#wtcc

Now that's a debate I've had with myself. Because in season 3-post, Starscream is still MIA. Is he back to being a ghost, is he spinning uncontrollably through space? It's never explained.

The whole fic would have been different if Starscream was in the picture because he's the first person Octane would have gone to for help once things started going south. Octane is also one of the only Decepticons who has been shown to canonically like Starscream. If Star was a player in this fic, Octane would have been his de-facto second in command for whatever version of the Decepticons Star commanded away from Galvatron. How Octane met Sandstorm would have been completely different, too. Though, I don't imagine the destructive direction of Sandstorm's obsession would have changed. BUT ignoring that. Just base as the world building in the fic is presented. Sandstorm would deeply loath Starscream. Sandstorm takes great satisfaction in being Octane's "exception" when it comes to mechs. Telling himself the hundreds (possibly thousands given Octane's age) of femmes Octane has interfaced with meant nothing. They were no different than smoking a cygar or drinking crude high-grade to Octane.

Just another vice.

(Even though that isn't true and Octane has been shown to care about each femme he meets in his own small, repressed ways throughout the fic. Sandstorm lies to himself just as much if not more than he lies to Octane. And Sandstorm genuinely believes he's never lied to Octane once.)

But if Octane had actually been in a casual, semi-serious relationship with Starscream? Then, Sandstorm isn't special. He knows Octane is deceptively kind. But it meant something different when Octane was continuously kind to him and never turned him down (barring Octane turning him down during the chase), because he was a special exception to Octane's usual vice.

Octane doesn't ever consider saying no when offered a cygar or a free cube of high-grade. However, Octane had to think about accepting Sandstorm.

Starscream's existence as a past partner Octane is still openly fond of and has nothing bad to say about throws all that out. Learning that in this fic would have made Sandstorm slightly more aggressive. He would have wanted Octane to be hurt more by Thunderhoof. Physically and emotionally. The chase would have dragged out longer. He would have taken opportunities to point out that no one was helping Octane now. Where was Starscream? Poise his questions as innocent, curious asks while trying to drive it in deeper that Sandstorm is the only one here for him now. Wants to be the only one for Octane, forever. Sandstorm both despises and pities most of Octane's past partners and even platonic relationships. The only ill he wishes toward them is for them to never see Octane ever again. Which to him is a fate worse than death.