CHAPTER 83
Warning: Explicit scene
"When is Dad coming home?"
She remembered it like it was yesterday. To be honest, even if her memories were ever erased, Glowstrike doubted that she could ever truly forget that night. She, sitting at the edge of the window, contemplating the city of Kaon lit by the low light. The temperatures had been rather mild. Heavenlight had taken the opportunity to settle down and draw the panorama of the City, starting with the first sketches.
Behind her, her guardian, Gasket, sat at a table, leaning on a pad. Turning her back on her, she couldn't see his expression.
The term "daddy" on her lips sounded like a soft lullaby, giving her a slight warmth within the spark. Each time, Heavenlight smiled.
She was smiling because, for the first time, she could look like the sparkling of her age. Because Wing had agreed to call her as such. Because for the first time, the very first time, she had someone she could present as her parent, her father.
For the very first time, she had a Dad. A family.
At this time, the fact that they hadn't been bonded hadn't bothered her. She had been an Insecticon and he had been a standard. It had been something they quickly left out. Wing had accepted her as his daughter. And even if they weren't bound by the spark, she knew he loved her.
And as he said himself, nothing else mattered. Nothing else mattered ... even if Heavenlight hoped it would be a little more present. Each year he returned and after a set period he left.
At this place ... The Crystal Cities. The name alone made her dream. Unable to hear Gasket's response, she stopped drawing.
"... I miss him," she said.
"… I miss him too" admitted Gasket. "And unfortunately, I cannot answer you precisely, my darling."
Heavenlight bowed her helm. In the past, she'd understood ... even if it gave her a twinge of spark. She'd understood that he had a job and couldn't always come back to Kaon every night.
"Dad has duties, huh?"
"Yes. But do not worry. He will be back. He always comes back, Heavenlight."
Of course…
At that time, she'd believed it.
"… Shall we go to where Wing is?" Heavenlight asked in a small voice. "At the Crystal Cities?"
"... I don't know," said Gasket, tone detached. "Maybe you, but not me."
"Why?"
"…Because I cannot."
He never explained to her. She hadn't learned it until much later. Heavenlight turned to face him and look at him.
Noticing that Gasket looked down, Heavenlight had tried to cheer him up.
"... Your Queen drew this. What do you say ? I started it. But when I'm done, you and Dad can hang it in your bedroom."
Gasket had only smiled. A very slight smile ... It disappointed the little firefly not to have had the expected effect. Let them laugh together and draw together all night.
She should have realized that he had been elsewhere that night. Gasket got up from his chair.
"… Heavenlight. Gasket has a thing to go."
"That late ?"
"I won't be long."
"I can come with you?"
"No ... Gasket ... needs to be alone for a few minutes."
A few minutes…Only…
"You're not going out, are you?"
The last time she had sneaked out without his consent, Gasket had been very angry. He'd even called her father to warn him that she was disobedient and capricious, and Dad had scolded her from a distance, even though Heavenlight had gotten used to it on the street before meeting them. The little firefly pouted at this unpleasant memory. But as much not to cause yet another conflict.
Anyway, tonight she wanted to stay drawing.
"Okay…"
"It won't be long. And when I come back, I'll tuck you in. Okay?"
Heavenlight had only nodded.
At that time, she had not been suspicious. Gasket often went outside for air and came back half an hour later.
"Thanks, Gasket."
"You're welcome, darling."
He had waved her with a little more affectionate smile before closing the door behind him.
Heavenlight had returned to her drawing, determined to finish the sketches before her father returned.
Then she'd looked up at the window.
It was then that she'd seen it. A shadow. In the dark sky.
At first ... she thought it was a satellite ... or an flier ...
But the shadow had got closer and got bigger and bigger ...
Heavenlight had narrowed her optics, never letting go of her sketchbook.
A ship… A purple ship ... heading for the apartment.
Heavenlight had risen. Then ... as it got closer, the ship had deployed cannons. Cannons for shooting.
The little firefly had sensed the danger. She had opened her mouth to shout, to call Gasket. And she remembered that Gasket had already left the apartment.
The gleam had appeared, emanating from the barrel pointed at it ...
"... Gasket ..."
A few seconds after the cannon had fired its first missile, Heavenlight had released her sketchbook. She'd felt thrown back, her head banging against the wall ...
She hadn't had time to scream in pain that, very quickly, the ceiling had already collapsed around her.
Darkness…
When she'd regained consciousness, Glowstrike had remembered first believing that she had lost her sight. She'd thought she had gone blind ... the darkness had imprisoned her, had suffocated her. The smell and taste only felt the ashes, the smell of fire that had reached her throat.
Heavenlight had coughed, unable to breathe as the fire seemed to burn it from the inside. Glowstrike also remembered a smell that she had smelled and that she hadn't known how to recognize.
Glowstrike had later understood what it was all about: a smell of energon from corpses that she hadn't been able to see but that had been next to her, bringing them together in collapse.
Then ... excruciating pain. When Glowstrike thought about the pain, she couldn't find words to describe it to Saberhorn. Pain that had invaded her whole body, probably caused by the crushing of the rubble.
Heavenlight had stood still for what it believed to be long hours.
She had tried to call, to speak ... but each time her words had been forgotten. Did she bleed profusely? Perhaps she had been pierced? Yes, but Heavenlight could not discern her own injuries.
Then, despite the suffering and torture, Heavenlight was able to free one of her paralyzed limbs from the metal debris. She didn't know where she had found that strength ... but she had been able to push an obstacle over her head.
Then ... she had regained her sight. The red sky. Black smoke rising to touch the clouds. Screams…
Heavenlight had let out painful groans. She had tried not to lose consciousness and to call for help.
Then, new cries. Intense cries of suffering ... As if someone else was being tortured ... somewhere near them.
A music… Music that Airachnid listened to during her big party evenings. The Empyrean Suite, she learned later.
Then she had heard a voice. A deep, warm and honeyed voice.
" …Please. I'm just asking you a simple question. Where's the traitor?"
Heavenlight had shivered. It had caused a new burst of pain in her body that could not move.
"So? Where's the traitor?" The voice had repeated.
A cry had answered him. It hadn't stopped the person from speaking.
"... Helex ... put him in your oven."
The scream had intensified, becoming more deafening ... before stopping suddenly.
"Where's the traitor?"
No answer, despite distant moans. Heavenlight hadn't observed anything from the scene. She had only been able to listen.
"... Tesarus ..."
Where's the traitor? The person had only repeated the same question.
"Vos..."
Where's the traitor?
"Kaon ..."
Where's the traitor?
Heavenlight had felt tears in her optics ... or maybe it had been energon?
"... Dig into the nooks and crannies. If you find a single survivor… extract them from the rubble and let them speak. Everyone who hides a traitor becomes one. And therefore, they will suffer the same fate. "
The same fate ...
Footsteps… Despite her age, despite being so stupid at the time, Heavenlight had understood. She'd understood what would happen to her if they found her.
At times like these, the survival instinct made us do strange things. Heavenlight's first reflex had been to close her optics. To pretend to be a corpse. To pretend to be dead ... killed in the explosion.
She had heard the steps coming closer ...
Heavenlight had prayed. She had prayed that nothing more would happen to her ... that Gasket would find her ... that her papa would find her ...
The steps were far away. Heavenlight had waited long minutes, motionless, dead.
Then she had dared. She had dared to reopen her optics.
Her optics had met red optics… behind a purple mask, representing the Decepticon symbol.
She had jumped ... she had trembled. Shooting a flashlight at her, the masked bot hadn't moved. He had watched her for minutes that had felt endless to her.
Heavenlight had hoped he hadn't noticed her ... but he had clearly noticed her. He had clearly seen that she was alive.
That look ... she would never forget it.
She'd thought she was going to die ... she really thought she was going to die ... He was going to pull her out of the rubble ... make her talk ... she didn't even know which traitor they were looking for.
They were going to torture her ... while she was already dying.
Then he had turned off the flashlight, before asking his comrades if they had found anyone.
" No one. No one else, "she had heard as they walked away.
Heavenlight had been able to resist the physical pain ... but she had not managed to endure the mental pain inflicted.
Without fighting more, she only let herself go unconscious ...
" …My dear…"
Glowstrike blinked. Saberhorn had moved closer to her, staring at her with concern.
The guilt was evident in his perspective ... He was angry with asking her to tell her story.
"... Glowstrike ... if you need to stop ...
"…No. I started. I finish."
Despite everything, she reached out to gently grab his servo. Like a reflex… a reflex to reassure herself.
Saberhorn never rejected her and gave her a hug as she continued.
There was no point in detailing this part ...
She had woken up on an table ... Pharma leaning over her. In addition to the terrible injuries, she had contracted an infection called Rust Fever. And Pharma had operated on it before it got out of hand.
She was alive ... but with something removed from her.
Something Pharma had taken from her body ...
"I heard you had no family. So, your feelings won't do much for you in wartime. "
These words. These few words, spoken with false compassion.
Heavenlight had cried all the tears in her body ... but Pharma had said they would disappear. That soon she would no longer cry.
She'd stayed for several long months in convalescence, in a clinic in Polyhex. In the company of Pharma. In the company of other wounded or sick who died the following days. To wonder if Pharma did not let them die voluntarily.
Heavenlight had asked to make a communication ... contact Gasket ... or his father. But Pharma had refused.
"Relatives are not allowed. And ... who would you have to call?"
My father ... my family ... I have a family, she thought.
What an idiot you were. But at that time, Heavenlight was only thinking of one thing: finding her loved ones.
After those long months, Heavenlight had left the clinic. Alone. She had started to feel the effects, to have her emotional box removed. Normally, she should have been terrorized, terrified, or at least a little relieved to have narrowly escaped death.
But Heavenlight hadn't felt anything. Absolutely nothing… If it weren't for a desire to see Pharma dead.
A thought that had passed and disappeared.
But it would come back later.
She had finally been able to fly. She had transformed and started to cross the city of Polyhex ... before collapsing, still being too weak to use her wings.
In the end, she had walked. For several days, she had walked to Kaon. To the neighborhoods where she had lived. Had she filled up her reserves during this trip? It was fuzzy. She didn't remember.
Probably hadn't mattered. When she finally got to Kaon, she could see her apartment burnt to ashes. The apartment where she had lived for a whole year. A roof over her head.
And people had walked by, as if it hadn't mattered. And Heavenlight had imitated them. She had walked past, more concerned with finding her loved ones.
She had first looked for Gasket. She wondered if he had called her father ... that Wing had returned to Cybertron earlier to look for her. Maybe Heavenlight was going to meet them.
But she had searched ... she had found no one. Instead, she had decided to return to her old slums.
She had arrived in the evening. She had found homeless people gathered around a fire. Like before. But there had been neither Gasket nor his father.
Heavenlight had approached the beggars to join them. In a small voice, she'd asked them:
"Where's Gasket? Where is my father?"
The beggars had turned to her. One of them had smiled at her.
"I think Gasket is at the Crystal Cities."
Heavenlight's face lit up.
"He's lucky. He got out of this hell. He will be able to lead a good life with his Conjunx" commented another.
"Can I join them?" Heavenlight had asked softly. "At the Crystal Cities?"
The beggars had watched her ... with that air of compassion mixed with a little pity.
"Well ... unfortunately, we don't go there like that. Gasket had family there, which is why he went there."
"It's difficult if you don't have a family there to help you."
But… I have a family, Heavenlight had thought.
Dad ... Gasket ... they're here ... they're waiting for me there. They had to worry.
She had only sat down. Her reserves had been low and one of the beggars had offered her energon.
"... I want to make a call ..." Heavenlight had asked.
She had gone around the buildings with the same question on her lips. Contact her father… contact Gasket…
"... I want to call my father ..."
Each time, the same speech. "You have no money, so get out. "
Or also "Insecticons are thieves. Don't come to my house."
Before knocking on the thirtieth house, she had crossed a familiar figure. A silhouette… .
A red cape… Sentinel.
"Here then."
Please, she had thought bitterly.
"It seems that people in the neighborhood complain because they are bothered by a vermin. I now see who they are talking about."
"You have nothing else to do?" only replied the firefly.
"Oh, sure. They're waiting for me. I am a very busy bot. Very important too. Unlike some."
Heavenlight had turned on her heels.
"Where is your father?" had questioned Sentinel.
"… At the Crystal Cities."
"And why are you not with him?"
Heavenlight had tried to lie, to say something. But she had remained silent.
"You don't have as much spread as the last time. Without your father to protect you ... or should I really call him that? Knowing that Wing has no children. Relations with the Circle of Light are frowned upon."
This is my father, Heavenlight had believed.
"Unless you lied. So that we pay attention to you. I wouldn't be surprised from an Insecticon vermin like you."
"It is my family. And I'm going to join them" Heavenlight had replied coldly.
"Are you sure you're your age? Looks like a psychopath, given the way you speak. A future criminal if you aren't already."
Heavenlight had moved away.
"If it was really your family" Sentinel had shouted. "It would have been a long time since they took you! If they didn't bother taking you with them ... then you're not worth much to them."
He was wrong, she'd believed. He was all wrong.
"Gasket said they would come back."
"Like all children abandoned by their so-called parents."
No. They were worried about her… they were looking for her right now.
She had waited ... She had ignored Sentinel and had waited.
For days ... that'd turned into weeks. In the slum, as if back to her starting point ... waiting for her father to come back.
Every day, she had gone to the place where the remains of their old apartment lived. She often stayed there for an hour or two, looking for things. Things that she would have lost and that would not have been destroyed.
Seeing the ruins, Heavenlight had felt nothing. Once again, she had only thought of acting. Instead of trying to communicate, she would go directly to the Crystal Cities.
How? She hadn't known. But she was going to join her father.
She had repelled debris and had been able to extract her sketchbook from it.
It was a little split ... but it had withstood the collapse.
"You lived there ..."
She had turned to meet her.
She ... this tall, splendid, majestic Insecticon in bee mode, standing straight, servos folded, red optics staring at her with sympathy.
Not condescension… but only sympathy. Heavenlight had thought she had been straight out of a mythical tale. She had a special aura ... an important person, but not the importance that Sentinel claimed.
No ... something sacred in her. Heavenlight had let her approach, impressed.
"… Where are your parents, my child?" the Insecticon had asked.
Heavenlight had answered her rather easily.
"… At the Crystal Cities."
"Why ? Why are they there? While you are there?"
"…I do not know…"
She would have liked to have the words. The bee had held out her servo to her.
"…Come. I'll take you there."
Saberhorn had known her. Her name. Angelgold.
A beautiful name for a beautiful person ... Because Angelgold had been a beautiful person, collecting Heavenlight and taking her to the Crystal Cities without asking questions.
To believe that there were still beautiful people in this world ...
She'd had a ship. A vessel of her own. But Angelgold corrected it by saying that this ship belonged to the Insecticons who needed it. She hadn't understood what it meant ... she hadn't cared.
She had only thought of finding her father ... asking them for explanations ... She and Angelgold had bonded during this trip, talking about their respective lives. Angelgold had suffered from war before retiring to a place called Earth. Where she had founded a Sanctuary for all those who wanted a place of peace.
But Angelgold hadn't tried to give her dreams. Her place had been with her father, her family. Heavenlight had repeated it over and over. Until they get to the Crystal Cities.
She and Angelgold had searched for the base. The base of the Circle of Light. A name. Wing.
Angelgold hadn't let go of her servo.
Then the words had come to the Circle of Light that they had been looking for. And after two days of searching, someone had approached them.
A red bot ... wearing a mask.
Heavenlight couldn't help but think of the one she had met the night the apartment had collapsed.
"Hello," Angelgold had told him. "We are looking for Wing…"
"What do you want with him, you Insecticons? By what right do you come to the Crystal Cities?"
Angelgold had replied calmly.
"She's looking for her father. Wing. I was told he was here."
"Wing has no children."
Heavenlight had stiffened in spite of herself.
"I'm Heavenlight!" she had almost shouted. "Wing ... he's my father! Didn't he tell you about me?"
"Sheesh. If he had a daughter, we would have known it long ago. And then ... we have limits. A standard would not accept an Insecticon. Even Wing."
She hadn't dreamed ...
Wing had raised her ... along with Gasket ...
"Gasket, then! He knows me! He will talk about me!" Heavenlight had cried out.
"Gasket is a criminal. He is no longer welcome at the Crystal Cities."
"But ... I was told that he came here."
"He left as quickly. Dai Atlas does not want his presence here. Me neither. He's a heretic."
Heavenlight had felt her limbs tremble.
He had sworn ... he had sworn he wouldn't give up on him. He would come back for her. It was his daughter ...
" ... I am his daughter."
"If you mattered so much for Wing, I think he would have already begged Dai Atlas to bring you back here."
But…
"I know what you're looking for. You want to put orphans in our pedes. So that we can take care of it. But sorry for you! The Circle of Light is not a charity association. We protect the Crystal Cities. We don't take care of damn pups. Even less vermin!"
Heavenlight ... hadn't felt hurt.
But somewhere she had felt it. Her spark had screamed. It had cried out in pain ... and even if Heavenlight had not shed tears, now unable to shed ... she had felt her own sparkle sobbing in her frame.
Perhaps she had realized ... that her father had broken her promise. That he, Gasket, everyone she believed in ... had abandoned her when she needed them most.
It was the worst pain for a child to learn that his parents did not like them.
But Heavenlight ...hadn't made a wave. Before, she probably would have sobbed holding on to what she could.
Instead, Angelgold had waited for the bot to move away after yet another warning to go home to turn to the little firefly.
"... We should ... go back to the ship, my child."
"…Yes. We should" she had only articulated in a low voice.
Angelgold had taken her servo, guiding her through the Cities. Heavenlight had let herself be led, without looking at her, her optics fixing the ground.
"... I got you" had whispered Angelgold. "I will take care of you."
During the whole trip, she had only thought of her father. Well, rather ... the one she had considered her father.
Heavenlight ... had spent the entire trip from the Crystal Cities to Earth wondering if she should contact him or not.
If she had to give him a chance ... if it wasn't a misunderstanding.
Like all children abandoned by their so-called parents.
But ... Gasket had promised to come back. He went out for some fresh air ... and had never come back. And he hadn't been there when the apartment collapsed.
Upon arriving on Earth, Heavenlight hadn't stopped thinking about her relative until Angelgold had shown her the territory.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?"
Heavenlight would have been amazed ... Even if it had given her a slight warmth at the spark of seeing these landscapes, these magnificent mountains, this ocean of so pure blue ...
The air ... had felt so pure, next to Cybertron.
In the distance… the Sanctuary. Where other Cybertronians had worked.
"Everyone is welcome here," Angelgold reassured her. "Insecticon, standard, anibot ... You can stay, if you wish."
"…I do not know."
She had wanted her father ... She had wanted Wing…
But ... if she had meant so much to Wing ... as he claimed ...
"... Why did he abandon me?" had asked Heavenlight.
Angelgold ... had seemed embarrassed. But Heavenlight had failed to connect with her emotions and understand why she would be.
"... He had perhaps good reasons" had only said Angelgold.
"But he didn't come back."
Angelgold had gone silent. Heavenlight had shifted her gaze to the ocean.
"… I will surely stay."
"Maybe… make a new start?" Angelgold had suggested to her.
"A new start?"
"I suggest to everyone who comes if they want to keep their name. Many are fugitives who fled the war. In case they are found ..."
Heavenlight had closed her optics.
She hadn't hesitated. What is the point of keeping a name that brought only misfortune?
Make a fresh start ... maybe that was what she had to do.
"... I want to change my name."
Then Angelgold had given her the name she would carry from now on.
Over the years, Glowstrike had seen things change and evolve around her.
Even though the beginnings had been difficult, even though in one part of her had laid the hope that her father had never abandoned her, that there was an explanation somewhere, Glowstrike had gotten used to her news life.
Angelgold had become like a guide figure for her, a mentor, a master. She had given her a roof, she had given her some energon. And most of all, she had offered her a job as an assistant.
Not a servant. An assistant. She had assisted her in her administrative work, in the grievances of the inhabitants and Angelgold, for her part, had taught her the role of a Queen.
A Queen ... a position that made Glowstrike dream. This so precious, so sacred role within the Sanctuary… not claimed by one faction or another.
They were only inhabitants of the Sanctuary here. There was obviously a majority of Decepticon inhabitants. But that hadn't counted as much here.
At least… not at the beginning. Glowstrike learned a lot. Angelgold had fallen in love with her. And as she had spent time with her, Glowstrike had only one desire: to ask her a question.
Only one. Why waste your time with me?
She had no emotions. She was just doing her job. And the more she worked, the more she dreamed of all those people who had ruined her life.
Her life ... when she had been so young. So carefree.
Tarn… Pharma… Sentinel… Gasket…
Wing…
She often dreamed of it ... of this revenge ... of these revenges.
"Revenge won't solve anything," Angelgold had told her.
You don't know anything, Glowstrike had thought.
"It is a chain of responsibilities. One culprit was necessarily begotten by another. It would be an endless cycle, even for you, "said the bee sadly.
Why not?
"Why does it matter ... if it has no end?" Replied Glowstrike.
"And would that make you happy?" Really?"
Happy ...
No. She was no longer entitled to it. She no longer had access to it.
As her experience progressed, Angelgold had promoted her as her Second.
It was successful here. The locals lacked nothing. They were not lacking in energon, they had worked together, conflicts were rare ... but nothing that the Queen could not help solving.
And being Second ... it was pretty good.
Despite everything ... she hadn't forgotten her father. Part of her still thought of him. And she was mad at herself.
She was mad at herself for thinking of someone who didn't deserve it.
"… You have to stop thinking about them," Angelgold had advised her.
Glowstrike had turned back to her.
"Who?" she had asked calmly.
"Tarn, Pharma ... to those people who are not worth spending time on."
The firefly had frowned, not having liked her words.
"They're not worth focusing on them. But in the meantime, they are the ones who caused all this misery."
"Pharma is dead" had replied Angelgold. "Tarn and the rest of the DJD too. It's no longer worth seeking revenge."
But it was not enough. Not for her.
"Do you know how they died?"
"I do not care. They must have died quickly. Cowards always die quickly."
"Glowstrike, stop."
Glowstrike had not loosened her jaw.
"What about Sentinel? Gasket? Wing? Do I forget them too? I say it doesn't matter and I move on?"
"Wing was your father!"
"He wasn't my father!" had spat Glowstrike. "Otherwise, he would not have abandoned me."
Angelgold had straightened up, taking the Queen's tone she usually used towards her subjects.
"He raised you for a while. You are not going to tell me that you wish him dead."
"And if it's the case?"
"Stop it, Glowstrike! You are not cruel enough to want to kill your father."
"I have no emotion! I have to be cruel to compensate."
"It's not the Glowstrike I know."
Yes, she knew her. But that didn't mean she had to hide her face.
Glowstrike had turned on her heels to leave the room.
"Glowstrike… It's time you stop thinking about Wing" had said Angelgold, the most seriously in the world.
She had paused.
"Stop thinking about your old parent and think about the one you have now."
Her spark crying inside of her.
Outside, Glowstrike had only felt a deep weariness.
"... You are not my parent."
Angelgold had taken her in. She had taken care of her.
"Don't even dare claim yourself as such."
But there was no question of having another who claimed to be her parent. It hurt too much.
She knew she had broken Angelgold's spark by doing so. By rejecting her. But Glowstrike hadn't wanted her. She hadn't wanted Angelgold to believe that they were close enough to consider themselves mother and daughter.
Glowstrike had left the room, leaving the Queen alone.
The saddest part of it all…
The saddest part was that it was their last exchange. Their only and last exchange. Glowstrike who'd rejected Angelgold and left her to fate.
The next day, chaos had descended on the Sanctuary. Their Sanctuary.
A chaos called Airachnid.
She had claimed to be a fugitive victim of unnamed discrimination on Cybertron. And Angelgold had acted in the same way as with all the other residents seeking asylum. She had welcomed her. She had offered her a roof, a job.
And that had not been enough for Airachnid.
Glowstrike had wished she could go back in time. Warn Angelgold before Airachnid arrives ... or even kill Airachnid herself before she sowed destruction in this peaceful place.
"Angelgold is dead."
She had declared while revealing the body of Angelgold at the foot of the throne.
"I am your new sovereign."
Glowstrike ... hadn't reacted. She had done well. Another had screamed in rage and rushed to kill her. Her hand bot, Hardshell, had cut off his head. It had been enough for everyone to bow.
Glowstrike too, had bowed. But by spitting the ground discreetly enough. By her side, Saberhorn had noticed it but had said nothing.
Though Airachnid had already noticed her before she knew.
"Since you were the Second of this vermin, you will be mine," she had decreed.
Glowstrike had got up when Airachnid gave her permission.
"I hear you don't feel anything?"
You wouldn't like to know how I feel, if I could ...
"Maybe I should check how far would you be able to endure?"
In her spark, Glowstrike had not given up on revenge.
But to avenge Angelgold, she would start with this spider.
It wasn't even a promise ... it was an oath. Not to a parent.
But ... Towards the Queen whom she had served.
The one and only Queen.
"We captured the one from the Circle of Light," had snickered Garboil.
Glowstrike had been present when Gasket had been taken away.
Apparently, he hadn't changed ... She had observed the green bot being thrown to the ground. Airachnid had advanced towards him before bending down to grab his chin.
"Where are my artifacts?"
Gasket had spit in her face. Hardshell had slapped him on the cheek, throwing him to the ground.
For a moment Glowstrike had twitched. And when Tarantulas had lifted him to take him to the scaffold, she'd felt, for the first time in a long time, something resembling pain.
Despite herself ... something in her spark was telling her to stop it. Not to let the torture happen and continue.
Something ... looking like guilt.
Despite the events, he'd still raised her. She. In the absence of her father ...
She dreamed of knowing more. To ask him where Wing was. Why he left her. Why he abandoned the one he called his daughter.
Tarantulas had rammed the first nail.
Stop…
But Glowstrike had not reacted. She hadn't reacted ... because it would reveal her.
This would reveal her connection to the Circle of Light, to the enemies they were facing today.
This would reveal the fact that she, an Insecticon, had frequented standards. And she would be seen as a traitor.
There would be no way for her to avenge Angelgold and retake the Sanctuary.
So Glowstrike had remained silent, watching Gasket endure the pain, the ordeal, while Airachnid had continued to ask him where the artifacts were.
She was no longer affiliated with members of the Circle of Light ... And she noticed the expression of Undertone, the Minicon assisting Tarantulas.
Despite his mask, she could read it. He was a born Autobot. Surely he would do something to free Gasket if he did not die immediately.
And it probably would happen, because Airachnid wouldn't let him die until he got the answer she was looking for.
She could denounce him to the Queen before. But once again, she had chosen not to react to this possibility.
Prisoners could flee. Mistakes were coming, after all.
When her story was finished, Glowstrike added nothing more.
"... Glowstrike."
She remained silent, staring straight ahead.
She didn't know ... what else to say. Saberhorn had wrapped his arms around her shoulderplates, calling her name, seeking a reaction from her.
Glowstrike sought a reaction, analyzed her own body. She felt ... almost free of weight.
Almost ... relieved. She had never been able to tell anyone about her past.
Talk about it ... Even if all these memories had happened long ago, centuries, millennia ago ... she could never have shared them with another person.
She only let out a deep sigh. Then she took a deep breath. Ironically, the same way Wing had taught her when she was Heavenlight.
To believe that she would never forget it completely ...
"... You wanted my story," she said after a while. "Now you know it."
"... I ... I have no word."
"I told you it wasn't a happy story to tell."
She could finally look at Saberhorn.
Despite his frown, his expression smiled. But it was not a delighted or comforting smile as she knew it. It was a bruised smile, tinged with bitterness.
"... There are so many things I would like to say ... but I don't know what to make of it, right now."
"I was just unlucky in my youth" sighed Glowstrike. "It happens to everyone. Monsters are born this way."
But Saberhorn did not seem to believe her.
After a silence, he finally shook his helm.
"... Glowstrike" he said in a soft voice.
"Hm?"
"I think ... there are two problems with your judgment. Two things that I don't agree with. Would you accept the objective advice of a lawless pirate?"
Glowstrike let him speak.
"Even if it's hard to believe ... You are not a monster."
"It's because you're blind."
"Not in the literal sense. And ... the second thing ..."
He hesitated, as if searching for words.
"... I think Wing didn't abandon you. Nor Gasket. To me ... it makes no sense."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because I met Wing. He saved me. He saved me when Arkus collapsed, when I almost killed him. He and the other inhabitants. He saved me when I was his enemy."
Glowstrike closed her optics.
"He would not have saved a person he hates, to abandon a person he loves."
"I'm not his daughter."
"You are, Glowstrike. You always will be. And he will always be your father. Otherwise, you would have tried to look for another parental figure."
As Angelgold had tried to perceive her as her daughter.
She felt Saberhorn's digits gently caress her right shoulderplate. Glowstrike let him hug her and even returned it, resting her helm on his shoulderplate as he hugged her.
He seemed genuinely upset by what she had told him.
"…You know."
"Hm?"
"... I love Glowstrike. I love her with all my spark, from the first day I met her. I never dared to tell her my feelings frankly. But…"
He paused before smiling.
"... I think I love Heavenlight even more. And ... I think this name suits you."
Glowstrike bit her lip.
She had to be angry ... she had to push him away, to believe such a thing.
Instead, Glowstrike grabbed his face in both servos to draw him to her. She laid her lips gently on his and Saberhorn kissed her back gladly, keeping her arms around her, as if they were a protection from the world.
It ... felt good. She felt her mind become a little lighter as the beetle caressed her cheek with the tip of his thumb as they deepened the kiss. Glowstrike kept her optics closed as she wrapped her arms around his neck, before her servos went down to his wings to caress them. She slipped a tip of the glossa to tickle the pirate's lips, albeit with a little hesitation.
Unhurriedly, Saberhorn parted his mouth to greet her. Their glossas then brushed against each other before meeting and mixing in a gentle dance.
"Hmmm… haaah…"
For a few minutes, Glowstrike and Saberhorn did not separate, staying in each other's arms.
Then, when they were out of breath, they broke the kiss before looking at each other. Saberhorn gave her a tender smile and Glowstrike leaned over to initiate another.
When Glowstrike put her servos on his wings, she realized that they wriggled a bit. She smiled slightly through the kiss and in one movement, she pushed Saberhorn onto the berthh, placing herself on him as she kissed him more.
Without stopping, she gently placed a knee between his thighs as their lips parted for Glowstrike to kiss him on the neck. Saberhorn let out a slight moan as the firefly chewed on the cables, her servos making long back and forth movements on his chassis as she descended lower and lower on his chest, towards his lower abdomen.
"Haaah ... Glowstrike ..."
Glowstrike kept on what she was doing. She put her servo on his crotch, stroking it shyly while Saberhorn took her chin to kiss her again. She began to massage his crotch more insistently, inviting him to open for her.
Glowstrike broke the kiss, stopping immediately.
"…What's the matter?" asked Saberhorn, never ceasing to smile.
The firefly didn't really know what made her stop.
Maybe it was because she was not used to ... She was not used to leading something, even though she was the Second ... even if she wanted to become the Queen of the Sanctuary ...
But here ... it felt different. Saberhorn seemed to understand her and without a word kissed her on her red lips in a more chaste kiss.
"... Do you allow me ... to lead the dance, my dear?"
Glowstrike silently allowed.
They kissed a little more passionately, more intensely than all the previous times. Their breaths mixed and Saberhorn took the opportunity to gently tilt it back, never letting go. In his turn, he broke the kiss and went down to leave her a trail of little kisses all over her body.
Glowstrike kept her optics closed, but her mouth remained ajar without her realizing it.
Saberhorn was used to it. He knew what he was doing and she trusted him. He stopped at her chassis and began to kiss her breasts shyly, before finally letting his tongue tickle the chest. Glowstrike remained in the same position, inviting him to continue. Saberhorn smiled and grabbed a breast in his mouth, licking it with appetite.
Glowstrike began to moan.
She hadn't moaned the first time. It was ... different. It awakened senses ... other senses. Even without an emotional box.
"Haaah ... Haaah ..."
It seemed to please Saberhorn who continued to lick the breast. After a final lick, he went lower and lower and gently massaged the inside of her thighs, before gently spreading her legs. Without hesitation, Glowstrike opened. And Saberhorn approached his face, satisfying her with his mouth and glossa.
"Haaah ... Haaah ... Sa ... Sa ..."
Saberhorn did not stop. He knew what made him happy ... and he would continue ...
He would continue ... Glowstrike bit her lip, feeling all of her limbs tremble.
It was ... it was ...
She didn't feel ... she didn't feel...
"Hmmm ... Hmmm ..."
Saberhorn withdrew his helm. Glowstrike uttered new groans, Reflexively, she turned to place herself on her stomach. This was the position the Insecticons used for the interface.
But Saberhorn stopped her and turned her over to face him.
"…I want to see you. I want to watch you."
Glowstrike kissed him again. Through the kisses, Glowstrike tickled Saberhorn's crotch so that he too opened. And while their glossas still met, she insisted on massaging his cable, feeling that it was already lubricated.
He had dreamed about this for a long time ... Maybe she as well, without realizing it.
The two came closer ... And Glowstrike couldn't suppress a cry of pleasure when Saberhorn penetrated her.
All these sensations ... all these senses ...
Saberhorn remained still for a moment, letting her get used to it, before making slowly back and forth movements.
It was not real ...
"... I feel ..." articulated Glowstrike, her breathing becoming jerky.
It was not real ...
"I feel ... I feel ..." she repeated.
It was real.
Glowstrike felt it.
And as Saberhorn continued, burying his face in her shoulderplate, Glowstrike ended up opening her own frame, revealing her spark.
Saberhorn stopped for a few seconds. Glowstrike looked at him tenderly that she didn't even try to pretend or hide.
She wanted him. She knew how she felt.
Again, Saberhorn's smile lit up his face. And he opened his chassis in turn, the two sparks ready to connect.
It was real.
She felt.
