Partners

by keirajo

IDW comic/MTMTE/LL universe. Megatron and Rodimus pairing. Last of an initial Trilogy that began with "Sparks", more stories in this AU to come. Rodimus is healing and nearly back to normal. Blaze of Nyon appears. And a Conjunx ceremony happens. Heavily edited from personal original draft. Still rated "M" for dark emotions and language.

Partners

Rodimus scanned the information on the datapad and sighed, handing it back to Ultra Magnus. "Look, I can view that a hundred times and I still don't see what those numbers mean," he said, shaking his head. "Geological formations are about as sciencey as I get, Magnus. Put a rock in front of me and I can tell you everything about it…but no matter how much Perceptor sits me down and explains science, I'm not going to get it. It's not my thing," Rodimus explained. "I hate to say I get bored by it, but…..I get bored by it. I love to see science happen, but I don't need to have it explained to me." The younger Cybertronian stood up and walked over to the science console.

"What is it?" Perceptor asked, curiously.

"Magnus has a list of numbers…they might be planetary coordinates or spacial coordinates, apparently they popped up in a scan of the course plotting," Rodimus said. "I dunno…..they look off somehow, but I haven't any idea what is wrong with them," he added, motioning to Ultra Magnus to give Perceptor the datapad. "Let me know if you figure out what they are…..or let Megatron know. His shift is coming up soon, so he should be here any minute now. I'll be in the medi-bay letting Velocity check over my injury…" he said, walking towards the doors and almost ran into Megatron who was entering. "Hey, old man…there's some work for you here, so you won't get bored," he chuckled, lightly pounding a fist on Megatron's chest, over the Autobot symbol branded there.

"All right, I'll see you later then," Megatron chuckled in return, brushing quick fingers along Rodimus' jawline.

Rodimus headed directly for the medi-bay and chuckled fondly when Ravage joined him.

"What's up today?" Ravage asked.

"Dumb, boring things it seems…"Rodimus laughed. "I'm on my way to see Velocity for a follow-up on my injury," he added, smiling down at the robotic panther.

"You're not hurting, are you?" Ravage asked, sympathetically.

"No…it's just to make sure the brain injury hasn't spread, since the spider's bite had poisonous acid in it," Rodimus said, softly. "I'm pretty sure First Aid got it totally clean, but he did assign me some periodic checkups on it to be sure."

"Always better to be safe on such things," Ravage responded. "Well, I'm off to stalk corridors and scare people," he laughed, striding off down the hall as soon as they had reached the medi-bay doors.

"Try not to have too much fun!" Rodimus chuckled, calling after Ravage. He entered the medi-bay and waited for Velocity to notice him. She was walking about, straightening things and peeking in the lab area and the rest area. "Should I come back later?" Rodimus suddenly asked, startling Velocity.

"Oh! Rodimus, sorry!" She apologized, nodding her head. "Go lay out on that slab there and I'll get some scanners and stuff." She mumbled things to herself as she left the room.

Rodimus smiled and lay out on the examination slab. Velocity was still getting used to being the primary physician aboard the Lost Light, since Optimus Prime had requested First Aid to come to Earth—and Ratchet had gone off to pursue Drift. But she was a really good person and cared about other people, which would make her a pretty good doctor over time, once she got past her nervousness and slight performance anxiety.

"All right, I have the datapad which has the results of your brain injury…I see where the physical part of the injury is here—it really doesn't look bad at all, as far as physical loss goes," Velocity said, waving the datapad as she set down the tray of tools. "But you've lost a big part of your memories, correct?" She asked.

"It's hard to tell what I've lost…since I can't remember it. But the Academy pretty much…everything that happened at the Academy. I can't remember a single thing. Can't even remember graduating or….that guy that…was Blaze," Rodimus answered, trailing off a bit sadly.

"Let me open up here….." she murmured, opening up his cranial area. She used scopes to look carefully at the brain module. "It looks perfectly tidy, so I don't think we'll need to worry about further poison deterioration. I wish I could do something to help with the memories that are lost…." she added in a kind voice as she closed him back up.

"It might be the best thing," Rodimus murmured. "After I get past the fact that I've lost something, that is. It scares people to see me calm and quiet though," he chuckled, sitting up on the examination slab. "I'll get more energetic over time, but for now…..I've still got to get used to the fact that I've lost a great portion of my past and assumed personality." Rodimus thought of Megatron…and the little "date" they just went on recently…and it made him smile. "It might be for the best, given that I'm about to undertake a new relationship….."

"I really hope that the new relationship works for you, I'm very happy for you!" Velocity responded cheerfully.

"Thanks Velocity…that means a lot," Rodimus said with a smile.

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"What are you doing here all alone?" Rung asked, walking past the corner booth Rodimus was sitting at in Swerve's bar.

"Being bored and watching people, that's all," Rodimus said with a dismissive wave. He sipped at his Star Spritzer and glanced down at the table and up at the walls. "Look…if you ask to sit, I know you're going to try and psycho-analyze me and I really wish you wouldn't. So if you're not going to be chatty company, go hang out with someone else," Rodimus finally said, as simply as possible.

"That rather hurts, Rodimus," Rung said softly.

"Tell me you weren't going to do exactly what I just said?" Rodimus countered. "You've been like that since we launched. I like you, Rung…you're a nice guy and a hard worker, but honestly…..you've seen me as a psychological mess from day one and I don't think you can hold yourself back from making psychobabble commentary on me, how I'm doing or how I'm feeling. And I know exactly what's going on in my head…..I just have no desire to share it with people."

"All right, but…." Rung trailed off. "Don't hold it all inside. It will hurt you even more in the end," he said, simply. Then he walked over to sit at the bar.

"Like I haven't heard that a thousand times," Rodimus mumbled. "Didn't you say that to me like a thousand-and-one times, Ravage?" Rodimus chuckled, bumping his foot against the robot panther's side underneath the table.

"If we're actually keeping count, it's more like one-thousand-and-three times," Ravage responded with a chuckle, taking a playful swipe at Rodimus' leg. "I think you're improving, Rodimus…just hang in there. Things are getting better for you."

"So many things have happened, that would I never have imagined dealing with…falling for someone, making friends with Decepticons….." Rodimus chuckled, nudging Ravage with his foot again. "I hope…..I don't get left behind again. That's all."

Ravage heard the sad tone in Rodimus' voice and knew that the Autobot was remembering Drift. He'd come to understand that Rodimus' brain injury had erased a sparkmate from the depths of memory, but Drift was still there in Rodimus' memories and that parting was an open wound inside of him. The robotic panther was about to say something when he saw legs approaching the table and recognized them as Chromedome's, so he didn't say anything.

"Rodimus…how are you feeling?" Chromedome asked, hesitation in his voice.

"I'm doing okay, Chromedome…wanna sit and chat for a while?" Rodimus asked, smiling up at the mnemosurgeon. "Velocity says everything still looks good…and that's thanks to you and First Aid. So…I really appreciate what you did. Oh, and Ravage is under the table…so don't accidentally kick him," he added with a warm laugh as Chromedome slid in to sit in the booth, facing the bar.

"I still think I could have done better…." Chromedome sighed.

"I lost memories of someone, but from what Brainstorm said…I probably shouldn't miss him as much as I believed I did," Rodimus said with a chuckle. "Brainstorm really sounds disgusted when he talks about this Blaze guy." He sipped his drink and smiled. "Besides…I'm moving on to something new anyways. And I think this time I…have found someone who may really cherish me. Nothing against Drift, because I believed what we had was strong…but I was not his first thought. And that makes me sad….he was willing to leave me behind to 'preserve the quest'."

"It's hard to not be the 'number one'," Chromedome said with a wry laugh. "I can tell you that if we find Dominus Ambus, it's going to be harder on me than even I think it will. I lost it when Rewind died…and the miracle of the alternate Lost Light which brought him back to me made me realize that he is the most precious thing I've ever known. In the end he'll need to choose, but I've never been his number one…..I'm most important because I'm in the here and now. But then…? I don't really know what will happen."

"Here's to working through loneliness," Rodimus said with a smile, holding his glass out to Chromedome. Chromedome smiled beneath his mouthshield and tapped his glass lightly against Rodimus'.

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"What's the news, then?" Rodimus asked, coming back to the bridge after Megatron sent him a summons.

"The coordinates are not far from here, strangely enough…and we've picked up a distress call from that planet, which is becoming far too coincidental," Megatron responded, frowning. "Something like this unnerves me greatly."

"C'mon…haven't you been here long enough to see that this is exactly what happens to us all the time?" Rodimus laughed, leaning on Megatron's shoulders as he looked over the datapad's information, which the former Decepticon was holding up to him. "Let's not call it coincidence…let's call it fortuitous circumstance," he added, pressing his fingers teasingly against Megatron's cheeks. "Let's go save some lives then!" He chuckled, standing up straight and resting his hands against the back of the captain's chair, where Megatron was seated. "Head on over to those coordinates and let's see what's up, Riptide!" Rodimus called over to the pilot of the Lost Light.

"On our way, Captain," Riptide responded with a wry chuckle.

"Seriously, Rodimus…I really don't like this, I have a bad feeling…." Megatron murmured, tilting his head back so he could look up at the Autobot he desired to make his lifepartner.

"That's what I like about you, you're so serious…" Rodimus chuckled warmly, bending down and bumping his forehead briefly against Megatron's. Then he walked over to Perceptor's science station and leaned against the console. "Do you have any information on the planet?" He asked.

"It appears the planet is experiencing severe geological disturbances, they seem stronger than should be naturally possible," Perceptor said with a frown.

"Ha! Something sciencey that is actually up my alley for a change!" Rodimus laughed. "It sounds like investigation on this was designed for me…but I'll need a diplomat to talk to the people! Ultra Magnus…I want you to take Skids and Velocity with you to talk to whomever may be in charge in the biggest city we find when we get there."

"Rodimus. Too much coincidence, I won't allow you to go down to the planet," Megatron said in a very firm voice.

"Relax, old man…it'll be fine. But just to alleviate your fears I'll take both Whirl and Cyclonus with me and Brainstorm," Rodimus answered, grinning over at Megatron.

"Oooooh, I get to go along!" Brainstorm chuckled, getting up from the other side of the science console and stood next to Rodimus. "Why me?" He asked, curiously.

"I want you on the planet to see what's there, along with me. I want Perceptor here to run all the data as quickly as he can, we're going to gather the information so he can crunch the data—but you can give him sciencey-sciencespeak, which I can't," Rodimus answered.

"Makes sense," Brainstorm said with a nod. "Well, shall we go gather the two hooligans and get ready to go planetside?"

"Yep," Rodimus said, grinning excitedly.

Megatron got up fast and grabbed Rodimus' arm. "Don't go. I really don't like this at all…what if the Galactic Council is setting up a trap…?" Megatron said, softly.

"Pfft…if they're going to destroy a planet of innocent people just to trap us, then someone needs to teach them a lesson," Rodimus responded, patting Megatron's arm. "And that'll be me. I don't appreciate anyone messing with innocent lives….."

Megatron sighed, very loudly.

"Old man, don't be so negative…I have amazing luck, plus I'll have the universe's second smartest person with me, as well as a madman and a warrior. I'll be fine," Rodimus said. "After all, I can't die yet, right…..because you promised me something spectacular," he added, smiling up at the ex-Decepticon.

"Be careful…promise me you won't stir up unwanted trouble," Megatron said, still holding Rodimus' arm.

"Of course not, I'm going to go look at some dirt and rocks…what trouble could I stir up there? Ultra Magnus will need your words of caution more than me," Rodimus laughed, gently extricating his arm from his partner's.

Megatron looked like he wanted to say something more, but then just turned away and clenched a fist with frustration. Rodimus and Brainstorm chatted as they left the bridge. Ultra Magnus walked over to Megatron before getting ready to prepare for diplomatic adventure. He patted the ex-Decepticon's shoulder gently.

"Well…we should be happy that he's gaining some energy and enthusiasm back," Magnus replied. "But do you really think something's going to happen?"

"I don't know. But something just…does not feel right…about this situation," Megatron murmured.

"You may be letting your newfound feelings interfere a bit too much with a situation, when Rodimus is involved," Ultra Magnus cautioned.

"I may be," Megatron sighed. "But…I don't know….." he added, shaking his head and plopping back down in the captain's chair. "Pfft…what would anyone think of 'the great Megatron' now?" He laughed, mostly to himself.

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"Whoo-hoo! I can't wait…can't wait…can't wait! Hope I get to punch something…or shoot something…..!" Whirl chanted, doing a little happy dance as Rodimus flipped switches on the small cutter ship.

"You may want to sit before you hit the forward screen or the back wall," Brainstorm chuckled, waving at Whirl.

"I'm not planning on running into anything that we have to punch or shoot," Rodimus responded, nodding at Cyclonus, who was at his side by the control console. "I sent the coordinates to your monitor, too…keep an eye that we're not off course. There's a great amount of seismic activity in this mountain area."

"But if we do have to punch or shoot, that's why we have the best fighter on the Lost Light with us," Brainstorm added, grinning beneath his decorative mouthshield.

"Of course, of course…we can't go looking for trouble, Autobots don't do that," Whirl said, mollified a bit and sat down in another chair in the small bridge area of the cutter. He was still a bit antsy, squirming in his chair as Rodimus and Cyclonus piloted the small cutter into mountain region that Rodimus had set coordinates for.

As soon as a wide enough area was found for a landing field, the four Cybertronians disembarked from the small ship. And almost as soon as they got on the ground, a massive tremor shook the area and some boulders tumbled from the mountains.

"Mmmmm….nearly a nine, there," Brainstorm murmured. "That's rather strong…almost as if the planet is trying to shake itself to pieces."

"I thought the same. Just a sec," Rodimus murmured. "Go ahead, Magnus…" Rodimus occasionally nodded and made some small murmurs. "Make sure you keep Megatron up-to-date as well. If you can get ahold of the kin that is supposed to arrive to help them evacuate…try to. They need to get here as fast as they can. I'm already not liking the strength of the quakes and Brainstorm agrees with me."

"Rodimus," Cyclonus' soft and deep voice said. He was standing near a cavern entrance that was at the base of a nearby mountain. "I have done a quick scan of this cavern and…illogically it goes much deeper than it should. Deep into the ground…" he trailed off. "It looks…..carved out."

"Just looking at dirt and rocks, right? Not looking for trouble, you told him," Brainstorm said, firmly.

"Hey! I was not planning on finding anything like this…!" Rodimus sighed. "But it'd be wrong of us not to investigate the situation."

"Get him on the line. Tell him that there's something unusual," Brainstorm countered.

"And he'd instantly panic, thinking he was right and I'm in danger," Rodimus said, softly. "He can't coddle me, Brainstorm. I've done things like this more times than I can even count…and I've got really great luck."

"Megatron panicking would be hilarious," Whirl chuckled. "Welp…..I'm gonna be the first one in, so that I can punch something or someone!" The ex-Wrecker laughed, dashing past Cyclonus into the tunnel. "Or maybe I'll shoot 'em!" The added dialogue echoed with a peal of laughter up through the tunnel.

Cyclonus spared a brief glance back at Rodimus and Brainstorm before he followed Whirl into the tunnel.

After a few moments, Rodimus and Brainstorm followed suit.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Whirl's edgey voice echoed. "I found you something, Rodimus….think you'll like it a lot!" He laughed.

Rodimus sprinted ahead and came upon a very large and multi-tiered cavern room. It looked partially natural and partially carved out. Rodimus looked around and evaluated walls that were naturally forming and the ones that were carved. A ramp circled the massive room and went from the floor of the cavern to another opening that went somewhere else into the mountain range. Rodimus frowned, the ramp was carved. Someone made the ramp and that new entrance…it was far too smooth and perfect-looking. Whirl was up near that new entrance, holding someone.

A lizard-like creature, but humanoid-shaped, wearing some armour plating and a large metal pack on its back. It seemed to be whining and squirming in Whirl's grip.

"Hey, Goul!" A voice echoed up from the entryway that Whirl was standing in front of. "I really need that jurian crystal right now….the drill's getting too hot and I think it might melt!"

Brainstorm tensed up and then rushed into the new tunnel, faster than even before Rodimus could warn him to stop. Did the scientist recognize the voice…even with the echoes and distortion? Who could it be, then…a Decepticon? Rodimus and Cyclonus ran after Brainstorm and Whirl gave a long sigh, following them slowly, and still hanging onto the little lizard-guy.

When they caught up with Brainstorm, they found him with a Cybertronian underneath one foot and he was aiming both of his guns down at the Cybertronian. Though it was hard to tell with the mouthshield…Rodimus thought that Brainstorm was probably very angrily frowning.

"I'm afraid to ask…" Rodimus said, walking up to stand next to Brainstorm.

"This royal asshole is…Blaze. That Blaze. The one who is supposed to be dead," Brainstorm said in a very quiet, very furious-sounding voice. "I'm very tempted to make it so, right now…."

"Wow…Hot Rod! It's you!" Blaze said with a cheerful laugh in his voice, waving up at Rodimus. "Long time no see, love…how's life been treating you?"

At the same time, both Rodimus and Whirl tilted their heads in confusion at the stranger. Rodimus appraised this one, called "Blaze"…who was supposedly the first person he loved a long time ago…a dark-yellow base body color-pattern with vivid blue flames running up his arms and legs, then an explosion of blue fire on the chestplate, not unlike Rodimus' old chestplate design—back when he was known as "Hot Rod". There were wing-panels on the underside of his upper arms, which were blue, like his flame pattern. If Rodimus had to guess on his design, this Blaze's alt-mode would be some kind of sleek, small aircraft.

"What?" Blaze asked, puzzled at the look of confusion Rodimus gave him.

"I don't remember you…but if I did, I think I'd have to ask this question, based on what people have told me…" Rodimus trailed off, softly. "Why didn't you come back for me?" He asked, quietly. "If you were alive all this time, why didn't you come back to Cybertron for me?"

"Okay….look, High Command declared me dead. It took me two days before I regained consciousness and I realized that if I went back to Cybertron alive—they would've put me up on charges of desertion instead," Blaze said, simply. "C'mon, Brainstorm…let me up. It's hard to talk seriously when I'm on my back with guns in my face…" he added, looking up at Brainstorm.

"Nope, not gonna….you were the reason I lost friends on that mission—and you practically killed Hot Rod in the process," Brainstorm answered, a dangerous edge in his voice. "I take that back…you killed the Hot Rod we knew back then and the Hot Rod that came out of that was a jackass I would have been very happy to punch in his smug-ass face."

Rodimus and Whirl both tilted their heads in confusion again.

"Was I that bad, Whirl?" Rodimus murmured, looking at the ex-Wrecker beside him…who still had a hold of the little lizard-guy.

"I thought you were fun…..and funny, but whatevs, right?" Whirl responded. "I suppose some people didn't like the ego and grandstanding, but I found it entertaining."

"So…Blaze…what the hell are you doing here now? What have you been doing for like nearly four million years?" Brainstorm snapped, nudging one of his guns right up against Blaze's chin.

"He's ripping this planet apart," Cyclonus said. "This thing…it's a specialized drill mechanism. It's meant to destabilize cores of planets. I thought it was only theoretical….." the old warrior trailed off. "Rodimus…what should we do about the machine?" He asked.

"Kill it," Rodimus said, sharply. "And make sure it stays dead. Then secure these two troublemakers. I'm going to call Megatron and Magnus…and then I'm going to check the walls of the drill sink to see if it's as bad as I think it might be. Sorry you came along, Brainstorm—looks like there wasn't much for you to do after all….."

Cyclonus destroyed the part of the drill that was up where they were, which released the bit…which probably sank and melted into the core of the planet. Then he walked over and helped Brainstorm restrain Blaze and his lizard partner-in-crime. Whirl began pacing the cavern boredly. Rodimus walked away from everyone some distance and radioed Ultra Magnus first.

"We found that the quakes are not natural, we've apprehended the ones responsible…but…I don't think this can be fixed, Magnus," Rodimus said to his friend. "I'm going to check the damage, but if they've already destabilized the core this much…I don't think it can heal itself at this point." Then he nodded and listened to Ultra Magnus' explanation of what was going on with the natives. "I think stopping the destabilization drill will buy them more time until their kin arrives to transport them off this world. But…I believe this planet is done for. I'm going to double-check by going into the sink itself, at least as far as I can go before the heat is too much." Then some more nodding as he listened to Magnus say some more things. "Yeah, I'm calling the old man next. He's going to start freaking out…probably literally. Uhhhh…..I'll let Brainstorm explain to you who the prisoners are. And I'll ask Megatron to send a security team down ASAP."

Rodimus took a deep breath, standing near the hole in the ground, where the drill had been sunk into the planet.

"Megatron, there's been someone down here messing with the planet," Rodimus said. "We have them in custody, please send a security team down here to collect them…Brainstorm will explain things." Rodimus had to cut his audio when Megatron suddenly went into a form of mild panic…it showed in the timbre of his deep voice. He took a ten-count and then turned his audio back on. "Everything's fine, old man…don't worry. I'm going to check the drill sink walls to see if I can evaluate or calculate a timetable for the planet's destabilization…but I would estimate that if before there was but a day, I think now there may be a week. Because the machine is no longer aggravating the planet's core."

Megatron's voice sounded worried as he said he'd have a security team put together and sent to Rodimus' coordinates. Rodimus smiled.

"Hey, when I get back…can we go out and do something with the avatars again? Let's do something fun!" Rodimus said, a soft laugh in his voice. "You know…maybe a date thing like the humans do. They like go to amusement parks or movies and eat dinner together…granted, we can't really eat human foods, but we could do those other things, right?"

Rodimus smiled with such happiness as he heard Megatron say that a date would be a good idea, he'd start planning it while the others were finishing up the business with this planet.

"Love you, old man," Rodimus murmured, signing off and then jumping down into the hole.

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Brainstorm seethed the whole time, which made Whirl make fun of him…as all Whirl had ever seen of the scientist was a cool and calm personality. Cyclonus just focused on holding onto the Cybertronian and lizard-guy, waiting for the security…but he was pretty certain that Brainstorm would punch Whirl at almost any moment. The old warrior was not one who ployed gossip, but the room (as such as it was) was brimming over with gossip enough that would make Swerve swoon.

"Oi…Brainstorm…what is up with Hot Rod anyways?" Blaze called, trying to get the Autobot scientist's attention. "He acted like he didn't even know me…but we were closer than anything!" He pouted.

"First off…" Brainstorm snapped, starting to walk over, but stopping himself, so he wouldn't knock Blaze into space. "He's not 'Hot Rod' anymore…he's 'Rodimus'. He grew up and moved on. And he forgot you…because you forgot him a very long time ago," the scientist said in a dangerous voice. "When you were declared dead…he went AWOL for over a year. He went looking for you. But you never came back for him…what kind of sparkmate were you anyways?" Brainstorm curbed the worst of his anger and took a deep breath. "You got friends of mine killed, due to your pathetic recklessness in that situation. You should've been dead, too."

"I find it hard to trust an Autobot who's wrecked his own badge like you have," Whirl said, still acting twitchy, and pointing at the marred Autobot brand on Blaze's chestplate. "I mean…look…I still want to be an Autobot, despite the whole thing in the Wreckers. I'd never trash my badge."

"I told you, I was dead to Autobot High Command…I couldn't wander the universe wearing the badge and doing the jobs I'm doing!" Blaze protested, annoyed.

"Mercenary work," Cyclonus said, quietly. "Person for hire, any time and any job."

"You have no idea how many times Rodimus went AWOL and High Command took him back every time….he was sparkbroken because of you and it affected him every time people were killed around him," Brainstorm said, very softly. "And he was worse, after every death…the ego and recklessness was more in-your-face each and every time—he became you, Blaze, because he missed you so badly." Brainstorm paused. "I'm glad we ran into those spiders…and that he suffered that brain injury. I would normally never wish a spot-lobotomy on anyone, but it made him forget you and everything around you—Blaze no longer existed for Rodimus and that was the greatest blessing he could ever have had."

"Oh, is that what happened?" Whirl chuckled. "Well, no wonder Rodimus has changed. I guess that's okay!" He laughed. "Those spiders were pretty nasty things. And hey…that lobotomy made Rodimus like someone like Megatron—which, I must say, is absolutely hilarious."

"Well…it's the same for Megatron as well…it's a two-way street with those two," Brainstorm chuckled softly.

"I…..have apparently missed noticing this," Cyclonus murmured.

"Pffft…you don't even seem to notice your relationship with the little dude most times," Whirl teased. "Nahhh…the old Megatron and quiet little Rodimus have been all flirty for the past week. It's funny to watch those two," the ex-Wrecker said, feigning seriousness, but there was amusement in the tone of his voice.

"Then is it really true…the rumours I've heard?" Blaze asked, looking over at Brainstorm and Whirl. "Megatron's….an Autobot now?"

"The whole goddamned freaking war is over and there really should be no such thing anymore," Brainstorm muttered.

"That's pretty angry-sounding from someone who was pretending to be a Decepticon and an Autobot at the same time for a few million years," Whirl chuckled. "But Brainy is right…war's over. Most say the Autobots won, but…..if you saw Cybertron, nobody won, really. That's why Rodimus blasted off into space….to look for these mythical Knights of Cybertron, in the hopes they can fix Cybertron. It's cute, actually…Rodimus loves Cybertron more than anything, you can hear it when he talks about Cybertron," Whirl said with excessive dramatics and waving his arms in grand gestures while he spoke.

Cyclonus looked at Whirl carefully. He never realized the ex-Wrecker was so sensitive to others. He generally came off as being mean and rude to everyone around him. And now that Whirl had said it…Cyclonus realized that it was true…when he heard Rodimus talk about Cybertron, there was powerful emotion in his voice. Deep within it. He thought that Rodimus was doing this for a lark…or just to get away from Cybertron—but he was really out here looking for help to fix or save Cybertron.

"Okay. So Megatron…the guy who started the war—who annihilated entire planets—is an Autobot now. There's not even a war anymore. And…Hot Rod is together with him?" Blaze asked, softly and with disappointment.

"You were attempting to annihilate this planet," Cyclonus responded.

"Hey…that's just business. I got paid to do this job and that's all there is to it," Blaze answered, shrugging as much as he could with his arms cuffed behind him.

"There are over five-thousand innocent people here. It may be a small world, with a small population…but you were about to take the lives of over five-thousand people, including newborns and children," Brainstorm said, sharply.

"That is not my problem," Blaze responded, just as sharply. "You implied that Hot Rod is in a relationship with Megatron….." he snarled.

Whirl actually had to grab Brainstorm by the shoulders, since he was about to probably give Blaze a nice and fatal wound of some sort.

"Look…I heard Rodimus ask you why you never returned for him. Whether or not you were declared dead by High Command…if you loved Rodimus like you claim to—you would have looked for him, as he looked for you," Whirl said, smoothly, as soon as Brainstorm calmed down. "If you're someone's sparkmate…you would defy the will of the universe for them. It's the way it is. So…sparkmate never meant as much to you, as it did to Rodimus. It explains why he's never gotten close to anyone else…except Drift, and that was actually a real mess."

Neither Brainstorm, nor Cyclonus, were expecting Whirl to be so serious and emotionally understanding. Brainstorm certainly never expected Whirl to be so observant of everything that had been going on back on the ship for all this time.

"But I can see why he might be…becoming attached to Megatron. Megatron's the only one who broke away from seeing the egotistical Rodimus that everyone knew and started seeing the real Cybertronian beneath it all," Whirl continued. "Megatron extended a hand of friendship to him…and then more. I think Rodimus was finally tired of acting like someone else…..and maybe a spider gnawing on part of his brain module was the best thing that could ever have happened to him." Whirl took a deep breath. "I think he just wants to be loved and not be left behind by someone claiming to love him. You left him behind. Drift left him behind. And he's probably afraid Megatron's going to leave him behind, too…but maybe he's thinking that the third time's the charm. Maybe he wants to make this attempt and hope for the best this time around."

Brainstorm smiled to himself…Whirl was amazingly observant. It fit the observations he had of Rodimus over all these years. A Cybertronian hiding himself behind a shield, made up of an aggravating ego, to stop people from getting to close—or to stop him from getting too close to anyone else. The pain and anguish of losing the one he loved, driving him to keep others away. Brainstorm always knew Rodimus to prefer to be alone. Yet, for as alone as he always was…Rodimus knew a lot of people. Brainstorm knew that there was an open call to get people to come along on this "quest", but what others didn't know is that Rodimus had asked a handful of people specifically to come along. Brainstorm had been one and Chromedome had been another…and since Rodimus knew Chromedome and Rewind were inseparable, he wanted Rewind along, too. Perceptor was asked personally by Rodimus…and though Brainstorm wasn't sure, he thought that Rodimus had originally asked Cyclonus to come along, or at least had offered it. Even if Cyclonus being here had been unintended at the launch. Because Rodimus probably knew how much Cyclonus missed the Cybertron he had known and loved…and offered a chance to be there and help fix it. Whirl being here was a complete mistake, but…maybe it was a good thing in the end.

"Hm," Cyclonus murmured, smiling softly.

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Rodimus chopped foot and hand holds into the stone and hung there while his optics scanned the walls of the drill sink. This seemed odd. The drill sink was…..mostly naturally formed. At least most of this point…further down to the core might have been carved out. That means Blaze and his partner chose this particular cavern—not just for hiding their work, but it had the best natural well into the heart of the planet for their mechanism to function optimally.

Work. This person…who was supposedly Rodimus' old sparkmate was doing mercenary work. Hired for….destroying a planet, in this circumstance. But why? There were thousands of innocent lives here….who would pay money to destroy an innocent planet full of innocent people? Unless….? The planet coordinates found in Ultra Magnus' scan. Planted deliberately? Could the Galactic Council seriously endanger thousands of lives in order to plot a strike against a ship of Cybertronians? It seemed more on the level of the Black Box Consortia, but...

No…wait...not just any Cybertronians. Maybe they were willing to sacrifice thousands of lives to get rid of one single Cybertronian. If Blaze had heard the news…the Galactic Council had, as well. If the Galactic Council paid Blaze to cause an issue to basically lure Megatron here….destroy the planet and pray that Megatron was on the planet at the time…..?

Rodimus scrambled back up the drill sink walls and hefted himself out of the hole. He stalked over to the group and squatted down so that he could meet Blaze eye-to-eye, since the Cybertronian was sitting on the ground, with his hands cuffed behind his back. He put his hand, palm smack in the center of Blaze's forehead and pushed the head back so their optics met.

"Was it Captain K'Gard of the Benign Intervention?" Rodimus asked, all seriousness…and a bit of annoyance.

"Wait, wasn't that….?" Brainstorm began.

"Megatron was supposed to come down here, but clearly the Galactic Council are unaware of the parole rules…there was no way Megatron would've been able to come down here. There would have to be special permissions and circumstances," Rodimus said. Blaze hadn't answered, but Rodimus felt something, a slight jerk of the body, when he'd mentioned K'Gard's name…because he'd had his hand on Blaze's forehead. "Besides, K'Gard was upset that he hadn't turned Ultra Magnus to his cause…..and I made fun of his ridiculous hat," he added, with a slight chuckle on the last part. "If I had to guess…he disappointed his superiors when we didn't die down in Crystal City—so he thought he'd plot a little execution on his own of the most hated Cybertronian of all time, who happened to be on a little ship out in the middle of the universe."

"You've changed, Hot Rod," Blaze said quietly.

"I'm sure a lot of that is your fault, originally," Rodimus responded. "I lost everything about you…and while I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing for me, this is what I do know. This Cybertronian that's in front of me right now…..there's nothing I could possibly like about him. He's a mercenary…willing to hurt or even kill people for money. You can't take lives…..didn't the war teach you anything at all, at how precious life is?" Rodimus said, letting go of Blaze with a shove, knocking him awkwardly onto his back.

"And yet you're choosing to be intimate with the greatest killer our species ever produced?" Blaze snapped, angrily. "Hypocrite!" He snarled.

"You have no idea….how much blood is on my hands as well," Rodimus said, disappointment in his voice, and getting to his feet. But he didn't look away from his companions from the ship…he held all their gazes. "Every life I took…is there…written in the dark corners of my Spark. The war…made a lot of people do a lot of things they never wanted to. But wait…..you skipped out on the war. The lives you took were by choice…for money. How much blood is on your hands?"

("I've never expected forgiveness…I just would like the opportunity to live and try to do better this time." Megatron had said, embracing Rodimus.)

"Megatron doesn't want forgiveness. He doesn't even expect kindness from anyone," Rodimus said softly. "He just wants a chance to live and try to become a better person than before. He wants to live a normal life." Rodimus clenched a fist. "You know. That's what I want, too. To try and live a normal life. I want…..everyone to be able to live a normal life. That's why I want to find the Knights of Cybertron…so that everyone can have that normal life. As long as Cybertron is struggling…nobody can live 'normally'."

Brainstorm took a step towards Rodimus, worried at the sudden sad tone in his voice. He'd heard that Rodimus had become suicidal after the incident with the spiders on Injher 7.

"I don't need to be forgiven, either. I did awful stuff during the war….hell, I did awful things on the ship. I tried to cut the losses as best as I could…..but you have no idea how hard it is to determine one life is worth the life of hundreds," Rodimus continued. "I made those decisions, because a leader makes those decisions…but inside…..? Yeah. Not feeling very good on the inside." Rodimus sighed and stared at the ground. "Megatron knows how that feels…the weight of lives. Making all the hard decisions. I can relax around him, because he understands how tired I am of everything."

"Is that why you've been allowing him to be captain more often lately?" Cyclonus asked, curiously.

"Yeah, probably," Rodimus answered, with a slight chuckle. "He's been at the leader thing a while longer than I have…it's a bit easier for him. I can do what I'm best at…I can explore things. I can hunt for things. Without being wrapped up in the daily delegation of duties and whatnot."

"Rodimus! Are you down here?" A voice called, echoing down the cavern tunnels.

"Yeah…we're down here, Strafe!" Rodimus called, loudly. Strafe, Powerflash and Boltbuster from the Lost Light's security team all came down into the large cavern. "These two, here….a Cybertronian named Blaze and a Tarulian named Goul. Take 'em back to the ship and have Megatron contact Cybertron to find out what to do with Blaze. We'll ask the heads of government here what to do with the Tarulian. Whirl, Brainstorm…head back to the ship with the cutter. Cyclonus and I are going to go meet up with Ultra Magnus."

"Right away, captain," Strafe chuckled as Boltbuster hauled up Blaze and Powerflash grabbed Goul.

"Brainstorm, again…sorry about dragging you along for nothing," Rodimus apologized.

"Nothing, hell….I found someone I would really like to punch or shoot, very badly. Today I have something in common with Whirl, which may be the only time you will ever hear me say something like that!" Brainstorm chuckled. "Though when they take Blaze back to the ship…Megatron may forget his promise of pacifism in order to do something awful to Blaze."

"He's got better control than you think…but yes, I believe he will be incredibly pissed off to see that the person who hurt me most is actually still alive," Rodimus chuckled. "Primus forbid we run into Drift again….Blaze was at least safe as long as he was dead!" He laughed.

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"Wait," Megatron murmured, waving a hand at Brainstorm. "A Cybertronian named Blaze," he said, softly. "This isn't going where I think it's going, is it?" He asked, quietly.

"It's going exactly there, it's that Blaze. Who was apparently not dead and just ran when High Command declared him dead," Brainstorm sighed. "He said he 'couldn't' go back to Cybertron or he'd have been court-martialed or something."

"I may not have been an Autobot long…..and no matter what High Command thought…I think they'd have been happy an Autobot wasn't dead. It sounds like his ego probably couldn't deal with demerits or something," Megatron sighed. "Now I see where Rodimus got it…I suppose I need to go have words with this Blaze…Blaster, patch through to Cybertron and send it to the brig. I'll talk to our guest and Starscream at the same time."

Megatron walked down to the brig and made sure at least two security staff were in the hallway as he approached the cell where they had placed Blaze. He was a little bit worried that he might lose it, if he were left alone with Blaze…at least with security there, he might be able to rein in his angrier urges. As he approached the cell, he apprised the younger Cybertronian. He had a decorative scheme not unlike Rodimus' original designs…the flame pattern. But different colors…blue flames and dark yellow body.

"So, I understand you are named Blaze and you have been employed as a mercenary," Megatron began, his voice even and neutral.

"I know my rights…and I know I don't have to answer that," Blaze responded, dark anger in his voice. "If I didn't answer Hot Rod, I am certainly not answering the one who took him from me."

Megatron smiled, but inside he laughed at the obvious jealousy in Blaze's voice. "Starscream, do you have your head of security there with you?" Megatron inquired, turning to the nearby communications panel.

"Yes, Ironhide is here with me," Starscream's voice responded.

"Ironhide…I have a former Autobot here, named Blaze," Megatron said into the communicator. "Brainstorm tells me this is the same Blaze he knew back at the Academy…and this Blaze was once lifepartners with Hot Rod—Rodimus, under his former name. Blaze was found drilling into a planetary core, along with a work-partner…and it sounds as if he is now a mercenary for hire."

"I thought Brainstorm was older than Rodimus? Why were they at the Academy at the same time?" Ironhide's voice answered and asked, but by the distracted tone, it was clear he was probably busy looking up the name "Blaze".

"I'm guessing around four million years ago when the war really ignited…..a lot of Autobots went to the Academy at the same time, in mass groups, regardless of their age. Except it wasn't the same Academy at that point…probably their focus was on war and combat over learning the proper literary masterpieces and grand orchestral compositions," Megatron responded, shaking his head lightly. "Besides, I think Rodimus is a bit older than we think he is. I think he came online in Nyon, but that's not where his Spark came from." Megatron remembered the little jaunt to the past that some of the crew took…chasing Brainstorm and trying to prevent him from changing the past. One of those temporal hotspots was Orion Pax and his rebels out in the Badlands, trying to protect a bed of newborn Sparks…which Pax had told Rodimus would be shipped to a facility in Nyon. He knew Rodimus had likely made the same connection.

"Found 'im," Ironhide reported. "You're right…Blaze of Nyon went to the Academy with Rodimus and, at the same time, Brainstorm. He was listed 'killed in combat' on a mission between students and an official combat team…on the planet Garges. Apparently the combat mission was to recover…"

"I think I know what the mission was. There was a ship of Energon and weapon supplies," Megatron said. "I know what Decepticons were there…and I remember their report now." He sighed softly. "I have Blaze here right now and by inferring what he has said…he was adamant about not returning to Cybertron because he was afraid of being court martialed or something deprecating."

"So he became a mercenary instead?" Starscream chimed in. "That's pretty brutal, as far as change goes. Mercenary work is generally not an Autobot-type of thing to do, mainly because of some of the unsavory things most mercenaries tend to do," the leader of Cybertron responded.

"Like destroying planets for payment," Megatron sighed. "It is a world with a small population of very alive females, males and children."

"That puts him up for trial, most certainly," Starscream said. "I assume the Lost Light is there, trying to evacuate the natives?" He inquired.

"Yes, sort of. The natives have called kin from a nearby colony world, to come and assist them in evacuating. We are waiting for them, but if the planet shows complete decay…we'll bring them aboard here and wait for their kin at a safe distance," Megatron reported. "Rodimus inspected the damages caused by their drill device and said the planet is irredeemable, it's going to fall apart…but he can't quite give a calculation of when. He said it's merely delayed destruction since we stopped Blaze and his partner from drilling into the core anymore…as opposed to a more instant destruction."

He heard Starscream laughing and Ironhide was trying to get him to settle down.

"It says on Rodimus' school record he studied Geoarchaeology as a primary class of interest," Ironhide responded. "If he says that the planet's falling apart…I'd say the knowledge he should have would make his assessment more truthful. Do you believe him?" The old Autobot asked, curiously.

"I do. I saw him use some of that knowledge recently," Megatron answered.

"Then make sure you keep the people of that planet safe," Ironhide said, softly. "With our ships it might take a while to reach you—would you rather call Fortress Maximus and have him escort Blaze back to Cybertron?"

"We'll do that…thank you, Ironhide," Megatron said, cutting the communications. "We're going to call the current peacekeeper of the Tyrest Accord to come and get you. You'll be sent back to Cybertron for Starscream and the Council of Colonies to deal with. I believe I'm done with you." Megatron had to leave before he decided to reach through the energy bars of the cell and punch Blaze.

"Hey…you should know," Blaze began, extreme annoyance in his voice. "I don't necessarily think you're the best person to take care of Hot Rod…I don't think you can understand him like I did."

"Say what you like, it's his choice," Megatron said, feigning indifference, even though inside his head, he had decided he'd like to destroy this Cybertronian. "But I think you leaving him behind was far more damaging than anything I…or even Drift…..could ever do to him. I'm glad he can't remember you and remember how painful it was to live without you."

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Within the next 30 hours, the kin of the natives had come to collect them and take them off to their other colony worlds. Rodimus had explained the situation of the planet…that it could fall apart in weeks or years, but it was going to fall apart eventually and nothing could fix it. The leaders had asked Rodimus to use the Lost Light's weaponry and destroy the planet instead—to give it a fast and better death rather than a slow and agonizing one.

About the time Rodimus and everyone got back to the ship was when Fortress Maximus arrived to come and take Blaze away.

"Hey, Max…..good to see you," Rodimus chuckled, offering a hand up to the large Autobot.

"I heard about your accident, how are you feeling?" Fortress Maximus asked, sympathetically. "Cerebros said he could take a look at you, if you wanted him to."

"The injury seems to be clean…and I am thinking that the memories I've lost are probably for the best, in the end," Rodimus answered with a smile. "But tell Cerebros I said thanks for the offer."

"I'm glad to hear that," the old prison warden chuckled. They walked down to the brig together and security fetched Blaze from his cell. "Anything to say, before we go?" Fortress Maximus asked of Blaze, as he grabbed a shoulder carefully.

"Hot Rod…why Megatron? Out of anyone you could have gotten close to?" Blaze asked, looking at Rodimus.

"That's…hard to explain. I don't remember you, Blaze….and I need to figure out how to officially sever our bond so we can move on—separately, as separate entities with separate lives. But right now…I think the fact that you chose to play dead and not look for me, as well as the fact that you're doing jobs I find highly disagreeable and distasteful…I can't possibly try to heal a rift between us," Rodimus responded. "Megatron has been wounded, as I have…we can take care of each other and heal each other's hurts. And take the time to become a true bonded couple. I like him. He can be kind…a lot kinder than I think anyone would ever think. He's seen a lot in life, because he's been around a long time…so know I can learn something from him, too."

"As the peacekeeper, officially…..I can witness a severing of a Conjunx bond, if you'd like?" Fortress Maximus said. "Or else you'd probably have to petition Starscream to do it and he might be rather mean about the situation."

"I refuse," Blaze said, angrily. It was clear he was being spiteful of the situation.

"It doesn't really matter what you think…as long as one of the members of the bonding has a witness who knows the both of you and can speak in favor of the severing of the bond," Fortress Maximus says, coolly. "Rodimus…can you find someone who knows this Cybertronian who was your sparkmate, that you want to sever the bond with?"

"I'm in luck…because Brainstorm aboard my ship would probably do so, and gladly," Rodimus chuckled.

"Then meet me in the shuttle bay in about thirty minutes," Fortress Maximus said, nodding and smiling at Rodimus.

Rodimus walked towards the hab suites and was stopped by Megatron.

"Are you all right?" Megatron asked, gently cupping the side of Rodimus' face.

"I can't believe that guy, seriously….what did I like about him?" Rodimus sighed, gently leaning his head against Megatron's chest.

"I think you liked his strong sense of life…..the ego and recklessness, laughing in the face of danger. It was a strength you didn't have back then…you probably admired it in him, since you took it on when you thought he was dead," Megatron murmured, lightly patting his back.

"Max says he can legally sever our bond, I just gotta go get Brainstorm for a witness," Rodimus said, pulling away and looking up into Megatron's face. "I'm all yours, then…..I hope you're ready," he added with a warm chuckle.

"I'm going to surprise you with how ready I am," Megatron said, laughing softly. "Hang in there." He gave a soft sigh. "It's too soon for another shore leave…so our date will have to wait. But I'll plan something for a little later on, with what we talked about earlier."

"Yeah…we shouldn't keep going off track or Optimus Prime and Starscream are going to think we're not serious about the quest anymore," Rodimus agreed, nodding his head. There was a little bit of disappointment inside of him. After all this business, he really wanted something to take his mind off of Blaze and what discovering all this meant.

"Rodimus," Megatron murmured, pulling the younger Cybertronian back to him. Rodimus rested his head on Megatron's chest again and sighed. "I know…you're probably getting confused again. But there's no need for you to be confused, because you're just hurting yourself with that. Follow what you truly feel in your Spark…don't let your head mess you up with confusing thoughts on what you think should and should not be."

Rodimus smiled. "You know…..I really do like you. You've been kind to me. You've been patient with me. But I never thought that the person who could win my Spark would be Megatron. That Megatron…..the one that so many people hate. I really liked Drift a lot, too….intensely, but in a very different way," he murmured softly.

"There's nothing written in the codes of life saying that love is an attachment only between two specific beings," Megatron said. "I can give you Chromedome and Rewind for an example amongst our own race. And I can honestly say, I've never felt such a strong attachment to anyone…not since Terminus…and he was important to me in a very different way than you are important to me."

"I hope we can make this work," Rodimus said, pulling away and holding on to Megatron's hands. "I'm kinda tired of being alone and left behind by everyone I become attached to."

"I'll try very hard not to get killed," Megatron laughed, squeezing Rodimus' hands. "And you must promise to do the same."

"I'll do my best," Rodimus chuckled, squeezing back. "All right, wish me luck!" He said, waving at Megatron as he jogged off. He stopped at Brainstorm's door, which apparently had changed the color and font of its graffiti. It still said the same thing….just with a new font and new set of colors. It was…..more stylish and graffiti-like, but still said "enter at your own risk". It was hard to believe in potential danger with such stylish text! Rodimus entered the room. "Hey, Brainstorm…..are you in here?" Rodimus called, glancing around the room.

"I'm under the big table…working on my secret project!" Brainstorm called back. He pulled himself out enough to look for Rodimus in the room. "Is everything okay?" He asked.

"Fortress Maximus is here to take Blaze to Cybertron for us….he said that he can sever the Conjunx bond between Blaze and I, provided I can provide a witness to stand with me, who also knows who Blaze is," Rodimus said, softly. "Would you mind doing it? I'd like to get this properly settled so I can move on…" he stopped and looked away from Brainstorm. "I know you're not a fan of Megatron's, but…..I really like him and would like to go through Conjunx Ritus with him."

Brainstorm chuckled and folded his hands beneath his head, his pose relaxed as he still laid on the floor. "I talked to Megatron about this….so, I think I'd like to hear it from you. Why do you like him?" The eccentric scientist asked, curiously.

"He's strong…..and surprisingly kind. I didn't expect it…..but when I was hurting more than anything, he was gentle and patient with me, when he had no reason to be like that," Rodimus murmured. "And his sense of humour is silly….he's like Magnus. It makes me smile when those two try so hard to throw a light joke out there, probably far more than it should." Rodimus then turned away from Brainstorm, feeling embarrassed at the next part he was about to say…he didn't want the scientist seeing his face. "And he's so passionate. You can take that as you like…..I probably mean it both ways. He might be old, but his Spark is as energetic as a newborn's." Rodimus facepalmed himself in embarrassment. "I hope this is the last time I like someone so deeply. If…if Megatron leaves me behind, like everyone else has…I will take my own life. I'm tired of being alone."

"I wasn't friends with you back at the Academy, but I'd heard a lot about you and Blaze," Brainstorm said, completely hauling himself out from under the table and then he stood up and stretched his arms. "I know you two were close, if only from seeing your reaction when they told you Blaze was dead…that was the look of someone who had the universe crash down on him." Brainstorm walked up to Rodimus and looked him directly in the optics. "I know you don't know this, but Chromedome and Skids had been walking past your room when you had your argument with Drift…they saw you kick him out of your room and they heard you trashing it. Skids went back to check on you later—he said you looked very, very sad…not angry like everyone thought you were."

"I should probably wonder how many others heard about that," Rodimus sighed, looking away from Brainstorm.

"You and Drift weren't obvious….but you weren't secretive, either. I think people paying attention would know that you two were involved," Brainstorm responded, shrugging. "Chromedome and I are really good friends…he said he was worried about you, after he told me what he and Skids saw—but I thought you would run away, like you always did when you were hurt." Brainstorm moved around to get into Rodimus' line of sight again. "But when you got injured in the battle with the spiders…..you were wounded in the fashion as you had been with Blaze and Drift. I could tell. But who did you lose? What did you see in your little vision-thing?"

"Oh, hell," Rodimus whispered. "Chromedome told you that, too….?" He asked.

"Even he doesn't know what went on in your head," Brainstorm chuckled. "But you got close to someone in that little story that went on inside your head and you lost them, too."

"I was lost in an ocean, beneath a black sky…..at least, that was the over-arching bridge of the story. I was also…oddly…in my avatar form," Rodimus whispered, looking away from Brainstorm again. "He told me this….throughout the story… 'You ignite Sparks.' I had a hard time believing him, so I had to live through the story. We found the Knights of Cybertron and Cyberutopia…and things happened. He kept telling me how I ignited Sparks. I always wanted to mean something to someone…to leave a legacy for others. I don't know if I ignite anything…but I…." Rodimus trailed off.

Brainstorm suddenly laughed…and laughed hard. "Oh, lord…it was Megatron. Inside your head, even before this really happened!" He practically giggled. "That was before he was nice to you and everything!" He laughed.

"Don't….don't laugh…I already know how stupid it is. And that I probably grew attached to him because I already 'lived through it'," Rodimus stammered.

"All right….I shouldn't tease you about this. But…..you also lost him in that story, didn't you?" Brainstorm asked. "That's why you were trying to run for it…and you couldn't, since Ultra Magnus made sure that security had everything tied down tight. So you hid and tried to think about getting out of it in the darker way."

"When we find the Knights of Cybertron, what do you think is going to happen?" Rodimus asked, carefully.

"Hopefully they'll help us, of course," Brainstorm answered, tilting his head curiously. "Oh, the trial. That's right."

"No matter how much I wish it. No matter how much good Megatron may do until then," Rodimus said. "Megatron is guilty and will be executed. Nothing's going to change that at all. If they even tried to let Megatron live….it's just going to result in a riot that could drag Cybertron into new conflicts." Rodimus walked towards the door, facing away from Brainstorm. "The ocean of grief…and the black sky of loneliness…that story showed me my future. In that story, Megatron's spirit was trying to get me to live on….but I don't want to and I already know that. But I would like to be happy before that end gets here…at least for a while. Megatron's fun to be with and very kind to me…I'll take that for what it is right now."

"Sometimes that's all you really need," Brainstorm said, sagely. "Well…let's go hurt Blaze where it'll do some serious damage—his ego!" Then, Brainstorm cut in front of Rodimus at the doorway. "If it means anything, though…back on Luna I, you ignited those Sparks. I was there, I saw it happen. It was all you….I don't believe it was the half of the dead Matrix that did it…I believe it was your amazing spirit and love of life."

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"Look, Fortress Maximus…right?" Blaze began, quietly. "I don't want to be severed from Hot Rod—maybe if he just got to know me again, he'd realize I'm the same guy he fell in love with all those millennia ago," he added.

"I really doubt that…after all, you can't seem to call him by the name he's going by now," the old prison warden said with a derisive snort. "I can't possibly know the past you've shared together…but the fact that over four million years went by when you two were not together is pretty heavy proof that you're no longer good partners. Rodimus thought you were dead and you never gave proof to him that you were still alive. I think at some point anyone would want to finally move on." Fortress Maximus gave a soft sigh. "I underestimated him once, too…I know he tried to hide his brilliance with an annoying ego, but a few times while I was on this ship I managed to see it. Now to see him softer and showing that great skill of leadership so openly…even I have to think that maybe his injury was the best thing that could have ever happened to him."

"Hot Rod never had an ego, he was just an amiable guy," Blaze said with a definite tone of pout in his voice.

"You've been out of things for too long," Fortress Maximus responded, curtly. "Most people wanted to hit him because of his overbearing ego." He saw Rodimus come into the shuttle bay with Brainstorm and waited for them both to walk over. "Brainstorm…are you standing with Rodimus or with Blaze on this matter?" He asked, seriously.

"With Rodimus," he answered, waving a hand dismissively. "Blaze's recklessness killed some of my friends at the time and I saw what his announced death had done to Rodimus back then, when he was still going by Hot Rod. If he were truly alive all this time…he needed to return to Cybertron for Rodimus—and to apologize for his errors that lead to so many deaths on that mission. To me, by staying away and pretending to be dead for four million years…..he knew what he had done and he deserves no sympathy for it."

"And you admit that you know this Cybertronian known as Blaze, from Nyon?" Fortress Maximus asked, nodding at the scientist.

"I do. We were not friends, but we shared some classes together, so I am acquainted with him," Brainstorm answered.

"And do you know Rodimus strongly enough to justify taking his side on this severance hearing?" The old prison warden inquired, still keeping a very tight hold on Blaze's shoulder.

"We were not friends, either….back then," Brainstorm began, choosing his words very carefully. "And we may not be Amica Endurae right now either, but I think with the time I have spent on this ship and the many things we've all endured…I would like to say that Rodimus and I are friendly towards one another. I think he deserves to be severed from Blaze, so that he can finally move on with his life, after four million years of being trapped by his feelings and loss."

"Rodimus…you have asked for severance of your Conjunx Endura bonding with this Cybertronian known as Blaze," Fortress Maximus began, softly. "Please state your reasons for wishing to sever the bond."

"I do not quite remember Blaze, I suffered an injury to my brain recently that stole a batch of memories from me when it dissolved a small portion of my brain module," Rodimus answered. "But I know I had a bond with him, because the name of Blaze and the designation of 'sparkmate' was associated with him in what memories I had left of him. If I loved him even half as much as I liked Drift…I know that losing him probably hurt me a lot. But….this person I see now, a mercenary. Willing to kill innocent people for money. I can't accept that. I can't possibly love him again, if this is what he is now."

"Then I accept your decision to sever the bond…when the feelings are no longer there, it would be wrong to continue something so deeply personal," Fortress Maximus said, holding up a hand and about to say the words that would formally sever the Conjunx Endura bond between Rodimus and Blaze.

"Welp, given what I've heard…." Blaze began with a light chuckle. He wrenched his shoulders to pull out of Fortress Maximus' grip and his shoulder-servos groaned with pain. "I figured this was the direction this would take. And, I'm sorry, but…I'm not letting Megatron, of all people, have you, Hot Rod!" He snapped, angrily, kicking a foot up and spinning around in a kick.

It was fast and unexpected…..and Brainstorm saw when Blaze swept back around onto his own two feet, there was a long laser-dagger buried in Rodimus' chest. Fortress Maximus slammed Blaze to the ground and stomped heavily on the mercenary's chest to disupt his energon flow and circuits. Blaze grunted in pain, then laughed madly.

Brainstorm grabbed Rodimus as the Cybertronian began to wobble and fall…his optics were getting dim. "Velocity! You need to get to the shuttle bay right now! Rodimus has been stabbed—I think the blade's buried in his primary fuel pump!" He yelled over his interpersonal communicator, to get the attention of the Medical Officer. "Hurry…he's losing a lot of lifeblood and his optics are fading in light!" He snapped.

"I'd rather send Hot Rod to the afterspark than to hand him over to our race's greatest mass murderer!" Blaze snarled up at Fortress Maximus, bleeding out a small stream from his mouth, there was definitely internal damage to his systems…..the old prison warden was incredibly strong.

"Brainstorm….." Megatron said, kneeling beside the scientist and his potential lifepartner, his voice rough with emotion.

"Megatron, you need to leave the area right now," Brainstorm snapped, shoving at Megatron's chest. He realized Megatron must have been standing outside the shuttle bay doors to keep an eye on things. He couldn't tell what the emotion was in Megatron's voice, but he was afraid Megatron might lose it if he watched Rodimus fading like this. "Now! Get out of the shuttle bay…go back up to the bridge or something!" He yelled, very upset and hoping this situation wasn't going to escalate to the point of no return. Then he saw Ultra Magnus walking towards them. "Ultra Magnus….for the love of Primus—get Megatron out of here, now! Please!" He begged of the ship's second.

"Come on, captain…let's go back to the bridge. Velocity will let you know when it's okay to see him," Ultra Magnus said quietly, grabbing Megatron's arm and hauling him up to his feet. "Max…..it's time to get that criminal out of here," he added, glancing over at Fortress Maximus, who was yanking Blaze up to his feet.

"In a moment," he sighed. He held up his hand. "Rodimus…I hope you can hear this somewhere inside your head—and now we have a room full of witnesses to corroborate that I've said this…." He trailed off. "From this moment on, you are free of your bond to Blaze from Nyon. The severing is official and witnessed, you are now allowed to move on with your life and choose a new lifepartner if you wish it."

"Damn it!" Blaze snarled, struggling in Fortress Maximus' grip.

"Enough out of you," Fortress Maximus snapped back. "If I'm feeling generous, I'll let Cerebros look at your injuries when we get back to Luna I….." he said, roughly shoving Blaze towards his speeder craft. "Call me to let me know how Rodimus is doing…later on. Take care, everyone," he said to the people in the large shuttle area. He shoved Blaze harshly up the ramp of his ship and was gone within five minutes.

About the time Fortress Maximus' ship was preparing for blast off…that was when Velocity came rushing into the shuttle bay with a medi-droid and a satchel of supplies. She was at Brainstorm's side in seconds, unpacking gear she'd need for swift surgery.

"Brainstorm, I'm going to ask you to yank the blade out as swiftly as you can—at the same time I'm going to open his chest casing and start compression on the fuel pump," Velocity described, her hands full with a compression tube and medical scalpel. "On three…one, two…THREE!" She cried. As Brainstorm yanked the laser blade out, she used fingertips to flip open Rodimus' chestplate and swiftly snapped the compression tube over the damaged portion of the primary fuel pump. Glowing blue-purple energon-infused lifeblood sprayed over Velocity's arms for a moment, then trickled out around the compression tube…then it stopped completely.

"Will he be all right?" Brainstorm asked softly, driving the laser blade into the floor next to him with a bit of anger.

"If he wants to live, he will," Velocity sighed, wiping off her arms with a sterilized solution cloth. "I'll need to operate to close this wound properly….and it would be best to do that back in the medi-bay." Brainstorm was confused at the strange tone in her voice…Velocity was a generally cheerful and brightly intelligent person, extremely skilled at her job, but the tone in her voice seemed to show confusion.

"What is it?" Brainstorm asked, wondering why she was staring at Rodimus' open chestplate.

"I've….I….I haven't seen the map since back on the Vis Vitalis—the map that Thunderclash drew," she murmured. "But unless I'm mistaken…..this is the map," she added, pushing Rodimus' chestplate fully open so that Brainstorm could see what was so brilliantly etched on the inside of Rodimus' chestplate. It seemed to be highlighted by the glow of Rodimus' Spark, the concentric circles, odd symbols and ancient writings.

Brainstorm wondered why Rodimus had kept this a secret….or was it that he forgot it was there? No matter how the map to Cyberutopia was printed, it had a special coding that made people forget about it when they looked away…Perceptor called it "copy-protected"—though that was slightly off, since those who had been touched by the Matrix were able to replicate the map. Rodimus had slowly been doing so…Ultra Magnus was the one who noticed Rodimus was subconsciously drawing the map, by doodling on the desk in his room a little while back. But this…..this was older and it was complete. It had the endpoint on it…and yet, the moment Brainstorm looked away from the detailed etching, he forgot it. But for Rodimus to have etched this with such intricate detail meant he opened his own chestplate for long periods of time to do this. He could have endangered his Spark, by exposing it for such long periods of time. Had he done it subconsciously, as he had with the doodling on his desk? The only marring to this map was the entry wound from the laser blade, but it seemed only to bisect a portion of the map, at a location that they had already been to.

"Velocity," Brainstorm said, very quietly…picking Rodimus' limp body up to carry it to the medi-bay for her. "I think this is something we should keep to ourselves. This…..this information could be very dangerous if the wrong people saw this. Rodimus' life could potentially be in great danger."

"I think you're right, Brainstorm," she replied, shaking her head as she picked up her satchel. "I'll fix the interior of his chestplate as best as I can without damaging the map…but some of that is going to be illegible when I fix the wound scar."

"That's all right, it's a place we've already been to…don't worry about it," the scientist said, giving a soft sigh.

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I looked up at Megatron as he was about to enter me, his human avatar form was older but well-muscled. He looked lean and powerful. I was scared of giving myself to someone again…after losing Drift and…..whoever that Blaze guy was. The name in my memories that I couldn't remember who he actually was. But Megatron had been so kind to me since the injury….and I really wanted to belong to someone again…..I was so tired of being alone, after so many years and centuries…

I sat in the balcony of the colosseum, which had been cleared out for a courtroom. The whole trial was insane…I had to agree with Prowl on that point. Then Megatron had asked me to give a communicube to Optimus Prime. I could have said no, but…he really was trying to do things within the confines of the law. I had to respect that. But what should I do with this other thing? The datapad that Atomizer had handed to me…..and supposedly had a list of the people who voted against me in the crisis vote….? I glanced at the numbers etched into my hand…89/101. I wish I had never let Prowl intimidate me into taking Overlord onto my ship. I lost so many….and I could've lost Magnus. I definitely lost Drift. I lost the faith of nearly half of the crew. I could be blackmailed or worse if I looked at the names on this list…accused of fraud and conspiracy and whatnot. I lost Drift because of this nonsense and he was the best thing to come into my life since Blaze died. I felt empty inside…did I even want to keep going with this quest without Drift? With all this darkness that fell upon us and tore us apart from the inside? I sighed, not knowing what to do next…for the second time in my long life…..

The pain was absolutely unbearable…it felt like Tyrest's machine was tearing out my insides. I had to hang in—I had to tell the crew why we suffered like this. Drift would never forgive me, since he'd basically bullied me into keeping silent on the issue with Overlord. I know he was trying to protect me, but…I didn't want him to leave. I didn't want to have to make him leave. I hated this…and I couldn't run because I finally had things I wanted to protect…..I hated myself, most of all. It had been a long time since I hated myself so much. I wondered…..would the Matrix energy go back into Luna I—would the Sparks be reignited? Or were those newborns lost forever to the dusts of the ages? The first hotspot in millions of years…..and lost because a madman decided he would try to become a god. The stupidity of people made me want to run away from them all…..

It escalated. Quickly. Drift had told me that he'd take the blame for the mess with Overlord…he gave me some mystical garbage stupidity about how I was the most important thing to the quest and he couldn't risk the crew demanding that I leave. I couldn't possibly leave them, even if they wanted me to…I had the map. Optimus Prime had given me that half of the Matrix. OPTIMUS PRIME HAD GIVEN IT TO ME. And the ship…..it was my ship. Drift gave it to me. HE GAVE IT TO ME. They couldn't force me to leave….or else how would they continue the damn quest? With no map or ship…? Because, hell, that half of the Matrix was mine and it would be coming with me if they made me leave—even if they somehow made me leave the ship behind. Drift and I were at a point where our words had gotten louder and angrier. I hadn't seen Drift angry in some time….but it was like fuel on the fire. I couldn't back down from this—I couldn't bear to lose him. I said he didn't have to go and we could fix it. Explain things to everyone. I didn't care what people thought about me one way or another anyways…..but I guess Drift did. He went out of his way to prove he was no longer a Decepticon and even if it meant…I hated it. I hated that Drift was going to make me do this to him and that he was going to leave me behind. Like Blaze had. Never again would I let myself be taken in by another person…

Every time I tried to balance the scales…I always seemed to mess things up even more. Swerve blamed me for making him shoot Fortress Maximus when I'd wanted Rewind to do it in the first place, he would've been the better shot…..Rung was injured and comatose because the situation got out of hand. Whirl was a mess…..but making the story out to be all about him, as usual. I couldn't even look at the crew anymore because the gossip about the situation had gotten way out of control. Drift had steered into silly space by saying he had to go about the ship and cleanse its aura or something with a bizarre Spectralist ritual…I honestly think he was on the circuit-speeders again. Ultra Magnus lectured me every single time I walked into his line of sight. All I wanted was to look for the Knights of Cybertron…..and give some war-weary Cybertronians a sense of a normal life on the journey—and suddenly it was like we ran into bizarre situations every week. I wanted to throw a tantrum and mess up my room a little bit…but I was too tired to do so. I hung up the hammock netting I bought on a little world somewhere over by the window and climbed into it so I could just stare out into space for a while. Space was empty…but pretty. Spots of light that were stars speckled the blackness….it was really nice. Even when the worst things happened, I liked looking into the darkness with its small bits of light….it seemed like it would enforce loneliness, but really it made me feel less alone because all those lights had potential life around them…

I had told Drift that I wanted to leave Cybertron…..I somehow felt there was something I could do to help, but I knew I couldn't be stuck here to be able to do it. He asked me to explain it to him, since Cybertron was in such chaos after Vector Sigma's pulse revitalized the planet and called all Cybertronians home…he thought I'd want to stay here and help. His eyes had an odd dim glow to them, which meant he'd been taking more stupid drugs…so he probably wasn't even listening to what I was really saying to him. Seriously, if he wanted people to trust him more…..don't go out of your way to please everyone, just quit taking the damned circuit-speeders. I thought I could trust him….I thought over the past few weeks we had been forming a bond with one another. I couldn't trust a syk-addict to stand at my side and watch my back….no matter if he were one of the most dangerous warriors in all of Cybertronian history. He said something in a very soft voice and cupped the side of my face, I wasn't expecting it whatsoever and I flinched. Ah….but his hand was warm….it had been so long since I'd spent more than a few moments with an individual. I forgot how nice it was to be appreciated by someone…

If anyone ever asked you…dying kind of hurts. It doesn't matter if they're trying to ease you offline or what…your Spark going out hurts anyways. Maybe this was for the best. Back on Earth, Bumblebee and the others wouldn't listen to me when I said we needed to get back to Cybertron. I'm sure Ultra Magnus would like to have killed me himself, since I stole his ship. But I had to get back to Cybertron, but first…..I needed to get the Matrix back from the Decepticons. I wasn't expecting Megatron to still be alive…and I didn't expect to live long enough to feel my energon-infused lifeblood oozing out of me. I'm sorry, everyone…I couldn't get the Matrix back to Cybertron…..

I hated being stuck on Cybertron. Everyone knew it was dying….the ongoing war was giving it a slow and very painful death. If only I could go out into space….look for Luna I or maybe the students of the Guiding Hand, those called the "Knights of Cybertron". I hated the war because it was destroying the planet I loved right beneath my feet. I hated fighting too….I hated being good with a gun and sent on missions where I'd have to snipe a target, killing them. I hated being able to fight amazingly, when I'd rather not fight at all. Maybe the war could have been bearable if Blaze had been at my side? I listened to Prowl drone on about the mission he was about to send me on…looking for "The Magnificence", a powerful object that could be used for mass destruction in the wrong hands. There was a group I was assigned to lead, but I honestly wished Prowl would send me on the mission alone. People had a habit of…dying around me. I think that's what I hated most about the war…the death. The death of Cybertron, the death of fellow Cybertronians, the death of respect and honor…

I stood there in the Autobot High Command's conference room, listening as they gruesomely told me about the mission on Garges. Where they sent Blaze. The two Autobots who survived the mission were in the corner, just watching…I recognized Brainstorm, I'd had a class with him last year, but I didn't know the other person. Blaze was obviously killed in action…I wish they'd just get to it and tell me. Telling me the details of the mission leading up to his death was just hurting me even more inside. Every moment longer that I was in the room, waiting for them to get to the point, my Spark was breaking. I had to go look for him…or his body at least…give him a ceremony to send him on to the afterspark. He didn't deserve to be left behind on Garges to be ravaged by enemies or the elements….

Racing was stupid. With a war brewing on the horizon, I don't know why Nyon was still holding its dumb entertainment expos. It wasn't the racing itself that was stupid…it was the competition—or rather the way the competition was set up. The winners were always picked before the race started and we, the racers, just had to make it look good on the track. So those who were the "stars" always won and most of the rest of us were regulated to consistent position numbers. That's what I hated about racing…it was all fixed and some of us never had a chance to shine. The only thing it was good for was honing special skills…I'll tell you a secret, it takes a hell of a lot more skill to lose than it does to actually win! But in the last month, I'd met a guy named Blaze…he said it looked like I had the potential to shine. That was…..really great to hear. And before I knew it, I was spending all of my free time with Blaze…

I was born with light shining around me. We all were, I think…we had to be. If the light ever got lost or eclipsed, I think we would all be dead….

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Brainstorm walked onto the bridge and saw Megatron sitting in the Captain's seat, hunched over with his head bowed down over clenched fists. He quietly stepped over and leaned down, close to Megatron. "I need to talk to you…bring Ultra Magnus. My workshop, as soon as you can get down there…." Brainstorm murmured, softly.

Megatron jerked his head up and then sighed. "All right, I'll be there in a few moments," he responded. He needed to focus. Rodimus would be all right, Velocity was a great doctor.

Brainstorm nodded and left. As soon as he got back to his room, he began sweeping it for any listening devices. He didn't think there were any, but what he was going to tell those two couldn't go past this room. And he knew Velocity could keep quiet on what she saw. Just about the time he had completed a third sweep of his room, Ultra Magnus and Megatron came in after a brief announcement knock.

"Sit, both of you, please," the eccentric scientist said, motioning at the two chairs he'd set up for them, specifically. Neither seemed to want to move from where they were standing. "Please, sit down. You'll take this better sitting down," Brainstorm said again, heavy emotion in his voice.

Ultra Magnus and Megatron glanced at each other and then sat down in the offered chairs.

"What I am about to say must not go beyond here…..Velocity knows because she pointed it out to me, but you both need to know, too," Brainstorm began. "Rodimus has etched a full and complete, albeit rather small, version of the map inside of his chestplate."

Ultra Magnus looked at Brainstorm, dumbfounded. Megatron's mouth kind of fell open a little bit, then he shook his head and gave a soft laugh.

"The thing is…it looks older. It looks….pre-quest, I think that's what I'm saying," Brainstorm added. "He didn't draw that as recently as the doodle on his desk…so he may not even remember that something like that is etched on the inside of his chestplate."

"He was bonded physically to the Matrix," Megatron said. "That happened….mmmm, well a while back after I killed him back near Earth….." he trailed off, trying not to make a big deal out of the past event.

"Ah, yes….however, when that happened, he could not open his chestplate," Brainstorm said, his voice flavored with good humour. "But I suspect he did so soon after he was separated from it. We'd have to ask Hardhead or Garnak if Rodimus wandered off for periods of time. I think it was sometime after he'd been separated from it, but before the wave that Vector Sigma sent out…..because I think the wave made it permanent. It's deep-etched and almost…glowed a little. It was soft-lighted by his Spark, but it seemed to have its own small glow."

"I don't believe it," Ultra Magnus sighed, shaking his head.

"Fate," Megatron murmured. "It's hard to believe something can guide one on a path, because then you invite thoughts that you have no free will. I think Fate exists, but I also think that it doesn't determine your entire life."

"That's a good way of putting it. I think something like Fate and foreshadowing can influence a path in life, but it doesn't force you to follow it," Brainstorm said. "This is what I think…..the Matrix knew that Rodimus wanted to help Cybertron and our whole species and it gave him the best tool to do so. But Rodimus may not have realized what that gift was because of the copy-protection on the map—he may have forgotten that he had the map on him. But do you know how excited he was when Perceptor showed him the map from inside the Matrix?" He added, posing the question and pausing to hear from either of them.

Ultra Magnus nodded, he was there when Perceptor showed off the map to Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and Rodimus back on Cybertron.

"He realized that this was what he was meant to do," Megatron murmured, not having seen it, but knowing how Rodimus must have felt. "Maybe he forgot he had the map…but he had his reflex memory that reminded him he could do something. And his desire to do something motivated him to start a quest using that map he saw in the Matrix."

"We can't let anyone find out that Rodimus has this inside his chestplate, it puts him in potential danger," Brainstorm said, seriously. "Megatron, it's up to you….after all, you want to be sparkmates with him. You need to protect him. I know you have this promise you made to be a pacifist…but I think there are moments when you may determine when you need to fight—to protect the one you love."

Megatron murmured something that neither of them could hear. Then he took a deep breath before speaking. "I am merely afraid of hurting people," he said, quietly.

"I think you have better control over your strength than you think," Ultra Magnus responded, reaching over and patting Megatron's shoulder. "This will be a secret, and it is definitely better to be left that way. Knowing some unhappiness on the ship and some discontent…..it could bring up problems as well as potentials."

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"Ah…..I'm glad you're awake!" Velocity said, cheerfully, as she peeked into the secluded recovery room. "How do you feel, Rodimus…any pain?" She asked, leaning over and lightly touching his chestplate.

"No. I feel fine, Velocity. Did…..did Blaze stab me?" Rodimus asked, having a very hazy recollection of what happened in the shuttle bay.

"Yes. Brainstorm said it was something he had in his boot, with a hidden release mechanism," she replied, looking at the monitor, checking his vitals and then began to disconnect him from the machines. "It punctured your primary fuel pump…..you bled out a lot, but Brainstorm was fast in calling for me and I got it compressed quick enough. The surgery was perfect and clean. If only every patient could bleed out as nicely as you."

"Of course that's what happened, jeeze….could things get any worse, really?" Rodimus sighed, but chuckled softly at Velocity's slightly morbid compliment. "How long was I out? Has Megatron gone crazy yet?" He added with a soft laugh.

"Three days. He's come in to check on you a couple of times, I think Ultra Magnus has been keeping him busy with work, though," she answered, smiling at him and helping him stand up on his feet. "Think you can walk on your own? Walk around the room?" Velocity asked softly.

"Let's give it a shot," Rodimus chuckled, taking a couple steps. When he didn't keel over or slam to the ground, he figured he was probably okay. "Thanks, Velocity…I didn't mean to cause any trouble."

"It was really no problem," the medical officer answered in a cheerful voice.

"I'd better go reassure the old man that I'm going to live….unfortunately for him," Rodimus chuckled, waving to Velocity as he walked out of the medi-bay and went to the bridge. It was true…Ultra Magnus obviously had Megatron focused on working. He had the portable lap station workspace sprawled out in front of the captain's seat. "Hey, old man….did'ja miss me?" Rodimus chuckled softly, leaning down to whisper it to the former Decepticon.

Megatron jolted straight upright and then chuckled. "Perhaps a little bit," he responded with a smile. "Are you alright?" He asked, softly, pushing away the portable workspace and leaned back in the chair so he could look up at Rodimus.

"Yeah….I'm fine. I've been a hell of a lot worse off haven't I? I mean, punctured fuel pump is nothing next to fusion cannon insta-death or a giant spider eating my brain casing," Rodimus said with a soft teasing tone in his voice.

"Pfft….I suppose not," Megatron laughed. "How do you feel?" He asked, reaching up to cup Rodimus' cheek.

"A bit….well, tired, yes. And really rather annoyed. I mean…the hell? This guy abandons me for four million years…..and then says he'd rather kill me than let me be won over by another Cybertronian? Seriously….what the hell?!" Rodimus said with an angry snort and folded his arms over his chestplate. "Dammit…..and since I got stabbed, Max probably couldn't finish the severing ceremony….." Rodimus muttered, annoyed.

"There were three witnesses…Brainstorm, Ultra Magnus and myself. Fortress Maximus made sure to end the ceremony and said that because we witnessed it, the severing was official," Megatron responded.

"Well…thank Primus for one positive thing, at any rate," Rodimus chuckled.

"How about two positive things, Brainstorm said he made some major improvements to the avatar system and would really like volunteers to check it out…?" Megatron said with a sly grin. "There's an ocean planet nearby and we contacted the local government and spoke with the tourism department to ask about some shore leave—both for avatar-use and for those who wish to remain in their Cybertronian bodies. They are amiable to Cybertronians, especially if anyone is going to spend money there…so I've set up rotating lists for shore leave and have encouraged those who want to go out for leave to exchange their shanix for pan-galactic currency."

"I hope you put me on the appropriate rotation list, old man!" Rodimus laughed warmly, punching Megatron in the shoulder.

"Well…..I assigned Whirl as your chaperone, I hope that will do," Megatron teased.

Rodimus hit him in the shoulder harder than a light bump. "Idiot," he chuckled back. "I'm looking forward to that. Hunh…wonder if the avatars can swim? Ooooooh, even better…..SURF. I would very much like to try that activity and since we are going to an ocean world, I bet there will be plenty of opportunities for that one." Rodimus looked around the bridge and saw Brainstorm lounging in front of the science console, he walked over, grinning. "Hey, Brainstorm…..thanks for saving my life," he said, patting the eccentric scientist's shoulder.

"No problem," Brainstorm responded with a chuckle. "And, by the way…..if you want to swim, dive or surf—your avatar should be adaptable enough. But still…the hair. Okay, the whole avatar isn't going to show water on it…just so you know. So…..I can't get that much realism out of it yet—it's still holomatter. You're just projecting it…..and it can do whatever you're projecting it to do."

"Then if you're like Megatron…..who's amazingly talented at using an avatar for some bizarre reason…..you could probably do the 'wet hair' thing," Rodimus chuckled. Over in the captain's seat, Megatron facepalmed himself. "I'm expecting it from you, old man….I want to see you show off your skills!" He laughed as he saw Megatron make the motion.

"Look…none of that is difficult," Megatron sighed, leaning back in the chair. "I think you all just focus on the fact that you're 'projecting' the avatar—you think you have to control the aspects of it with all your focus. But if you just think of it as living life, doing an activity naturally….it's not very difficult to get the small details out of it at all. Don't think of it as work, think of it as enjoying a hobby," the former Decepticon explained.

Rodimus gave a snort and then broke down into outright laughter. He walked over to Megatron and wrapped his arms around Megatron's shoulders, one hand draping over the former Decepticon's chest, hand over the Autobot brand that was now there. "So, your hobby in using the avatars involves a lot of naughty activities, old man…is that your motivation?" Rodimus teased in a soft voice.

"Primus help me," Megatron sighed, but then lightly laid his hand over Rodimus' on his chest and smiled.

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Megatron, utilizing his avatar while his vehicle mode was parked in a parking area not far away, sat in the beach lounger, watching Rodimus-in-avatar-form surf on a board in the ocean. Rodimus had gotten Rewind and Bluestreak, also using their Earth-human avatars, to go along on the surfing adventure. Rewind seemed to be having a lot more fun than Megatron would've thought….and Bluestreak kept falling off the board. Though Bluestreak had many male tourists offering to help him out—it probably would be hard to explain that although in his Cybertronian form he thought of himself as male, his Earth-human avatar projected as female. He seemed to be enjoying the attention though, even if he may not have understood what the attention was actually for.

With the avatars being intuitive…why did some Cybertronians think that way? It was something he pondered the first time he had used an avatar when they were all trying to save Swerve. Ultra Magnus' avatar was contrived—he programmed it himself to resemble a human he had known on Earth, a teenage girl named Verity. But Cyclonus projected his avatar as female, as did Whirl…..and Bluestreak, as he had just observed here. The reason Megatron's avatar had looked so aged the first time he used it was because….at the time he had felt very old surrounded by a bunch of younger Cybertronians. But especially with his newer feelings for Rodimus, he wanted to feel more youthful around his potential partner…..so now his avatar had fewer agelines in the facial structure and some dark-brown color in the hair, not simply all grey. Because that was how he felt now…younger.

Rodimus' avatar was exactly like him, though. Youthful, energetic…against the grain. He clearly didn't like to be stereotyped…so, although he had a tattoo mark up his right arm, he wore nice-looking pants and boots. His tee-shirt was youthful, but…..the layered shirts were odd and rather old-fashioned. He did go on and on about the sweatband though…and that was something no longer in fashion on Earth. Although right now, since they were on a beach…the "standard wear" they all had on their avatars was discarded today, in favor of traditional Earth-human swim-gear. Male-looking avatars were wearing swim trunks or speedos, or even the body suits….female-looking avatars were in bikinis or one-pieces.

That having been said, Bluestreak's avatar was in a very tight, very small bikini that really just barely covered all the parts it was supposed to. Paired with luxurious long black hair and a dusky shade of skin, he probably would have gained plenty of attention from any male (or any female into other females)! All of which probably explained why he was getting so much male attention here right now! Whirl was sitting in the sand of the beach….his avatar was a young female Earth-human, a child really, and wearing a cute sundress that was sky-blue with bright yellow suns on it, though the single eyepatch made you want to pity the poor child. He was using his avatar to make a sandcastle…knowing Whirl's penchant for detail in craftsmanship—it was probably going to be a really impressive sandcastle when it was done. Well…..as long as he wasn't scaring or threatening people, he could do whatever he liked.

Rodimus and Rewind's avatars were both wearing swim trunks, with ties about the waists. Rodimus' had a yellow-and-orange flame pattern around the hems and Rewind's was black with yellow race-lines up the sides. Rodimus' soft brown hair was still held back with that orange sweatband though…Megatron couldn't figure out why he was so obsessed with that bit of clothing. Rewind had short blonde hair that was swept back away from his face, smoothly, reaching spiked edges near the back. Megatron, himself, was wearing swim trunks as well…..his were a dark grey with purple race-lines up the sides, he had also added a stylish pair of sunglasses over his eyes.

There were other Cybertronians from the ship who elected to stay in their natural forms and not project their avatars. They were attending activities on other parts of the planet…where they could race, fly or even target shoot. Or visit general tourist traps if their Cybertronian form could fit in those places.

Rodimus and Rewind were surfing pretty fantastically, riding the curve of the wave, inside of the near-tunnel-like form the large wave was taking. They both seemed to have skill and talent for the surfing activity.

Chromedome suddenly showed up, walking up to where Megatron was in the lounger, and stood next to him…a look of both puzzlement and awe in his avatar's face. Unlike most of the other avatars, who were dressed for beach activities, Chromedome had on just a white tee-shirt and a burnt orange pair of khakis. His close-cropped black hair was smoothed back cleanly.

"I had no idea Rewind would be good at that," Chromedome said, a soft sigh in his voice.

"Don't you want to join them?" Megatron asked, curiously.

"I could ask the same of you," the mnemosurgeon chuckled.

"I'm saving my energy for later….a quiet walk along the beach and maybe going to find a private room somewhere for other things," Megatron responded, grinning excitedly.

"You two! Brainstorm said you two were doing that. You two really were doing that!?" Chromedome gasped, shocked by the insinuation of human adult leisure activities. "Seriously….why? And how does that even work?" He groaned, facepalming himself in embarrassment.

"Well…it doesn't exactly have the same range of sensations the real activity would, if we were in real human bodies," Megatron said, with a soft nod. "But there is a basic sensation and the brain fills in the gaps. Besides…Rodimus' vulnerability during the activity is really very adorable. It makes me want to do it even more."

"Primus," Chromedome mumbled, facepalming himself again. "You're a pervert. It figures, it's always the really smart ones," he sighed. "Well…..I know it's not my business, but be careful with Rodimus, okay? It's clear he's been hurt…not only by this sparkmate he can't remember, but by Drift as well. I was honestly expecting them to be Conjunx Endura one day…but sometimes there are obstacles you can never surmount in a relationship." He watched Rewind and Rodimus shoot out of the curl of the wave and laugh with each other as they slowed to a stop and then sat down on their boards to rest. "I know that all too well….." he whispered softly. "Megatron….thank you. For bringing him back to me…no matter the challenge I face in keeping him."

"Lives are precious," Megatron said, smiling. "You're very welcome. It took a long time before I could see that again in my life," he added, also gazing out at where Rodimus and Rewind were. "I should thank Vector Sigma, for repairing the damage Trepan did to me with his mnemosurgery. I'm myself again, who I was long before the war…and I have a chance at a happy, normal life. If others will let me live it."

"People came onto this ship for various reasons or another, most to figure out what their lives were without the war," Chromedome responded. "Rodimus invited me personally….and invited Rewind along as well. Rewind sees my skills as something horrifying that will kill me and nothing more, but Rodimus sees my skills and believes I can conquer them and master them…..Rodimus is the first person to see my skills as something like that. Most see mnemosurgery as something that will destroy the surgeon, because they use a bit of themselves in the injection…because they can't separate their memories from the 'patient'…..because they absorb a 'patient's' memories." Chromedome looked at the sand and took a deep breath. "Rodimus believes in my strength and skill and believes I can master it and not fall prey to the worst symptoms as all others do. That's why he lets me use them, and he does always ask me if I can do it, it isn't as if he gives me no choice at all…..and I know if I told him I couldn't, he would let me back away. Rewind doesn't get that, he gets angry with Rodimus every time he'd asked me to inject."

"I think he has a right to, but…don't you think you two should talk about it?" Megatron asked, sitting up straight and running hands through his greyed hair in a very human gesture that was absolutely unnecessary.

"I try to. I've tried to many times. Just as often as I've asked about us, when Dominus Ambus is found," Chromedome sighed. "And every time I try to talk about it, he gets angry and we start yelling at each other." He looked over at Megatron, his grey eyes both sage and curious. "I just avoid it nowadays and try to be happy instead. But you should know, love isn't all happiness and joy…you'll wind up having arguments with Rodimus one day, and you'll do it because you love him and you're worried about losing him. It's fine to give him space as well, but just remember….a blow up or two isn't the end of everything."

"Advice taken," Megatron responded, smiling up at Chromedome.

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Megatron held Rodimus' hand as they walked along a quiet edge of the beach. The sun was starting to set, giving the sky a weird shade of orange and purple. It was nice and peaceful. They were both in their avatar forms still, though Rodimus had added a white tee-shirt and Megatron had on an unbuttoned Hawaiian-style shirt that was black with a minimal light grey floral pattern. The stylish sunglasses were now perched on top of the older Cybertronian's head.

"Hey, Megatron…..can I ask something?" Rodimus said seriously.

Megatron could tell, not just by the tone of Rodimus' voice….but lack of the silly pet name also meant Rodimus was really serious. "What is it? Is everything all right? Do you need to quit your avatar projection?" He asked, stopping and pulling Rodimus to a halt beside him.

"It is fine," Rodimus replied, chuckling and grabbing for Megatron's other hand, to hold them both. He swung their arms lightly and gave a soft sigh. "But…haven't you forgotten something? I mean, something really….really important?" He murmured, still swinging their arms lightly.

"Oh, that's right…I let Whirl go back to the ship—after assigning him to be your chaperone," Megatron sighed, putting a tone of seriousness in his voice. Rodimus looked away and the swinging arms stopped. "No, I haven't forgotten the Act of Devotion. I know what I'm going to ask you for….and I know when that moment will be. I want you to be patient a little longer. Just a little bit longer," he added, bringing Rodimus' hands up to his lips and kissing the knuckles lightly.

Rodimus seemed disappointed, though. His whole posture showed depression.

"It's just a little longer, Rodimus….I really want it to be special and honest," Megatron said, softly, kissing his younger partner's knuckles even more.

"Are you sure you're not planning to leave me behind, too?" Rodimus whispered. "Dragging me along, like Drift did….and making up some dumb excuse to protect me while leaving me behind…..?" He trailed off.

"I promise I'm not. I have this….this thing I want to do, to prove it to you," Megatron said, quietly. It was so hard not just to reveal it all right now. "But I promise you it will be soon. I've spoken to Ultra Magnus about what I want to do, because I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to make you do something horrid and illegal…so if you ask him, he can assure you I have a plan." Megatron sighed and pulled Rodimus against him, hugging him. This mood wasn't going to lead to what he'd planned for the end of the day.

Rodimus did like this, though. Being held by Megatron. It didn't matter if it was in their real bodies or these avatar forms. He liked it when Drift held him. He couldn't remember how it felt when Blaze held him…..but he imagined he liked it, too. It was nice to be cherished by someone. He wanted to be loved…..he wanted it so badly. Being alone…was so lonely.

"What can I do to prove it to you….? I don't want to compromise my beautiful plan, but you seem to need proof….?" Megatron murmured, rubbing Rodimus' back gently.

"For now, let's finish out your plans for the day…..you wanted to take me to a hotel, I believe, and spend time mating with me," Rodimus chuckled, tilting his head up, to look at Megatron's face.

"The humans call it 'making love'," Megatron chuckled, kissing Rodimus on the nose. "Are you sure you're okay for that, though? The mood that I'm reading doesn't sound very conductive to that activity…"

"I may not seem enthused right now, but…you really do excite me, old man," Rodimus responds, pulling away and grabbing for his hands again, swinging them as he had before, and that meant his mood had brightened a little. "I'm sure that once you start working your magic, I'm probably going to really get into it," he added, laughing softly. "I wish I knew why….the sensations are just so very basic touch. I don't know why it excites me so much."

"Because you know what the touches mean…the mind is an amazing thing," Megatron chuckled. "That's why some people are really sensitive and that's why some people can endure torture…..because their brains know what the activity is meant to produce. They'll either focus on it, or shut their brains down." Megatron smiled down at Rodimus. "What do you want to do about it, hmmmm?" He asked with a soft laugh.

"I guess I'll go for it at full speed, like I usually do!" Rodimus laughed in return.

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A week later, the Lost Light was back underway on the quest. The next set of coordinates had been gleaned from the map on Rodimus' desk, but it was beyond a large section of heavily Galactic Council controlled territory. It would be nearly impossible to fly right through the sector without being confronted….or even assaulted….by the Galactic Council's warships right now. The navigational staff were trying to plot a way around the sector and still not go too far off the course to the next set of coordinates.

"Enter," Rodimus said, when someone hit the buzzer on his hab suite. "Hey Ravage, what's up?" He chuckled, pushing away from his desk as the robot panther entered his suite.

"Just checking on you, since you haven't really come out of your room in about twenty hours," Ravage answered, cautiously.

"I'm fine," he responded. "Anxious maybe. When will it be? Is he really going to go through with asking me for an Act of Devotion?" Rodimus sighed.

"He intends to, but I am not even certain of his plans for it," Ravage answered. "What are you up to, all seated at your new and un-marked desk and being so professional-looking?" He laughed, sitting on the floor and curling his long tail around his legs.

"Oh. Um," Rodimus murmured, looking away from Ravage. "Megatron got me to thinking…about Drift and all. I'm writing Drift a letter, trying to tell him everything that happened…that way when Ratchet probably does bring him back, he won't just come at me with passion again. I'm poor with words though, I always have been. I can say aloud what's in my Spark, but…it seems weird when you write it out."

"Do you still have his private frequency, then?" Ravage asked, curiously.

"Yeah. Been afraid to use it," Rodimus whispered, laying his head down on his desk, looking away from Ravage. "I almost called him back the moment I sent him away…..and then I just got mad all over again. I told myself I'd never ever use it, then….if all I happened to be was a puddle of stupid emotions."

"Are you ready to change your relationship with him? To take on another?" Ravage inquired. Rodimus lifted his head up and turned it just enough to nod at the robotic panther. "All right, let me take a look at what you've written…." He trailed off, getting up and placing his front paws on the edge of Rodimus' desk to stand on his back paws and look at the screen. "I think you're very sincere. I think that's what you should be. Just change the wording a little here….and here…..so that way the context is settled through the whole letter," he added, pointing with his nose.

"Okay," Rodimus murmured, thinking about it a little more and changing the wording in the paragraphs that Ravage pointed at. "Better?" He asked, and Ravage nodded. "Don't look…as I type in his frequency number, okay?"

"Now that's just silly. I already know it, I already know everyone's private frequencies…why do you think I'm a good spy?" Ravage laughed. "And seriously, he never even changed it since he was a Decepticon…..it would've been the first thing I would've done after I left!"

Rodimus chuckled softly and then typed in Drift's number. His finger hovered over the send tab on the screen.

"You'd better do it, or I'll slash your pretty face to ribbons, moron," Ravage threatened teasingly. He watched Rodimus touch the send tab on the screen. A little dial appeared on the screen briefly to show it was sending and then it labeled the message as "sent". "Good boy," he chuckled, rubbing his nose against Rodimus' arm.

"I hope Drift won't hate me," Rodimus murmured. "I know what it's like to lose things…..to lose very precious things."

"If he does, that's something that he must deal with," Ravage retorted with a mild snort of displeasure.

"You're a harsh kitty cat," Rodimus chuckled, reaching over and patting Ravage's head.

"I lived a harsh life…I don't have time to coddle silly little Cybertronians—at least not for very long," Ravage said with a little laugh.

Meanwhile, somewhere out in space…

"You should get some rest, Ratchet….it was a harsh fight," Drift said, watching the old doctor mess with the controls of the old spacecraft.

"Look, we can rest just fine when we get back to the Lost Light. But it's bothering me that I cannot find their location," Ratchet snapped, annoyance in his voice. "I know it's a unique ship, but I thought I had its spacio-locator data downloaded onto this…Drift?" He asked, curiously.

Ratchet had looked back in the moment a very strange look crossed Drift's face.

"No, don't you dare say it's nothing…that look on your face says it's definitely something," Ratchet snapped.

"So….was this a thing when you left—that you were trying to hide from me? Megatron and Rodimus…..?" Drift asked as he internally read the message from Rodimus.

"Are you joking? They hated each other when I left and tried their best to avoid each other," Ratchet snapped. "Did you just get a message from Rodimus? A private one?" He asked, when he realized that the odd look on Drift's face must have been a message beamed to his private communication frequency.

"Well…." Drift said, sitting at the console next to Ratchet. "It sounds like a lot happened after you left, even though it wasn't all that long ago. Rodimus got injured pretty bad in a fight…" he scanned the letter and condensed the information verbally as he internally read it. "Says it was a brain injury. He tried to kill himself and Megatron stopped him….and somewhere along that time, those two discovered some feelings for one another. Pfft…Megatron liking someone. I can't even picture that….but if I can change, I'm sure Megatron could. And why not Rodimus? Because no matter what anyone else thought about him, he's a really good person in the depths of his Spark." Drift smiled fondly as he remembered Rodimus. "After all…..I loved him. And if someone as irredeemable as me can love him—I don't doubt that it could happen to Megatron, too."

"I honestly don't know why you're so hung up on him," Ratchet grumbled.

"I told you…I asked him to do it. Because…no matter what you think—Rodimus is absolutely necessary for the quest. He's the most important key, it can't be done without him. Plus he has the map," Drift chuckled, reaching over and lightly punching Ratchet's shoulder. "And when I asked him to do it…I saw him destroyed. I shattered his Spark, I saw it in his face and his posture. I should not be forgiven for that anyways. But it will be nice to be back there with everyone. Rodimus, especially….he asked if we could be Amica Endura, instead of what we were going for."

"Are you going to be satisfied with just being best friends?" Ratchet snorted. "And I told you, the map was destroyed…." he grumbled, starting up the ship.

"Yeah. We can be friends. But if Megatron ever hurts Rodimus….I will do my utmost to kill him," Drift said, very darkly and very seriously. Then he glanced over at Ratchet as he took control of the helm. "You should go and rest," he added with a soft chuckle, kicking lightly at Ratchet's shin.

"Very well," Ratchet sighed, getting up and heading for the rest suite of the small ship. "The map's gone, they went to look for Thunderclash to ask him for help. I was the one who basically helped Rodimus destroy the half of the Matrix that he had…..to save everyone from Tyrest's machine."

"Whatever you say, oldtimer," Drift chuckled. "Sleep well," he added, raising a hand and waving it dismissively at Ratchet. Ratchet grumbled something under his breath and left the bridge. "Of course…Rodimus hasn't shown anyone the map he has—maybe I'm the only one that knows about it?" Drift mumbled to himself as he set some coordinates and piloted the ship off the planet they were on. "Wish I could remember the coordinates on it, though….it'd make this a hell of a lot easier….." he chuckled softly.

After they got free of the atmosphere, Drift set the ship to autopilot on the set coordinates and picked up a datapad. He wrote a short message of reply to send to Rodimus.

Let us be Amica Endura and shine the light of one another's Sparks upon the other when we are able to finally meet again.

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A week later, Rodimus was working on the bridge when he got an inter-system comm call from Ultra Magnus. He sounded, strange…..annoyed? Rodimus was unsure at the tone in his second-in-command's voice.

"Someone…..trashed the observation deck? Tell me it wasn't Whirl, again…pretending that the stars were targets to shoot!" Rodimus groaned. He was miffed…he loved the observation deck—it was one of his absolute favorite places of the ship.

[Not sure, but I'd like you to come down here to survey the damage with me…so that we can mete out a more appropriate punishment when we find the person], Ultra Magnus' voice sighed in response.

"All right, I'll be up there in a few moments," Rodimus responded. Megatron was in rest cycle right now, so there was no point in bothering him about something that was essentially a janitorial instance. It was likely a couple of Cybertronians who had a bit too much Engex and left their f.i.m chips in "off-mode"…..going off and doing something without considering any consequences. Rodimus seriously hoped it wasn't graffiti. Not on the observation deck of all places! He'd be very annoyed if it were graffiti.

When Rodimus reached the observation deck, the lights were out….but the light of the nearby large sun they were passing and the few stars that could be seen cast a soft yellow glow on the polished floor of the large room.

'Magnus doesn't play pranks, he's barely competent on small jokes…what's going on here?' Rodimus thought as he walked onto the deck and looked up at the large observation window on the ceiling. 'It's cleaner than even Magnus' own room…..nobody's been up here in a long time. What's the deal here?'

Suddenly Rodimus heard steps behind him and an arm lightly wrapped around his waist, a large familiar hand splayed over his chest, covering the Autobot brand there. The location was right over his Spark, which was deep in his chest cavity.

"Jeeze, old man…..you're supposed to be in rest cycle," Rodimus chuckled softly, placing his hand over Megatron's. "Did you use a voice changer to mimic Magnus' voice or what?" He asked, turning around and gently reaching up to cup Megatron's face. Suddenly, behind Megatron…..Rodimus saw a number of the crew near the far wall, in the shadows. "Eh…what's this?" He muttered, pulling away from Megatron and pushing against him. Kind of embarrassed to almost have been touchy-feely with an audience.

Suddenly soft blue lights, glowing like newborn Sparks in a hotspot, lined the ceiling and rafter areas around the window. It cast a very soft blue glow against the sun's yellow glow, making the handful of Cybertronians in the room visible to Rodimus. Ultra Magnus was there….as was Velocity, Brainstorm, Skids, Nautica and Rung. There were a few others like Whirl, Cyclonus, Tailgate, Chromedome and Rewind as well. Ravage was there, too. The people that Rodimus associated with most often on random occasions…some of whom he could possibly call "friends", if he really wanted to.

"This is what I've been planning…a bonding ceremony," Megatron murmured, gently rubbing his thumb along Rodimus' cheek. "Ultra Magnus and I thought, since it had been a long time since most Cybertronians had held a Conjunx Endura Bonding Ceremony…we decided that this would be something special. Unique and precious."

"Oh…" Rodimus murmured, bringing a hand to the cheek that Megatron had just caressed.

"Granted, in the past…the Four Acts would be performed in front of the friends and associates, the whole ceremony would be witnessed. But I figure at this point, making a small exception to the ceremony but still having it end properly would be all right, since it's been a long time since a public ceremony has been held," Megatron explained, reaching for Rodimus' hands. He pulled Rodimus back, over towards where everyone was waiting. The two were standing in a spot chosen for where the soft lighting met and made something akin to a soft spotlight. "Our First Act, Intimacy…we spent time alone together—in my room, because that was a place where you had become comfortable as I was taking care of you after your injury."

There was a soft "harrumph" sound, which Megatron knew was from Ravage—whom he had made play babysitter when he, himself, couldn't stay with Rodimus.

"With Ravage's assistance, I took care of you," Megatron added with a warm chuckle. "The Second Act, Disclosure…I told you about Terminus. What he meant to me, the influence he was on me…which could make others think I may not be all that I was," Megatron explained, not going into detail about what he'd said to Rodimus about that situation—after all the Act of Disclosure was of personal information that may not necessarily need to be shared. Even in a public ceremony, it may have been amended with an addendum to reveal the true secrets of the act in a more private situation later.

Rodimus was both excited and a little bit nervous. He knew where this was going…..it was wonderful and precious—and it really was the end of all the anticipation leading up to this moment. After this…the bonding would be complete and they would be legally accepted as a pairing.

"The Third Act, Proferrence…the act of giving a gift…I took you down to the leisure world Purgatory. We went to a geological museum, because I had just found out you had an interest in Geoarchaeology…and then I took you for a walk in the park, so we could enjoy the experience of something akin to a 'date'," Megatron continued. "For all this time since, you've been awaiting my request of the Fourth Act, the Act of Devotion…..when I ask you for something. When you have accepted and completed the Fourth Act, then by Cybertronian law…we are bonded as Conjunx Endura."

Rodimus looked at the floor, then at their clasped hands and then, finally, up at Megatron. "What do you want from me?" He whispered, longing and desperate.

"I want you to give me some innermost Energon," Megatron asked, simply. He brought out a flask….it was not simply a vial, as was customary for the exchange of innermost Energon. The flask was a very pale-green colored, glass-like substance….and it had words in old Cybertronian etched into it, so that when the soft lights caught the etched letters, it almost seemed to glow. The flask was actually a melding of two large vials—this was something that was crafted especially for two to give innermost Energon to. It was meant for permanent display for a couple. The rounded base was small sphere with a flat bottom, most parts of the two vials were separated with glass walls inside, except for a small pocket in the center of the base portion. The neck of the twin melded vials actually had two necks that were twined around one another twice, opening up to two openings. One side of the merged vials in the flask was filled with a soft lavender—the innermost Energon that belonged to Megatron. The one neck of the vial was the color of a glowing soft lavender, half of the rounded base was full of soft lavender and the pocket in the center was half-full of soft lavender.

Rodimus might have dismissed that as the poorest request for an Act of Devotion ever, until he'd seen the artistic flask already half-filled with Megatron's innermost Energon. The beauty of that flask, the ceremony and being given some of Megatron's innermost Energon…and then being asked to add his own to that beautiful flask….? Maybe this really was the most elegant request for devotion ever…

"I'm….I'm a little nervous. Can….can I get a suction tube for this part…..? I think I might spill half my innermost Energon trying to get just enough into that flask," Rodimus asked, a soft chuckle of anxiousness in his voice. "Where'd you get this? Did you have it sent from Cybertron?" He inquired, as Velocity brought over a small tube for him to use.

"I asked Whirl to make it, I think he did a wonderful job," Megatron answered as Rodimus opened his chestplace and added his own glowing pale blue innermost Energon to the flask. "He had fun with it…and I paid him, which thrilled him to bits. Now he can go spend it all on Engex at Swerve's," When Rodimus had opened his chestplate, Megatron got a brief look at the map which Brainstorm said was there…there really was a map there. One day he'd have to ask Rodimus himself if he remembered the map and that it was there.

When a small few drops from the twined neck of the flask had seeped into the pocket in the center of the rounded part of the flask, the blue swirled around with the lavender, making a nice, ever-changing pattern. Separate and…..together…..twined. The flask was symbolic of a relationship. Rodimus loved it, Megatron really had thought long and hard about the Act of Devotion—settling on something special, instead of making Rodimus do something wild or crazy to prove his devotion, as many partners tended to do in the ritual.

"I've been put to shame….worrying over this. I really thought you weren't going to do it," Rodimus murmured. "I even said that in the letter I sent to Drift, that I thought it might….."

Megatron gently put light fingers on his partner's faceplate, cupping Rodimus' chin and leaned his forehead down to touch it to the top of Rodimus' head. "I am glad you wrote that letter to him…however, I think I should fear for my life if you left it like that," Megatron chuckled. "I knew him as Deadlock and he was…..well, focused and passionate about killing things he was unhappy with is probably an extremely simple way to say it," he added, very dryly. "Now…party. It's time to mingle and thank your guests for coming, is it not?" Megatron said with a soft laugh as Rodimus pulled away to look up into his face.

Rodimus brushed fingers over the flask as Megatron set it down on a table that had small bundles on it. He couldn't believe it…the people who came even gave him gifts. Jeeze. Custom was that gifts would be opened after the guests had been spoken with and had left the party. Most would think gifts would be opened with the guests there, but the custom was this way so that no guest would be embarrassed if their gift didn't match the depth or finance of another guest's gift. "Thank You" mails would be sent out by the Conjunx partners no later than three days after the ceremony. It had been a very long time since this custom had been observed, but it was clear that Megatron did his homework on it.

"Whirl…thanks for making the flask," Rodimus said as he and Megatron separated to mingle and chat with the guests. Of course Whirl was hovering around the table where light Engex was being served as a refreshment…the ex-Wrecker preferred much harder booze, but he wouldn't turn down free Engex of any sort at any time.

"To be honest, I laughed at him when he came to me and asked about that," Whirl chuckled, holding two glasses of Engex and taking minute sips from each of them, alternating from one glass to another. Rodimus always wondered how he drank Engex without a mouthplate, but somehow the old Autobot managed to do so. "It's not making clocks….which is the most glorious of all art-forms, by the way…but it was an interesting challenge when he told me what he had in mind. The etching was the simple part, but getting the pocket in the center there…that took a few tries of glassblowing to get that to form properly. I'm happy with it," he added, a pleased tone in his voice.

"You did the glassblowing yourself?" Rodimus asked, surprise in his voice.

"Pfft, of course…..I'm an artiste!" Whirl laughed. He glanced at the still half-full glasses in each of his hands and made a sigh. "I need four more hands, so I can hold more booze."

Rodimus laughed and clapped Whirl lightly on the shoulder and then walked over to Ultra Magnus. He reached up and bumped his fist lightly against Magnus' back. "You're getting better at light fibbing….really, I was worried some drunk crew members had graffitied up the place—and then I would've been really pissed," he said to Ultra Magnus.

"I thought I did a horrible job of the light lie, to be honest," Magnus sighed. "Congrats…..I'm going to let you keep him in line from now on," he added with a soft, un-Magnus-like chuckle, motioning over at Megatron, the Engex in his glass sloshing lightly.

"I think we all know, he will have his hands full keeping me in line," Rodimus laughed. He moved around, mingling and chatting with everyone eventually.

After an hour or two, people finally began to leave and Rodimus joined Megatron over at the gift table, so they could see what they got. Some of it were cards with credits on them, a couple for Swerve's bar specifically…there were a couple of photo pads, loaded up with pictures the gift-giver had found of Rodimus or Megatron or them both. Rodimus picked up each photo pad and swiped through the collection, laughing at a few of them. Miscellaneous stuff, with light and friendly meanings behind them.

"What made you think of asking Whirl to make that flask?" Rodimus asked, reaching out to touch it again. "And what does it say? Old Cybertronian isn't really a strong suit of my language knowledge…." he trailed off.

"Ultra Magnus suggested I ask you for innermost Energon…we both came down to deciding to have the ceremony to make it a bit more special. But I figured it had to be more than just a request for innermost Energon, therefore it also needed to be much more than the traditional donation vial," Megatron murmured, picking up the photo pads and swiping through the pictures, also chuckling at a few. "Back on Earth….sometimes humans would artistically fill shaped glass containers with colored sands, colored rocks or colored liquids. It seemed simple, but every container was absolutely unique in its look and artistic style. So…I thought of having a shaped vial meant to represent us both and our partnership—Whirl is the one who made my initial idea really work out."

"Ah," Rodimus murmured, picking it up and looking at it in the soft lights. "What does it say, though?"

"It says: 'May our bond endure as long as our Sparks glow.' Whirl also came up with that, he said something about the balance of the symbols and the shape of the container. I left it up to him to make the meaning of my feelings be said," Megatron said, taking the vial from him and putting it back down on the table. He took Rodimus hands in his and raised them up to his lips—as he had when they were using their avatar forms back on the most recent shore leave. It was a human gesture—not a Cybertronian one—and since he'd used it before in human form, he knew that Rodimus would interpret its meaning properly. "I look forward to all the time I have with you," he said softly.

Rodimus frowned for a moment, because he knew it would all reach a terrible end, sometime in the future. But…right now? He was happy and he had happiness…..and he had a partner that treasured him. For now, he would cherish that happiness. He reached up and wrapped his arms around Megatron's neck, embracing the one he loved and set the sadness of the future aside for this current moment of joy.

END. For now...