Author name: Rainynight

Summary: What do you get when you mix a dream of mine with a song of mine? The usual Rampage/Depth Charge "final encounter" fic... But with a fluffy twist? This fic is an "Alternate universe" and is supposed to be serious.

Disclaimer: Do you REALLY think I own the Beast Wars? No, Hasbro owns them but the song "It's gonna be alright" belongs entirely to ME! As well as the crappy plot... or lack there of. Yay!

A/N: This is a piece of slag. It's my first attempt at BW fanfiction and second attempt at fanfiction AT ALL. I'm a lot better in original fiction, really X-). And this turned out awfully fluffy, I confess. But it's based on a dream I had recently. That probably says something about me X-).

It's gonna be alright

by Rainynight

Depth Charge looked around him, searching for survivors. Body parts were scattered everywhere. It looked so much like Omicron it made him shudder uncontrolably as he recognised some of the bodies. There were Megatron, Quickstrike, Inferno, Rhinox, Tigartron and Airazor, fallen side by side. But the other bodies belonged to unknown 'bots sent from both the Maximal and Predacon governments to get rid of those on ancient Earth. Both governments had received their calls for help and eventually found out what had happened to the ships and crews. But, apparently, they had decided the participants in the Beast Wars were too... inconvenient. They knew too many secrets.

The stranded 'bots had fought side by side for their lives, the betrayal of their own burning into their sparks and bringing them together with the power of shared hatred. And it made the hatred between Megatron's and Optimus' troops insignifficant. Now the survivors were helping each other towards the CR tanks in both bases with no regard for factions.

Depth Charge suddenly stopped dead. There, some distance away with his back to him lay a familliar form.

Someone had obviously found a way to destroy Rampage... Or almost. Apparently, the energon blade sticking out of his back had barely reached his spark instead of cutting trough it's core and the crab was still breathing. But his wounds weren't healing rapidly as they should have been.

Depth Charge took a step towards him.

Rampage felt the presense and immediately knew who it was. He had always known when his playmate had been around. But he was too tired for arguments now. Even moving his head enough to look at Depth Charge wasn't worth the effort. So he was still.

Depth Charge surveyed the injured transformer in front of him as he tried to sort through the thoughts running through his head making him feel dizzy.

They had won. And they had received a massage that help was on the way. The goverments' dark secrets had been discovered and the ones who had ordered this massacre were being sent to jail. Too late. But still, help was on the way and they would be safe... Depth Charge had to wonder if there was enough left of his life to be worth saving. This couldn't have been called a life.

You're at the bottom of this pile

Of broken promises and dreams.

You've stopped believeing that your cause

Could ever justify the means.

You're still in conflict with yourself,

Afraid to sleep, eyes opened wide

And there is no one there to ease

The pain you're stuggling to hide.

And now you're begging for someone to tell you

There's still a reason for you to fight,

To whisper the words you've been longing to hear:

"Hush, it's gonna be alright".

He jumped when Rampage suddenly spoke, his voice made harsh and weak by the pain.

"What are you waiting for, old friend? Isn't this what you've always wanted? Push the blade all the way down and do us both a favour."

Depth Charge stared at him in disbelief.

"You want me to kill you!"

The crab was silent for a moment before he moved his head slightly to stare at Depth Charge's optics. When he spoke again his voice was tired.

"I'm sick of being in pain and pain seems to be all the world has in store for me. I'm in no condition to fight you, Fish Face. And, once they come to pick all of you up, I'll be turned into an experiment again. Or killed, if I'm lucky. And I... I would rather... have you do that." he finished quietly. "At least you are different... somewhat." He looked away again.

Depth Charge gaped at him. 'Different... somewhat.' He had heard Rampage say that before. It never made any sense to him. He wasn't different than any other victim, seeking revenge... Justice, he quickly corrected himself.

Rampage was right, that was a chance he had been waiting for. That was the goal of his life. And yet now it didn't seem entirely real.

All the chasing, all the fights... And it would end here?

They had talked.

It seemed almost impossible to believe. But for some reason before the face of a common enemy everyone had talked and asked questions with an unexpected readiness to understand each other. They thought they could die the next day, maybe it was worth the effort. They had been forced to fight together and Depth Charge suddenly realised he cared for the other Maximals more than he had thought. Enough to set aside his personal grudge and help them. And he had found himself fighting beside Rampage for qute a long time. So, eventually, they had talked too. And the ray had been stunned when the crab had reluctantly revealed pieces of his past as an experiment. And, despite his best efforts, Depth Charge had started to understand. Did that make him different?

They called you evil and they said

That you would be forever cursed

It's not about a second chance-

You never even had a first.

And what's the point of being good,

Of being merciful or brave?

They're always going to deny you

The liberty and peace you crave.

And I know you could never afford having morals.

How to tell the difference between darkness and light

When you've only known darkness?

Has anyone told you "Hush, it's gonna be alright" ?

There had always been some strange kind of bond between them. Rampage had once called it friendship but that was ridiculous. Then again, maybe for him it was the closest it could get.

The ray's breathing involuntarily quickened as unexpected thoughts raced in his head. Glimpses of his past and visions of Rampage's. Non of them had had a life. Depth Charge had lost his friends... and Rampage had never had any.

The wounded bot at his feet had apparently waited long enough.

"Slag you... Depth Charge! What are you... waiting for, you coward? Push... the blade down!" His voice dropped to a whisper. "You don't think I deserve at least that, old friend?"

Obviously, the pain was getting worse for the crab and his breath was coming out raggedly now.

Making a desision, Depth Charge stepped forward and grabbed the blade.

Rampage screamed.

"Don't call me 'old friend'!" The ray panted.

"I'm not that old."He added after a second.

Rampage gasped for breath several times and his optics went wide with shock. The ray had pulled the blade instead of pushing it and the wound was slowly starting to heal.

For a while the only sound was Rampage's breathing which was gradually calming. Finally the crab was able to speak.

"You can't make me go back to tests and experiments! You think that's noble? Or merciful? You'd be worse than me if you do that!"

"I'm not handing you back to them." Depth Charge replayed harshly. He hadn't meant to sound like that but finding his voice was difficult. He had just done something unthinkable.

"Then why did you do that." the crab asked after a brief hesitation, still not looking at the 'bot standing over him.

Depth Charge waited a long moment before he finally answered.

"I've lost enough friends. I'd rather spare this one."

There was another long pause.

"Rampage?"

It took him a moment to realise that the crab was crying, his shoulders slightly trembling. Acting more out of instinct than anything else, Depth Charge knelt beside him and held him.

It was all insane, it was even impossible. But he had just made it happen. He was tired of the sorrow and the hatred. He wanted it all to go away. Anyone else would have finished his task and killed the crab. But he was different. He had realised something. A tortured experiment had just as much right to want justice... revenge for what had been done to him as the lone survivor of a massacre. But revenge had led them both nowhere. It was bad and it was dark and it had started to slowly consume him. Killing Rampage would not cure him. He would have to die too. And Depth Charge wanted to finally live. And he would get out of this pit the same way he had fallen in. Through Rampage. With Rampage.

"It's gonna be alright." He whispered softly to the crab who was now openly sobbing in his arms.

And you're silently screaming for me to help you

And here I am saying what you need me to say.

I never thought we would end up like this but

if we give it a chance... There must be a way.

Now we either die or we start believing.

Would it be true if I called you a friend?

If there can be friendship where there was hatred,

There can be beginnings after the end.

And it's gonna be alright

And it's gonna be OK

If we say it to each other

We can find a way.

A/N: Yeah, well... It's not a bad song if you hear it. innocent grin I know this is very badly written but what the hell. It's not like there are gazillions of fluffy fics featuring those two. Remember, it's how I saw it in a dream!

And, please, flame me at: snapeloverabv.bg