Author's Note: Yes, I know I can be gory. I was in a rotten mood when I wrote the last chapter. I was using my mother's computer at work. She had to take my youngest sister to a doctor's appointment, so I got the computer. I'd just gotten the first page of chapter 11 written when they come back. So I had my mom and my pain in the ass sister hovering around me. My sister talks too much and too loud. So I was in a bad mood. Before you start saying that I have a really twisted mind, I have 2 things to say in my defence: A) it is much safer to take one's anger out on story characters than to shoot off one's mouth or hit things, and B) you're right.

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimers apply.

Burning Skies

Chapter 12: Aftermath

There was complete silence from both the Autobots and the humans in the aftermath of Jennifer's death. The Autobots were shocked into silence by Ultra Rodimus's reaction to the killing. The humans were horrified at what Ultra Rodimus had done. None of them had ever thought they'd see an Autobot kill a human.

Finally, one of the reporters found his voice. "That was... horrible. That woman was just killed in one blow. One of the others has been shot, and soon the Autobot Prime will be on trial for murder."

"Murder?" Magnus turned around, his optics flaring with anger. "Murder? She tortured and nearly killed him! She got what she deserved!"

"That was cold-blooded murder!" the reporter shouted back.

Magnus's eyes blazed. "You have no idea what she did to him," he hissed. "Electric shocks, acid, illegal drugs, surgical removal of entire organs and flesh, cutting open his skull and jamming implants into his brain, and more, things that are so horrible he won't speak of them! Now she strutted in here, took Sparkplug, Carly, and Daniel hostage, tried to recapture him so she could continue the torture and then kill him, and killed Sparkplug! She drove him into a killing rage!"

The human tried to speak, but Magnus didn't give him the chance.

"This is only the second time he has been like that, and the first time was worse," Magnus snarled. "It is a mindless rage, without any conscious thought. She pushed him too far and she got what was coming to her!"

The other reporters tried to give their opinions, but Magnus simply raised his voice and shouted them down. He had the bit between his teeth and he wasn't letting go. On national television, so that everyone in the world could watch, he gave the humans a scathing rant that lasted for nearly an hour, not letting even one of them speak. All they could do was listen as Magnus yelled at them, explaining in precise detail why Ultra Rodimus had lost it, telling them things Ultra Rodimus hadn't.

Kup walked over to Magnus and turned on his internal comlink. "Magnus, Ultra Rodimus didn't look so good when he left, so how about you go find him and I'll yell at the humans."

Magnus grunted. Without missing a beat, Kup took up the thread of the rant while Magnus turned and ran into the city, using the lifebond to track down his mate. He wasn't too surprised when he found Ultra Rodimus in the quarters they shared.

Sandstorm opened the door for him. The pacifist's eyes were full of worry and helplessness. He didn't understand what had happened, and there was nothing he could do to help his younger friend. He looked up at Magnus for some clues as to what was wrong.

"This is something you won't be able to help him with, Sandy," Magnus told him. "You weren't there the last time this happened. Without knowing the exact reason he's like this, there's nothing you can do."

"Can you?" Sandstorm asked.

"Yes, I can. Where is he?"

Sandstorm pointed. Magnus walked into the bedroom and was instantly hit by a wall of garbled emotions. He staggered under the sudden assault. Once he'd gotten his mental feet back under him, he looked around, hoping his mate hadn't camouflaged himself. Even though Magnus knew what to look for, Ultra Rodimus could be next to impossible to spot if he didn't want to be found. Kup had more than once called him a robotic chameleon.

He shouldn't have worried.

Ultra Rodimus was curled up in a corner of the bed, shuddering, his stripes a mix of light blue, white, black, and hints of red. The black and red had mixed, so some of his stripes were spotted. Magnus scanned the color pattern and sighed. It was bad.

Ultra Rodimus's stripes had a language all their own. While he could normally control the color changes, strong emotions caused the changes whether he wanted them to or not. Each color meant something different.

His normal colors were royal blue and vivid crimson. Pinkish red meant embarrassment, bright red meant anger, dark red meant hate, yellow meant fright (a rare sight, not one Magnus had ever seen on his mate), green meant unease or illness (the saying "green around the gills" was literal), light blue meant sadness, white meant pain, orange was a combination of anger and amusement, or annoyance, depending on the circumstances. And black was despair and/or depression.

The combination Ultra Rodimus showed meant that he grieved for Sparkplug's death, he had a deep pain inside of him, and that he hated himself. The mix of red and black changed the meaning of both colors, so that red meant anger at himself, and the black meant hate. Combined, they indicated a deep self-hatred.

Magnus carefully opened the lifebond and touched his mate's mind. Ultra Rodimus's mind was a mess of emotions. There were no words, but Magnus knew him well enough to know what they meant. He sighed. He had his work cut out for him.

It took hours for him to convince Ultra Rodimus to listen to him, and then it took more than a day to convince him that what had happened hadn't been his fault. Ultra Rodimus denied that, believing that everything was his fault. Magnus had to convince him otherwise. It took a long time, but he managed.

Ultra Rodimus's eyes, hazed and red, looked up at him. Magnus met his gaze, sending reassurance and love. The younger bot didn't say anything. He turned one arm over. The overhead light picked out the thin line of a scar running across his wrist. It was a reminder of the first time he'd gone into a killing rage. Horrified by what he had done and by the sheer number of innocent lives he had taken, he'd tried to kill himself. The Matrix hadn't clued in fast enough to stop him, but it had managed to prevent him from making more than one shallow cut. Magnus had come as fast as he could. It had taken months of therapy to heal Ultra Rodimus's mental wounds.

Magnus covered the scar with his palm. "Don't you dare try that again," he whispered fiercely.

Ultra Rodimus blinked. His thoughts assured Magnus that he wouldn't try to suicide again, but Magnus knew that Ultra Rodimus had considered it.

The older bot embraced his mate, holding him close. Ultra Rodimus buried his face against his mate's neck. Magnus rested his cheek against soft silver hair, crooning softly. Ultra Rodimus made a choked sound. Then the first tears fell.

To be continued...

Now you know how Ultra Rodimus reacted. And this chapter is done. There's only one chapter left in this fic, so keep sending me reviews! And now, the reviewer responses:

Kimber: Interesting concept. Maybe I'll try that sometime. Keep reading!

Kakwat: Now you know how the humans and Ultra Rodimus react. And yes, I can be gory. Read the Author's Note to see why.

Rose: Yes, you should have known. He doesn't run away from anything.

LoneGenesis: Rabbit? Kayleigh, that is a really stupid thing to say to an animal lover. If you'd said "fox", I'd be biting your head off right now. In the future please refrain from mentioning any dead animals. I really hate that. And yes, it was messy. Getting hit by a giant robot is not a clean way to die.

Gromia: What was the question? If you don't tell me I'll go nuts trying to figure it out. And yes, I had to be descriptive. Read my Author's Note. Yes, the big guy will get over it. Eventually.

Until the next and last chapter!