Author's Note: Well here we are, folks. This is the end, just the Epilogue left and that's it. I have been thinking of writing some short stories with Taratron and Isis, when she was little. Something cute and sweat. I know, I know; not my style to write anything cute and sweat, but I really wanted to. Right now I'm developing another story though, a Dragonball Z fanfic about Mirai Trunks. The Mirai universe is much more interesting than the regular one; it's all dark and angsty.
Chapter 19
The explosion rocked the ground with a tidal force of several volcanoes. There was a scream of someone in mortal terror, and a loud cry of a tortured spark in pain. Dinobot and Silverbolt were thrown several meters and slammed into the ground. For a few nanoclicks after the explosion of energy, they couldn't move, but were finally able to look up without the saturated light impairing their vision.
The battlefield was completely gone. In its place stood a crater only a couple meters deep but with a radius of thirty meters, the same as the dome of light when it reached its maximum size. Everything around the crater was barren save for the violet and green scraps of metal scattered in and around it. Dinobot frowned at this then growled through gritted teeth.
"The remnants of the spider, no doubt," he commented. "I have seen it before; unless his spark is extinguished, he will rebuild himself. This is not over."
"Forget him," there was a note of desperation to the Fuzor's voice. "What about Blackarachnia?"
They rummaged through what little of the debris there were, then stepped back. There on the ground amidst the rubble, lay Blackarachnia's body.
"She's alive," Silverbolt declared after a moment. "I can scene it, but we need to return to base as soon as possible. She needs immediate repairs."
* * * * * * * * * *
"Welcome back, beloved," Blackarachnia returned Silverbolt's smile and looked around the med bay. They were the only two bots there. Everyone else probably returned to their everyday duties once they learned that she'd survive. Blackarachnia would admit it to herself, but a small part of her had hoped that Dinobot would be there.
Silverbolt was silent for a moment, and then regarded her serious expression with his golden gaze. "Your brother has been concerned about you."
Blackarachnia notices how he emphasized the word 'brother,' but ignored it. "You think I should forgive him." It wasn't a question.
"I believe it is unjust to direct your hatred towards your brother. You hate Tarantulas, not Dinobot. You may be angry with him, and you have every right to be. But this act was not done out of spite or hatred towards you. Therefore I think you should at least think about it, before you decide to shut your brother out of your life forever. In the end, I think you are causing more harm to both of yourself and Dinobot if you do nothing."
"Thanks for the lecture," Blackarachnia scoffed, "but you don't know that I don't hate him."
"Very well, then answer me this: what is he to you?"
* * * * * * * * * *
Dinobot rested on a small plateau on the other side of Mt. St. Hilary, away from the entrance to the Maximal base, watching as the sun set in the west, paining the sky in red and violet tones. He had no desire to be among the others at the moment and was content in his solitude. It gave him a chance to think. Most of his memories consisted of nightmares and battles, but there were many pleasant flashbacks. They revolved on the little girl, her face bright with joy. While he remembered that Isis suffered from nightmares after Helm's Deep, they faded as she grew. Most of the time the only thing that hindered her happiness was minor damage from sparing with her classmates in basic training. Her innocence was often the only beacon of light in his life. He wished with all his spark that he could have foreseen and prevented the shadow of the past several years of her life, but it was too late now.
"It grows on you, doesn't it?" he turned at the female voice. "This planet. It's somehow young and innocent. Unlike the rest of us." Blackarachnia sat down to his right.
"Yes," he agreed. "A pity that is must be scared by our wars." The two fell into silence again.
"I tried to hate you, you know," Blackarachnia mused thoughtfully, tucking her knees under her chin. "At one point, I think I even convinced myself that I did. You were one of the few people I trusted completely, and then you betrayed me in the worst possible way. What Tarantulas did to me didn't hurt nearly as much, because I expected that sort of thing from him. I have every reason to despise you," Dinobot regarded her, hoping for a 'but' in her following statement. "Then Silverbolt asked me what you were to me, and that really made me think."
"What did you tell him?"
"That you were my protector when I was young; my comrade in arms who helped me through countless battles. You were my teacher who first showed me how to fight. Often times you were the thorn in my side," she smiled at the last comment. "I guess the best way to describe you is as my friend… and my brother."
They sat in silence for a moment, then Dinobot sighed and looked to the sky. "Forgotten were not fast friendships of yore…"
Blackarachnia picked up on the poem and finished the verse. "In brotherhood bound the arms that we bore," she sighed. "I remember. You taught me that poem when I went into my first battle."
"And we lived by that vow," he said. "I never intended any harm to come to you, little sister. I swear it."
"I believe you," she nodded, "and in a way, that makes it easier for me to forgive you. I told you I didn't want to hate you, and it turns out I don't. So I forgive you, and I'm willing to trust you again, at least to a point. Most of all, I will once again call you my brother."
Dinobot was at a loss for words. "I am very grateful, Isis. You cannot imagine what a burden you took off my shoulders."
"I can imagine," Blackarachnia got up to leave. "Just promise me that you won't betray my trust."
"It is not my intention," he replied truthfully.
"It wasn't your intention to betray me the first time," she retorted in a sharp voice. "Promise me, Taratron. Promise you won't betray my trust again."
"I swear it, Isis."
* * * * * * * * * *
" 'Éowyn, Éowyn!' cried Éomer amid his tears. But she opened her eyes and said: 'Éomer! What joy is this? For they said that you were slain. Nay, but that was only the dark voices in my dream. How long have I been dreaming?'
'Not long, my sister,' said Éomer. 'But think no more on it!' "
~~ Éowyn and Éomer of Rohan, The Return of the King