Unstable Energon, Part Two

Megatron and Starscream kept walking, deep into the wilderness, night approaching. They were in the middle of the jungle; dusk was making everything dark and indistinct. Starscream wasn't 100% comfortable with the eerie sounds of the night creatures around him.

"There aren't any snakes around here...are there?" Starscream asked.

"I'm sure there are." Megatron smirked. "Why? You aren't scared, are you?"

"No, I was just curious," said Starscream uncertainly as Megatron rolled his eyes. "When are we going to get there? If I have to walk for one more hour, my legs are going to atrophy!"

"We'll find it soon," Megatron snapped, already annoyed by the fact that Starscream had not stopped complaining throughout their whole journey so far.

"What do you mean, find it?!" Starscream screeched. "You don't even know where it is?!"

"I just know it's there." Megatron was trying to keep from getting angry. "I told you, we'll find it."

"I'm sure we will," Starscream scoffed. "Just like how we always achieve all of your OTHER big plans."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Megatron spun around, red eyes flashing.

"I'm tired of playing second banana to a leader who can't even figure out where his energon is hidden!" Starscream shouted back. "If you'd listen for once to what I say--"

"YOU HAD YOUR CHANCE!" Megatron exploded. "And you failed!"

"You're the total fail!" Starscream yelled.

"I'M the total fail?" Megatron, infuriated, grabbed Starscream's injured wing, deliberately brushing his hand against the important, damaged wires. Starscream let out a howl of pain and jerked away.

"Don't DO that!" Starscream told him, the wires in his wings sparking. "Don't you know it's forbidden to touch a Seeker's wings?"

"Sure, but I don't care."

"I refuse to be led by you!" Starscream hollered, kicking Megatron in the shin. "In fact, I-I'll find the energon myself! Yeah!"

"That'll be the day!" Megatron almost choked with laughter, which only encouraged Starscream. "Actually, I might have to take you up on that offer. It will be amusing to watch you fail!"

"You're going to eat those words, Megatron!" Starscream declared, running off. "You'll see!"

Megatron watched Starscream disappear into the trees. Still cackling to himself, he left to explore a nearby cave.

...

"Who does that slag-tard think he is?" Starscream muttered to himself as he waded through the wilderness, his legs and wings hurting more with every step. "I WILL find  the energon supply first. And when I do, I'll just go home and leave Megatron here in the jungle, because that's what he deserves!"

Starscream's hands were scratched from pushing huge tree branches out of the way, and he was tired of stumbling over unforgiving logs and rocks. The young Seeker felt himself shiver every time he heard a screeching sound in the distance or rustling in the trees above. Honestly, he could tell why the flesh creatures didn't come out here too often. The city was much better. There were more lights there, and no strange creatures hiding and waiting.

As the hours passed, Starscream felt himself getting a little...lightheaded. Thundercracker was right...he was running almost entirely on synthetic energon now and he needed high-grade if he was ever to complete such a long mission. It was too late now, though. The energon he had left would only last several more hours.

Starscream shrieked when he felt something land on his shoulders. What was that?! Another Earth creature?

"GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" Starscream waved his arms all around in the air and finally the thing jumped off of him, hooting. It was only a little monkey that had gotten the better of him, but everything about the jungle had Starscream spooked.

Panting with exhaustion, Starscream sat down on a log and watched the monkey grab a vine and swing himself away. Trying to slow his breathing down, he told himself, "FORGET the stupid Earth creatures. Just look for the energon supply and then you can leave everything else behind. INCLUDING Megatron."

...

Megatron had seen energon hidden in caves before. This was the ONLY place in which it could be lurking. In the end, it was probably a good thing that he and Starscream had gone their separate ways; Megatron would find the energon, and Starscream could stay lost in the jungle forever for all he cared.

It wasn't scary in the cave. There were bats that screeched and landed on the strange cave formations, and Megatron could hear the sounds from all kinds of animals outside. But honestly, it wasn't SCARY. Many Earth creatures, he had learned, were actually quite harmless if left unprovoked, so there was no reason to fear them.  

By now, Megatron had been searching the cave for about an hour. Most of his thinking, of course, was focused on finding the energon supply, but every so often (just for amusement) he thought of Starscream lost and alone in the jungle, frightened out of his mind...but he would still continue the fruitless search for energon, because he was just THAT prideful.

Megatron almost tripped over a stalagmite when he heard a familiar voice cry out his name--"LORD MEGATRON!"

Starscream? Megatron recognized the voice, but he decided not to answer. Whatever, he thought.

"LORD MEGATRON!" Starscream repeated. "HELP ME!"

"Pfft, he's the Almighty Starscream," Megatron muttered sarcastically. "Almighty Starscream doesn't need me, a total fail...he can handle whatever it is on his own."

"LORD MEGATRON! I NEED YOU!" Starscream actually sounded panicked now. "I CAN'T HANDLE THIS ON MY OWN!"

"Oh, he probably just ran into some harmless Earth creature," Megatron told himself. "Just overreacting, as usual. There is no way I'm turning back for him."

But then Starscream said something that changed everything--

"I'VE FOUND THE ENERGON!"