Fandom: Transformers G1
Author: gatekat, ultrarodimus on LJ
Pairing: Axe/Dai Atlas
Rating: PG-13
Codes: Slash, Historical Setting, Knights of Light, Bonding
Summary:
Disclaimer: The authors are only playing with their own twisted muses. Transformers belong to Hasbro. Fandom-side, check the inspirations page (gatekat-fics .livejournal 290 .html). We draw from a ton of amazing stories and authors you should read.
Kneeling to the Sword 10: The Choosing
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Axe was fidgeting, something that most residents of the Citadel associated with the excitable Wing rather than the calm black and gold triple changer. Nervousness and unease was seeping through the bond he shared with Dai Atlas. The big triple changer was more nervous than he had been in a long time and not even his mate's blanket of soothing calm could help much.
This was the orn where Axe and his bonded mate would be Knighted and become full members or the Circle of Light. But first, they would be introduced to the unbonded Great Swords in the sword vault at the center of the Citadel. There they would choose their Great Swords... or be chosen by them, as Wing had implied. Axe had always been unnerved and more than a little disturbed by the weapons, and wasn't quite sure what to think about bonding to one of them himself.
"I don't think I can," Axe admitted to Atl when his Daoshi placed a hand on his shoulder as he knelt in meditation. "I can't settle."
"It will be all right," Atl assured him, his voice low and calm. "Everyone is nervous the orn they are Knighted by one aspect or another."
Blue optics wandered to the hilt showing over the red Knight's helm, its medium blue gem glittering in the overhelm lights. "Some aspects more than others..."
"While your mate is most unsettled by the vote," Atl smiled, his field reassuring and supportive. "Do you trust your spark?"
Axe nodded. "I do. But that doesn't make me any less nervous. Especially about things I still don't understand."
Atl patted his shoulder. "You will soon," he promised. "Simply trust your spark. It will respond to the Great Sword that is right for you. Come. It is time."
The black triple changer got to his pedes, fluffing polished and shining gold-and-white-trimmed armor in an attempt to properly settle it. Trying to keep a tight lid on his nervousness, he followed Atl out, glancing once more over at his mate and the white jet almost dancing with nerves next to the calm blue mech.
Then he was focused on his Daoshi and the path he'd rarely taken before. Initiates did not enter the rooms at the center of the complex unless they were being led to the penance chambers. He wasn't headed there this orn, but to a space much deeper down. At the door that marked the restricted areas the Sovereign Vanguard joined them, taking the lead.
Axe eyed the area, the section where no Initiate was permitted and even the full Knights rarely went. The armor on his shoulders and upper back ruffled nervously, though he managed to keep the rest in place as the Sovereign and his Daoshi led him to the vault, where the unbonded Great Swords waited.
The Sovereign palmed open a thick door, revealing a room lit only by the glow of the Great Swords' gems. While most were blue, red was common and a variety of other colors glimmered into a muted general light. There was nothing else in the room. Only a score of Great Swords hanging vertically on the rounded wall of the circular space.
"Knight Atl has explained what you are to do?" Vanguard leveled his gaze on the larger mech.
Axe's gaze was fixed through the door, his optics gliding over the arrayed Great Swords. He could see the muted rainbows of light playing over the walls, shed from the hilt gems of the great blades. "He has."
"Then you may begin."
Axe inhaled deeply, x-venting slowly. Blue optics dimmed as he turned them off, allowing himself to be led to the first Great Sword. Fingers brushed lightly over his arm before he heard retreating pedefalls, then he lifted his hand to touch the gem of the first Great Sword.
It pulsed gently against his field, warm and friendly and rather curious as the two fields briefly engaged each other. It was a sensation not unlike his first contact with Wing's Great Sword. Friendly, but containing a firm refusal.
Axe trailed his fingers over the wall until it encountered the angular hilt of the next Great Sword in the line. His fingertips brushed over the intricate engravings around the gem's setting before settling against the jewel itself. Venting softly, Axe extended his field. The fire licked at his field was harsh and aggressive like no Knight Axe had encountered, but with the familiar feel of many youthful frontline warriors.
The black and gold mech greeted the Great Sword politely, feeling its refusal of him before moving away from it. A Great Sword like that would definitely not be a good match for him. His hand trailed over the wall briefly before finding the hilt of the next Great Sword, slowly working his way along the line. Most were calm and friendly, much like the Knights he'd met.
Half a dozen into the circle he felt a field reach out for him before he touched the weapon. Calm. Even. Steady. Almost cool.
~You. Mine.~ A strong voice caressed him across their mingled fields.
Axe paused, brushing his fingers over the hilt. ~Who are you?~ He wanted to look, but kept his optics turned off, tracing the hilt with his hand.
~Sentry of Balance.~
The large mech lingered for a long moment, reluctantly removing his hand to continue his slow circuit of the vault, greeting each Great Sword in turn. Some of them felt very old, older than he, others young, some feeling like they had been just forged. All of them greeted him in turn, all with polite but firm refusal in their fields. None of them resonated with him so well as the one that has introduced itself to him.
Finally reaching the end of the circle, by the door, Axe inhaled deeply, blindly making his way back to where he had begun and feeling his way back to the Great Sword that had spoken to him.
His spark thumped at the return, answering the pulse of Sentry of Balance. It felt good, soothing in a way not unlike when his mate was in a good mood.
A dark hand closed around the hilt, slowly drawing the Great Sword from the brackets in which it rested. Backing toward the door, Axe finally onlined his optics and looked down at the Great Sword that had chosen him. A rich purple gem glittered at him, set in a beautifully crafted hilt. He knew this one was physically little different than any other Great Sword, and yet it was special all the same. It was his.
"What is the designation of the Great Sword?" Vanguard asked, snapping Axe's attention away from his new weapon.
"Sentry of Balance," Axe answered, carrying it out into the well-lit hall so he could get a better look at it. His fingertips traced the setting of the gleaming jewel, running along the intricate glyphs engraved along the blade itself. "Its designation is Sentry of Balance."
Atl smiled brilliantly and Vanguard nodded with a pleased acceptance. "Then come. It is time to finalize the bond."
Axe looked up, optics narrowing slightly. "'Finalize'?" he echoed as he followed the pair to another door nearby.
"A Great Sword and its bearer are bonded," Atl spoke up. "Right now you are merely lovers who know you will spend your lives together. To be bonded, you must bond."
Vanguard nodded and palmed open the door. "It is unlikely to be as sensual as your previous bondings, however the fundamentals are the same."
"I can be there with you, or I can wait out here," Atl said.
Blue optics narrowed. "So it is a spark bond." He looked at Atl, tilting his helm toward the door as he followed Vanguard inside.
The leader of the Knights of Light motioned Axe to kneel on the padding on one side of the room while Atl positioned himself quietly near the far wall. Axe's Daoshi would witness this with great pride, but it was not his place to be part of it.
"To bond, you must expose your spark and bring Sentry of Balance's gem within the corona," Vanguard explained calmly after the door closed. "Do not bring the gem into your spark itself no matter how much you may desire to."
Black armor fluffed and settled as Axe steeled himself, blocking the bond with his mate and blocking out Dai Atlas' curious eavesdropping. He parted his chestplates, the rich blue light of his spark shining out, glinting in the purple depths of Sentry of Balance's gem as he brought the Great Sword closer. Long familiar with merging on all levels, this one, technically only a surface merge, came easily.
Yet when he touched Sentry of Balance's resonance, the large gem within his corona, his vents hitched sharply at the flood of sensations it unleashed in him. The powerful will housed in the Great Sword called to his spark with sweet promises of the eternal bliss, peace and balance that could be theirs with a deeper merge. Here, shallow though the merge was, he knew the offer was true.
Axe trembled, his plating rattling. That siren song was very, very hard to resist. But resist the triple changer did, no matter how his spark insisted otherwise. He held Sentry of Balance's jewel in his spark's corona for several long kliks before forcing himself to pull it away.
Black chestplates closed. Axe braced one hand on the floor, venting heavily, plating flaring and resettling restlessly. "Primus," was all he could get out, looking at the long blade that was now his Great Sword as it was clutched in his other hand. Absently he was aware of Atl's squeal of relief-delight and realized that this was actually the final trial; whether one had the will to control the Great Sword that chose you, or if you would be controlled by it.
"You have done well," Vanguard's voice came closer, offering a hand to Axe if he wished assistance in standing. "Few have the will to resist the Sentry of Balance. It is an old, stubborn blade."
"Now bonded to an old, stubborn mech," Axe wisecracked, accepting the assistance and trying not to pull Vanguard off-balance as he lurched upright. Blue optics turned to take in Atl, lifting an optic rim at his Daoshi. "And you were channeling Wing with that little squeal, my friend."
"I may act like a steady old mecha, but I'm younger than he is," Atl chuckled, not really objecting to the statement. "You now know what everyone to bears a Great Sword does. I could have come in here to watch you turn gray," he said seriously. "Especially with that Great Sword. It's taken more than its share of sparks in this room."
Axe regarded the Great Sword with respectful wariness for a moment and felt it pulse back that it wouldn't try again. "I guess it takes an old, headstrong mech to tame an old, headstrong sword." He braced himself against the wall, feeling the connection points that had been installed on his back scraping against the surface. "I think I'm going to recharge for a decaorn after this..."
"I recommend at least an orn or two," Vanguard smiled at his newest Knight. "Two final formalities and you may retire to your berth. Your acceptance vote, and that of Dai Atlas."
"No one's gotten this far and been turned away that I know of," Atl shot the Sovereign a glance.
"Not at this stage, no." The burgundy Seeker shook his helm and opened the door once more. "Knights have been banished and Initiates never make it this far, but never has an Initiate who has bonded to a Great Sword been denied a seat in the Circle."
The black triple changer took a moment to be sure of his balance before following Vanguard and Atl back out into the corridor, reopening the bond as he did so. "When will Dai be brought here to meet the Swords?"
"As soon as your confirmation vote is complete," Vanguard said. "You should remain with the Knights until his confirmation is complete. Then you are both free to reestablish your bond and recover."
"Hopefully I won't pass out in the middle of it." Axe shifted his Sword to his other hand. "Resisting Sentry of Balance took a lot out of me."
The Great Sword let out a mental purr across their bond, a mixture of pride that it was a challenge and pride that Axe had won.
~You went and picked a mech as stubborn as you are,~ Axe thought back at it with a mental chuckle. Through his bond with Dai Atlas, he heard his mate laugh and agree that Axe was stubborn. ~Hush, you,~ the black mech mock-grumbled in response, getting another laugh from his mate.
Atl just gave him a smile and they made their way to a room Axe had never been in; the great meeting hall. Going against its designation, it was actually a circular room with several ranks of seating in tiers. It wasn't unlike a very small arena with an oversized seating section, only there was no scent of death and the feel of the mecha in the seats was welcoming, happy and excited.
Upon entering the meeting hall, Axe's attention was taken up with taking in every detail of the room. He could easily identify the Sovereign's place by the elaborate podium. All of the Knights in the room he at least knew by sight, most by designation. He'd seen them all on the battlefield not that long ago.
Atl remained at Axe's side as Vanguard took his place.
"Knights of the Circle of Light, before you stands one who wishes to join our ranks. He has completed his training under myself and has bonded his Great Sword. He has passed all challenges and tests set in his path." Atl's frame gleamed as he turned, facing all of the gathered Knights before reaching up to place one hand on Axe's shoulder. "What say you, my fellow Knights? Shall the Initiate Axe join our ranks as a Knight of Light?"
One by one, beginning with Vanguard, the gathering added their hum to a chorus. One tone for acceptance, a dissonant one for rejection, a third that harmonized for acceptance with reservations. The reservations with Axe were few and none strident enough for a rejection. Against Axe's field Atl's felt more and more relieved and relaxed as the vote was tallied in the Knight's helm.
"Very well," Vanguard spoke as he stepped to the center of the floor with Axe, sending Atl to his chair.
Turning to face Axe, Vanguard began the Knights Creed, the long form, to which Axe would have to respond with "I do" or "I accept" or "I swear" at the appropriate places. Both Wing and Atl had grilled the triple changers exhaustively in the proper order to the responses and the words in full.
Vanguard finished the Creed, Axe's last response trailing into silence. The Knight leader placed both hands on Axe's shoulders, his thrusters making up the difference in height so his white optics met Axe's rich blue. He extended his field in welcome, flush with the pride he had in the older mech. "Welcome to the Circle of Light."
Axe nodded to Vanguard, trying to be at least semi-formal while fighting down a smile. "Thank you, Sovereign." He shifted his grip on his Great Sword, then set it into the new connectors on his back, twitching his shoulders slightly at the unfamiliar weight. The long blade was warm against his plating and its field was pleased to rest inside his.
Sentry of Balance was home, once more against the back of a mech worthy to bear it.