The utter silence and speed with which Warrior Star had disappeared had Will Lennox concerned…to say the least. He scrambled down from the berth he was perched on before jogging to the human sized door, getting outside just in time to see Shadowfang dim his optics and incline his head to the huge bronze femme before she turned and headed towards the setting sun. Before the soldier could call to her, she launched herself into a run, racing away at nearly her full speed. She disappeared in the distance before he could blink.
Confused now, Will headed for the three mechs, their optics trained on the place where Warrior Star had last been visible. Sensing his approach, Keystone turned, his golden optics locking on to the human as Swiftpaw twitched an ear at the soldier's approach but didn't turn. Shadowfang's armored head swiveled to face Will like Keystone, but unlike his brother, his red optics were…gentle. Almost like Warrior Star… Will thought, then he spoke.
"Where's she going?" His voice reached the three mechs at the same time, and Swiftpaw finally turned to face him as Shadowfang's optics grew thoughtful. Keystone was the one that finally answered, after he studied Will carefully for a minute.
"We do not know, William Lennox. She merely told us that she needed some time alone. She is our pack leader…we have to respect the boundaries she sets, or face the consequences." Keystone's words both surprised and troubled the colonel, and he pondered the mech's words before replying.
"Consequences? You are her brothers. What consequences?" Will saw it instantly, the look of pain, regret, and memories long forgotten that flashed through the black mech's optics, but it was Swiftpaw that replied.
"Warrior Star is our sister, our family, but she is also our leader. We…need to respect her. She can, and will, punish us for stepping out of line, and she is unafraid to do so. The boundaries are there for a reason…it is what makes us so effective in battle." The gold mech's answer still didn't help Will any, and on seeing the human's frustration, Shadowfang spoke up.
"What we mean, Will, is that she'll bite us or claw us. Something simple like that. Or she'll leave one of us on patrol with no recharge for a few days…that one is a little more harsh. That is only as far as she has ever gone. Don't pity us…and don't judge her for it. It is the reality of our existence, and it is what is necessary for us to survive. Do you not, as a soldier, have rules and regulations to follow? And will you not face punishment for breaking them?" The mech's question, and the equivocation that he made between Warrior Star's punishments and the military's, made Will understand completely.
"Yes, I do, and thank you for explaining. Now I understand." Will didn't blame the femme for doing what she had to do. He had to assume that the same had happened to her when the pack's creators were still alive. She had to learn somewhere, and from someone. Not many go around punishing others without having gone through the same themselves, and not without knowing how effective the punishment was when they had never experienced it themselves.
Will turned his gaze back to the setting sun, and all three mechs watched him for a moment before they each did the same. She's out there, somewhere…all I can hope for is that she will return soon. I still have so much to ask, so much to learn…about her, about Andante, and about the pack. She has the answers I seek, but all I can do now is wait.
Warrior Star ran until long after the sun had set, and even then, she kept running. Ratchet had done his work well; her injuries did not pain her, and the welds and seals on her lines and to her joints and cables were holding perfectly. Ironhide's repairs to her armor were flawless as well; each plate flexed and moved in complete sync with her frame. Both mechs were experts in their chosen craft, and she was grateful to them both for their time and their efforts.
I need to remember to thank them both, sometime… Warrior Star thought as she finally cut her stride, steadily slowing until she was at a walk. Steam rose from her armor as her cobalt blue optics glowed in the night, giving her an eerie, almost ghostly appearance under the waning moon. Her pawsteps were silent, as always, but she knew that the keen audio receptors of certain Cybertronian classes were more sensitive than others. Including the particular mech she was currently moving towards.
One of her scarred ears twitched when she heard him move nearby, and she knew that he had heard her as well. She stopped walking, coming to a halt easily as she heard the air whisper through his metal feathers as he took to the sky behind her. Warrior Star kept completely still as he flew in a long, slow circle before dropping from the sky to land several feet in front of her, folding his wings quietly as his red optics met hers unflinchingly.
"Moonflight." The wolf murmured, inclining her head ever so slightly to the mech as he returned the gesture respectfully.
"Warrior Star. What brings you to my roost at this hour?" His question made her twitch ever so slightly, then she sat down slowly, reaching up to her shoulder with one of her forepaws to scratch at an itch as she stared into his dark red optics.
"The Battle of Chicago left me in rather…rough condition. The medics had to offline me temporarily to repair the damage. I nearly crossed the bridge into eternity…but my creators stopped me. However, my creators were not the only ones that I saw…a very pretty femme stopped by to meet me while I was there. Her designation was Nova…do you remember her?" Warrior Star couldn't miss the spark-crushing agony that flashed through the mech's optics, and he had to blink a few times to clear his vision.
"Yes, I remember her…she was my femme creator. A Predacon, like me, but with no chosen faction. And I finally managed to remember someone else…this little bronze wolf pup that used to come chase me into trees and knock me into bushes and bark at me and chase her tail. Do you remember her, Warrior Star?" Moonflight's words were no less of a blow to the femme than hers had been to him. Had she not been sitting already, she would have fallen; she still swayed slightly before shaking her head and staring into the mech's optics again.
"So you do remember me. It's been a very long time since we saw each other, mech. Not including our scuffle a few weeks ago. I didn't…think it was you, not until I met Nova in the other world. Then I realized who you were. It…pained me to realize that I had forgotten you. Even moreso because you, me, and…and Andante were so close. When I remembered, it felt like a betrayal, to you, and to his memory." The wolf lowered her head, shaking it ever so slightly as Moonflight transformed into his bi-ped form, standing a few feet taller than the femme's head when she held it at its highest.
Warrior Star raised her head again, meeting Moonflight's gaze before the mech stepped forward, until they were barely a foot apart. Then he sat down at her side and put an arm around her massive shoulders, prompting the femme to lay down and lean against his side armor. Sighing softly, she dropped her armored head into his lap, shuttering her optics as he tightened his grip around her shoulders.
"How could we both have forgotten? It…almost makes no sense." She murmured as Moonflight's free hand landed on her head, gently patting her as a thoughtful hum rumbled through his chest.
"Your memories were overwritten by Shockwave's virus…you lost a lot in that mess. And I got shot several times when my femme creator…when Nova…was killed. I was there when your creators died…Nova fell with them. With their last breaths, Saber and Stardust were yelling at me to fly away, to leave them behind, because they knew they were doomed. I got hit after I took off…when I fell from the sky, I happened to land near Shockwave's main research lab. I was in forced stasis when he found me…he overwrote a lot of my memories too. It was our fight a few weeks ago that…cleared out the memory block." Moonflight's voice was quiet and steady, and Warrior Star relaxed against the mech as she went far back into her memories, remembering the tiny little mechling fluffball he used to be.
"We used to be so small, the two of us. You were that stumbling little ball of fluff and feathers…and I was a clumsy pup with paws and legs and armor that were too big for my frame. Primus, that was so long ago now…look how we've both grown." Moonflight tightened his arm around her shoulders slightly, and she settled a little more comfortably against his side armor. They sat like that for awhile before the femme raised her head to stare into his optics, then she spoke.
"You should return with me, Moonflight. My pack and I would take you in…slag, even the Autobots are a better option than the 'Cons. They're only using you, old friend." Her voice was quiet, her optics bright as she stared at the mech in the hope that he would agree. Her spark fell at the sadness that filled his optics.
"I wish I could, Warrior Star…I really wish I could. But the Decepticons are all I have…they are all I know. I can't just…run away. They won't allow it." Slowly, the femme turned her head away, then she got to her paws and slowly walked away with her massive head held low. Moonflight sprang to his feet, reaching out to her in an effort to stop her when she came to a halt anyway, and turned halfway to face him.
"Sometimes…sometimes you need to make a stand, Moonflight. Sometimes you have to let go of everything you know and forge your own destiny. And you're wrong…the 'Cons aren't all you have. You have me." With that, the bronze femme turned, leaping away at a ground-eating sprint as the mech stared at the dust left in her wake.
A/N: Don't ask me where this twist came from...I don't know. I PLEAD INSANITY BY PLOT BUNNY!
...yes. My little shit-head plot bunnies were gnawing on what little of my brain cells are left last night. GOD I am so tired...my mind was rolling all night, thinking about this one. Ugh. DAMN YOU, PLOT BUNNIES FROM HELL!
Sigh. Sorry. My plot bunnies and I have a rather...uneasy truce. They broke the line first, I swear.
ANYWAY, I got a bunch of reviews in my inbox last night. I love all of you! And to my readers and followers and favoriters, ya'll fall into my 'favorite people' category. Ya'll rock!
As always, love if you will, hate if you must. I will take anything that you care to dispense.
Until we meet again...
Kani