Warrior Star had wandered for…she didn't know how long. The air surrounding her had been steadily getting lighter as time had went on, even though she had no idea what time it was, or what day it was. She just knew that time was passing.
Finally, she could see the ground beneath her paws, and she stopped for just a moment, so glad to see something that she didn't even notice what was right in front of her nose. Then her ears twitched as a booming roar touched her audios, and she raised her head. The sight in front of her was nothing short of breathtaking, and had the wolf been human, she would have fallen on her aft in shock. As it was, she staggered back a step, her cobalt blue optics taking in the view.
A massive, clear, beautiful waterfall was in front of her, dropping down into a gorge so deep that she couldn't even see the bottom through the mist. Rainbows flashed in the mist from the roaring water, and both sides of the gorge were green and had flowers scattered randomly through the soft grass. A simple wood and rope bridge spanned the expanse, but at a glance, Warrior Star could tell that it was solidly built and would hold steady and strong for an eternity.
Slowly, step by step, the Cybertronian wolf approached the bridge, her keen optics scouring the opposite side in an attempt to determine what was over there. Unable to see anything, but sensing that she was in no danger, she kept walking, until the first board on her side sat just in front of her deadly black claws. Right as she raised a paw to step onto the bridge, a voice stopped her cold, one that made her go tense before she spun, unable to process who was speaking. The faces that greeted her made her freeze in shock.
"Wait, Warrior Star. Don't go over that bridge…if you do, you will never return." The speaker was Cybertronian, stepping out of the shadows and raising her massive silver head as her amber colored optics met the bronze wolf's gaze. Another Cybertronian stepped forward at the silver femme's side, his optics a piercing blue that put Ironhide's to shame as his white armor gleamed under an unseen sun.
Warrior Star's jaw went slack with shock, grief, and recognition before she managed to get her processor working well enough to speak.
"It can't be…you're…you're Stardust and Saber…my creators." Her voice was broken and barely understandable, but the silver femme's optics saddened nonetheless.
"Yes, daughter…it's us." Stardust took a few measured strides forward, until her amber optics were directly at level with Warrior Star's and their muzzles were inches apart. The silver femme's scent wafted across Warrior Star's nose, and her jaws trembled as she tried to think of something, anything to say. She shuttered her cobalt blue optics, opting to just step forward and press her cheek plates to Stardust's before she ran her face down the silver femme's neck until her bronze head was resting on the other femme's shoulder.
"Carrier…I have missed you." The bronze femme whispered as Stardust laid her head on Warrior Star's shoulder in the wolf version of a 'hug'. She could almost feel the silver femme smiling as she spoke in response.
"And we have missed you, Warrior Star. Primus, look how you've grown…you finally grew into those massive armor plates. You got your size from your father…that we always knew." The silver femme said, raising her head and taking a step back as the white mech stepped forward, his blue optics locking on to Warrior Star's before they touched noses. But instead of laying her head on his shoulder, Warrior Star lowered her head, pressing her forehead against her father's huge, broad white chest plates as he lowered his head to curl around her neck slightly.
"Creator…it has been too long. Keystone looks just like you…the blasted cub tries his best to act like you too, but he isn't you…he tries so hard to be, though." Warrior Star murmured, feeling the chuckle that rumbled through her father's massive chest before he spoke.
"He has you for his role model, Warrior Star. We have watched you from this place the entire time we have been offline. You have done your very best, and Stardust and I are both so proud of you. A lesser femme, and even most mechs, would have just given up and died had they been through what you have been. Your strength has always set you apart, out of all of our cubs…even after what happened with Andante, we knew that you'd pick yourself back up and that you'd find a way to survive and move on. We knew you would eventually find your brothers again, and we knew that you would lead them wisely. They have no better leader or role model than you, Warrior Star. No Autobot or Decepticon will ever be able to control them, and we're so slagging proud that you have had the strength to hold against Megatron and Optimus both. You are exactly who you were supposed to be…don't let anyone change that." Warrior Star pulled her head back, raising her optics to her father's again before he gently nuzzled her cheek and stepped back.
They all stood there and stared at each other for what felt like forever before Warrior Star got up the strength to speak again.
"What now? You stopped me from going across the bridge…why?" She asked, seeing the sadness that flickered through both Stardust and Saber's optics before the silver femme replied.
"Warrior Star, that bridge leads to…well, more or less, the Well of All Sparks lies beyond that bridge. It…it leads to eternity. If you cross that bridge, you can never return." The bronze femme's head shot up, then she spun to face the bridge again. Narrowing her cobalt blue optics, she tried to see what lay beyond the bridge, but there was a thick mist on the other side. It spanned the entire length on the opposite side, and somehow, the bronze femme knew that it was impenetrable, and that to see through it, you had to walk through it. Then something else popped into her processor, and she spun to face the two wolves again.
"If that is eternity, then why have you not crossed? Have you both been waiting for me here the entire time? Or is there something else, some other reason that you have not gone?" Warrior Star asked, tensing instantly when she saw the look that passed between them, then Saber spoke cautiously.
"We…can't go, Warrior Star. Not yet." The tone to his voice made her narrow her optics, and she took a half step forward, halting when Stardust picked up where the white mech had left off.
"There is…something holding us here." She paused, smiling in a way that was both sad and ironic as her tone changed slightly.
"You see…we were part of Cybertron's Guardian class, but you already knew that. We were tasked with guarding the mechs and femmes in the city with our lives, from any threat that presented itself. After Andante died, the population of Cybertron revolted against the Guardian class, since all but a few were some type of Beastbot or Predacon. The fact that we were Guardians meant that we really couldn't fight back when we were attacked…we could either run or die. Some of them ran and have been hunted ever since…but you and your brothers already know our fate." The silver femme's amber optics were dark with emotion, her face troubled when she stopped speaking, so Saber picked up where his sparkmate left off.
"The fact remains, Warrior Star, until all the mechs and femmes that we were tasked with guarding have died, we can't cross. None of the Guardians can. We've been patrolling this side of the crossing since our offlining…all of us. So few of the Guardian class remain…you and your brothers are just about all that is left of a dying breed of Cybertronian. However…there is another Predacon online that I know of that is a descendent of one of the Guardians that is here with us now. Ah, there she is now. Nova!" At the white mech's call, Warrior Star turned, just in time to see a big femme land nearby.
The femme was big, with massive feathered wings and piercing gold optics. She folded her wings neatly, swiveling her head to gaze at Saber before she spoke.
"Hello, Saber. Is this that femme you have spoken so much about?" Something about the femme's voice was so familiar that Warrior Star didn't hear her creator's reply as she searched her processor, trying to figure out why this femme seemed so fragging familiar. The answer hit her so suddenly that her head shot up and her cobalt blue optics went wide with shock, then she spoke, bringing the attention of all three of them back to her.
"It can't be…" The bronze femme took a step closer to the dark-colored femme, reaching her head out to sniff slightly at the femme before she finished her sentence.
"I know your creation. You're Moonflight's femme creator…you have to be." Nova chuckled, making the bronze femme's head snap up before she replied.
"Very good, youngling. So you are the eldest creation of Saber and Stardust…there is no doubt. Yes, I am Moonflight's femme creator. And I know that you met my son…despite what you may think, he is a good youngling. It's just he followed his mech creator a little too closely after I was offlined…he's more like me than even he knows." Her voice was clear and almost hypnotic, the tone so warm and gentle that Warrior Star relaxed immediately. Then Saber spoke again.
"You should try and tame that Predacon, Warrior Star. Get him away from the Decepticons…they are a bad influence on him. If only for Nova's sake…we've known each other so long now." Warrior Star wasn't sure what it was, but something caught the attention of all three of the Guardians, then Stardust turned to face the bronze femme again.
"It's time for you to return, Warrior Star. You must go." Warrior Star opened her mouth to issue a rebuttal, but to her shock, no sound emerged from her gaping jaws. Both of her creators backed away, stepping towards the shadows as Nova spread her wings and took flight, disappearing quickly, but Warrior Star's optics were on her creators. She tried to step towards them in an effort to keep them from leaving, but her paws were frozen to the ground. She was on the edge of panicking when Saber spoke one last time.
"Do not fear, Warrior Star. Everything will go dark, and you will know only silence for awhile before you come back online. It will be all right…do not fear. And do not worry about our fate…we knew the commitment when we chose to become Guardians. We will wait for your return…goodbye, Warrior Star. Goodbye…" The white mech's voice faded, and then the bronze femme was plunged into blackness and silence, and she was alone once more.
A/N: ...hell. I almost had to break out the tissues just writing this one. Ugh... :(
Of note, when I had Warrior Star address Stardust as 'Carrier', it is because she is the femme creator and had to carry the sparkling. And it's pretty simple why she called Saber 'Creator'. Just wanted to clarify why I wrote it that way.
So! That's Saber and Stardust, and I even managed to get Nova in there too. I mentioned her in the previous story version, but I don't think I had her as a Predacon...I think she was just a normal bi-ped Decepticon. In this version, she has no faction and she's a Predacon. Ah well. Fixing my previous story still...lol.
Slightly longer chapter than the others have been...hope I can keep that up. :) And my finger is doing much better. There's this neat little healing salve that my brother-in-law's family used to make years and years ago that works really well. I think my finger should be mostly healed by next weekend.
And a big huge MASSIVE thank you to my reviewers, favoriters, and followers! I forgot to thank ya'll last chapter and I have a lot of new reviewers this time around so...THANKS! :) *hugs*
As always, love if you will, hate if you must. I will take anything that you care to dispense.
Until we meet again...
Kani