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 Eleven
Pontus ran as fast as he could.
He had no idea how long he'd been running for, but he lost sight of Tau as the Autobot drove through the forest of the alien planet. He felt foolish for ever accepting that false request to communicate with the alien species who did not even exist. He made his way for his drop ship, not even concerning himself of Tau would escape with his life or not.
Tau wasn't far behind him, panting desperately to evade the screaming jet of Jhiaxus overhead. He panted in terror and looked back, just as Jhiaxus swooped down in mid-transformation and slammed his fists in Tau's midsection. Tau was sent tumbling across the ground, snapping several trees in his path. He rolled for what felt like an eternity before falling into a puddle of mud and going still. Tau regained his senses to the sight of Jhiaxus stalking murderously toward him. He struggled to his feet, but failed when Jhiaxus' hand came down upon his face, pinning him to the ground. Those blood-red optics flashed hatefully in the darkness.
Tau uttered a muffled scream and struggled beneath his weight before shoving his fist into Jhiaxus' face over and over; he attempted to dislodge the raging creature, but Jhiaxus barely even flinched from the continuous blows, eyes widened and denta showing in a display of menace and insanity. He took the punches for several minutes and then, with a ferocious snarl, he sank his sharp denta deeply into his left hand and jerked his head to one side, tearing the fingers off.
Tau screamed in agony; it was a horrible, high-pitched sound. His body shuddered violently in spasms and his torn hand gushed Energon. Jhiaxus grabbed his throat now, grinning down at him through a mouthful of Energon and gore. It dripped down the length of his chin and neck, giving him the appearance of a primordial, savage god. He leaned forward and brought a finger to his soaked mouth, shushing Tau's screams of pain.
"The guilty must be punished, Tau..." he whispered, "Time to punish you."
Meanwhile, Pontus was struggling to start up his ship when he heard Tau's mortal scream pierce the night. He stopped long enough to stare out through the trees, seeing if he could find Jhiaxus anywhere. Seeing that it was clear for the moment, he tried to start up the ship again, but it was useless; Jhiaxus must have done something to it to prevent his escape. There was a loud bang and he jolted from the controls, staggering toward a laser pistol in a glass housing on the wall. He grabbed it and backed up, leveling it at the only entrance into the ship.
"Pontus..." Jhiaxus' voice whispered from outside the ship, "Come out and face me."
Pontus was afraid, but he wouldn't let Jhiaxus know that. "Come in! I have a little something for you!"
Jhiaxus was silent for a moment and then, his sword punched through the wall behind Pontus, inches from his face. He stared at the blade for a moment in shock before he moved to get away. That failed to work because Jhiaxus punched his other sword through the roof, stabbing through Pontus' arm. The council member let out a scream of agony, struggling to tug his bleeding arm free from the sword that held him in place.
The door to the ship was ripped open and Pontus looked up with a gasp of horror as Jhiaxus stepped inside. He flashed a broad grin through his grizzled, Energon-soaked lips, showing his fangs.
"Look what I just caught..." he hissed. He tsked with mock pity and studied the gushing wound in Pontus' shoulder. "Aww, that must have hurt. I heard your arm tear from outside."
Pontus looked absolutely terrified and Jhiaxus approached, reaching up with a weapon in hand; closer inspection revealed that it was a needle gun. Jhiaxus stabbed it into Pontus' neck and he grunted with discomfort, wincing as he felt something injected into his systems. Immediately, he blinked in disbelief when he felt his internals winding down. A pained, deadened look touched his face and black ooze trickled from his mouth before he went limp on the sword.
"Like it, Pontus?" Jhiaxus sneered, bending down to him, "This toxin was derived from the internals of a mech scorpion. My own personal favorite, really. See, it paralyzes and leaves you as limp as a sparkless shell, but every single primary function remains intact. To put it so delicately, it won't kill you. It won't allow you to move and your sensors become hypersensitive to even the lightest of inflictions. So if I were to do this," He punched Pontus in the abdomen, drawing a sharp gasp of agony from the mech, "the pain is much worse than it usually would be." He grinned wider now, a near insane look. "And trust me when I say you are about to experience so much of it."
O
Pontus stared up in fright at a dim light overhead. Jhiaxus moved around him, gathering deadly-looking tools at his side. The council member couldn't move or do anything and he was bound to a cold table on Jhiaxus' ship. He worked agonizingly slow and whistled a particularly eerie tune to himself as he did, which made the situation seem all the more hedonistic. Then, Jhiaxus leaned over Pontus, smirking nastily.
"Comfortable?" he asked.
Pontus struggled to move, but his limbs were as weak as a sparkling's.
"See, I think the problem is...you don't know the real me, Pontus," Jhiaxus continued, moving to another table where he began to sharpen a frightening-looking carving tool, "You've never had the opportunity to have a nice...quiet conversation with a Decepticon warlord, have you?" He smiled cruelly. "Look on the bright side; it will be quite a learning experience for all of us. We get to see what makes a political coward scream."
Pontus grimaced in fright. "Put yourself in my position, Jhiaxus!" he cried, "You would have done the same!"
Jhiaxus chuckled coldly. "No, I would not have done the same thing," he hissed, "As you can see, no good or bad deed goes undone. Now the question is, if the good end up suffering, what do we have saved up for the bad? You're about to find out."
"What do you want? Money? Fame? Power?" Pontus demanded, "What will it take? What do you want? Just tell me!"
Jhiaxus paused in his work and smiled at him. He approached the side of the table and leered down at the mech. "That's an easy one, Pontus," he replied, "Surely you can guess the one thing that I want most in this life. I want Eros back. Can you...somehow magically bring her back to life?"
Pontus whined softly, knowing that there was no way out of this. "You know I can't do that..."
Jhiaxus scoffed and stared at him with a grimace of disgust, as if the very thought of what he offered insulted him more than anything else. "So why would I want your petty offerings?"
Pontus groaned with defeat and looked away. "W-Where's Tau?" he asked.
"Tau?" Jhiaxus chuckled and turned back to his table, "Tau had it easy. I pulled off every one of his limbs. You won't have that instant luxury, my friend. You will have the pleasure of gaining my full, undivided attention. You will reap your reward while your alive and able to experience it completely." He leaned forward and touched Pontus' chest with one hand; a grin lit his face, "My, oh my, Pontus. You certainly are shaking. Are you sure you're alright?"
Pontus moaned in fright when Jhiaxus picked up a scalpel. "What do you want to hear, Jhiaxus?" he begged, "Do you want to hear me beg for forgiveness? Do you want to hear how I had no choice but to do what I did?"
"No." Jhiaxus replied, bluntly. "I want to hear you scream and beg for your life."
Pontus' breath quickened as Jhiaxus looked closer with the scalpel.
O
Ultra Magnus and Jhiaxus faced one another.
"So, you killed Pontus and Tau, did you?" Ultra Magnus asked.
Jhiaxus was silent, regarding him with empty contempt.
"You've made a mistake, you realize," Ultra Magnus hissed, clutching his hammer tightly in one hand, "You defiled my daughter. You are the reason she is dead."
"But I loved her," Jhiaxus said, softly, "Was love truly my mistake?"
Ultra Magnus raised his hammer and he stood in an attack position. "I suppose you're here to kill me now?"
"No," Jhiaxus replied, with a sad smile, "I don't want to kill you. In fact, I hope you live for a long time to come. Maybe even longer than that. I want you to live every nanoklick of your life in the hell you've brought upon yourself. I want you to live with the innocent Energon you've betrayed." He turned on him now. "I offer you nothing but my back, Magnus. It is the only think you so rightfully deserve."
Ultra Magnus looked stunned as Jhiaxus walked away.
"You shall never see me again," he called back quietly.
"Where are you going now?" Ultra Magnus demanded.
"Home. To New Lucifer."
"Where?"
Jhiaxus paused and looked back at him. "A place that war cannot touch."
Once again, Ultra Magnus was left standing there in shock as Jhiaxus disappeared over the horizon.
And he didn't look back.
END
