AN: #46 finally drops after 5+ years, Megatron DIES, and no one left a review? I even let it sit for a month, hoping someone would say something, but I get nothing. ;-; I'm a little disheartened... but I suppose I shouldn't have expected much. I mean, it has been 5+ years since I updated the original story. I feel like I might have just mucked things up and made everyone give up on me... But I'm going to finish what I started, no matter what happens or how long it takes me. This fic WILL be completed!
#47 - Risks Worth Taking
Being completely exhausted from the day's events, Terrorsaur fell into recharge almost immediately. Starfeather, who elected not to return to the Maximal base with Rhinox and the others, laid wide awake beside him. His arm was draped around her and their fingers were intertwined. He snored in his sleep, but that wasn't what kept the transmetal raven awake. She was gripped with the fear that if she were to offline her optics, she would awaken to a sparkless shell lying beside her.
She rested her head on his chest and listened to his spark beating beneath his armor. It was a reassuring sound, but she knew that it wasn't pulsing quite right. She could detect a slight arrhythmia, similar to a human who had issues with a heart murmur. Moonscope had said that only time would tell if Terrorsaur's spark would heal or if he would ultimately expire from this injury…
Starfeather cringed at the thought, gritting her dental plates. This would make it the second time that he had almost died. The odds were certainly stacked against him at this point. He had complained that he was still in pain as he was assisted to his old quarters and she was still aware of his pain. She felt it in her spark as if it were her own. She hoped beyond hope that he would fully heal.
Try as she might, her body eventually succumbed to the stress she had endured and she drifted off into recharge.
-x-
Late the next morning, Starfeather awoke to the sensation of gentle kisses on the back of her hand. She felt as though she had dozed off and not slept deeply. She looked to see Terrorsaur held her hand to his lips, fiery optics dimmed. She smiled at him and moved her to his cheek. He brightened his optics and gazed back at her.
"How are you feeling?" she asked, softly stroking his cheek.
"My chest still hurts," he answered, grimacing as he shifted slightly and hoisted her upwards so that her face was closer to his. "Almost feels like I still have a knife in me."
"Is there anything at all that I can do?" She frowned and moved her hand from his cheek to rest it on his chest, tenderly rubbing the area. She felt ridiculous for asking, knowing full well that there was nothing she could do to take his pain away. It had taken almost everything that she had to keep herself from suffering in pain with him.
Terrorsaur also knew what Moonscope had said about the possibility of his spark being able to heal or not. He couldn't deny the fact he was scared that he might not make it even now, but if he had made it this long, perhaps he was strong enough to pull through. Then, he had an idea. A completely and utterly stupid and risky idea that he believed was just crazy enough to work.
"Star," he began and placed a hand over hers on his chest. "Would you… spark with me?"
"What?" She stared at him, confused.
"Spark with me, like we did the night we bonded," he explained and watched her expression become even more confused.
"What good would that do?" she asked. "I'm pretty sure our bond isn't broken."
"I think combining our energies would help me," he continued. "Think about it. We're bonded, so we share each other's strengths and weaknesses on all levels. You may be the reason that I'm still alive right now."
"I suppose…" She bit her lower lip in thought. What he was saying made sense.
"There's just one problem," he said and looked away from her. "If we do this, there's a possibility that you… we'll make a new spark."
"A 'new spark'? You mean, I could end up pregnant?" She sat up straight and gaped at him. "This isn't exactly what I had in mind when I imagined eventually planning a family. And I thought you didn't want to think about kids for a while."
"I know, but listen," he said and eased himself into a sitting position. "I think as long as we don't stay connected longer than twenty seconds or so, it'll be fine. That should be long enough for me to absorb some of your healing energy, but short enough that our sparks won't fuze and create a new spark."
"Are you sure?" she asked, narrowing her optics. "Maybe we should talk to Moonscope first and see what she thinks. What if it doesn't work and I end up hurting you more than you are now? What if I kill you?"
"I've never heard of anyone dying from sparking before," he snorted, almost laughing. She glared at him, not finding anything about this conversation funny. He sighed, not wanting to upset her any more than she already was. "Look, it was just an idea. If you really don't want to, I won't force you. I just thought that maybe it would help."
Starfeather pursed her lips, having crossed her arms over her chest. She wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea, but at the same time, she wanted to help Terrorsaur take away his pain. She was wary at the thought of possibly carrying a sparkling if they were to do this. It wasn't like she hadn't thought about having children with Terrorsaur, but as far as she could remember when they had talked about it, he sounded as if he didn't want any just yet. Which made sense. She wasn't exactly fond of the idea of having a sparkling where they were at now. They had limited resources and, with the exception of Snowbelle, there weren't any other children around to socialize with.
Still, whether she was to get pregnant or not, Terrorsaur seemed to believe that doing this would help and she wanted nothing more than to help him. She took in a long breath and exhaled.
"Let's do it," she said. He glanced at her.
"You sure?" he asked.
"I'm sure," she replied with a nod. "If it will help you heal, I'm willing to take a few risks."
"Alright, if you're sure," he said and took her hands. "Come here."
Terrorsaur adjusted his legs so that he was sitting indian style and Starfeather crawled into his lap, straddling him. She put her hands on his shoulders and he rested his on her hips. When he opened his spark chamber, she glanced down at it. She could clearly see where the blade had struck him. The tear looked like a bolt of lightning attempting to rip the pulsing orb in two.
She looked up into his optics, opening her own spark chamber and letting down the filters that she had made to partially block their link. Her face began to distort as the pain came rushing back and she audibly gasped, grabbing at her chest. He reached up and took her hand, guiding it back to his shoulder. He leaned forward, touching his forehead to hers and bringing their chests together.
"Ready?" he rasped.
"Mhm," she muttered, trying to keep from crying out in pain.
He tilted his head and pressed his lips against hers as their sparks came together. Her body went rigid as their sparks become one, the full brunt of his pain almost overwhelming her. She dug her fingers into his shoulders and loudly whimpered into the kiss. He wrapped his arms around her, stroking her back soothingly.
How can you tolerate this? she asked.
Trust me, it's not easy, he replied. But… I think it's working.
He was right. The pain was beginning to fade away. He deepened the kiss as their bond became filled with nothing but pleasurable sensations. His grip around her tightened and he leaned into her more, intensifying the feeling.
As much as they were enjoying each other, they knew that they couldn't risk staying connected for much longer. They began counting together.
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2…
Reluctantly, they pulled apart. Starfeather gasped as her spark disconnected with an electrical snap and sank back into her chamber. Her breathing was heavy as she closed her chamber. She glanced once again at Terrorsaur's spark and noticed that the tear was significantly smaller. Now, it was nothing more than a tiny speck defacing the surface of his spark. The sensation she felt from him also was no more uncomfortable than a twinge in the circuits.
"It worked," she whispered breathlessly.
"I told you," he said, his gravelly voice low. Suddenly, he lpushed her down and pinned himself on top of her in a smooth motion. His optics burned with desire, his appetite having been wetted by joining sparks. He wanted more. "Now, I want to celebrate my victory of becoming the leader of the Predacons properly."
"Feeling better not even five minutes and you already want to fuck?" she said, trying her best to seem unimpressed, but she couldn't hold back a smirk. He was such a horndog. As much as it annoyed her sometimes, she did love it.
"Shut up and let me destroy your port," he husked, reaching down to remove their plating.
"So much for foreplay." She rolled her optics, but helped him take off the impeding armor plates. This certainly wasn't their first time interfacing, as he had told her it was called. Their first time had been the night after they had become bondmates. She remembered that night fondly.
They didn't leave the room for another couple of hours.
-x-
Moonscope was amazed at how much Terrorsaur's spark had healed since the night before. She wasn't ready to give him a clean bill of health just yet, but her prognosis for him was much better than it had been. She did, however, clear him to be able to meet with Optimus and formerly discuss terms for a truce. It was agreed that both factions would meet in the Maximal base.
The Axalon was originally meant to house a small colony of 'bots, but the unused rooms were left to gather dust. Until today. There was a large conference room that had enough space for everyone to gather around one table and talk. All of the Maximals and all of the Predacons filed into the conference room, a few muttering amongst themselves as they chose their seats.
Optimus took a seat at the middle of the table on one side and Terrorsaur sat directly across from him. Starfeather sat beside him on his left and Scorponok seated himself to his right. Inferno stood at attention directly behind Terrorsaur's chair, refusing to be too far away from his new 'Queen'. Rhinox sat on Optimus' right and Rattrap to his left. Snowbelle, who absolutely refused to wait in her father's room, was perched happily in his lap. Despite being told that this meeting was for grownups and would be too boring for her, she insisted on coming so that she could see Starfeather again. The young femme smiled and gave a tiny wave at Starfeather. The raven returned the smile and waved back.
When the rest of the Maximals and Predacons were seated, Optimus raised a hand to signify to everyone to be quiet.
"If there are no objections," the Maximal leader began. "I would appreciate if we could get this meeting started."
"Sorry to kick things off like this, but I have an objection," Terrorsaur said. Having the Maximals' attention, he made a show of looking around at all of the faces. "We're missing someone… Where's Rampage?"
"He won't be joining us," Optimus replied, keeping his voice neutral.
"In that case, I don't see a point in having this meeting." Terrorsaur then stood abruptly.
"Terrorsaur!" Starfeather scolded, but he brushed her off. She huffed approvingly.
"Protoform X is too dangerous to be allowed among civilized 'bots," Optimus stated. He didn't know what game Terrorsaur was trying to play, but he didn't want to play along.
"I agreed for us all to come here under the premise that everyone would have the chance to participate," he said, bracing his hands on the table and staring challengingly into Optimus' optics. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the old Autobot mantra was, "freedom is the right of all sentient beings". Do the Maximals not prescribe to this idea?"
Optimus glared at Terrorsaur, knowing he was right, but not wanting to concede his position on the matter.
"Let Rampage attend or we go right back to trying to kill each other."
As the new Predacon leader, Terrorsaur wanted to assert himself and make it clear that he would not allow himself to be pushed around. He was not Megatron, he was his own mech with his own vision for this band of Predacon renegades. He wanted to see how much he could take from the Maximals before he had to start giving.
Optimus sighed. As much as he wanted to keep Rampage locked away, he would ultimately rather make a sacrifice or two in order to keep the peace than risk the fighting start once again. He called Terrorsaur's bluff and had Cheetor go and fetch the crustacean from the brig.
It didn't take long for the transmetal cheetah to return with Rampage following right behind him. Without a word, the large mech stood beside Inferno. Terrorsaur nodded a greeting to him before retaking his seat.
"Good. Now, we can begin," he stated, satisfied.
"Alright," Optimus said, in less of a positive mood than before. He hoped that he hadn't just been played.
"Geez," Rattrap muttered. "Banana beak might be worse than Megatron."
The meeting progressed decently from that point onward. Optimus, Rhinox, Terrorsaur, and Scorponok did a majority of the talking while the rest of the attendees acted more or less as witnesses, some interjecting their own thoughts on occasion. They discussed the distribution of resources, territories, and living arrangements. It was agreed that all would take residence in the Axalon, seeing as there was more than enough space and for the sake of convenience of all working together under one roof. All resources and equipment would be transferred from the Darkside.
It seemed as though Terrorsaur was conceding a lot to the Maximals, but he had a plan in mind. He wanted to let the Maximals feel as though they were getting the best end of the deal, but ask for large favors in return later on.
So far, as things stood, the Predacons could have their own rooms and private spaces and were allowed equal access to rations and medical and maintenance equipment. Under general circumstances, both leaders could act independently of each other, but would work together when scheduling routine duties while maintaining sole authority over their respective faction members. Meaning for example that Optimus couldn't order Quickstrike to do something unless Terrorsaur authorized it. That was generally speaking, however. In an emergency situation such as the aliens making another attack, members from both parties were expected to take orders from either leader in a given situation.
Those who had originated from stasis pods were given the option to choose whether they wished to stay as a Predacon or not. By this point, most had built up a level of respect for Terrorsaur and anticipation for him to follow through with his promises while a few were just along for the ride or in it for themselves. Waspinator opted to return to the Predacons, wanting to support his brother.
"You're including Rampage when you say all those who came from stasis pods, yes?" Terrorsaur said, glancing back at the large mech behind him, who had stood still and quiet throughout the entire meeting, before returning his gaze to the Maximal leader.
"Absolutely not," Optimus stated, doing his best to keep his voice even. "I don't know what you think you're trying to pull, Terrorsaur, but Protoform X is extremely volatile. Anything he may have pledged to you while he was under Megatron's control was all so that he could regain control of his spark."
"I know," Terrorsaur replied. "What do you think it was that I promised him in return if I defeated Megatron?"
"You can't seriously want to return his spark fragment. It's our only means of keeping him under control," Rhinox scoffed, leaning over the table and pointing accusingly at Rampage. "Do you have any idea what he's capable of when left to his own devices?"
"Rhinox, please." Optimus placed a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to calm him. Rhinox sighed heavily and sat back in his seat, muttering an apology.
"If you're referring to the colony that he single handedly slaughtered, I'm aware," Terrorsaur replied flatly.
"With that knowledge, how could you agree to return his spark?" Optimus asked. "What would stop him from killing us all then?"
To be entirely honest, Terrorsaur didn't have an answer. Perhaps he was foolish in believing that Rampage wouldn't harm them once he returned his spark fragment to him. Then, Rampage spoke up for himself.
"My words may hold no meaning for you, Primal, but I pledged myself to Terrorsaur's cause the day that Transmutate was taken from me," the crab said. "If it is safety you desire for yourself and your men, then you shall have it. If you do not trust my word, then trust Terrorsaur's."
Optimus did not, in fact, trust anything that Rampage said. He also didn't entirely trust Terrorsaur, but he supposed that if this truce was going to work, he would be forced to put some faith in the new Predacon leader. Terrorsaur had spent a good bit of time with the Maximals and seemed to have learned and grown quite a bit. There was also the factor of Starfeather. She had certainly been a good influence on him and encouraged him to do better.
With much begrudgement, Optimus agreed to hand over the other half of Rampage's spark.
"Alright, I'll give you the spark fragment," he said, then added darkly. "But if Protoform X betrays us, the full price of his crimes will fall on your head."
"I understand." Terrorsaur nodded. Rampage's little speech surprised him. Perhaps things would all work out after all.
With that, the meeting was wrapped up and adjourned. For today, the Predacons would return to the Darkside to make preparations for moving available supplies to the Axalon tomorrow. Before they left, Optimus reluctantly handed over the box containing the other half of Rampage's spark to Terrorsaur. Snowbelle watched from her place beside her father, optics wide. She didn't completely understand what was happening, but her father's behavior made her anxious.
"All I ask at this point is that you don't give this to him until you've returned to your base," the Maximal leader requested.
"Of course," Terrorsaur said, carefully taking the box and storing it in his subspace.
As the Predacons departed, Dinobot was left with more questions than he had answers for. With this truce in order, logically speaking, it didn't seem to matter whether one called themselves a Maximal or a Predacon. Still, it mattered very much to him. He had left Megatron and stayed with the Maximals for many reasons. Now, with Terrorsaur successfully taking command of the Predacons, most of his reasons seemed invalidated.
Back on Cybertron, he couldn't exactly say that he and the red mech had been friends. They had briefly attended the same class for fencing and sword arts, but Terrorsaur had never finished. They didn't see one another again until they met through Megatron. Dinobot hadn't thought much of Terrorsaur then. He was definitely a skilled pilot and a good shot, but he was a bit dim and his ambitions had no real direction.
It seemed that the two of them had grown and learned immensely from this whole ordeal. Perhaps it was time for him to bid the Maximal title farewell and return to his roots. He could carry on the lessons he had learned from the Maximals and put them to use in aiding his previous comrades in rebuilding their broken society once they returned to Cybertron. Perhaps that was where he was meant to be all along.
-x-
The trip back was pretty quiet besides Quickstrike complaining that he wouldn't get to "kick any Maximal keisters" anymore. Blackarachnia assured him that he would still be able to when sparring during training sessions. Hearing that lifted the fuzor's spirits a bit.
Scorponok couldn't say that he was entirely happy with the situation. He didn't like the thought of living in the same base as their new allies, but understood the reasoning behind it. Convenience was an obvious one, but he also suspected that Terrorsaur wanted to play by the old saying of keeping one's friends close and their enemies closer. Not a tactic he would have chosen himself, but he could play along. He just hoped that it would all work out.
G-Force was certainly satisfied with the way the meeting had gone. He wasn't sure if he would take Optimus up on his offer to join the Maximals, seeing as he originated from a Maximal protoform. He decided that his place was here for the moment. Perhaps when they returned to Cybertron, he would leave the Predacons behind.
Once they arrived at the base, Terrorsaur stopped outside the boarding ramp. He transformed from beast mode and turned to Rampage.
"As promised," he said and produced the box containing the other mech's spark fragment from his subspace, holding it out to him. "Rampage, as leader of the Predacons, I release you."
Rampage took the box from his hand, his movements calm and fluid. Remaining in beast mode, he held the box up to his optic level and studied it absently, taking his time. He lavished in the anxiety and fear he was picking up from most of the other Predacons.
"You have my thanks," the crab replied and stored away the box, planning on reuniting his spark at a later time. "But I am not one of your lackies. I wish to be left alone. However, once in a while, I might decide to come if you call."
"If that's what you want," Terrorsaur said with a nod. He then held out his hand in a gesture of agreement. After a moment, Rampage took his hand in his massive claw and the two mechs shook on it.
With that, Rampage turned and headed off into the wilderness.
"I hope he doesn't come back to bite us in the aft," Blackarachnia chided, to which Terrorsaur rolled his optics.
The rest of the day was spent packing things up and cleaning things out. They didn't have to get everything done that day, but Terrorsaur wanted as much equipment as possible ready to go for the morning. He also wanted to wait on clearing out Megatron's old room. Blackarachnia had mentioned that there were all kinds of traps set in place, especially around his personal computer. They also hadn't yet disposed of Megatron's body. Terrorsaur claimed that he wanted to focus on more important things first and they would cremate his corpse once they had emptied the base, but Scorponok was adamant that they pay their respects as soon as possible.
Throughout the day, she couldn't quite put her finger on it, but Starfeather began to feel strange. She continued to work with the others, helping stack boxes of energon cubes and pack up tools and supplies. She kept having to stop to catch her breath.
"You doing okay there?" Tundra asked, having noticed the raven taking frequent breaks.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Starfeather assured the white wolf. "I just need a minute. I'm probably just too excited about everything that's going on."
Late that night, everyone finished up what they could and retired to their rooms.
Starfeather stood in the doorway to her and Terrorsaur's room and clutched her chest, the odd sensation she had been feeling all day suddenly growing more intense. It wasn't painful until she heard something like an electrical snap and her chest began to feel tight, like someone had shoved a rock into her spark chamber. Terrorsaur, aware of her distress, came and found her.
"What's wrong?" he asked, coming close to her and checking her over.
"I don't know," she answered breathlessly, trying to stay calm. "It's my chest… It feels tight… If I were human, I'd think I was having a heart attack."
"Let me see," he said, helping her sit down on the recharge berth before kneeling in front of her. "Open your spark chamber."
"Okay…" She did so, surprised that there was resistance and slight pain at doing so. She groaned, biting her lip as she forced her chamber open. She heard Terrorsaur gasp and saw him visibly pale, staring fearfully at her chest.
"W-what's wrong?" She was almost afraid to ask. He didn't answer for several moments, seeming to be frozen in place. "Terrorsaur, talk to me. What's wrong with me?"
"There's-" His voice cracked with panic. He swallowed and tried again. "There's a… a new spark a-attached to yours."
"A new spark?" she repeated, her optics widening in shock. She remembered their conversation from yesterday morning before trying their little experiment. "You mean…?"
He gulped loudly.
"We're… we're gonna have a sparkling."
