Fairytale Heaven

Disclaimer: Well, the people have spoken. I have finally begun work on a story that ties in heavily with "MASQUERADE"; this is Jhiaxus and Eros' backstory. I have planned this ever since it was requested by a few reviewers of mine and now, here you go! I hope you guys like this one. For those who haven't read Masquerade, I encourage you to do so.

"I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love."

-Mother Teresa

"Love is just a word until someone comes along and gives it meaning."

-Unknown Quote

By: VampireQueenAkasha

"We had order. Structure. A perfect, faultless mechanism that was destined to re-shape the galaxy. Then you came..."

-Jhiaxus, G2

Part One

Eros stood proud.

"Are you sure you wish to do this, Eros?"

Ultra Magnus stood worriedly before his daughter as several Autobot troops began filing into their ships. He attempted to display a sense of impassiveness, but Eros could spot his worry so easily given the fact that she had always known how he reacted when worried. Her father was always like that; ever since her mother's death, he had made sure than Eros would never experience any harm, grief or end up wounded. But she was a soldier now. She was devoted to her cause.

"Father, please!" she insisted, "I have tested as one of the highest in my class, haven't I? I have excelled at every combat training test, firearms test and even Cybertronian history. I think I can handle going into battle now. I'm not waiting any longer."

Ultra Magnus' brow knotted with a sadness that every father had to carry when their child eventually parted. "It's just so sudden; my dearest child going into battle. I fear I would lose you."

Eros smiled at him. "Father. Have a little faith. Remember what mother used to say?"

"Yes... 'Don't fear tomorrow or yesterday, but today'." Ultra Magnus recited. "I know. I know."

Eros gave him a hug and a kiss against his cheek before smiling reassuringly. "Don't worry. If you need me to, I'll report back as soon as we breech the planet's surface." She gestured toward two political figures standing at a distance in discussion with one another. They were both slender, adorned mechs who had positions in the council. Eros didn't like them that much, especially Pontus. "You have Tau and Pontus to handle anyway."

Ultra Magnus nodded his head gravely. "Yes..."

After bidding her final farewells, Eros climbed into the ship with her squad mates and gave Ultra Magnus a final wave before the ship roared away into the void of space. Eros immediately went to work debriefing her squad of their mission.

"Alright, everyone. Listen up. We're heading down into Praun's atmosphere to assist them against the Warlord Jhiaxus and his armies," she told them, "I want everyone to stay in teams of two or more if necessary. Once we get the inhabitants off of the planet, we can deal with Jhiaxus afterwards."

One of her squad mates frowned; a femme by the name of Ananke who Eros had known for a short time. She was blue and red femme with a thin, streamlined body. Most knew her as the "sharpshooter" of the group as she was swift, fast and could take down targets with ease. "Jhiaxus? As in 'the Herald of Unicron' himself?"

Eros shook her head with a laugh. "He's a Cybertronian like the rest of us. Fear of the bot only increases his power."

"I've heard stories about him..." another mech; Eros remembered him as Swift Streak muttered. He was much older than the others and acted as the medic of her team. "He's cut down armies in the thousands all on his own!"

"Uh-huh..." Eros said, clearly unimpressed, "Like I said; just stories. I'm more interested in finding out who he REALLY is instead once we apprehend him."

Meanwhile, Jhiaxus was standing in the darkness of an interrogation room in his ship. He paced around the room with two Decepticon drones at his side. He slowly drew out one of his swords and approached a bound mech sitting at a chair. The mech was battered and scratched up, clearly from an earlier fight and looked terribly frightened. Jhiaxus calmly spun the sword in his hand for a few moments, pacing around the shivering mech.

"Ah. Viper. You know what's important to me?" he asked, softly, "What truly matters in a brotherhood? Loyalty, my dear friend. Loyalty is what matters to me."

The mech-Viper smiled weakly. "Well. I've been very loyal, Lord Jhiaxus."

Jhiaxus paused and shook his head. "Hm. That isn't what I've heard, Viper," he said, "I heard that you traveled to the Autobot Elite Guard late last cycle. You spoke with...Ultra Magnus, am I correct?" He paused and ran a thumb joint over the tip of his blade. "I heard that you talked with him for several hours." He shoved his sword into the table near Viper's head and the mech gave a frightened yelp, staring down at it. "Would you care to fill me in on the details?"

Viper trembled up at him. "I-I went, Lord Jhiaxus," he stuttered, "I went. But I didn't tell them anything."

Jhiaxus stared at him for a long time before smiling. "Once more. I see you're lying to me." He stood up and began to pace around Viper. "You see, Viper, a mech displays everything in body language alone. You can learn almost everything about him in his final moments. You see, I had cornered an alien commander once. He was believed to be the bravest of his kind. The boldest and the strongest." Jhiaxus paused and had his back to Viper. "But once I cornered him, he begged for his life. Tell me, what kind of bot are you?"

Viper stared up at him pleadingly. "I brought my brother with me! I had no choice!"

"No choice?" Jhiaxus murmured. He chuckled quietly. "Hm. Tell me, Viper; where is your brother anyway?"

Viper looked confused. "Uh. I last saw him near the edge of the wood."

"Yes..." Jhiaxus turned and tossed something at him. "Catch."

Viper jerked when a tattered optic landed in his lap. He gave a cry and struggled to knock it away. "Primus!" he cried.

"Say hello to the last Cybertronian who refused to cooperate with me," Jhiaxus told him.

Viper studied the optic in his lap. "What're you telling me...you're telling me this thing is real?" he exclaimed; he struggled in his chair and glared up at him with fright, "You're-You're directly outta your fragging mind!"

Jhiaxus calmly smiled. "Declaration of insanity is only a way for those who fear another to feel as if they have a grasp on a situation. You my friend, do not." He raised the tip of his sword to Viper's throat. "Now then, let's take it from the top. Give me every shred of detail."

Viper glanced down warily at the sword before speaking. "I went to Ultra Magnus. I promised him I'd give away the details of the next few missions if he spare my brother and me from arrest. Diplomatic immunity, so to speak. That's all." He glanced down at the sword before smiling nervously. "Want to relax that thing now?"

Jhiaxus chuckled and lowered his sword, turning. "And Ultra Magnus...being the hypocritical saint that he is just decided to go along with that. Isn't that something." He stopped and smirked back at him. "And by the way? That optic right there in your lap? That was your brother." He started to leave with a cruel laugh.

Viper screamed in despair and pain. "You fragging piece of scrap!" he shrieked, "I'll kill you for that! You're going to walk away from me, you Primus-forsaken coward?"

Jhiaxus stopped in the doorway. He lifted his head and his optics flashed with fury. To be addressed as a coward by anyone or anything-to him-was possibly the greatest insult any warlord could ever encounter. He suddenly whirled and threw his sword at Viper. It embedded itself in his helm, directly between his optics. Viper shuddered for several moments, his optics wide and unseeing before they darkened and he went limp in the chair.

Jhiaxus smiled calmly. "Coward, eh? Well...it's all the same when you're dead." He looked at the two drones. "Let's go out and give the Autobots a warm Decepticon welcome, shall we?"

O

An organic being screamed as he was cut across the chest, his blue blood spewing all over Jhiaxus' grinning face. When the alien attempted to rise and raise his arms to protect his head, Jhiaxus brought his swords down and split him cleanly in half.

"We will wash these lands in your filthy organic blood!" he snarled.

He looked up and surged his way through a dense forest hacking his way through trees and various alien lifeforms in his way. He gritted his fangs and looked around, listening to the sounds of war and Energon-shed.

"All of you!" he roared, "To the left keep!"

Then, he paused at the sound of movement and whirled with his blades. His weapon was inches from a startled Eros. The two stared at one another, optics locked and not once breaking contact. Eros' gaze was mixed with confusion and doubt and Jhiaxus' looked more like that of a tethered animal. For the moment, neither one of them moved. Eros felt a glimmer of fear and doubt standing face-to-face with the infamous warlord.

This is him? she wondered.

He looked nothing like the stories had described. Sure, his appearance did boast the status of a lord, but he wasn't as frightening as she had been told. She didn't even realize how long they had bee staring at one another until Jhiaxus' lips pursed before pulling back from his denta, revealing sharp point. There appeared to be a show of doubt in his gaze before he looked up sharply beyond Eros and immediately rushed away.

Eros couldn't move for a moment, her spark suddenly frozen. But then, the sound of Swift Streak's voice in her COM-link immediately snapped her out of her strange, intense spell. "Captain! We need your help at the front gate of the city!"

"Y-Yes, of course," she said, clearing her vocals, "I'm on my way."

Eros immediately turned and started to transform, but she spotted Jhiaxus several yards away on a hillside, overlooking the chaos in the distance. He appeared to be talking over his COM-link for a moment. Eros studied him at the safe distance, wondering why he had spared her. Why he hadn't made any attempt to even take her. The stories she had heard of Jhiaxus were that he cut down Autobots regardless of whether or not they were mech or femme. But Jhiaxus had looked at her almost in confusion. He hadn't so much as spoken a word to her before leaving.

Just then, Jhiaxus looked straight at her. His optics seemed to flicker with intense, red fire. It was an intensity that almost made her feel as if she was sitting exposed. Eros stared back and for the longest time, neither one moved or even blinked. The mech suddenly blinked and cast his gaze to two of his comrades appearing beside him, gesturing with a flirt of his head for them to depart. Eros watched them go with a curious frown, but was even more surprised when she looked up again and noticed the warlord watching her from the distance before transforming into a jet and taking to the skies.

Eros shuddered slightly and turned away.

Meanwhile, Jhiaxus took to the skies and returned to his ship, transforming and collapsing through the cargo bay. He crouched himself there, his optics wide and unseeing. His spark was beating faster than anything he had ever endured before.

"SPECTER!" he roared.

Instead of waiting for a response in any way, Jhiaxus staggered through the ship toward the medical lab where he found the hunched, aged form of Specter, a silvery, jagged bot who was covered in spikes that made it seem as if his body had exploded outward and was frozen in that way. His optics were sealed up with another piece of metal, showing that he was completely blind. When he turned, sensing the presence of another in the lab, he grunted.

"Jhiaxus, my old friend. You seem troubled," he rasped, in a dry, terrible voice.

"Something is wrong with me..." Jhiaxus whispered, his voice haunted, "My spark will not stop racing!"

Specter looked troubled. "Racing?"

"Yes! Feel!" Jhiaxus grabbed his arm and pressed his hand to his chest. "Do you see?"

Specter grunted, surprised. "This is troubling. Perhaps a quick scan will ensure that-"

"Summon everyone back to the ship. We're leaving!"

Specter looked surprised as he watched Jhiaxus frantically walk toward the door. "But Jhiaxus. They have yet to claim the planet."

Jhiaxus whirled back on him with a fierce roar. "I WANT THEM BACK, NOW!"

O

Every Decepticon reported back to Jhiaxus' warship and the Autobots watched them go, completely confused.

"Attention, Decepticon troops!" Jhiaxus bellowed through every single COM-link available, "You will report back to the ship immediately. Those who refuse or hesitate to obey will be eviscerated without mercy. I will not ask you again!"

Eros watched the ship fade into the distance with a grunt of surprise. "They're leaving. Why are they leaving?" she wondered.

Swift Streak shook his head and laughed triumphantly. "Who cares? Point is, they're gone and we've reclaimed the planet!"

On board Jhiaxus' ship, he was pacing restlessly in his chambers, clearly troubled. Specter eventually stepped into the room with a mild smile. "My friend, I have never seen you this way before in the entire time that I have known you. It surely could not have been the battle that troubled you so. I have seen you stand up to enemies twice your size and have won. What was it down there that caused you such emotional turmoil?"

Jhiaxus took a seat at the edge of his berth and sighed impatiently. He had calmed down to a lesser extent, but still seemed disturbed. "I saw someone down there today," he told him, "Someone... A femme. Very young. She looked at me. I looked at her. And then I..." His brow knotted. "I lost all sense of time and reality. I forgot myself. I forgot why I was there. I forgot who I was inside and I felt as if she were looking down into me."

Specter chuckled warmly. "Jhiaxus, I believe that you are experiencing the feelings of affection for the first time."

"What?" The look on Jhiaxus' face was more akin to pure horror rather than anger at the idea. "That's wrong, Specter. That's very wrong. I do not believe in such feelings! They clearly worm their way through your spark like a parasite and weaken you! You saw it!"

Specter gave him a small smile. "Jhiaxus, I cannot dictate your decisions. What you do is of your choice."

"I will forget it." Jhiaxus said, with determination. "I cannot feel that way about someone, especially her. What she is. Who she is." He stood up and angrily kicked the wall beside him before leaving. "No! Not possible!"

Meanwhile, Eros was inside her private quarters in her ship as it left the planet. She was soaking herself in a bath and letting her wounds heal from battle. Her body felt as if it ached in every single place and she couldn't shake the sensation of shock still pulsing through her spark. The bath did relax her joints a bit and the therapeudic smells certainly calmed her central processor just a little, but something else was nagging away at her.

"Eros?"

Eros blinked and opened her optics. It was Ananke. She picked up a container of cool Energon and rubbed it against her head. "Yes?" she yelled.

"Ultra Magnus is on the line. He wants to speak with you."

"Put it on speaker!"

No sooner had she said that, Ultra Magnus' voice filled the air in her room. He sounded relieved and worried all at the same time and Eros couldn't resist a smile at the sound. "Eros! Primus, it's good to hear your safe!"

Eros chuckled. "Father, I told you not to worry about me."

"You know as a father, I have that right to be concerned."

"Yes, father. You also have a right to have a little faith in your daughter," Eros teased, laughing quietly. "The planet's been taken back and it's safe."

Ultra Magnus sounded surprised. "Really? Jhiaxus was beaten?"

"Well...no," Eros replied, frowning now, "He just left."

"Left?" Ultra Magnus said, stunned.

"Yeah. I don't know really why. I was face-to-face with him and he just ran away," Eros answered, unable to resist the confusion and uncertainty in her voice, "He just looked at me and then...he was gone." She demonstrated with her hands, even though Ultra Magnus couldn't see.

"He didn't hurt you? That is unlike him! He's a monster, Eros."

"Yeah, that's what everyone keeps telling me." Eros mumbled, so softly that he couldn't hear.

"Well, regardless. I'm glad you are safe," Ultra Magnus replied, "Please, contact me upon your next mission."

"Okay, father." Eros stretched a bit in the bath. "Now, I'm bathing right now, so I'm going to have to cut this short."

"Very well. I will see you soon."

Eros listened to the click of the ended connection and she sighed, letting herself relax a bit in the bath. She thought of Jhiaxus and those piercing, fiery optics staring at her. She had never seen any other mech look at her that way before. Eros had never felt a shiver come with it either. What surprised her was that it wasn't fear. It was something else. Something she was not familiar with or hadn't experienced before in her life.

How strange. He's not like anything they say...