The Silent Light - Part 2 (A Megatron x Starscream (Megastar) Fanfiction)

Episode 19: A Call

Megatron's expression droops, his mouth hanging agape and his eyes wide and wild. His hand loosens a bit, the communication device now hovering inches from his trembling audio receptor. Starscream cranes his head back, observing the mech's face, trying to jump to conclusions.

"Megatron, what is it?"

Megatron collects himself again, and he puts the device back against his head. "I'm going to put you on speaker."

A soft, "okay" comes from deep within the device. Megatron's index finger gently constricts around an orange button on the side of the device, and ambient, soft crackling comes from the speakers.

"Starscream can hear you now."

Shockwave's deep voice, still stable even in time of dread, spouts into the air. "Starscream, the silent light is coming for Cybertron. I am assuming that you two heard the sound as well."

Starscream cocks his head, his brow furrowing. "Yeah...we heard...something." His optics dart about the room as he processes the horrible news. His brain module cannot make sense of the new information. "What do you mean...it's coming for Cybertron?"

"What do you mean, 'What do you mean'? The black hole is moving through space and coming right for Cybertron!"

"Hey!" Megatron barks, his roughness crumpling his tone. "This is confusing for all of us. Give us some grace."

Shockwave's end remains quiet for a bit. Some subtle clanking comes from the line, as if he is pacing about. "I plotted the course. It is moving towards our planet. It has surprisingly avoided others."

"So why wouldn't it avoid us?" Starscream asks.

"The black hole would have started to detour around us by now, according to the past courses. It would maintian at least a couple million hics* between it and other worlds, but it is about 500,000 hics from us. The distance is closing by the cycle**."

Megatron sits down on a slab and crosses his legs; his back hunches as he thinks about a course of action. Starscream settles down on the floor, his optics locked on the shivering hand holding the communication device.

"When did it start moving?" Starscream asks.

"About a deca-cycle*** ago."

"It moved that much in a deca-cycle?"

"Yes. I've never seen something like --"

"Why weren't you tracking it?" A sudden flame returns to Megatron's gaze as he hold up the communication device. He stares deep into the waveform monitor, as if he is trying to discern Shockwave's form from the clusters of lines.

Starscream feels his spark skip a beat. Megatron's rage is returning.

"I was. The information from the past deca-cycle...it was somehow replaced. When I reference past logs, they all state that the black hole has remained in place. But today, all this information is coming in about its movement. Something was manipulated in my system, and I am unsure of how. I never got any warnings. Even this movement is unexpected from a black hole of this caliber. It is hard for supermassive black holes to move because of their tremendous mass, but something just caused yours to move. And it's moving with agility...like it has a plan. It's not moving in an arc or circle like it has suddenly become part of a binary system. It is specifically moving around other planets and stars without disrupting their orbits. This black hole has quite a bit of pull, but it hasn't pulled other planets. It's not even pulling ours, even though we are entering into its gravity. It can...control itself?"

"But this isn't a textbook black hole," Megatron replies. "Two Cybertronians made it. It doesn't even have a singularity. Starscream and I didn't get crushed nor pulled apart."

"It does have a singularity. My scans and readings of it prove that is so. It behaves like a black hole, but it doesn't seem to impact its creators." Shockwave falls silent, as if he is ashamed that his own knowledge has reached its limits. "This is the first silent light black hole I have studied. I am aware there must be others in the universe, but this is the first I am aware of."

"So..." Starscream mutters. "what do we do?"

The room remains silent. Megatron sluggishly gets to his feet, his shoulders stiff yet droopy as he handles the sudden sludge of information. He ambles into the other room, and Starscream watches uneasily as his former lover's back is engulfed in shadows. The hinged door gently shuts behind him. Soft voices come through the walls.

Starscream leaps to his feet. "Hey!" he squeaks as he launches himself over a table and scuttles to the bedroom door. He raps angrily on the door.

"Not now, Starscream!" Megatron yaps.

"This involves me too! Let me in."

Megatron whips the door open. The communication device is protectively in his grasp, and his hand hovers near his chest, preventing Shockwave from hearing most of their bickering. "Not now. Shockwave and I need to talk alone." Megatron glances at the device. "It's muted."

Starscream crosses his arms and scowls. "What is so important that I can't listen? This is our problem, and I want to be informed too!"

"I'll update you."

"Why are you being so secretive all of a sudden?! If you're worried about me doing or saying something, then tell me."

Megatron sighs, his optics gloomy. "I'm not worried about you. I just...need to talk to Shockwave alone."

"About...what?"

"What's going on. Between us."

"And why can't I be there?"

"I...I don't want to..." Megatron's bottom lip trembles, and bubbly tears fill his optics. His voice drops to a whisper. "If you are there...I-I'm going to get upset. I can control myself better when it is just me and him. He's...he's critical about who I am now, and I don't want him to doubt my authority because...because I cry."

Megatron shakes his head before disappearing back into the room, hidden behind a door.

*Cybertronian measurement of length. It is about 1 kilometer.

**Cybertronian measurement of time. It is about 1.25 hours.

***Cybertronian measurement of time. It is about 3 weeks.