Hey there! I'm alive! Been what? Four, five years?
No more Sonic stories guys, I'm into Transformers now and so I decided to post this (even though it's already on AO3) and see how my rise from the dead goes. And I'm keeping Treasured Love up (although I hate it and shudder at how terrible my writing was) just so that people can see how much I've improved. So, with out further ado, behold! Light Within the Darkness!
Yes, I realise that not all the time-terms aren't correct, but that was done on purpose. I always do everything with reason, no matter how small it seems
Terms:
hexad = A subgroup of six
hexadmate/s = Used by one member of a hexad when referring to another/more than one member.
Distance:
espe = Decepticon measurement of distance - 3 feet/0.9 meters
hister = Decepticon measurement of distance - 60 feet/18.3 meters
kilohister = Decepticon kilometre - 1000 hister, 11 miles/18.3 kilometres
Time:
nanoklik = 2 seconds
klik = 31 nanokliks/62 seconds
breem = 8 kliks/8.27 minutes
groon = 9 breem/1.24 hours
joor = 6 groon/7.44 hour
orbital = 1 Cybetronian day
solar cycle = daytime
lunar cycle = nighttime
orn = 42 joor/13.02 Earth days
diun = month, 2 orns/25 orbitals
decaorn = 32 orns/1.14 Earth years
metacycle = 8 decaorn/9.22 Earth years
vorn = 9 metacycles/72 decaorn/1 Cybetronian year/83 Earth years
decavorn = 100 Cybertronian years/833 Earth years
kilovorn = 1,000 Cybertronian years/8,333 Earth years
decilivorn = 10,000 Cybertronian years/83,333 Earth years
hekavorn = 100,000 Cybertronian years/833,333 Earth years
megavorn = 1,000,000 Cybertronian years/8,333,333 Earth years
Conversation:
\text\ Seeker language (my invention as far as I know, feel free to use it; with credit of course)
::text:: comm chatter
~text~ bond chatter
|text| temporary processor link during spark-merge (again, my brain child as far as I know)
"~text~" singing...yes, you read right, singing...no this is not a songfic, so don't press/touch that back arrow just yet.
PS, I'm gonna do a very out of character thing and follow the guide lines for this site. So the sexual content that passes these rules will be edited out and the full chapter will be posted on AO3 because some of them are pretty explicit. Yea, I know, damn you fanfiction!
See me for what I am, watch me as I burn from within
The fire lit by these feelings I can't express
For if I did, my enemies would exploit them
Can you see me now, do you know who and what I am?
I'm a Decepticon
~Moonbeam's POV~
Clank clank clank. With the stride of the soldiers that we are we march through the corridors of the Nemesis, Vehicons holding their guns to our helms and backs. The last set of dark grey doors open and we enter the control room, the heart of the operation within our enemy's flying fortress. Sitting in the commander's chair is the ex-gladiator and King of the Decepticons. Lord Megatron himself. My wings twitch, out of the corner of my optics my Second in Command, Solarflare, tenses slightly as her servo hovers over the dagger hidden beneath her hip plating. I rumble my engine in warning; she glares at me and reluctantly relaxes. The Decepticons need to trust us, our mission is to observe and record their battle strategies; what better way to do so than to join them?
My youngest sister, Starhopper, was extremely alarmed and skittish at the thought of this. Red Giant was obedient as always and the first to agree with me, while White Dwarf was quietly muttering to himself about how it'll be a suicide mission. The second youngest, Nebula, made good use of her golden glossa and got everyone to settle down while I went to explain my plan to Ultra Magnus. He also said that it would be risky, but four feminine and two masculine Seeker frames would fit into our enemy's ranks perfectly; the former would most likely be a welcoming sight to the thirsty optics of the mechs. The only femmes that our enemies have are Breeding Drones, which are in Shockwave's lab, other than that there are none in the higher ranks whatsoever.
"Hmm, well now," the deep, harsh vocaliser of the silver titan nearly makes my knees buckle from a combination of the raw power it holds and the unwanted desi-...fear it creates within my Spark, "what do we have here?"
The tall, slim Con known as Soundwave steps forward, a clip plays on his visor, it's of my siblings and I being rounded up by Buzzsaw, Laserbeak, Thundercracker and Skywarp.
"Let's get you Autobot Seekers to Lord Megatron," Thundercracker's vocaliser growls somewhere out of the visor's view and the clip ends.
"And what pretty Seekers they are," the sound of the Decepticon SIC makes my tank squirm with disgust, "perhaps we can play with them a little before we crush them?"
Starscream moves towards Starhopper; she shrinks back slightly, but bumps into the Vehicon behind her, her frame begins to rattle as she whimpers and shutters her optics. His claw tip is almost touching her cheek plate, I told my siblings to be calm no matter what and in this single klik they are following my orders, all things considered I can't help but feel a faint swell of pride in my Spark.
Then, as usual, Solarflare snaps.
With a feral snarl she spins around and grabs the barrel of the gun that the Vehicon behind her is holding. She jerks it back so it hits his forehelm, denting the plating and knocking him out. He stumbles back and crashes to the ground, taking two of his comrades with him. The second eldest of us flattens her servos and they curve, transforming into cannons, then they unfold to form two halves of a bigger cannon. My SIC brings them together with a loud click and points her weapon at Starscream, he immediately raises a missile arm at her but keeps his claws hovering over Starhopper's cheek. This all happens in the timespan of one and a half nanokliks.
"Don't you dare touch her you snivelling piece of slag, or I'll blow you a new valve!" Solarflare hisses, engines roaring and wings twitching.
The front half of my pedes split in half and fold back to cover my heels, the back landing wheels of my alt form, which act as skates. I twirl around as my servos morph into cannons like my sister's, but I keep them separate and place myself between the two SIC, one cannon pointing at each.
"Lower your weapon sister," I order, my optics staring right into her's.
"Not until this scrap head lowers his toy," the red and yellow flamed Seeker growls, pealing back her lips so she bares her denta in a challenging snarl.
I turn my helm in a lazy way, giving the Seeker mech an expression that says I-don't-have-fragging-time-for-this-scrap, "Down."
"You first," Starscream snaps, but he does take his servo away from my black and white spotted sister.
So, now I'm stuck, with several Vehicons pointing guns at me as a bonus. I end up turning on my tactician coding, it tells me that the only logical thing to do is to turn to the highest command here. Gah, it's still thinking like an Autobot tactician, it means Ultra Magnus, but the holder of the highest rank here is Megatron. Growling in annoyance, I look up at the ex-gladiator.
"My Lord, I think it would be wise to put the leash back on your pet," I state with the calmest tone possible, desperately trying to keep the sharpness out of my vocaliser, "because as you can see, I am in no position to pin down my SIC, but you are for yours."
"'My Lord'?" Megatron growls and narrows his optics, he's got the same I-don't-give-a-frag look that I have, "what makes you think I won't kill you just because you have an alluring frame and you try to appease me?"
Because of the position Solarflare has placed me in and the Con's unhelpful manner, I have only one option left now. I change my cannons back to servos and pull out the daggers beneath each of my hip plates, then throw them down at the pedes of Megatron. Reaching back above my waist to where the hilts of my two swords are slotted on top of my wings, I release the blades and grab them as they slip away from the cupels, they land with a clatter before his pedes. I bend down and uncouple the small guns from my ankles then add them to the little pile. Finally I sink to my knees, bend forward so that my elbows and wrists touch the cold floor, to top it off I lower my wings and audios as far as I can.
I may have been raised by grounders, but if there's one thing I know about my Sire's kind, then it's that when a Seeker does this it means complete and total surrender.
Screamer laughs, he clicks and chirps to me in Seeker language with a harsh tone, \How pathetic, this is the leader of the squadron that protected the great and glorious city of Praxus? The legendary Moonbeam, who struck down countless battalions of Decepticon warriors, with one servo tied to both wings? No wonder your home was destroyed! You're really nothing but a frightened, little sparkling!\
"Starscream!" the Decepticon leader snarls as he gets up and folds his arms behind his back, the same bored look still on his face plates, but there's an annoyed glint in his optics, "How many times have I told you, I don't understand a single word of that infernal clicking or that annoying chirping! Stupid glitch."
As he approaches me I bow my helm till my brow touches the back of my crossed servos, "We surrender my Lord," I force my vocaliser to not betray me and show the longi-...fear that my optics do, "please let us, the Universe Seeker Squadron, join your great Decepticon cause."
A thick claw is placed beneath my chin, it lifts my helm and I find myself staring right into the red optics of the dark lord, who is now kneeling before me. Having him kneel on one knee in front of me should demean him, but seeing the warlord this close makes him even larger and more intimidating than before. I can feel his vents forcing the hot air out of his frame, only to suck new air right back in. The ex-gladiator's sharp denta grind together in a threatening, twisted smirk and his cold gaze seems to burn into my processor. Yet I bury my...fear deep down with my grief and match his glare.
"How do I know this isn't a trick?" He growls, optics narrowing in suspicion.
~You're up Starhopper~ I whisper to my youngest sister through our Sibling-Bond, ~I know you can do it~
~I'll try my best~ her frame shakes as she steps to the side, out of Starscream's reach, and musters the courage to look right at the most fearsome mech to ever walk on the surface of Cybertron, "P-please, sir."
He growls, helm snapping up to stare at her, "What?"
She flinches and whimpers, looking down she continues, "When Praxus fell we saved all we could, entire families, the Priests of Primus, the senators and anyone else we could. But...they left us...we got one thanks and after that they turned their backs on...on us," the youngest of us begins to sob and covers her mouth with a servo as her helm shakes from side to side, unable to continue.
Red Giant puts an arm around Starhopper and she allows herself to be engulfed by her larger, crimson sibling. Red gives a weary sigh, "Permission to speak Commander."
I raise an optic ridge at Megatron, who frowns, but eventually nods for me to give the order, "You may speak brother."
Red's engines rev faintly with anger, the only emotion that he finds difficulty in repressing, "We saved their Sparks, but they did not let us go with them, saying it was our fault their homes were destroyed, that because we are Seekers we cannot be trusted. However, not one of them lifted a single digit to help us fight. That is when we realised, the bots we had willingly laid down our lives for did not care about us, they saw us as processor-less Drones. We seek a home, but not an Autobot one, for we have forsaken them as they did us."
"Pl-please," Starhopper sobs, keeping her face pressed against her brother's chassis as she quivers, "we just want a roof over our helms, a berth to recharge in and a place for our Sparks to call home."
I see the faces of many Decepticons, both high and low rank, soften. Even their leader's face relaxes slightly as he stands up. No one can resist my little sister's sweet, innocent vocaliser. Not even the ex-gladiator.
"But what can you offer me?" He mutters with a smirk as he regains his stern posture.
~I know, I know~ Nebula sighs before I can even seek out her Bond connection ~Now that he's all soft 'n' fluffed up it's my turn~
She stalks forward, hips swaying out of habit, EM field leaking with assertiveness. The spy stands there, hip jutted out with a servo draped lazily on it and her wings lowered halfway. All optics fall on her and already I can hear a few fans clicking onto their lowest setting.
"Oh dearie me sweetspark, are you sealed by any chance?" my sister returns the smirk and adds a raised optic ridge to the questioning, yet sexy look.
If there's one thing Nebula can do, it's tease any femme or mech till they're on their knees begging.
Megatron's engines rumble in a low growl of warning, "And what makes you think that!?"
The second youngest of us giggles with astounding confidence, her smooth, slick vocaliser turning what should be a sweet sound into an I-accept-your-challenge-to-play-my-game gesture, "Well it's just that you're asking six sexy, slim Seekers what they could possibly offer you. Do you really need to ask...Master?"
As the last word slowly rolls off her glossa she turns so her left side faces the Decepticon leader and everyone else can see the same thing from the other side, but she keeps her alluring gaze on the huge mech. She raises her wings as high as she can, lifts one pede so that her toes are touching the ground and stretches her arms completely to link her servos above her helm as if they're bound. Her magenta frame gleams in the soft light.
All in one swift, graceful motion, she's been practicing it for at least eight orns.
Fans click onto higher settings and whistles erupt from nearly every mech as the teasing Seeker rolls her helm back a bit, her engines give a soft purr as her lips part a slightly and she gives a delicate sigh. Click. Well, it sounds as if Megatron has also fallen prey to my teasing sibling. As I feel the warm air from his vents heat up slightly I can no longer hold back my smug, one-sided smile.
"What you see before you darling," Nebula brings her arms down, turns to face the warlord as she puts her pedes firmly together, she rolls her hips back and blows the head Decepticon a kiss as she winks, bending forward to show off her curved aft to the others behind her, "Is six sealed Seekers wishing to...no," she whispers and prowls forward to stand beside where I kneel, Nebula trails a claw across the plating where Megatron's Spark lies, then sighs breathlessly and cocks her hips to one side, "begging to join your army."
About two dozen vocalisers howl at her words as well as her highly brave action, many engines give heated roars, at least nine mechs leave the room looking very flustered and in desperate need of some private time. I notice, with a considerably large amount of amusement, that among the nine mechs is Starscream.
~Best show yet sister~ I laugh through the Bond but keep my face straight.
~Not quite done Moon, you know how much mechs love their toys of destruction, especially gladiators. I've gotta sell our weapons too~ Nebula chuckles back.
"Oh, and for fighting," she walks back three steps and mentions to my weapon pile with a delicate sweep of a servo, "we all have these, they're standard issue for us. We all have the servo-cannons too, but Moonbeam and Solarflare's have an extra kick in them, they get that from soaking up Moon and Sunlight respectively. Red Giant is a bomb specialist and White Dwarf can hack any system in under a nanoklik. I can change my colour to blend with my surroundings, and Starhopper can teleport herself short distances. We all have the highest tactician programming along with expert saboteur capabilities and basic training in all martial-arts. So, sweetspark...do we make the cut?"
"...Knock Out, Breakdown," Megatron barks as he finally brings himself out of his trance, a small red grounder and a larger blue one step forward, "Take these fine Seekers to your med bay, run all scans and do a complete check up on them."
"Yes my liege," the smaller mech bows gracefully, then beckons to us with an obviously manicured claw and walks away.
I quickly gather up my weapons and follow my siblings as the tyrant calls out with a slight chuckle, "And don't forget to give them a good buffing!"
~Well done everyone~ I sigh with relief, thinking the hardest part is behind us.
But there's one thing I left out of my calculations. Six Seekers who have never felt the pleasure that can be inflected on their frames during interfacing, or felt their Spark tug at the sound of another's vocaliser, have just entered the ranks of large, rough, hungry mechs.
"Hey! Watch where you're putting your servos there medic!" Nebula snarls as Knock Out moves the polisher a little too close to her inner thigh.
"Whoops," he chuckles sarcastically, "I'm so very sorry about that babe, I slipped."
"Don't slip again or my reflexes just might accidentally kick you where the Sun doesn't shine, do I make myself clear babe," if looks could kill then the glare that the medic gets from her could killed an army.
"Crystal," the grounder smiles nervously.
"Is this really necessary?" I sigh as Breakdown buffs my arm with the kind of tenderness that one wouldn't expect to receive from a Con his size.
~It isn't~ Solarflare growls, ~we've already had our scans, our weapons have been assessed and we've been checked for every virus known on Cybertron, twice!~
I glance at White Dwarf, his optics wander around the medical bay with an absentminded expression carved into his faceplates. A sad, solemn thought crosses my processor, Not quite every virus.
"Lord Megatron's orders," the blue titan mutters, he growls and gives his partner a quick glare, "don't worry, I think the only one enjoying this is Knock Out."
"Aww," the red mech smirks and taps Breakdown on the brow with a long claw, "is my big, bad mech jealous of a Seeker?"
The larger Con's single optic widens, "N-no!"
Knock Out's engines purr as he tilts his helm to the side a little and grins deviously, "Oh please Breaky, I can feel your Spark shuddering with envy."
"Don't start," his partner growls through clenched denta, "you know I don't like having an audience."
"And yet you still fall for flattery every time," the medic laughs, "even with an audience."
The corner of my mouth twitches as I notice something he doesn't, the servo holding the buffer is straying a little low.
"What did I tell you?!" Nebula screeches as a claw tip brushes against her aft.
"That time I really did slip, I swear to Primus and cross my Spark I slipped," but Knock Out's begging doesn't spare him from a good slap across his face plates, "Watch the finish!"
"Then watch out for mine," my sister hisses, "this paint is what helps me to blend with other colours, it's very expensive, hard to come by, and nearly impossible to make! Alright?!"
"Trade places," Breakdown laughs.
"Gladly," the red Con huffs as his 'partner' gets up and sits on the opposite side of where my sister is standing in front of the medical berth.
"Don't try anything," I mutter as the medic sits where Breakdown was, next to me on the berth, but he seems to think there's a need to brush his hip against mine.
"He wouldn't dare," the larger mech's engine rumbles in warning.
"Come on dearie," Knock Out chuckles, then winks at his 'partner', "let a mech have a little fun."
"If you keep that up there'll be no fun for you tonight," the blue one snorts in annoyance.
"What? Now that's just taking it a little far, you know you'll always be my number one," while the medic sounds full of himself I can't help but notice the slight cringe of his frame, accompanied by nervous look in his optics, then they narrow, "Anyway, it's been an entire vorn since I had any fun!"
"Bonded."
We all jump at both the word and the sound of Red Giant's vocaliser; Breakdown growls, "What'd you say?"
"'Feel your Spark', that quote, along with your manner towards each other leads to only one possible conclusion. You are Bonded," dammit Red, how are you able to say the 'B' word as if you were commenting on the weather, like it means nothing!
Solarflare laughs and nearly falls off her seat on the desk, "You must have a few extra nuts in your processor my dear brother, no Con's that suicidal, nor do they have the Spark for such a thing!"
Knock Out's engine roars with rage, he slams the polisher down and his servo changes into a circular saw, his left optic twitches slightly, "Watch it glitch! We worked hard to drill it into everyone's processors that we're mated, including our leader. There are two reasons Bonded Cons are rare, one: there's the deterring lack of femmes, and two: if you do Bond you have to prove yourself to Megatron."
"Oh, and pray do tell us, how does one prove them self to our leader?" Nebula chuckles, but eyes the saw with a cautious gaze.
"You and your Bonded get sent on ten suicidal missions," Breakdown sighs, looking disturbed at the memories that this conversations is most likely stirring, it's probably how he lost his optic, "survive them and you prove to Megatron that even with a bound spark the both of you can still function in the toughest fights."
"And you two brave, strong mech went on these missions?" I press, adding a little flattery to calm the medic down, it works all too well.
"Breaky's the brawn, I'm the brain," Knock Out boasts, puffing out his chassis with pride as he picks up the polisher, "he's strong, I'm fast. I'm good with words and he's not, he can take a hit while I'd prefer not to. I could go on and on about how we complete each other. And just surviving Lord Megatron's tests gives us great respect here, plus, once we completed the missions he didn't bother us any further."
"While it may earn you the respect of others, I think I also speak for all of my siblings when I say: it earns you the title of 'insane' from us," I frown both at the thought of their extremely risky relationship and how close the grounder's servo is to my chassis.
"Why's that?" He mutters, watching where his servos touch, obviously he doesn't want to make the mistake with me that he made with my sister.
"We're at war, if one Bond-Mate dies, the other always follows from a processor and Spark failure from the sudden crushing pain or, if you survive that, self termination from long metacycles of depression," really, when you hear the reasons as to why Bonding is frowned at in these violent times, you can't help but see these two mech as completely insane.
"That's why we did it," Breakdown gives his mate a gentle smile as he finishes Nebula and mentions for White Dwarf to take her place, "Tell them what you told me Knocks."
"No, it's really silly and overly mushy, not the sort of thing a Con would say," Energon forms in faint pools beneath the medic's cheek plates and he gives a little shrug.
"Please tell," Starhopper whispers, blushing a little.
"Oh alright, but only because you're adorable," Knock Out gives her a smile that makes the blush deepen, but she doesn't return the smile, she hasn't since our home burned to the ground, "I...um...well, uh...what I said to Breakdown when I asked him to be my Bond-Mate is 'I want to..." He mutters something beyond our audio receptor's current setting.
"I don't think they heard you," the blue mech chuckles as he sees our blank faces.
"...'I want to Bond to you here and now, because every morning I come out of recharge worrying you won't be there beside me in our berth that evening. I always fear that this is the orbital your Spark goes out and I'll live out my entire life regretting that we never took the last step.'...There, said it!" his white cheeks are a deep blue by now as he tries to avoid all our gazes.
That's when it hits me. While it's true that the ranks of the Decepticon's may consist of the more violent Cybertronians, deep down their Sparks are no different to that of an Autobot's. The only difference between the two factions is the Cons are stronger, because the only emotion they show on the battle field is anger, they don't expose their deepest feelings to the enemy.
Knock Out jumps onto a table in the centre of the rec. room and lifts his cube, "A toast! To our stunning new Seekers! May they bring us many victories!" Everyone roars in agreement and down their drinks.
I really hadn't expected a party in our honour. While we were protecting Praxus, even after all the battles we'd won, we never had a party in our honour. Never even been to one. Primus we've never even been invited to one! Ok I'm exaggerating a bit because Solarflare and Nebula have been to parties, but only big ones, and it was so there was someone on crowd control. Plus there was always a problem, which is that in times of war there were very few large celebrations for them to keep watch on.
"Something wrong?" Breakdown mutters then takes a sip of his drink.
"I've never been to a party," I sigh, "so you're mate's attention is a bit foreign to me," my cheeks flush light blue as said mech raises his cube of High Grade in my direction and smirks in a way that makes me think I can deactivate a happy femme now.
"Commander," I turn my attention to Red Giant as he approaches the table.
"Yes, is there a problem?" Yet the heavy feeling in my tank tells me that I already know the answer.
"White Dwarf is nearing his limit," my brother's face softens, "and as you already know, he will only listen to you."
"Alright," I get up, not wanting to do this but knowing I have to for the sake of my scarred sibling, and head over to the bar on the other side of the room.
My Spark twinges at the sight of Dwarf. His frame shakes, shoulders hunched, lips pursed, pedes pressed against the pole of the barstool he's seated on and optics staring blankly at the last of his drink. He was once the liveliest of us all, but what he saw when Praxus fell, it corrupted and twisted his processor. No more speed speaking, no more dry puns, no more hacking...well, not the computer kind anyway. He's become sadistic, cruel, showing zero mercy in battles that he shrieks with laughter at.
When we tried to seek refuge in an Autobot outpost, they saw our frames before they saw our insignias, and fired at us. That's when we discovered that fighting is his trigger, so long as it's someone else who starts it and not him. He can't physically or verbally start a fight, if there's a fight happening right in front of him he'll just stare at it. White Dwarf deactivated, then tore apart twenty-five Autobots, and nearly made me number twenty-six. It was only Red Giant's strength that kept him at bay while we got a pair of stasis cuffs to keep him from harming anyone else, or himself.
"Dwarf," I whisper, placing a tentative servo on his hunched shoulder.
He flinches and spins around with a gasp, "Moon, d-...\don't do\ that."
His madness affects his speech too, it constantly alters between Seeker and normal Cybertronian. There's also no emotion in his vocaliser, it's just a dull sound that forms words.
"You've had enough brother," I give him a tender smile in an attempt to mask the sad one that's itching to infect my lips, "time to go recharge."
"Y-...\yes\, very well," he gives a heavy sigh and drains the last of his High Grade.
I help him stand and he allows himself to be half dragged towards the exit, leaning his frame heavily on mine with an arm around my shoulders, the servo at the end of it gripping mine as I put my other arm around his waist to keep him up. His optics are slightly dim as he stares at the floor, not because he's in half recharge, on the contrary the ex-hacker is wide awake. They're dim from his processor drowning in memories that wish to be forgotten.
"Here, let me help," Knock Out walks on White Dwarf's other side and puts his limp arm around his shoulders.
"Thanks, I actually don't know where our quarters are though."
"I do," he perks up, of course he's perky, because he's downed a couple of High Grades and has no idea that he's holding a mentally unstable Seeker, "Lord Megatron said you and your siblings are in my care until you can function with us properly."
"Oh really? And I suppose it's because of your charms?" I mutter, making my tone as sarcastic as I can.
"Well obviously," he sounds sincere...unbelievable, this mech can dish out sarcasm left and right, but fails to see when it's being used on him...or he's just taking the compliment and not caring for the tone.
"Burning...\burning...burning\...burning," I glance at my brother, he's swaying a little in our grasp, helm limp and optics distant, yet the ghost of that ghastly, sadistic smile is beginning to form on his lips.
"Quarters, now," I snap at the medic.
"Please," Knock Out rolls his optics, "I've heard Blitzwing's Random personality say and sing worse," yet he still gives a nervous chuckle.
"He'll do worse if he doesn't get some rest," I growl, worry flickering in my spark.
Just as Knock Out begins to punch in the code for my brother's room, he starts it.
"~Hehe...hehe burn-...-ing...spark-...-lings. \Where are you now?\~
His haunting song chills me to the core, the medic's optics widen in horror as I gently lay him down on the berth.
"Wait...he's got screws loose?" he mutters, I can hear his frame quiver with fear, "He should've been deactivated and put out of his misery long ago."
"No," I snap, kneeling down beside the shaking form of my brother, I slowly stroke his cheek, "Shh Dwarf, hush now."
"B-\burning?\ His question comes out as a chirped snigger.
"No, no burning here, no one's hurt," I whisper.
The troubled mech's optics close halfway and he lets out a shuddered sigh, "S-safe?"
I place a soft kiss on his forehelm and whisper in his audial, "Yes, we're among friends here, we're safe, this is our home now."
The ex-hacker continues to snigger and I continue to murmur soft, comforting words accompanied by light kisses on his helm. After a breem and a half White Dwarf eventually falls into a shaking, light recharge with a twitching smile on his lips. Over the past three vorns, since the orbital Praxus was destroyed, I've learned that this is as calm as he'll ever be with the demons of that terrible orbital haunting his processor. He gives a soft whine and I cup his cheek, rubbing it with my thumb.
"Rest now, White Dwarf," I sigh, getting up and turning towards the door I notice that the cherry red grounder is still there, "are there any data pads close by?"
He doesn't make a noise as he keeps his gaze fixed on the recharging, restless Seeker and points to a draw at the end of the berth.
I open it and see a stack of six data pads in there, I take one out and hand it to the quivering mech, "Put the code to his room on here and I'll leave it on his bedside desk."
"Good call," he's so quiet that I can barely hear him.
"You're missing out on the party," I mutter in an attempt to take my thoughts off Dwarf, "you could've gone back while I calmed my brother."
Knock Out chuckles as we exit the room, "What, and let you go back on your own? Not every Con goes to the parties sweetspark, you'll get jumped."
"Hehe...hehe...maybe," I laugh, feeling very weary, with a sigh I press my back against the wall opposite to White Dwarf's room and let my knees slowly surrender to the weight on my shoulders that's pulling me down.
My wings scrap lightly against the wall as I slide down and sit with my knees pulled up as close to my chassis as possible. I wrap my arms around my bent legs and lower my helm onto my knees, trying to control the shake of my frame. No. Don't cry. Not when there's someone here. Only while I'm in the company of loneliness will I shed my tears.
"Care for an audial to cry to?" the Con seats himself down beside me and gives me a sad, questioning look.
"No, but I wouldn't mind a shoulder to lean on," I mutter, but I don't, I wait for his consent.
"Go ahead," Knock Out gestures to his shoulder with a servo, he offers me a faint smile, "but mind the finish of course."
"Of course," I return the smile and lean the side of my helm on the smooth surface, then I shutter my optics as I get to work on repressing my feelings.
"So what's with White Dwarf?" for a medic he really isn't that helpful.
"Corruption in his memory file, I have a slight idea of what happened, but he never talks about it," I mutter, rubbing my cheek against Knock Out's shoulder, seeking what little comfort I can from the gesture, "None of us do."
"Praxus?" It's both a question and a statement.
"Yes, it happened that orbital. There was fire, so much fire, he got caught in one and I found him screaming, but he was offline. He was screaming in his sleep," I start to shake, don't cry, "he used to be so alive, he'd speak so fast that there were times we'd have trouble understanding him, he jumped about with such an abundance of life, he opened his spark to all and listened to the woes of everyone. It's the Autobot's fault this happened, he could've been saved from this insanity if they hadn't been so selfish," I growl, clenching my servos into fists.
"What about your other siblings?" If this is an attempt to change the subject ever so slightly then it's a pretty crummy one, "How are they?"
I whimper and shake my helm, not wanting to let it out.
"It's ok," he smiles again, "I won't tell."
The soft, tired look, the look I've seen in my reflection for the past three vorns. The medic's expression moves me to breaking point.
"They don't fare well either, White Dwarf just shows it the most because he can't control it," I stare at my pedes, "Solarflare was never so angry, her protective and clingy ways towards the rest of us were never so strong. She was the more free spirited one, preferring her own company, never chained by anyone and her only true master was the sky. Starhopper wasn't so jittery, she was still shy but also oddly curious, so very curious. She was sweet, polite and moderately sociable. Red Giant's change is difficult to see, but he used to show his emotions freely, yet never failed to follow an order. He still obeys, yet it seems as if with every sunrise he loses a little more of the coding that allows us to feel. And Nebula, she's so head strong that I find it almost impossible to notice the impact that our home's destruction had on her. Yet I see it sometimes, especially when...I remember she no longer smiles from happiness."
There's a long silence between the two of us, that is, until Knock Out breaks it.
"...And you?"
My servos grasp at the medic's arm and my vocaliser can only form a staticky gasp. No. No tears. I can't. With a soft sob I bury my face against his amour as several drops of coolant escape my control and fall down my cheeks.
"I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to cross any lines," Knock Out stutters.
"N-no it's...it's just," I sniff and wipe my cheeks, "No one's asked me that yet.
Crimson arms wrap themselves around me and I dare to look at the face that I know is showing the pity I don't need. But to my surprise that's not what I get. It's a faint smile, a sad, knowing smile that meets my optics.
"What?" I scowl at him, detaching myself from his grasp and turning away to hide my tears.
"Everyone's lost something because of this war," he mutters, I turn back to look at him, his optics are distant and longing, he wraps his arms around his waist as he sighs, "or the right to something."
I'm still angry at the fact that, after many metacycles of burying my pain, Knock Out nearly crushed my walls, "I told, now you spill," my tone is sharper than I want it to be, but it can't be helped, I'm upset and pissed.
"I know the war brought Breakdown and I closer, before it started we met at work, he'd gotten hurt and I was on duty at the time," the grounder sighs, smiling at the memory, "but...well it's just that...you see I'm a, uh," he blushes slightly, "a One-Third."
My optics widen, that would explain that flamboyant personality of his. One-Third is the term for a mech that, unlike other mechs, experiences heat-cycles and is more fertile than others. They're called that because when our ancestors discovered this difference, one-third of the mech population had the condition. Numbers have changed since, but it was never given an actual name, so One-Third stuck.
I frown in confusion, "What does that have to do with the war?"
"A vicious war is no place to raise a sparkling."
My tank flips at the mention of the 's' word, it's because of that my brother lost a few screws, but curiosity forces me on, "And?"
"We Bonded during the sixth vorn of the war, before we joined the Decepticons, we had to work around my heat-cycles of course," Knock Out smirks at my blush, then his expression changes back to one of sadness, "the experience is still the same, but...when they end...I..." his frame rattles as he whimpers, "when they end I feel...empty."
"Empty?" Being sealed does have it's downsides, and this is one of them, the lack of knowledge.
"When you have heat-cycles and you're Bonded that's the signal to your frame to, well...you know?"
I shake my helm feeling completely lost.
"It's the signal to...to...s-start a f-...family," the Con growls through clenched denta, forcing the words out as he presses his arms to his midsection and shutters his optics.
"Oh...oh!" it finally clicks, "So you want to have them, but you don't want to bring them into a war torn world."
"Exactly."
Rumble leaps onto the stage along with Ravage, the little Con stands on the feline's back in order to reach the mic, which is as far down as it can go, "Yo, everyone, listen up!"
We all turn to look at the earthquake maker, Soundwave stops the music and the chatter in the room slowly dies down.
"It's been a vorn an' a half since the last time this happened, so I wan' every damn Con to see this!" he jabs a digit at a table where Thundercracker is seated, opposite him is...Solarflare?! Oh Primus, not this! "Thunder's got a challengerrrrrr!"
Vocalisers roar in excitement as everyone rushes to get a good view of the table.
"How much High Grade does it take to get her drunk?" Knock Out mutters, eying the corridor that'll eventually lead to the medical bay.
"When she soaks up sunlight for her servo cannons it goes through a reactor that takes certain chemicals and turns them into more stable energy particles so that they can be stored safely, High Grade happens to contain one of those very chemicals. This means that so long as she doesn't guzzle her drink, so her reactor can keep up with the processing, she won't even get tipsy," I give him a dastardly grin, "Thundercracker doesn't stand a fragging chance."
"I'll get the strong stuff!" The medic calls out, there's another cheer as he transforms, his engine roars as he races to the med bay.
"He's got his own recipe," Breakdown chuckles, "it's so strong that one drop makes even the most resistant Cybertronian tipsy."
I get up and try to push through the crowd, but they shove me back, I even try being polite and saying "please". Then I remember that Con's are famous for their lack of manners. I hiss and take a more violent approach by diving forward again, trying to get to my sister, yet all in vain.
"Let Moonbeam through!" They all nearly jump out of their plating as Megatron strides up, his height giving him a perfect view even from the back, he bares his denta in a challenging snarl, "Or do I have to shorten you all by pulling off your legs?"
The crowd parts to make a perfect path to the front for me, I give them all the smuggest smile on this side of the Universe.
"My dear," the ex-gladiator gives me a charming smile, mentioning to the path with a servo.
With a bow of my helm I smile; "Thank you my liege," I just can't keep the smug look off my lips as I take my place at the front of the crowd.
Rumble leaps off of Ravage's back, he climbs onto the table, Frenzy jumps up beside his brother and helps him get the crowd riled up again; "Let's ge' it on!"
Sixteen cubes, filled to the brim with High Grade, are placed in front of the two Seekers so that they have eight each. Thundercracker sits on the edge of his seat, arms crossed on the table, legs parted lazily and a sneer spread across his lips. Solarflare sits sideways, her left hip pressed against the back of her chair, one arm leaning on the table, the other draped across the back of the seat and left leg crossed over the other.
"You're going down my sweet," the mech sniggers, "Remember the stakes?"
"It's a bet!" Frenzy shrieks with excitement and everyone falls silent, waiting to hear the conditions.
"If you lose, you have to take my shifts for monitor duty, Energon storage sorting and patrol for four metacycles," my SIC grins and laughs, all of those are the most boring, yet necessary jobs on a war ship.
The soldiers cheer and I look back just in time to catch Megatron chuckling.
"And what did you promise him?" The tyrant laughs, "Because whatever it is you might as well as skip the defeat and get on with it."
Everyone, but my siblings and I, laughs with him. We just chuckle darkly, we know what the outcome of this is gonna be. She always bets with the same thing, just so that the defeat is all the more crushing.
Solarflare gives him a cocky grin, "My seal, my first time."
The very ship seems to shake from the roaring vocalisers. "Thunder's gonna get some!" "Tell us if she shines like a Sun when she overloads!" "Spike her hard Cracker!" "Be sure to check the room for one of Soundwave's spy cameras!" Slowly the noise dies down as they all realise that my siblings and I are shrieking with laughter at their words, Solarflare nearly falls off her seat.
"You're gonna be so exhausted at the end of the forth metacycle!" She laughs, then coughs as her intakes struggle for air.
"Oh dear, they're gonna be so embarrassed!" Starhopper giggles.
"He does not stand a chance!" Red Giant's deep laughter booms through the room.
"Don't get too worked up Cracker!" Nebula wheezes through her shrieks, "Your spike ain't gonna get any tonight!"
"Make them all eat their words, Solarflare!" I make an uppercut motion with my fist in her direction and she just laughs even more.
Thundercracker looks very nervous now, he takes the first cube and downs it.
"Sip slowly Solar," I chuckle, "let your solar-reactor take in all the alcoholic chemicals."
"What!?" The mech roars, his jaw drops and his optics looks like they're just about to leap out of his helm, "That's cheating!"
"Not if it's a natural part of my frame, I was born with this," She grins, "I told you sweet-spark, don't challenge something you can't beat!" My sister takes a cube and sips daintily.
"Coward," he snarls and downs another.
"What'd I miss?" Knock Out pants as he returns holding a covered cube of gold liquid.
"Good, we're gonna need that," Starscream growls and nods at the cube.
"Why?" the medic raises an optic ridge and frowns, "And answer my other slagging question while you're at it!"
"I put half my next orns worth of rations on the line, in Thundercracker's favour...he's gonna lose," really Screamer? No matter what you do my sister's gonna win.
I turn back and see that Thundercracker has finished all eight High Grades and my sister is on the sixth one...this can only end in beautiful chaos.
"Star's gotta crush! Star's gotta crush!" Solar slurs as she nearly topples over, threatening to bring Nebula down with her.
"Do not!" My youngest sibling shrieks as she blushes, her wings fluttering in a mixture of annoyance and embarrassment.
"Three faces, three glossas to try. Care for me to test them for you~" Nebula chuckles teasingly as she licks her lips and pulls Solarflare back up.
"No!" Star slaps the spy's free arm and growls.
"Star's gotta crush!"
"I don't Solarflare!"
Megatron sighs as he enters the code to my SIC's room, "How do you stand it?"
"How do you command an entire army?" I retaliate, my tone dull due to younger-sibling-induced-annoyance and a throbbing ache that's probably a gift from the fifth High Grade I drank.
"Point taken," he mutters as the door opens.
"Blitzwing! Does the 'Blitz' mean anything in particular," Nebula sniggers as she dumps Solar on the berth unceremoniously, "you may be looking at a real short interface session there little sister."
"Please stop Nebula," the teleporter groans.
"Ow! Helm ache," my SIC whines.
I smile, so begins the tradition my siblings and I have gone through with before this war even began.
"Get a good rest sister, it'll be better when you online," I whisper, placing a soft kiss on her forehelm, "good recharge Solar."
"Hmm, you too," she mutters, already getting very comfortable, I do what I did with White Dwarf and leave a data pad with her room code on her desk.
We reach Red Giant's room and he bows deeply to the ex-gladiator, "Night my Lord," he then turns to me and I stand on my toes to give him a kiss on the cheek, he smiles wearily, "Good recharge commander."
"Good recharge brother."
"Night sis," Nebula just waves and strides into her room after I give her a quick peck on the cheek, she turns back to smirk at Megatron as she winks, "Pleasant recharge Master~"
I roll my optics as his digits twitch and he manages to nod before the door closes.
Star skips merrily into her new room after I give her a kiss, "And it's not a crush Moon!"
"Whatever you say young one," I chuckle.
I find myself alone with Lord Megatron, he escorts me in silence to my room and gives me the code.
Standing in the doorway and staring at my new room I try to think of something to say, finally I make up my processor, "Thank you, my Lord."
"For?"
"For...for taking us in, we must seem unstable to you," I sigh and lower my helm, unable to finding the courage to turn and see the unwanted sympathy in his optics.
"Knock Out told me everything," he mutters as his pedes shifting a little.
"Of course," I huff in annoyance, "he should report such things back to his superior..."
Silence falls, but I don't move. They're watching, I can't tell him till morning.
"Moonbeam, look at me," he places a servo on my shoulder.
"Yes, sir?" I turn, ah, and there lies the sympathetic gaze.
I shiver as his digits gently ghost down my arm, his expression softens as he takes my servo in a tender hold and slowly lifts it, bowing slightly. He places a soft kiss on the back of my palm.
"Pleasant recharge, Moonbeam," the Decepticon leader whispers, then lets go and leaves.
As the door closes behind me I feel my Spark ache. No. I clench a fist over my spark chamber. It's only a fantasy. A dream that will always be just that. Yet the idea of being Queen of the Decepticons, Bonded of Lord Megatron, mate to the Terror of Kaon...to say it's enticing would be an understatement.
Shaking my helm in an attempt to clear it, I sit on the edge of the berth and comm Ultra Magnus to give him my report. After a short conversation with my leader he finally decides what to do.
::I shall permanently sever the connections then, just incase they do a comm scan later:: Ultra Magnus explains ::Good luck and may Primus bring you all back to me, my sweet, precious sparklings::
::I hope so Carrier:: I sigh, ::May Primus be with you::
Click
I sigh with content as the link is finally severed. My processor...it feels so clear.
With a smirk I lie down on my new berth, crossing my bent legs and slipping a servo under my helm, ::Sisters and brothers:: I comm them all at once, ::is the link gone?::
::Woke me:: Dwarf mutters his affirmation before falling back into his light recharge,
::It is gone Commander:: that's a check on my TIC,
::Ah, freedom at last:: and on Nebula,
::So clear:: Starhopper too,
::Took fragging long enough:: finally Solarflare.
::Then I propose toast, my dear siblings:: I lift an imaginary cube and give a smile that would make Unicron proud, ::to the Decepticon cause, may it bring us the revenge that we deserve, the titles that we have fought to claim for vorns and the power that is rightfully ours::
