. Optimus took advantage of the short amount of time to slice off Megatron's Prime arm, much to the shock of Megatron and the other Decepticons present.

While the remains of Megatron's arm sparked and leaked, Optimus wasted no time in running towards the Omega Lock at full speed, optics locked and objective clear.

Soundwave, Knock Out and Dreadwing began firing at Optimus, as did Skywarp and Thundercracker from the sides. Optimus, determined and completely focused on his mission, absentmindedly dodged the attacks with little effort, followed by jumping onto Dreadwing's face, using it to take off and lift the Star Saber into the air.

The Decepticons being unable to stop him, Optimus let out a roar and struck the Omega Lock with the Star Saber.

The impact caused a massive explosion, sending everyone in the area flying off to the sides. There was a great, bright light, blinding those who looked directly into it. The sound of the explosion was deafening, dulling the nearby bots' audio receptors. Several lost consciousness.

The white blast from the Omega Lock disappeared, as did the Space Bridge it had gone through. So did the light from the Omega Lock itself disappear.

Soon, the light faded and the sounds began returning to the various bots' audio receptors. Optimus and the other Autobots looked around them, gazing at the horror before them. The Omega Lock had been destroyed. The surrounding area was encased in flames, smoke and ashes. The Decepticons seemed to have been buried underneath the rubble.