I am so excited about the last chapter. I had that planned for a while but just trying to catch up to the moment. I hope everyone had a wonderful Happy Easter or as we say at church Happy Resurrection Day. I had a good time cooking lasagna and stuffed shells along with salad and plenty of southern style sweet tea. Yes, I cook very well and love to do it.
If you are new to my stories please take a moment to please leave a review. I love to read them. Enjoy the new chapter.
Ultra Magnus keyed in the code for his quarters. He saw Starscream decked out on the berth resting from the battle that occurred earlier in the day and Magnus sighed heavily. The battle had been a slaughter and he hated the way Optimus had gripped the computer terminal as he watched helplessly as each human plane and vehicle was destroyed. The humans had no business attempting an assault on them. They were outmanned and far exceedingly outgunned.
Ultra Magnus stood just inside of the barrier of Darkmount and watched as his future bond mate wreaked havoc on the humans enjoying every minute as he destroyed their inferior crafts. Ultra Magnus had not been proud of his race today, but he did see the necessity of them protecting their own. If only they could convince Megatron that this venture would never make Optimus happy.
He walked in tiredly and collapsed on the berth just missing Starscream's wing as he pulled his legs up and turned to position himself against Starscream. He could feel the flier snuggle into his chassis craving the warmth of Magnus' spark and the blue and white truck former smiled. Starscream had not mentioned their talk from the two weeks ago and maybe it was best. Seeing that he was not entirely himself, allowing his emotions over a flier get the better of him, Ultra Magnus decided to leave things as they were unless Starscream made the next move. It was only right since he started the initial negotiations. It was only a matter of time since they could not escape each other without bringing down Megatron's wrath. It was the one thing that Magnus did not like about this new world they now resided in.
Ultra Magnus laughed softly as Starscream began to purr against him. He would never tire of his seeker for that is what Starscream had become to him, and he wanted to protect him but on Star's terms. Megatron had done enough damage and Ultra Magnus was always known for his extraordinary patience. Starscream would come around and they both had time as long as Megatron did not push for a forced bond they would be okay.
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Arcee was propped against the headboard with the extra pillows that Soundwave had brought her. Ratchet was making her rest and recharge more since her the sparkling was placing more pressure on the hydraulics in her leg joints and so Soundwave was making sure she rested while he brought her data pads and holovids for her to watch while resting in their berth. She still managed to work the four hour monitor shifts as long as she was not standing on her feet, but Ratchet was clearly concerned with the size of the sparkling so Soundwave insisted that she stay in their quarters except in the mornings when they would take their energon together. He understood her need to see her friends and so as long as she was not uncomfortable Soundwave walked her to the rec room before leaving for his shift and Optimus walked her to her shift.
She heard the door slide open to allow Soundwave to walk in. He set up his terminal for the night and Arcee smiled ruefully. 'Always the loyal soldier,' her mate was the perfect soldier and Arcee admired that in him. Megatron would never have to worry with Soundwave on watch. "Tough day?"
"Humans." Soundwave didn't want to elaborate because he knew it would upset Arcee but he couldn't keep it from her either. He walked towards her and saw her tense. He wasn't hiding his feelings in their bond and knew she was picking up on it.
"What's wrong?" She asked almost fearfully. "Is Optimus okay? Did something happen to Chromia?" She asked it as she rose up to her knees but Soundwave sat down and gathered her in his lap. She growled at him; tired of his choice of affection. It made her feel weak and needy.
"Humans tried to attack Darkmount today." He finally said carefully.
"I am assuming that they did not succeed." Arcee said slowly. There had been no alarms, no warnings and she must have recharged through it.
"No they did not." Soundwave stated. He carefully rubbed the soft malleable metal of her chest and the gently rubbed soothing circles to let the sparkling know that it was his sire that was touching him and his carrier. Arcee gasped as feelings of love and contentment came through the creator/creation bond that she shared with her little one.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"Yes, just our little one was letting me know that he likes what you are doing." Arcee said softly as she reached up and kissed Soundwave lightly on the lip plates. "Have you heard anything from Shockwave and Chromia?"
"No I haven't." Soundwave took a pillow and placed it behind her to keep her comfortable. The sparkling was making her movement and balance difficult and he wanted her to not suffer a torturous carrying. He remembered how demanding just carrying his half sparks and empathized with the smaller femme greatly. He only wanted her and the sparkling to be healthy and happy.
"She will come around." Arcee stated half-heartedly. She knew how stubborn her sister was.
"Have you taken your energon?" He asked her suddenly remembering what he had placed in his subspace.
"No, I haven't because you didn't come and wake me up." Arcee said arching her optic brows causing her pink chevron to flare up at him.
"Good because I brought it to you." He said as he took a special cube of medical grade energon out for her. She took it and began to sip it slowly so that she would not purge before looking back at Soundwave. She could tell that he was putting off telling her the details from the skirmish with the humans.
"Was it that bad?" She finally asked him watching how her mate uncomfortable looked away for a moment.
"No one survived." He finally said softly. "Optimus and I tried to communicate to them… to tell them not to attack, but Megatron insisted on defending Darkmount and making an example of the humans."
"Is Optimus alright?" She asked after a while of silence as Soundwave stroked her helm and neck.
"No, they argued for a long time. Ratchet and I stayed to make sure that Megatron did not harm Prime. Ratchet thinks that he is carrying, or if not then his protocols are kicking in to ready him for carrying." Soundwave looked down from whatever had held his attention. "If he is carrying then you and Prime will have a sparkling at about the same time. He will only carry the spark for three months while a protoform will be built for the sparkling. You have your gestation chamber so you have to carry longer to give your body time to build the form in the chamber." Soundwave stopped a moment. "I wish I could bare your pain when it will be time. It was hard carrying the half sparks that I created and I didn't have to worry about expelling a protoform."
"It is the process that we go through as femmes. I am not worried, besides Ratchet said that he would surgically remove the sparkling if it is too large." Arcee snugged into Soundwave's warmth which she constantly craved now that she was further along. He smiled back though she could not see it, and continued to stroke her lovingly as they slowly drifted into a cramped recharge. Soundwave would later awake and rearrange them for their comfort.
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"I don't know whether to love you or hate you sometimes." Optimus said into the quiet stillness of the berth room. His hand rested over his mate's chassis as Megatron earlier had drawn Optimus' leg over his hip causing his mate to lie half over the warlord. Their chest plates were once again closed but their interface components were still bared. After Megatron bringing Optimus to several overloads against his will he had taken Optimus and dominated him reminding him of his superior strength until Optimus relented wantonly begging for more until Megatron had bared his spark and they joined once again to become one.
"I want you to love me, but I want you to also understand that I am not going to change overnight just because of your sappy beliefs." Megatron replied quietly. "I do love you, Optimus or I wouldn't have proposed this union." He stroked Optimus along his helm and down toward his beautiful tapered waist and felt his mate shiver from the pleasure of the touch. "I will always protect you." He whispered as he continued to reverently stroke Optimus.
"But who will protect me from you?" Optimus said sorrowfully. He moved his helm and placed it over his mate's spark as he listened to the pulsing strength of it.
"I am your protector, Optimus. I will not harm you." Megatron insisted as he tightened his arms around the Prime.
"You are always pushing, constantly and you never want to listen!" Optimus said.
"I push because I want results. The humans had no business trying to attack. What if you had been caught in it? What if you were carrying? Would you want me to be caught unaware?" Megatron harshly said. Optimus shivered from the reverberating resonance of his vocals as he felt the vibration carry into his own systems.
"I push back because I believe that all sentient beings have the right to freedom. They are a young species, Megatron, cut them a little slack. They deserve a chance to find out what their dreams hold. They don't need you ripping their future out from under them." Optimus stated quietly and yet Megatron could not dismiss the eloquence of his words. Optimus always had a way of persuading even the most stubborn critic and Megatron admired that in him.
"I will not hold today against them if that will calm you my dearest." Megatron said after a long moment. "But I am not giving up my hold on this planet. They would not even exist if it was not for Unicron and I will keep Darkmount here even after we return to Cybertron."
"Let me try again." Optimus pleaded quietly.
"No, you will go to Ratchet in the morning and have your checkup. If you are not carrying then we will renegotiate you returning to be liaison to the humans." Megatron stated as he pulled Optimus closer to him. "Recharge Optimus, you have a busy morning ahead of you."
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Chromia was dozing in a light recharge. Shockwave had not come out of the wash racks and she found herself exhausted from the high amount of tension from earlier. She knew that it would be better for her to go into recharge but she couldn't shake the feeling that they needed to talk.
She kept thinking about what Ratchet had said two weeks ago. Shockwave needed her. She had not thought that was possible until tonight and his words kept playing like a broken recording device in her CPU. How could the scientist need her? She was a platoon soldier, stealth and strategy her strengths, not being the half of a dark and twisted scholar that was once an up and coming senator with a bright future. What had happened to him?
She laid there in the berth wondering if he would still be angry when he finally walked d out or if they would return to their usual awareness of each other and yet ignoring the obvious attraction that was building between them. It had been three months of sharing close quarters and Chromia was slowly wearing down, tired of being confined, imprisoned, and lacking any knowledge except what Shockwave chose to share with her.
The air hitched in her intakes as she heard the door slide open and Shockwave slowly made his way over to his computer to log in his day's work before retiring to the berth. Chromia waited lying on her side with her back to Shockwave as she waited for him to come to berth. She didn't have to wait long as she felt the berth dip with his weight before lying down and pulling her into his arms.
"I know that you are awake." He whispered into her audial and Chromia shivered from his cold touch. In fact, his whole protoform was cool and he had not dressed himself in his armor. Chromia looked over her shoulder startled as his daring display. It was the first time he had ever taken his armor completely off and Chromia felt uncertain, disadvantaged knowing who he once was and wondering why a senator would have sided with the very faction that had annihilated the entire senate and levelled the building to nothing but ashes.
"You have never come to berth like this." Chromia whispered back.
"I have never had organic filth dry to my armor like this. I have my grill soaking in solvent." Shockwave pulled her closer if and wrapped one arm around her waist while sliding his other arm under her helm. Chromia could feel her chassis heating at his touch, though it was not sensual and Chromia curled her fingers into the soft bedding that covered the berth.
"We will have to eventually talk about what happened in the shower." Shockwave stated quietly.
"You were the one who told me to get out." Chromia protested.
"If you knew just how little control I had you would have ran screaming without me telling you to leave." Shockwave ruefully said.
Chromia was tired of being confined, tired of not being able to see anyone, and she felt like pushing back knowing that this was not the right time, but she didn't care. She was just tired if the captivity. "I want to know how you could even turn your back on us! How could you side with Megatron?" She cried as she turned over to look him in the optics. "It doesn't make sense."
Shockwave looked at her shocked that she could even ask something as asinine as that. He started to snarl but only static came out at first before he cleared his vocalizer and tried again. "Turn my back! How can you even ask that! You were a youngling when the war started…"
"I lost everything because of the war!" Chromia stated harshly as she turned fully in his arms to stare at him.
"And I didn't? I was trying to keep young scientists in Tarn alive!" Shockwave bitterly threw back at her. "The senate was sending them to camps. They were my friends and they looked to me to protect them as their senator and I paid dearly for that price. I was tortured so joining the Decepticons was an easy choice." Shockwave kept her gaze, never wavering as he stared back at the proud and hurting femme. It was never his intention to willfully hurt her, but she was his no matter how the outcome played out. He would protect her but he would not hide the truth from her for hiding the truth would destroy them both.
The Decepticons had done their share of destruction, but so had the Autobots. Optimus Prime was correct when saying 'till all were one,' and Shockwave knew that it was time to heal but that healing would not come easy.
"I didn't know. All I saw was Starscream and his Armada destroy everything that our civilization stood for. If Ratchet hadn't of had an emergency he would have died too." Chromia whispered sadly as she finally broke her gaze from his. She tried to shift away from him but Shockwave would not let her. It was a shame that the cold shower would not last because her heat and her anger permeated to him and Shockwave wanted her with every bolt of his being. It would never stop as his spark sang for hers and he could feel that she was affected too. It was the morning that would destroy it, the harsh light of day never boded well and she would regret it if he pushed too far. Yet a part of him wondered, wondered if she would regret it if he pushed her, forced her to make a decision.
Shockwave's patience at an end, he rolled her under him resting his weight on his knees and arms as he tilted her helm up and leaned over to gently kiss her. Shocked at his actions Chromia resisted at first but as Shockwave held her firm yet kept the kiss warm and gentle Chromia slowly started to relax as Shockwave continued the gentle assault on her senses until he felt her surrender before letting up to look at her once more.
"Would it be so bad my darling Mia, if you were to accept me as your mate? Optimus said to accept it, and I would love you." Shockwave said softly looking at her with intense heat and want.
Chromia wanted so badly to give in, but she did not want to be second to him. It scared her that he might consume her and she would be nothing but a breeding machine to the cons. Optimus never said what would happen to their sparklings. Would they end up mindless soldiers for Megatron? Shockwave was not forthcoming with information and Chromia had never felt fear until this moment when she knew that she was in the corner and didn't know whether to fight or surrender. He was so close, sharing the shower, the berth, taking energon with her, and Chromia was so confused.
"I would care for you. You would never need to suffer again." Shockwave purred and Chromia shivered beneath him.
"What would I become?" She whispered softly. What would he give her if she surrendered? She wanted, no needed to know what this new world would have for her.
"I don't know but you would care for our family and stand at my side. I am not a foot soldier but an accomplished scientist and a high ranking officer under our Lord High Protector. Lord Megatron has given Optimus a high status as well, as Prime under him, and Arcee even has a place working on the command bridge alongside of Soundwave. Just take the first step and bond with me so that you can achieve more freedom to move and find your place among us." Shockwave said before kissing the side of her cheek strut, ghosting down to kiss the joint of her neck and shoulder, then moving up to caress her audial receptor.
Optimus had told her to behave, to accept her new position, but it was so hard to change after a long and suffering war. Her hands shook as she raised them up to grip Shockwave's shoulders before pushing back so that she could look at his face. "I scared." She finally whispered as she looked up at him in confusion and desire and deep longing sadness before blinking her optics and her emotions closing up making it hard to read her.
"And you think that I am not? It was your squadron left on Cybertron that sabotaged my best bases and labs and yet here I lie with you underneath me wanting to comfort and protect you. You are not the only one having to endure changes." Shockwave told her softly.
"I don't… I don… I don't know what to think!" She cried as her hands dug into his shoulder plates pulling at the malleable metal that barely protected his protoform. Shockwave winced both from her cries and from harsh touch of her hands. He reached out and pulled her closer pulling back until he was sitting on his heels and she was in his lap with both his arms wrapped tightly around her. "You're the one, Mia. You're the one Primus made for me. The rest we will figure out, I promise." Shockwave whispered bearing all hoping that she would come around and admit what was in her spark.
Chromia cried harder thinking over what Ratchet said about bonds. Her lip plates trembled as she desperately pleaded inside her CPU for some kind of a sign, an answer from Primus, an alarm or sudden attack on the base, something that would help clear the confusion and the pain of the past so that she would know what her future would be.
"Please Mia; I want you at my side." He continued to hug her close as if his chassis and the warmth would soothe away her confusion and pain. Chromia sobbed silently into his chest plates as she realized her answer. She would take a chance and hope that Ratchet was right.
Chromia pulled back and looked up at Shockwave. The coolant streaked the plates of her face and the tank former took pity as he gently wiped them away before kissing each streak that tainted her light finish that protected her face. Chromia responded hesitantly at first but with each gentle caress she opened up to the grey tank former until he laid her back down and before striking in between her armor and protoform.
Chromia arched against Shockwave's protoform as she pulled at him to close the gap between them. He carefully situated her so that he would not crush her beneath him before assaulting her lips with his. Chromia moaned at his touch, her spark pulsing erratically as it wanted to touch the other half of its mate. Shockwave tore his mouth from hers before staring deep into her optics.
"I want to start the bond before I take your valve." He told her very seriously. "I don't want any misunderstandings between us."
Chromia continued to hold his stare before softly replying, "I understand." It was said seriously and Chromia knew in that moment she was surrendering to her mate and hoping that there would be no regrets. Coolant still leaked from time to time from her optics. Tears for her lost friends, for Ironhide, and for her lost older sister Elita, but as Shockwave opened his chest and bared his spark, Chromia just didn't want to fight anymore.
Their sparks touched and in a moment of white piercing light Chromia saw everything that was Shockwave, just as he saw everything of her.
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