**Matter of Prime**
**Sequel to Matter of Pride. Includes new '09 canons.
Third part of the 'Matter' trilogy**
Chromia glared at the black and white femme, not able to truly believe that the cocky yellow gladiator had actually taken HER as his MATE! Her digits curled up into tight fists as she realized the true ramifications of all this. The hidden Decepticon Prime was going through with his plans! He was winning – and the Autobot mechs didn't know a thing about it. The older femme didn't know if she should cry in sorrow, or scream in absolute rage!
"I know it's a lot for you to deal with all at once, but" Ironhide glanced from femme-to-femme. The three sisters were standing face plate to face plate with the femme who had been in hiding throughout the recent conflict, Bumblebee at her side – and neither side seemed to be willing to back down.
"You will deal with it. That is the rule of the femmes!" Lifting her olfactory sensor to the smaller femme, she glared down at her. "But then again, the rules of femmes mean little to a femme such as you – Chromia," Barricade snarled. Shifting her weight into a defensive stance, she made her intentions clear for all to see.
With a scream of absolute rage, Chromia leapt full force at the taller femme – but was stopped by a golden hand. She snarled as she kicked out at Sunstreaker.
"Sorry to interrupt your femme wrestling match 'Cade," Sunstreaker stated as he rather casually tossed the motorcycle across the road, "I'm just protecting my unborn sparkling." With that he boldly patted her abdominal armor, shooting the three sisters a look that promised he WOULD take them on at any time in order to continue protecting his future offspring. Femmes or not…..
Picking herself up, Chromia snarled at the mech. "You stay out of our quarrels. This is between FEMMES!"
Ignoring the looks that the other mechs were giving him, including a very bemused one plastered on his twin's face plate, Sunstreaker roughly pushed Barricade behind him. Spreading his legs into a good fighting stance, he signaled for the older femme to go ahead and take him on. "After what you attempted to do to newborn sparklings – you have no right to claim femme rights!" he growled back.
Her optics widened in total outrage, and she screamed 'liar' as she leapt at him….
Only to be caught by a pair of strong black arms. Her meta overcome by rage at the exposure of her deepest secret, she kicked and hit without regard to who was restraining her. Unfortunately for Ironhide – he was stuck trying to hold the wildcat until she calmed down, which was going to take a LONG time it appeared…
… Or not as long as they all thought… Realizing that she had to calm down and get the Autobot mechs to understand their true plight, the ornery femme amazed everyone by suddenly going silent and limp.
Ironhide shrugged in confusion as he set the small femme down on her peds, but Sunstreaker still kept himself between her and his mate. His optics warily watching her every move… She was up to something – he was sure of that!
"Do you want to tell them" Sun's optics narrowed as he glanced around the group "or should I?"
"Whatever she told you was a lie!" Chromia spat. Straightening up, she gave everyone a rather haughty glare. "But what else can you expect from Megatron's spawn?" Although she got the reaction from most of the gathered group that she expected – Sunstreaker's and Barricade's reaction caught her off guard.
Sun merely snickered "Yeah, and so what? I'm slaggin' the Decepticon-in-chief's daughter – who's so smart that he doesn't even know it!"
Barricade's smirk was even cockier than her mate's, if that was possible! She dared to give the older femme a wink. "Care to also inform them of my mother's identity?" she taunted. Her entire manner one of the utmost confidence and control…
This caused the old femme to sputter in total disbelief… She was unable to say the name..
"Who was your mother spark?" Optimus demanded to know. He was still in shock that he was now staring down at his niece spark. No wonder Barricade had always impressed him with her cunning…
Sunstreaker and Barricade exchanged a glance, both of them knowing that this information would truly shock the Autobot leader. "Your former bond mate," Barricade stated - her tone slightly softer than normal.
Optimus stepped back, his entire chassis visibly shaking. "No… no…." he shook his head, unable to believe such a thing.
"Ask Chromia to confirm. After all, she was there when Elita begged for my existence." The cruiser's optics were harsh as they bore into the older femme's.
Almost running forward, Optimus grabbed the older femme's shoulder armor. "Tell me it… isn't true!" he begged.
Chromia could do nothing but look away, her entire chassis filled with rage at Barricade. Rage that the femme had lived… Was now going to destroy her life… All of their lives! But her reaction did indeed confirm what Barricade said.
Optimus fell to his knee plates, barely in control now. His entire world crashing down around him… His dear Elita One… Precious Elita One… Had been a femme slave.. And he never knew it.. Never rescued her.. "Is she???" he sobbed.
"Affirmative. A mercy killing as she requested," Barricade answered. Her red optics actually soft as they met his for the briefest of moments, before returning to Chromia… "Elita was a strong femme – unlike YOU!" she snarled in contempt.
"Elita believed his lies!" Chromia spat. "Just like all of you believe her lies! He will take everything from us if we fall into his plans!" She twirled, fully intending to storm off.
Ratchet caught her this time. "What lies? Who's plans?" he demanded to know. Since Prime was overcome with emotional upset, it was up to him to maintain order. Up to him to get to the bottom of what both Chromia and Barricade were hinting at.
"If you name him, I will detonate," Barricade threatened as she leveled her optics at Chromia. It was no bluff either, they both knew it.
Chromia narrowed her optics, but clamped her mouth shut before she let it slip. "He's meta washed you femmes. You're fools to so willingly sacrifice yourselves to protect him."
"You're the fool Chromia, so blinded by your hatred of Decepticons and fear of mating," 'Cade shot back. "He works for our future as a species, no more – no less, which is better than you."
"What are you talking about? What does this mean Chromia?" Ironhide demanded to know. He grabbed Chromia's wrist, taking her from Ratchet.
Sunstreaker snorted and rolled his optics in exacerbation. "You'll never get a straight story out of two femmes." He glanced at Barricade, as if silently asking permission to tell what he knew. Getting the nod, he turned and met Ratchet's and Ironhide's expectant gazes. "Basic gist is that there's a Prime hidden in the con ranks, he mated Chromia against her will, she tried to offline the sparklings when she escaped because she was pissed – and when the two Prime lines come back together the Prime trine shall come to be."
…..A dropped pin could be heard for miles around as the news sunk in……
"Primus… I've done it.." Optimus sobbed as he fully sank to the ground. His meta just couldn't handle this type of emotional overload all at once, so he began to glitch… Just as he had done when Elita had been thought dead, the strong mech totally lost control.. His chassis began to overheat as tremors rocked through every sensory grid, knocking them out one-by-one… His optics glazed over as his meta fell within itself, memory echoes taking the place of reality for him…
"You – YOU MATED FRENZY?!? YOU FOOL!!! WE ARE ALL DOOMED!!!" Chromia screamed. Twisting out of Ironhide's grasp, she kicked Optimus as hard as she could. Then she transformed and zoomed out of sight, leaving a trail of burned rubber in her wake.
Ironhide swiftly went after her, followed by her two sisters.
Ratchet hit himself in the helm a few times, trying to make sure that he didn't glitch as well – too many mechs needed him right then. "Where is Frenzy now Sunstreaker?" he asked. The femme had to be nearing her time to birth.
"Don't worry, she's safe," Sun stated, he glanced at Barricade – hoping she had told him the truth.
"But she needs a medic. A birthing chamber!" Ratchet stated firmly.
"First Aid and Wheeljack are seeing to her needs," Barricade assured him.
Kneeling, Ratchet injected a strong sedative into one of Optimus's primary energon feed lines. The big mech clanged to the ground limply within seconds. He didn't have time to deal with Prime's emotional overload right now – he had to ensure that Frenzy and his own sparkling daughters were safe! He'd deal with Optimus later.
Standing up, he locked optics with the cruiser, giving her a glare that would shrivel most mechs. "If what you claim is true, a safe delivery is not the only thing Frenzy needs to be concerned about."
"Affirmative, she is guarded by the best you pathetic Autobots could offer at the time," Barricade replied with a rather smug smirk.
"Which would be?" the medic prodded.
"Prowl leads a security detail consisting of the Technobot gestalt," she replied.
Ratchet relaxed a little. At least his bond mate was there to raise his little daughters; he just hoped that Wheeljack didn't try to teach them anything about inventing. And nothing could get past Prowl when he had a good security team to command. But what about energon to feed the sparklings? "Do they have a good energon source?"
"Beachcomber is among them, he confirmed the natural energon source. There is an unlimited supply at their location."
"Unlimited natural energon? Where the hell is it Sun?" Sideswipe asked, his optics gleaming as he licked his lips.
"Have no clue," Sunstreaker said with a shrug.
"You were ordered to protect them and not to let them out of your sight! How can Frenzy be somewhere that you don't know?!?" Ratchet snarled. He really meant 'his daughters' – and everyone knew it.
"Kind've took an unexpected detour to Megatron's base. Couldn't be avoided," Sun replied, giving 'Cade a knowing glance.
"Couldn't be AVOIDED?!? THOSE ARE MY DAUGHTERS YOU LEFT!!" This time, Sideswipe had to grab the medic before he got his servos on the cocky golden mech.
"Hey, calm down mother hen. I got my aft captured protecting theirs – you owe me a big favor on that one!" Sunstreaker shot back.
"And just how are you standing here if that's the case? I don't see any damage," Ratchet taunted right back.
"Because my femme here – risked her own tail pipes and came after me. Heck of a double agent I tell ya!" With that, Sunstreaker grabbed Barricade's hand and dragged her away.
Bumblebee watched everything in silence, her own meta almost as emotionally overloaded as Optimus's. But she didn't let her emotions show. She was now totally alone again. Ironhide was off chasing his mate down – and Frenzy was off Primus-knows-where. Blinking back tears, she plopped her tail pipes down next to the still form of Prime. In the mental state he'd be in for the conceivable future, she doubted he'd even think about wanting to mate a femme… If he ever thought about it again - This was just fine by her…
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They sat down together on a ridge overlooking a vast expanse of the Rockies. Leader and femme, both suffering silently within… The mighty Autobot sighed as the mantel of responsibility lifted off his shoulder plates once more. This had now become the understanding between himself and his CMO these last few months. Optimus would hold himself emotionally together for eighteen hours each day – then Ratchet would take control of the Autobots so that he could fall within himself and grieve again. Every day, he was holding it together for a little longer. A second here – a minute there… But eventually it would come to this again, and his control would come crumbling down..
"I can't believe it Bumblebee," Optimus mumbled more to himself than to her. He'd been doing this every earth day for the last few months, so she'd learned to just kind've ignore it. He curled his arm around her and pulled her close, needing the warmth of an understanding mech to help him through this.
His touch no longer bothered her. She'd figured out after that first week that all the big mech needed was someone to hold. His meta was far away on other things, on other femmes. He was not interested in her. In fact, she was actually getting worried that her initial prediction that he'd never be interested in that stuff again – was coming true. But Ratchet didn't seem terribly worried. He was actually taking a lot longer to wean the mech off of the sedatives than he probably ought to.
Right now it wasn't bad to have Ratchet as their temporary leader for a part of each day cycle. The Decepticons were still off balanced and unorganized, so Optimus had plenty of time to recover. Chromia was also under Ratchet's supervision, for her mental state was swinging even more unpredictably than what Ironhide said was normal.
With a heavy sigh, Bumblebee leaned against her big friend and looked over the mountains. She let herself sink within her spark, seeking Frenzy through their spark bond. Through the fog, the image slowly focused, and she saw the world through Frenzy's optics once more….
"Do you see them little Bee?" Optimus's voice intruded into her thoughts.
Bumblebee nodded as she tightened her spark link. She watched the three small sparkling mechs as they chased after a mech she didn't recognize. Must be one of the Technobots – the one they seemed to play with far more than the others.
"Are they growing strong? Being played with?" he asked, longing filling his voice. He held his hands out, moving them as if he was playing with his sparklings. All he knew was emptiness now. He had failed Elita – and now was failing his sons through his absence in their lives. But Barricade wouldn't budge in her stance of not revealing their whereabouts. He did understand that they were safer without him. That Megatron couldn't find them any more than he could… But it hurt…Hurt every day.. It was tearing his spark in two…
"Yeah, they're seeing who can hang onto to a Technobot in motorcycle mode. It's a game they really seem to like to play." Her voice was wistful, for the sparklings and younglings seemed like so much fun as she looked through Frenzy's optics. She did like playing with youngsters even though she didn't want any of her own – and she did miss them terribly..
A sob escaped Optimus as he hung his head for a moment. "Are they happy? Do they look well-energized?" he whispered. He wished that he could see through her spark link. See what his sons looked like… Acted like… Without realizing it, he pulled the small femme into his lap and rocked her as if she was one of them. His meta becoming overwhelmed by the fog of his despair again.
"I miss Frenzy too, Prime," Bumblebee whispered as she felt herself relax against the grieving mech. "I want to be with her… Touch her.." Tears filled her optics as she shared in his angst.
"My sons…. My sons…" Tears flowed thickly down his face plate. His rocking increasing as he held her tightly against him, stroking her door wings as if he was soothing a sparkling.
"Prime, it's time for your next dose," Ratchet's voice said from behind them. His optics met Bumblebee's as he poked the needle into one of Optimus's energon lines, the big mech not even noticing.
"Little one, it's time to defrag… Shhhhhh, it's time to defrag…" Prime whispered as his optics slowly darkened. He slumped down to his side….
Ratchet helped Bumblebee extract herself from the big mech's arms. "Is he still mistaking you for one of his sparklings?" he asked.
Sadly, Bumblebee nodded.
The medic shook his head sadly and set a hand on one of her doorwings. "I know it's hard on you Bumblebee. But you're being a very good friend to him, telling him what you see through your spark link." He forced her to turn and look up at him. "How are YOU handling it?"
"I'm fine Ratchet," she replied. Instinctively, she tried to pull away from his grasp. He wasn't in the emotional state that Prime was in. He might want something more.
"Still afraid? I can give you something for that," the old medic offered.
Grinding her dental plates together, Bumblebee shook her head. She didn't need any sedatives; she just needed mechs to quit thinking of her as a femme – that's all.
"Bee, you're going to have to mate one day. You need to accept that."
Her spark began to pulse wildly in terror at the prospect. She fought the nausea down, fought to keep her composure. She had a plan now… She just hoped the mechs she was going to drag into it – would agree to it. Surely they would.
Ratchet took her silence as indicative of her continuing fear, kneeling down, he studied her face plate. "You are going to have to – just like we all have to."
Bumblebee's face plate heated up terribly. Looking away, she shifted her peds for a moment. Could she tell the lie? Could she make it sound believable? She had to… She just HAD to! "Well, it's just… uh… well…"
"Well what?" he pressed.
She flashed her optics up, meeting his optics for a split second before locking them back on the ground. "Uh, one of the mechs Frenzy is with… well…"
"Is what?" He studied the young femme with an intensity that made her want to bolt out of sight. What was going on with her? Was she actually interested in a mech? That would be GREAT!
"Well, he's, uh, cute, you, uh … know…" Ok, she'd half-way said it. How would Ratchet interpret it?
"You LIKE one of them? That's WONDERFUL!" Ratchet exclaimed. His stern face plate broke out into a big slag-eating smile. There'd finally been some kind of break through with the femme. "Who, if I may ask?"
Knowing Ratchet would be even more pleased if she named another medic as the focus of her supposed interest, Bumblebee muttered "First Aid" as if totally embarrassed.
Ratchet stood up and patted her on her door wing. "A very nice choice.. Nice choice indeed! He is a very talented young medic, if I may say so myself." He wandered off, still preening in pride that Bumblebee was showing interest in a medic that he had once trained…
Breathing out a sigh of relief, Bumblebee snuggled up against the still form of Optimus. She hated putting First Aid in this position without warning him, but surely the peaceful mech would understand. He was so in love with Beachcomber, she doubted he'd even want to mate with a femme anyways. Yes, he was the perfect mech for her to have a 'crush' on. It'd keep the others away from her…
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Note: sorry it's taken so long. Hughes Net sucks big time! I even had to go to someone else's house to publish this! Please review though…
