Chapter 23
Dawning of a New Day
It was many hours later before Predaking managed to land outside the entranceway to Yue's shrine…
Technically he had done as Songbird asked and watched over Moony and Freefall when they had come too. Unsurprisingly they weren't terribly happy about being left behind by their mother but they were quickly distracted (as was virtually everybody else…) When the Vehicons discovered that their goddess's final act had transformed them all into Predacons! And not with just the same repetitive build, they were all unique and different now. Many were dragons of varying shapes and sizes; several had taken the form of hippogriffs, a couple were wyverns… and he believed that there were at least two other gryphons and three ursagryphs. There was even one that had just taken the form of a particularly large winged serpent. Although while there physical forms were different they all still had the same black, silver and purple colorations. Not that anyone was complaining about that. It brought a great deal of pride and happiness to Predaking's spark to see an increase in the overall number of Predacons and also that something good finally happened to the Vehicons. After all they were a nice enough lot, dumb as bricks but still nice… and better yet they were loyal right from the get go, immediately acknowledging him as their king and they were ready to follow whatever orders he gave them.
Shortly after the fascination of the recent events died down a bargain was made; Predaking ordered the Vehicons to assist in harvesting the white energon that Yue had sacrificed herself to give the other Cybertronians so that they could restore Cybertron, in exchange for all of the Predacon fossils that the Autobot's had in their possession. Magnus had agreed to these terms, especially since he and his Autobots had other issues that they needed to resolve. Like what to do with Megatron, Soundwave and Ravage (not counting Laserbeak for the obvious reason that she was just a sparkling…) Oh how Predaking had wanted to take advantage of the former warlord's current weakened state and mercilessly rip him to pieces! But he didn't… he had been stopped by one of the resurrected ones, the one named Dreadwing. The warrior telling him not to taint his honor by killing a mech who was currently too weak to defend himself. At first the larger dragonformer had begrudgingly agreed, but over time he could see the deliciousness of Yue's choice in Megatron's punishment and he now hoped that the warlord lived a very long life… to do nothing but silently scream.
Past that Predaking had not paid much more attention to what was going on there. It didn't concern him anyway and admittedly his thoughts were far more preoccupied with other more important matters. Once she'd regained her consciousness, he called Orb Weaver over and then filled her in on what the goddess had envisioned for the Predacon race. After she got over her initial shock that Yue had gotten the idea from her, Weaver began to explain what she knew about this planet that she'd spent so much time on. For starters she had called the planet a 'Wild Planet' due to it not having any kind of sentient creatures living on it and she continued to explain that she had actually populated this planet with many rare or endangered creatures that she had encountered during her travels through the cosmos. (She also knew but didn't want to admit that she was pretty sure her mother was the reason many of these species were rare or endangered when she found them…) But getting back to the important matters, she informed him that there were several healthy veins of energon that she knew of and probably many more yet to be discovered. But the more she talked the more she cleared up many of Predaking's initial worries… granted there was still something nagging at the back of his processor, and his spark kept telling him that he was needed elsewhere. He eventually instructed Orb Weaver to watch over Songbirds daughters… and Skylynx and Darksteel since those two idiots might as well have been considered children if one took their IQ's into account. Leaving the small femme to her new task, Predaking took flight and headed straight up back to Alaska. He was pretty sure he knew were Songbird had gone, as he'd seen the glowing emblem appear on her chassis. He remembered how when it appeared the first time she had gone to Yue's shrine, and that was why he was currently walking through the long tunnel that led to the altar. As he drew nearer to his destination he could even hear someone talking quietly only a little ways ahead of him. So when he finally reached the shrine he was surprised to see it mostly in ruins. It looked as though someone had taken a blaster and just leveled the place… and yet in spite of this Predaking's assumption had been correct, there was Songbird sitting cross legged amidst the rubble and near the damaged pool in the center of the chamber. And strangely enough she seemed to be holding something that he couldn't quite identify…
But when he got a decent look at it he froze in his tracks…
Yue was no longer the towering and intimidating femme he had witnessed committing acts of incredible spite, but neither was she in the child-like form she had taken when he first met her. No, the form she was in now was considerably more disturbing. At this moment she did resemble a child; albeit she now looked considerably younger, whereas she looked about eight before now she could only have been two or three at oldest. But unlike her previous child incarnation which at least looked somewhat like it could be either human or Cybertronian. Her form now was just… wrong. To start off her head now resembled a young child's skull, perfectly white and completely smooth. While she still had hair it was very short and it failed to actually resemble hair, its appearance looking far more like exposed wire. She still had her horns but they were also much smaller and seemed to be less pointed and more rounded at the tops. Her small face was also very skull like in appearance and her eyes were exceptionally large and staring. Her body was also disturbingly skeletal in parts looking like a fusion between a developing sparkling and an underdeveloped human skeleton. She was just laying limply in Song's servo, as though she was too weak to move.
"You know… I wouldn't really have gone back on my word when it came to healing Soundwave's children. I just didn't want him and his son to speak against me." Yue's said sadly, her voice was no longer dark or powerful but it was faint, weak and sounded tired… so very tired.
"Not surprising, you knew that he would be unwilling to call your bluff." Song commented. "You do know exactly what buttons to press in order to get what you want."
"Don't say is like that Songbird; you know I only desired to set things right." She quickly retaliated, sounding distinctly hurt by the gryphon femme's words. "I had to restore the balance." Her attention was then drawn over to Predaking as he entered both Songbird and Yue's line of vision.
"You know we are going to have a very long talk about you following me everywhere, especially when I specifically tell you not too. If I recall correctly, last time I threatened to rip out your vocal box." Song grunted irritably, although she wasn't too mad at him for following her this time. What with everything that had just happened and all… but it did cause Yue to chuckle softly at hearing the irritated words coming from the normally very patient femme.
"Welcome back to my shrine Predaking… what's left of it anyway." The goddess greeted stretching out her arms and gesturing to the ruination around her. At the same time revealing the only part of her body to look even remotely dangerous were her tiny razor-sharp servos.
"Yue? What has happened to you?" The great dragonformer couldn't help but ask as he looked down at what had once been such an imposing and dangerous individual.
"What you're seeing is all that's left of me. The rest of my body went to creating that healing energon and my blood… Well, you've seen what it did to the Vehicons." She explained calmly.
"I thought you said that you were going to die?" He inquired as he sat down next to Songbird.
"Oh I am… and if I didn't have a few things that I still needed to address I would already be long gone from this mortal realm." She stated dryly. "I was going to have to hibernate soon anyway, as you saw I didn't have all that much blood left in my veins. Anemia sucks. Maybe someday I'll outgrow it. But for now I want to address whatever was troubling you earlier about my plan for your species."
"Admittedly, I have since talked with Orb Weaver about this planet of hers and she has cleared up most of my concerns. It… really is an excellent idea. Not to mention that if I never have to look at another Autobot or Decepticon, that will surely be a most welcome blessing."
Yue just laughed slightly at his words. "Indeed. The strange creations of my Uncle Primus… why he chose to forsake your race in favor of them I'll never even begin to understand, nor do I ever want to. How can you just throw an entire race of beautiful living creatures away? He must be a horribly fickle man." She stopped and shook her head as she realized that once again she was getting off topic and realized something else. "Still, his loss is my gain and I will not make the same mistakes he has… I've learned the secret."
"And what secret is that?" Songbird inquired as she smiled sadly down and the small and weak version of the deity she knew so well.
Yue said nothing and remained quiet as she started to look off in another direction, or maybe her optics were just losing focus by her continually dwindling energy. "Balance is the key to everything. Light and darkness, order and chaos. It also doesn't hurt to have a deity's active help on some more pressing matters. I just want…" She paused as though trying to find just the right words to convey her true intentions. "I want to help your race thrive and never have to endure the misery I have witnessed humans inflict upon one another. And that you will never have a war consume your world like what happened with the other Cybertronians… I'll give your race all of my power, my guidance and my affection. I guess that above all else I just want you all to be happy. Just like how my mother used to…" Now these words stopped Yue dead. Her already large optics had suddenly become huge; her words having unintentionally brought back memories for the young goddess. Painful memories of a time long past and gone and Predaking could not help but notice the tiny pinpricks of tears that were now forming in those optics. "I… I want there to be more times like when my mother ruled her kingdom upon Atlantis. The world wasn't quite so dark or sad back then. I miss those days and I want them back… I miss being happy."
"The days of the past are gone Yue and they cannot be relived, no matter how badly you wish for them." Songbird said seriously, her words visibly having an effect on the deity, as her optics filled with even more tears that began to slowly cascade down her cheeks. "As much as it pains me to say this, you will never have things exactly the way they once were and if that is what you're truly seeking by aiding our race… then you best abandon your intentions to claim the Predacons as your own, for you will feel nothing but disappointment day after day. Because we can't give you back what you've lost." Now it was Songbird who went silent for several long minutes before she carefully wiped the tears from Yue's face. "However if you can understand that things will be different, you will find that they can also be just as good. And I have little doubt that you will be able to find happiness again. But in the end it's all your choice, what do you want to do?"
The silence following the gryphonformer's words was wrought with discomfort and tension and when Yue finally spoke again her words were laden with a deep sadness. "No… no I don't want that. I've had enough sorrow for one hundred lifetimes."
"I know you have." Song continued her voice soft and gentle. "And I know that you miss your family."
"I do." She whispered. "I also miss everything that once was. But know that I wouldn't try to force your species into re-creating things from my past just to make me happy. Even though I can't deny those thoughts had crossed my mind. Lots of things do. Heh, no I will still protect your species. I sincerely want to do that for both your benefit and mine. I do not want to be forgotten and alone…"
"You shall never be forgotten, Lady Yue. Not after everything you have done for the Predacon race." Predaking injected and he meant every word. "Countless millennia from now, future generations of Predacons will still be told the story of how you have aided us. Your name shall never be lost to the sands of time."
Yue smiled but weakly shook her head although that small action appeared to take away yet another sliver of Yue's little remaining strength. "Thank you Predaking, but you cannot promise such a thing for you don't even know my name." She paused for a moment before continuing. "No one knows my real name. Accept for my father, but alas he thinks that the events of the past were nothing but a dream." Again she paused, only this time those large optics slowly narrowed and the faintest flickers of an all too familiar maliciousness began to glitter within them. "Well then it's about time he remembered me isn't it? If this warning becomes a prophecy then so be it… but my true name will be spoken again; either he will say it with love and remember me for who I am, or he will scream it when I devour his anti-spark and ascend to take his place as the Deity of Chaos!"
Unfortunately for Yue, the growing force and strain of her anger on her weakened body caused her optics to suddenly crack and then shatter like glass…
As though to further emphasize that the goddess was now having some sort of mental breakdown she screamed out in pain because of the wounds she had unintentionally inflicted on herself. So now blind and sobbing tears of coagulated and very human looking blood tinted ever so slightly with faint traces of florescent purple, she broke down crying those bloody tears of misery. After a moment she stopped and cast the bloody holes that were once her optics up at Song and Predaking. "I'm… dying…" She managed to wheeze out, sounding both surprised and… afraid. Something that seemed quite strange considering how she had taken the prospect of dying so much easier before. It was as though she no longer had any grasp over her emotional state.
"I know, but you need to calm yourself or your death will not grant you peace but turmoil. You mustn't lose yourself to your anger!" Songbird couldn't entirely disguise the worry in her voice as she adjusted her hold on the tiny squirming form still in her hands. But it would seem that Yue had gone from having a breakdown to having some sort of a panic attack… but as Predaking continued to watch these events unfurl he took notice of several spiderweb-like patterns blooming on her chest, face and left arm... and it seemed as if they were continuously spreading across her body, threatening to completely envelop her. Perhaps that had something to do with why she was panicking now?
"I can't! I'm so… I… I…" Her voice no longer held any authority or power, she now sounded like nothing more than a scared child facing a painful death. "Help me… help me please!" She pleaded desperately.
"How? I have been trying to heal you but it isn't working, what do you need me to do?" Song asked ceasing in her attempts to heal Yue's body. Clearly her ability to heal others did not include the very deity who had given her this special ability in the first place! The goddess coughed up another wave of that grotesque blood right before an idea came to her, just one.
"S-Sing, for me… just one last time, let me die in peace." This request was undeniably strange and for a moment Song honestly thought she had misheard the goddess. But once it fully registered, Songbird was not about to question Yue in regards to her odd request and complied. She even knew exactly what song to sing to her… For she knew the goddesses favorite.
This is me for forever
One of the lost ones
The one without a name
Without an honest heart as compass.
This is me for forever
One without a name
These lines the last endeavor
To find the missing lifeline.
Oh, how I wish for soothing rain
All I wish is to dream again
My loving heart, lost in the dark
For hope I'd give my everything.
My flower will withered between
The pages two and three
The once and forever bloom
Gone with my sins.
Walk the dark path, sleep with angels
Call the past for help
Touch me with your love
And reveal to me my true name.
Oh, how I wish for soothing rain
All I wish is to dream again
My loving heart lost in the dark
For hope I'd give my everything.
Oh, how I wish for soothing rain
Oh, how I wish to dream again
Once and for all and all for once
Nemo my name for evermore.
Nemo sailing home…
Nemo letting go…
Oh, how I wish for soothing rain
All I wish is to dream again
My loving heart lost in the dark
For hope I'd give my everything.
Oh, how I wish for soothing rain
Oh, how I wish to dream again
Once and for all and all for once
Nemo my name for evermore.
Name for evermore…
With every word Songbird sang the young goddess calmed down as the femme Predacon's voice distracted her from her pain. Slowly her small form relaxed as the melody washed over her… and by the time song was finished the spider-webbing that had been gradually spreading across her body abruptly stopped in its tracks and Yue silently closed her shattered optics and went eerily still. Within a few more seconds any type of lighting or faint glow that was naturally admitted through her bio lights went out and her entire frame was now was dark and motionless.
"Is she-" Predaking began but was interrupted when Songbird moved over to the damaged pool in the shrines center and very gently eased the goddess's lifeless form into its cold waters. The small body floated on the surface for half a moment before it submerged and disappeared from view entirely.
"Yes Predaking, she's gone now. Freed from this existence, she's gone to the afterlife and if there truly is any mercy in this universe or the next, she's reunited with her mother." Song explained sadly as she stood up and looked over at the larger dragonformer, her optics filled with an unreadable emotion. "The damaged remnants of her body will lie here until she fully regenerates. All things considered I expect her to be dormant for a very long time." She turned away and let her optics wander over the destruction over what was once such a haunting and beautiful place. "It's sad really…"
"What is?"
"That goddess, that child, is so willing to give all of her affection while all she feels is a loneliness and sorrow that neither of us can even begin to grasp. It's difficult to imagine a worse situation for someone to have to live with. From the very first moment I met her I knew she was a very unhappy and lonely individual."
"Songbird… I have to ask, what is her true form? Is it the powerful entity we witnessed pass judgment on the Prime, Shockwave and Megatron? Is it either of her two childlike states, or perhaps her true form is something that we have yet to see?" Predaking asked quietly, the question may have seemed strange but then again so was the situation.
"I know her better than any living individual and even I cannot answer that question. But to be fair I don't think she can either." She paused when she took notice of the strange look that Predaking was giving her. "Think about it for half a second. To a human she may be old, but to a Cybertronian she is very young. I doubt she would be in her teenage years yet. She is an unnatural hybrid of two very different species, a hybrid that should never have survived… and yet she has due to special circumstances. But even gods are susceptible to the laws of nature and that has trapped her in a bad place. You saw how rapidly her mood shifted from happy and benevolent one moment to being wrathful and destructive the next. I fully believe that she has several severe mental or mood disorders. And as she suffers, she unknowingly damns others to suffer along with her. Just as her father does, only he does it deliberately."
"I believe you are incorrect with that assumption my Song, from what we have witnessed I would not say that she has 'damned' anyone." He pointed out, Songbird however spread her arms out and gestured to the entirety of the damaged cavern.
"Look around you." She said quietly. "What else could you possibly call this?" Now Predaking had already looked around at the destruction that had befallen the goddess's shrine, but what he had failed to see before were the dozens of barely visible human-like spectres that were standing silently all around the cavern. It was shocking and mildly frightening to the Predacon King, had all these ghastly forms been here the entire time? Had they even been here the time before? His processor reeled as he instinctively looked closer at some of these individuals and he saw that they were all extremely different from one another. In fact none of them seem to have anything in common; some were males others were females, some were young, some were old, a few were tall, a few were short… and although he couldn't be sure but judging by the differences in their garments nearly all were from different periods in time.
For several long moments the dragonformer could do nothing but stare, his tanks churning as his processor tried to register exactly what he was looking at. "Are these… human sparks?"
"In a sense. What you see before you are the souls of the humans the goddess befriended over the course of her lifetime. But these human's lives are so brief and she has already lost so many people that she cared for. So when these humans died… she didn't let them pass on." Songbird's voice had gone as cold and as frigid as an Alaskan snowstorm. "She did the same thing with the resurrected ones, at some point she happened upon their sparks and took them with her; even if they were lingering in this world for a specific reason the goddess was unwilling to let them go."
"That explains why they seemed so afraid of her. But surely they must have begged her to release them, why didn't she?"
"The goddess didn't listen; not to these humans and not to our newly resurrected brethren. The most tragic part of this is she doesn't even know that what she was doing was wrong, let alone cruel. She certainly didn't mean it to be harmful in spite of how obvious to us that it was. With the sparks I believe she always intended to resurrect them and fighting with the hydra just gave her the opportunity."
"Then why did she not resurrect all of the individuals she held in the grasp?"
"Not a clue, I can only guess that resurrecting a Cybertronian may be easier than resurrecting a human. Or maybe she just didn't want to change anything about the friends she once had…" Songbird answered with a shrug. She fell silent for a while and watched as one by one the lost souls began to fade away, until only the two Predacon's remained within the chamber. "And now that she's dead they can also move on to the afterlife and they undoubtedly won't be accompanying her back when she returns… maybe by then she will be able to deal with loss better." When Songbird went silent again Predaking quietly walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her. She turned around and returned the embrace and after a moment their helms gently pressed together. Predaking could actually feel the stress and exhaustion radiating off of Songs frame, clearly this whole ordeal was far more taxing on her than he had originally thought.
"What is done is done my dear Song. I think it is time we leave this place." He whispered soothingly to the tired femme. She didn't answer him verbally but gave him a nod in agreement and the two Predacon's turned around and began heading towards the tunnel that led outside.
"Oh I almost forgot to tell you this since you weren't here earlier for the bulk of our conversation; our young goddess is giving us four important treasures…" Songbird explained as the two continued walking and she pulled out what appeared to be three large gemstones. One of which Predaking immediately recognized as the amethyst tear that Yue had created after taking something out of Shockwave's processor; Song held this stone up first allowing him to get a better look at it. "Written within this stone is Shockwave's formula for cloning Predacon's from our ancestors' fossils. I'm sure that Orb Weaver will be able to make good use of this." She said adjusting this stones position ever so slightly so that a small glimmer of light shone through it and when it did it reflected Cybertronian glyphs on the wall as they were walking. She sub-spaced the amethyst stone before picking up a similarly shaped ruby red one. "I'm a little less clear on the origins of this one, but from what our goddess says apparently it's a recipe for synthetic energon that she pulled from the skies after it was shot out of the optics of an Autobot."
"Synthetic energon, really?" Predaking asked more than a little intrigued by this.
"I was as surprised as you are, but still…" She sub-spaced this stone as well before continuing on to the final item she held her servos. Only this jewel was not like the others, not only was a quite a bit larger and a perfect sphere but it was all too obviously the jewel that usually ornamented the center of the deitys helm. "Now I'm sure you recognize this; for this is actually a piece of the young goddess and when she returns it will house a small portion of her consciousness and act as a beacon for her to follow to our new home. Provided of course… she manages to best Unicron in combat."
Predaking felt a cold pang of realization at these words as he realized just what was going to happen at some point in the future." I take it that you, like me, do not believe her eventual re-encounter with her Sire will have a positive outcome?"
"I don't need my tarot cards to tell me it's Unicron, and the father she remembers was never real… he was just the dark gods dream. When she frees him from stasis I already know that it will be a total disaster. I should have tried to talk her out of it but there just wasn't enough time."
"Songbird, you are not responsible for her." Predaking pointed out.
"Deep down I know that, but that doesn't change how I feel. I'm afraid that if I don't try to guide her and give her something to focus on she'll end up destroying everything that she touches!" Song suddenly sighed loudly and rubbed her optics which were just beginning to feel extremely strained. Granted it wasn't just her optics, she was feeling a terrific strain on her entire overly worn-out body.
"You are wrong, my dear." The dragon king commented as he rather abruptly stopped walking and faced his companion. "That is a task that you shall never shoulder alone, for if our race gives her something to focus on… than she shall be the responsibility of every Predacon. She will have what it is that she desires most, a race of her own to love that will in turn love her back."
Song chuckled lightly and nodded before sub-spacing the spherical gem. "No matter how many ways you look at it that's exactly what she wants the most. Perhaps giving us this particular treasure is a backup plan, should she be destroyed by Unicron she could possibly use the orb to regenerate elsewhere. Either way I cannot and will not worry about it now. And I suppose that I tend to shoulder so much responsibility because I have maternal instinct run amok. But… even though it can seem overwhelming at times, I wouldn't trade who I am for the world." She then smiled a very mischievous smile before she began walking once again. "And I hope you know that I want a big family."
"That is a sentiment we share." Predaking agreed with a smile of his own as he quickly caught up to the gryphon femme, but he suddenly realized that something was missing. "You said she was giving us four treasures, but there were only three stones. What is the final treasure?"
"Ah yes that… the last treasure is something that she is going to retrieve for us at another time." Songbird paused for a moment to lock her sapphire optics with Predakings gold ones. "She's going to bring us the All-Spark." Well those words stopped the dragonformer's dead in his tracks, his optics widening in shock.
"What? How can she give us that?" He asked while barely believing his own audios.
"She's already tapped into the Matrix she took from Optimus Prime and absorbed some of the knowledge contained within it. Apparently when the war on Cybertron was reaching a pinnacle, the Prime and Alpha Trion sent it off into the cosmos so that it would be safe from the Decepticons. Without a Prime and the Matrix of Leadership they won't be able to find it, so it will stay hidden until the goddess is revived and can retrieve it."
Predaking didn't even attempt to conceal the smug and wicked grin as it spread across his face plates. "Wonderfully ironic, not to mention appropriate. If we control the All-Spark our race will flourish while theirs-"
"Will recover at a much slower rate than what they plan." Songbird interrupted. "We are not dooming their race to extinction. Look at the humans, they don't have an All-Spark and they certainly manage to procreate more than enough. Don't wish any horrors on them, it'll bring about bad karma… But I don't feel any guilt about taking the All-Spark; they've had their chance, perhaps it's our turn."
"It is our turn." Predaking rumbled in a contented tone before he gently took Songbird's servo in his. "Let take our leave of this place, of this world."
"Not just yet my King," she said quickly. "there is one last thing I would like to do here on this planet before we leave."
"And what might that be?" He inquired, but was quickly silenced as Song gave him a quick kiss on the lips. She said nothing else but motioned with her head for him to follow, which he did.
And together they walked out hand-in-hand from the darkness of the cave and into the light of day…
Everything was finally resolved…
Or at least as resolved as it was ever going to be. Ultra Magnus had begrudgingly agreed with what the goddess had surmised earlier, truly both Decepticons and Autobots had lost the war. That being said as a gesture of goodwill towards the few remaining Decepticons (something that was more than likely the result of a great deal of pleading from Orion Pax…) There would be no prisoners, Soundwave, his son and daughter were free and always would be; but as the Communications officer he would be expected to send a transmission to the stars informing all other Decepticons forces that the war was over and to stand down while they would sending the exact same transmission to all remaining Autobot outposts. Megatron was also free… but the former warlord hadn't acknowledged what Magnus was saying and he retreated to the darkest corner of the Nemesis and ventured nowhere else. Even though Orion Pax was making some efforts to coax him out from the darkness. Songbird knew he would not succeed… not for a very long time if ever. Wounds to the pride were deep, but wounds to the soul were nearly impossible to heal…
Speaking of the Nemesis, when everything was said and done someone noticed a rather disturbing development; Airachnid's stasis pod had been ruptured when the warship had crashed and now the techno-organic psychopath was on the loose again. Needless to say Arcee and Orb Weaver were equally unhappy to hear this news… heck Weaver's exact words were 'Frag no!' and she'd called Skylynx and Darksteel to her side undoubtedly believing that the two massive Predacons would dissuade her mother from approaching her. The teenager openly admitted that wanted nothing to do with her mother, not now nor ever again. The situation also led her to demand to be taken up to the moon, where her ship was waiting and fully repaired… and she didn't take no for an answer. So when she finally annoyed Ultra Magnus to his breaking point he gave in and had the warship take her up to the moon and dropped the techno-organic femme off before returning to earth, as their business on the planet had not yet been concluded… Weaver had been ecstatic to find that not only was her ship repaired to the point that it was practically brand-new, but her personal collection of Predacon fossils was also intact… although sadly her pets were still dead. Nevertheless, Weaver booted up her ship and also returned to earth to in order to collect everyone who intended to go on this journey; of course this also addressed the issue of who would be going and who would and would not be going.
Cliffjumper turned the invitation down without a second thought; stating that he had no intentions of leaving the side of his best friend and partner ever again. This wasn't really all that surprising, and the look that he shared with Arcee afterwards pretty much said it all… Dreadwing and Skyquake on the other servo would not be returning to Cybertron. After becoming disheartened with the Decepticon cause and his untimely murder at the hands of Megatron, Dreadwing lost his desire to return to his native world and now sought a fresh start elsewhere. And once he heard his brother's tale Skyquake agreed with his twin and now also sought a new beginning. Breakdown also opted to go with the Predacon's but it was surprisingly due to Knockouts urging, it would appear that the vain sports model had lost his own desire to return to Cybertron but his reasoning was for the most part a mystery. (Although Smokescreen openly speculated that it had something to do with the fact that he would be the only sports car and thus ultimately be the best and fastest one… Ratchet however believed it had something to do with taking his offspring as far away from the Autobot's as he possibly could.) Which brought about a rather unfortunate development for the old medic; his beloved little granddaughter was going to leave with her Carrier and Sire. While happy with the notion that she would finally be with her parents, it clearly devastated her realize she had to leave her grandfatherly figure. She hugged him tight and pleaded with him to come with them to their new home; but Ratchet knew that in spite of how badly he wanted to… he couldn't go with her and he couldn't force her to stay with him. So with a heavy spark he turned down the little femme, but promised that someday they would see each other again. Although it was an empty promise that he knew he could never keep. It was sparkbreaking but the matter was resolved, just as it was with Tripwire… only in the young mechs case the situation was reversed. Tripwire had decided he wouldn't go with his biological parents and instead opted to stay with his adoptive Autobot family. This decision did cause some turbulence and for a few terrifying minutes it looked as though Breakdown and Bulkhead were going to come to blows. Fortunately that didn't happen mainly because Tripwire got in between them and pleaded with them not to fight anymore; if only for the sparklings sake both parties just glared at each other for a few long moments before Breakdown merely told Bulkhead: 'you better take care of him. 'Cause if I find out you haven't I'll rip you to pieces.' Silence fell after that with the only exception being Paradox and Tripwire as they shared their own goodbyes.
After that the ex-wrecker and his former friend then parted ways without so much as another word…
Finally just when it seemed that everything was decided Steve declared that he also would not be journeying to the Predacons new planet but would rather return to Cybertron. This was shocking to most since Steve had been mutated into a Predacon just like the rest of his fellow Vehicons; but a select few knew that there was only one reason he was going back to Cybertron… and that reason was named Starscream.
Speaking of which once he had regained consciousness, the ever mouthy Seeker and promptly thrown a tantrum regarding the fact that aside from one silly Vehicon no one had even tried to help him! He was the Second-In-Command of the Decepticons for Primus's sake! Why had no one found him sooner?! He just continued ranting and raving cursing Shockwave, the demon goddess of the Predacon's, Megatron and pretty much everyone else until a combined roar of 'Shut up!' from the Darksteel and Skylynx as they transformed into their bipedal robot forms for the first time just to scream at the annoying loudmouth. Needless to say this finally stopped his little tirade and made him cower indignantly before them. But they didn't bother with him anymore after that, his voice had just giving them both splitting migraines and Weaver decided to distract them with a few random tasks that she needed done, such as moving some of the heavier fossils recovered from the Autobots and a few more that were found in one of the Nemesis's storerooms. Still after that incident the former Air Commander skulked off muttering something about returning to Vos even if he had to live in the decimated city alone. He was its rightful prince after all...
Although she knew perfectly well the reason behind Steve's actions, Songbird still took him aside and tried to convince him to give up pursuing Starscream. Stating that she was afraid that in the best case scenario he would only end up as the Seekers thankless servant. Starscream just wasn't the type to give affection to anyone other than himself, he was far too spoiled and even after all he been through he was still a jerk. But Steve merely stated that if he ended up a servant he would accept it without any complaint, his spark would follow Starscream until the day one of them extinguished. So this ultimately left Songbird with no choice other but to accept Steve's reasoning, no matter how much she disagreed with it. But she echoed the same sentiment to Steve that Predaking gave to the other Predacons that decided not to join them; they would always be welcome on their planet.
Finally all the matters that concerned the Predacon's were resolved and with nothing else to cause them to have any more interactions with the other the two groups split off in their own directions. Predaking was particularly pleased at the thought of never having to see any of them ever again although Songbird couldn't help but think that might not be the case… Especially after having noticed how the human named Miko had asked to talk to her partner Bulkhead about something in private. Although she was not completely certain, Songbird thought she heard the human ask something about being 'spark born' like Moonrise and Freefall.
And if that was the case Songbird had the damnedest feeling that they may yet see that girl again…
Anyway, once all the matters were cleared up, Weaver landed her ship and let everyone who was heading on this venture come onboard. However it almost immediately became obvious that this was not going to be an overly pleasant trip. Orb Weavers ship was comfortably large but cramming sixty-three Vehicons-turned-Predacons, the four resurrected ones, a selfish medic who was already complaining about his paint job getting scratched, three youngling's and two idiots who might as well have the mental capacity of youngling's, into her said ship made for an extremely tight fit. To prevent them from getting crushed on accident Moony and Freefall were allowed to sit up in the cockpit with Weaver. But when Darksteel and Skylynx tried to sit up in the front with them Weaver had to put her pede down and demanded that they sit in the back with everybody else… simply because they were insistent on driving her completely crazy with pressing every single button they could find. Now finally arriving in the present; the reason Predaking and Songbird were not amongst the count of everybody else crammed into the ship like giant cybernetic sardines was because they weren't on the ship. In fact the ship was currently stationary over a particular area of Alaska, deep within Songbird's former territory to be precise. The sun has long since set and the first glimmers of the Northern Lights were beginning to appear in the night sky. Orb Weaver cast and interested glance towards the Aurora but ultimately she was more interested in the other spectacle taking place. Or more appropriately that was about to take place; far below both Songbird and Predaking stood in their beast forms on two opposite mountainsides. They had taken these positions just as the sun was setting and had seemingly been waiting for something but what the techno-organic teen couldn't imagine.
What she did not know was that what was about to occur was something that was written right into a Predacons primal coding…
A beautiful and dangerous display of affection…
Suddenly and without warning, both colossal beasts leapt from their perches and took to the air, Songbird started flying in a counterclockwise pattern while Predaking began circling in a clockwise position. Each time they passed one another they drew a little closer until they almost touched; with yet another completed circle the dragon and the gryphon simultaneously opened their chest plates exposing their brightly glowing sparks. That was when things took on a sudden and dramatic change; both Predacons halted in midair before rocketing straight up but not stopping with their weaving flight pattern creating a braid of brilliant gold and sapphire light. They continued to gain altitude even soaring past Weavers stationary ship as the two youngling's and the teenager in the cockpit continued to watch this display in awe. When Songbird and Predaking finally reached the climax of this dance thousands of feet in the air there was another brief pause before each performed a backflip whilst transforming and simultaneously clasping their servos together and beginning to freefall straight down, their chest plates however had remained open in spite of their transformations. Seemingly unconcerned about the fact that they were now falling towards the ground at a rapid rate, the two Predacons locked their optics together; just like with the light of their sparks, sapphire and gold.
"Do you have any doubts my love?" Predaking questioned, although a small coy smile was visible on his face. It was the same smile that was mirrored by Songbird as her for helm came to rest against his.
"None at all." She whispered lovingly as their two sparks were carefully brought together and the bonding began... small tendrils of clear white light slowly extended from each spark and reached out for the other and then interlocking right before these two different sparks merged together and for a moment became a single glowing white orb.
For just a moment the two souls merged into one and a floodgate of memories flowed between them…
Songbirds' memories were of brutal survival and hunting but were also mixed with the memories of love and affection for both her daughters…
Predaking's memories were darker showing his life as one of Megatron's soldiers but also giving a glimpse at his dedication to any task he was given and his determination to see his goals and dreams fulfilled no matter what…
…the warrior and the mother…
…his strength and her wisdom…
…her cunning and his leadership…
…the King finally found his Queen…
…their mating dance was over…
…and the bond was complete…
Two roars that were so loud that they echoed for miles through the surrounding mountains, Predaking and Songbird's pulled apart their sparks and managed to transform and spread their wings at the very last minute before they would have crashed into the ground below and died. Each also unleashed powerful blast of fire and lightning as they once again returned to the sky, flying around the column of braided lights that had turned white when their sparks had merged.
Now a powerful bond connected both mates together, never to be separated lest one of them was to extinguish.
A loud metallic sound came from Orb Weavers ship as one of the hatches opened and allowed for both of the newly mated Predacons to transform and enter directly into the ship's cockpit. Of course no sooner had either of them set pede inside were they both simultaneously tackled by Moony and Freefall who had their own little surprises for the two adults… as both young femmes had figured out how to transform.
Appearance wise both young Predacon's currently had slender frames with varying amounts of decorative ornaments and spikes adorning their bodies that would no doubt become more defined and more pronounced as they aged. Surprisingly Moonrise still had her long bladed tail in her robot form and Freefall's legs were digitigrade in appearance and ended with sharp lethal talons on her pedes.
Still Moonrise had latched tightly onto Predaking laughing as she hugged him. "Now you and mama will have a happy ending?" The innocent little girl summed up the entirety of her plan with that question. After all, it was the fairy tales that Songbird had told Moony since she was a little girl that had first inspired her to help her mother find true love and it had been her instinct which had told her Predaking was a good match for Song.
"Yes my dear, it is a very happy ending." The dragon king said with a chuckle that seemed to rumble through his chest.
"Can we go home now?" Freefall inquired. The elder femme was undoubtedly happy for her mother and even though there was a small part of her that still remembered the past… how horribly her stepfather had treated her biological mother. That small part still whispered fearful things to her every now and again but now Freefall no longer believed in these fears. Predaking still had a ways to go in order to completely gain her trust, but for the most part she had grown to like him and he saw how happy he made her mother, her real mother.
"Yes my children," Songbird laughed as she felt true unbridled happiness coursed through her very spark. "we are finally going home."
Okay that's it, but I have decided to add an epilogue; but still please feel free to Read and Review! ^_^
Also just an interesting tidbit, I chose the song Nemo by Nightwish not only because the song seemed so appropriate but also because the word 'Nemo' is Latin for 'No one…'