[The words were different from what he was expecting. There was still an uncertainty to them, a tone that mimicked confidence and inclusion while still searching desperately for that which it's recipient would want to hear...
But there was also something new.]
[Sincerity.]
[The hand that wiped away the dust settled on Starscream's arm.] I think you might finally understand. [There were the smallest vestiges of a smile beneath his smirk, this time.] What it means to lead. To embody a cause. To give up nearly everything for it, and to receive little back except a title.
...the title means nothing. [The 'Lord' part. The part all Megatrons eventually adopted.] But it can give you respect. [It let others obey him, so that he might use them to do what was necessary.]
[The smirk twisted, and the hand on Starscream's shoulder clenched.] Except it is difficult, now, to believe your words, Starscream.
You did betray me. You betrayed the Decepticon cause, sometimes for your own advancement. You betrayed the ideal of the freedoms that we fought for. You, I have learned, caused a number of failed plots. A number of times when victory could have been ours.
[The hand gripping the jet pushed backward, and Megatron's foot branched out, hooking around the other's ankle, utilizing a move he'd memorized to bring his second-in-command down to his knees, a second hand joining the first on the opposite shoulder to keep Starscream there.] I have only one thing to say to that. It will be the first--and the last--time you hear it from me.
Doing a tiny bit of puppeting here, lemme know if okay!
But there was also something new.]
[Sincerity.]
[The hand that wiped away the dust settled on Starscream's arm.] I think you might finally understand. [There were the smallest vestiges of a smile beneath his smirk, this time.] What it means to lead. To embody a cause. To give up nearly everything for it, and to receive little back except a title.
...the title means nothing. [The 'Lord' part. The part all Megatrons eventually adopted.] But it can give you respect. [It let others obey him, so that he might use them to do what was necessary.]
[The smirk twisted, and the hand on Starscream's shoulder clenched.] Except it is difficult, now, to believe your words, Starscream.
You did betray me. You betrayed the Decepticon cause, sometimes for your own advancement. You betrayed the ideal of the freedoms that we fought for. You, I have learned, caused a number of failed plots. A number of times when victory could have been ours.
[The hand gripping the jet pushed backward, and Megatron's foot branched out, hooking around the other's ankle, utilizing a move he'd memorized to bring his second-in-command down to his knees, a second hand joining the first on the opposite shoulder to keep Starscream there.] I have only one thing to say to that. It will be the first--and the last--time you hear it from me.