Punishment
Author's Note: Oh wow, that episode with Predaking was amazing. Believe it or not (but I'm sure you believe it, lol), I was inspired by the destruction of Magnus' hand to tie into my "Nevermore" fic. Yeah. I went there. Just a short little one shot reliving his memories of the atrocity he committed and never spoke of. To anyone. This was also partially inspired by the song "You Think You Know" by Device.
"Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin."
- Deuteronomy 24:16
"Nothing in this world is harder than speaking the truth, nothing easier than flattery."
- Svidrigaïlov, Ch. 4, Page 471 (Crime and Punishment)
By: VampireQueenAkasha
~O~
Magnus had been staring at what remained of his hand.
Staring at it wouldn't help, he knew; but there was something about this damage that brought back unwanted memories. How strange that it was cause of the Predacon that he would be reminded of his greatest sin. Those tattered, bent stumps of what remained of his fingers had once brought death to an innocent.
His own child.
Magnus closed his optics as he recalled the life he had brought into his own. Eros. His dearest daughter.
Yes, her mother had been someone special. He remembered the day he had first met her when he was still a cadet in the Elite Guard. She was serving under the command of another female at the time before she rose as a commander of her own troops. Their union had been awkward at first, but eventually, he desired to bond with her and she willingly accepted his proposal.
Then Eros was born.
Magnus faintly smiled at the memory of his daughter. She was her mother in every way - she had been defiant, yet passionate. Brave and intelligent beyond her years as well as willful. There had never been a time in her sparkling years when she would try to overstep her father.
A rare chuckle escaped Magnus' lips.
It was fortunate that no one was in the hangar to hear it.
But then, her mother had died. Murdered by that glitch Jhiaxus. Magnus remembered that it had changed him. He never smiled anymore, that much was true. No longer were there laughs that came from him. He put every ounce of his strength in protecting his remaining family, particularly from those who would seek to try and harm her. Pontus had been one of the few he had to watch out for. The mech was a member of the council and sought to be named a Prime. Pontus Prime, he would often address himself when others failed to hear it. But Magnus often did and would find the idea ridiculous.
But Magnus had been foolish too.
Pontus sought to claim Eros as his, but it wasn't the council member he should have watched out for.
Jhiaxus.
The same Jhiaxus who had murdered his bond mate.
The same who had been a maniacal scientist before the war as well as a powerful warrior in his own right.
The same who had trained killers like Shockwave, Bludgeon...
Magnus closed his optics, the roar of his Energon fading into the sounds of chanting from the past. The hand he had lost was replaced with a weapon and he was no longer laying on the medical table, but standing before crowds of Energon-thirsty Autobots with his daughter at the end of the chaos.
- Cybertron -
- C. Millions of Cycles Ago -
The chanting of the Autobots had become almost a violent roar from the Void. Magnus stood before them on a place that had once been used to broadcast war heroes, scientists and medics. It was no longer being used as such. It was now an execution ground.
But not for a Decepticon criminal.
For his own child.
Pontus looked like a golden beast, smirking at the chaotic sight. Eros was being held by stasis cuffs pinned behind her back and she looked drained, her head hanging on her shoulders. Yet her blue optics carried defiance as she glared across the crowds of bots she had once seen as comrades. Betrayal was definitely there, but also despair.
The trial was something perverse, even he knew it. But Magnus knew what would become of her had THEY gotten their servos into her. She would be tortured time and time again for information. She had been in that cell for cycles to pass and hadn't yielded a single secret. His daughter had been trained for such if she would have been captured by Decepticons. It was something taught to the deepest part of cadet's sparks. But he knew that wasn't the real reason she refused to give in.
"He is my spark and I am his..." Eros had said, confirming their bond. "Betrayal of his spark means betraying my own."
And that was when Magnus knew she was lost to him.
How had she fallen for him? How had this come to pass? How could he have allowed this?
Pontus gestured cruelly to Eros. "This concubine of Decepticons has deceived not only us, but her own sparkfather!" he declared, "And she refuses to recant for her crimes! What say you, my Autobot brethren?"
"GUILTY!" Came the chanting. "GUILTY!"
A gun was produced and offered to an Autobot holding Eros by her bonds. Pontus smiled at Eros and leaned forward. "It's still not too late, Eros." he told her, vocals low, but high enough for Magnus to hear. "Even now, you can save yourself. Just tell us what we want to know and - "
In response, Eros spat directly in his face. Pontus jerked from the assault before glaring at her coldly. "So be it."
"No." Magnus said. "...I'll do it."
The executioner, Pontus, Eros and the rest of the remaining council stared at Magnus. Eros closed her optics when the weapon was offered to Magnus. The barrel was pressed against the side of her helm and she felt it slightly tremble. She opened her optics, but didn't look at her father.
"You won't feel a thing, Eros. I promise you." Magnus whispered.
Eros said nothing for a while.
"Father..." she finally said, softly. She sounded weak, drained as if the weight of it all had finally started to crush her. "Please..."
Magnus closed his optics. His spark twisted in anguish. "Forgive me."
But that was when Jhiaxus had decided to show up.
O
Ratchet walked into the hangar to check on Magnus and he found the Elite Guard commander studying his missing hand. He frowned and approached Magnus' table-side. He noticed that the commander had a peculiar look on his face, as if he was in deep thought.
Ratchet assumed it was about his hand. "There will be ways to replace what you've lost," he informed him.
Magnus exhaled quietly. "There are some things not even a medic can replace."
Ratchet failed to miss the tone this time. "What do you mean?"
"Nothing. Just let me have the chance to rest."
Ratchet didn't see a point in argument and simply turned to leave. Magnus watched the ceiling for a moment before he watched Rachet's departing back. Finally, he inhaled and addressed the medic. "Ratchet."
He stopped. Turned. "Yes?"
"Do you feel that we are being punished?" Magnus asked.
Ratchet looked confused and turned completely. "I'm...afraid I don't understand the question."
Magnus sighed and turned, rolling so that he was on his side.
Ratchet watched him for a long time before departing, closing the hangar door behind him. It was evening, which meant the humans had retired for recharge of their own. He found Wheeljack in vehicle mode, parked just ahead and decided to join him.
"So how's the old rust bucket doing anyway?" Wheeljack queried.
"He'll live." Ratchet replied. "But there are some injuries that I can't fix. Something is plaguing the commander."
Wheeljack was oddly silent. "Well, a lot of things plague the old bots, right?"
Ratchet chuckled somewhat, but it was bitter. "You can't begin to imagine..."
Then, he paused and glanced down at Wheeljack. "Ultra Magnus can't begin his recovery until I understand everything that is wrong. He hasn't even spoken to Optimus since returning to base."
Wheeljack let out a sigh. "I've seen it all, doc. Sometimes the past just needs to stay in the past, you know? I can't stand the bot as far as I can throw him, but he's got demons and they're pretty ugly."
Ratchet seemed to comprehend this and sighed, though he didn't know of the true darkness of the past that Magnus had seen.
"We all do, Wheeljack..."
Inside the hangar, Magnus reached into his subspace and removed a small spherical object. When he opened it, a Cybertronian melody began to play. He stared down at the rainbow colors that passed across a glass shield and sighed, closing his optics.
This was punishment.
HIS punishment.