Co-Authered by Kitra and Omicron

"Human spoken dialogue"
"~Human speaking rough Cybertronian dialogue~"
"Cybertronian spoken dialogue."
::Cybertronian communication/Comm. Line dialogue::
-Bumblebee's translation dialogue-

Added note: Somehow I missed putting the proper chapter 9 up O.o so here's the update for that, and a new chapter, look back at "Dark Energon" for the formally missing chapter!

Atlantis

Great Sword

A gentle hand rested on Wing's helm, scritching not to keep him in recharge but juuuuuuuust annoying enough to make the young mech stir back up to awareness.

It pulled a string of nonsense from his fuzzy processors, his vocalize offering the nonsense up to the scritching party. Though it was nothing but gibberish, it had a decidedly unfriendly tone. Wing did not like being woken up from his blissfully induced nap. "Huh?"

Cliffjumper chuckled and annoyed another spot, he was a little too good at it, "Time to get up. Optimus and Ratchet need you, Bee's fine here."

"Dun' wan' 'o." The jet mumbled sleepily and tried to squirm away from the offending hand to get back to his nap. It was so nice and cozy.

One strong hand caught his armor, not letting wing go, "Sorry kid, but either you get up, or I'll toss you out. Prime sounded worried about that other Knight."

It had Wing booting up rapidly. He blinked at Cliffjumper blearily. "I'm going, I'm going. No need to toss me, yet." He said and leaned close, nuzzling the red mechs cheek before extracting himself from the snuggle pile to answer the summoning.

The trooper waved as he resettled on and beside Bumblebee, the yellow scout still comfortably out of it, even with Raphael now on his chest and doing homework. The base seemed to be quieter, either most where gone- and it appeared to be the case. As Wing entered the main chamber, he could see the space bridge active and the pale form of Smokescreen pushing a sled with massive chunks of raw energon crystals on it.

The young Elite Guard mech was almost bouncing with each step, looking completely thrilled as he came back from the untouched mine, "This is awesome- for once we don't have to scavenge for scraps or fight for refine energon!" He was saying.

"Yes, yes, just as long as no one messes with the refinery," Ratchet growled, possessive and protective. He pointed back to the open bridge, "Back to mining, I want as much raw crystals here and not there as possible in case that stash-turned mine is found out."

Wing watched them quietly for a moment before padding over to Ratchet. He nudged the medic, speaking calmly to avoid offsetting the other mech, That temper was strong and vile. "Cliff says you and Optimus asked for me. How can I help?"

The white and red mech looked up, grunting as he lifted an arm length crystal up, "Yes. The other two you and Cliffjumper found are stabilized now. As well as the other four more that Arcee, Wheeljack and Smokescreen recovered before the Decepticons started moving in. Arcee is still there looking for more on what happened to Crystal City." He was taking the crystal back with him to another area of the base. Looking more rough with bare stone, but cleaned and more in the center, and deeper into the bedrock for protection.

"Optimus needs your help with the two Knights," Ratchet explained. "Mostly the one with that corrupted sword."

The jet twitched uneasily, sighing softly. He gave the crystal a long look, gave Ratchet an even longer look and nodded.

"I'm surprised how many you actually ended up finding. I did not expect something like this..." Wing trailed off, at a loss. He was utterly out of his depth with everything happening around him that he really just wanted to hide in his creators' arms and let them deal with it.

"Our kind is very good at hiding Wing, we're mimics and its in our core instincts to hide when scared." Ratchet shifted his hold on the crystal, moving to the left side of the new bay like room, where the six living mechs, and femme, were on berths, repaired as best Ratchet could, and looking alive now with energon flushed in their systems, come back from starving mode. They wouldn't be taken out of stasis yet, as well as the two Knights were put more into a medical lock to keep them from waking up by chance.

Ratchet glanced over to the covered forms on the other side of the room, rumbling as he set the energon crystal against the right side of the Knight with the corrupted sword. There was another raw crystal about the same size on his other size, between arm and body. the medic folded the other arm over that second crystal.

Wing watched, his field pulling tight out of reflex. To him, this was something utterly alien. He had never seen this many frames in stasis, knowing it would be some time before they could be woken.

His comrades were an entirely different matter, especially the corrupted one, it drew a low whine from him, though he refrained from moving closer to any frame.

He focused on Ratchet, trying to ignore their surroundings.

"You won't hurt them," Ratchet grunted glancing back, then motioned to the living ones: "If anything its good. Its not something you learn when studying to be a surgeon, but sparks that get to be near others after so long in stasis. It will help when they wake back up." He pointed at the raw energon, "And that will help your brother Knight's spark be insulated from the Dark energon."

It took a moment of trying to regain his composure before Wing moved over, leaving the knights for last as he moved along the berths, sighing softly. He trailed his hand over an unresponsive leg or arm here and there, not quite believing this was real. He lingered longer with both knights, cooing.

A large hand rested on Wing's shoulder after a few klicks, Optimus rumbling as he held a Great Sword, "There is no infection in this one. Would you know the best place for it Wing?"

"Near his bearer. Field contact is necessary for both. We don't do separation well." He answered automatically, leaning into the comforting touch.

Optimus rumbled, his Matrix shifting in response to the Great Swords, humming in power and not pleased with one isolated and Tainted one. He moved to place the sword in hand length wise on the stasis locked Knight, resting the mech's hands loosely over it.

Then he looked back at Wing, "Its not easy seeing a clinch-medical ward bay the first time I know," Optimus said softly, "But you are doing well Wing."

"Never saw anything like this. The worst I ever saw was a handful of mechs after an accident. But they were repaired quickly and back to their lives. Here though... they might never go back to the lives they had, when they wake everything will have changed from what they once knew." Wing said, voice wavering uncertainly. He looked up at the Prime. "I just hope we can help the other sword."

"This is not that bad," Optimus said, glancing at the dead forms, for now covered and wrapped with human made tarps. "As for the corrupted sword... I may be able to help, but it is not like cleansing a spark, or what happened with," He motioned to the ground, "Unicorn is different. I do not know much about these living swords."

The jet chirred softly. Wing tugged gently on a large black hand. "Let me show you then. The Star Saber is not much different from our swords, it has the same semi-sentience." He could feel that while Too Pure wouldn't allow the Prime to merge with it, it had the deep desire to have the Prime know what it and it's brethren were like. Wing wasn't sure yet if a binding would be enough to show Optimus, but he suspected it would be similar enough to communing with the Matrix that Optimus could learn from it.

The Prime rumbled, moving only after making sure Ratchet was alright before heading after Wing, allowing himself to be led. He did send a text burst to the medic that he might be a little while, but to keep sending him updates from Arcee and Wheeljack. "The Star Saber responds to a Prime's touch, even a dead one we have found... though it has learned from that."

Wing headed for the Prime's quarters, by now he always had a spare set of hooks for his sword with him, after the experience he'd had with the Matrix, he figured this might happen. The white and red helm tilted a bit, Wing regarding the Prime thoughtfully for a moment. Even now that he had been in a war for eons and been a leader as long, Wing could still see the part that had been the clumsy, shy archivist. He saw what his creators had told him about.

"Swords are defined by their bearers, ours keep a little bit of each bearer, sometimes all of him." Wing explained, sadness tinting his words, some Initiates never left the chamber opposite the vault. "I can't speak for the Star Saber but I suspect it, too, learns from the Primes who had handled it."

"Not unlike how some Primes reside in a Matrix." Optimus rumbled as he nodded, there was a slight resigned edge to his tone.

"Just that they can talk to you, which our swords rarely ever do. Few knights reach that depth of bond. Many only ever communicate with them through pictures and emotions." Wing explained, padding into the Primes quarters. He eyed Optimus, motioning for him to sit on his berth for now, the jet didn't bother asking if he could put the hooks in, he simply did. In a way they later on could hold other things besides his great sword. He also simply left his swords in the hooks before turning to give the larger mech his attention again.

"I know you spent quite some time with my creators, did you ever observe a binding? You saw what I'm like after one, though the outcome is always different, some leave you exhausted and in need of cuddles, some, at least for me, make a desire for interfacing flare, both for physical and emotional reassurance that nothing bad happened. And there are those that leave you feeling good and happy but exhausted." Wing purred softly, he knew every kind of that and he already knew which color to use on the red and blue mech.

"I have heard of them, but did not stay that long, only a few orns and to get some basic self defense lesions." Optimus settled down on his berth, watching Wing as his field started to settle, to calm himself down and center himself with his matrix.

Wing chirred, plopping down next to Prime cuddling close to him for a bit. "I can't tell you much without confusing you, Too Pure is willing to show you as much as possible through a binding. I already know that the binding will be very different from what a normal one will be like. For once it's not only about contemplating a certain aspect of ones life." He smiled wryly, unsure how to explain it without babbling.

He eyed his sword for a moment, the crystal glittering almost amused at the way Wing was fumbling with words.

"I'm not really sure how the Matrix will influence this but I do hope it will keep itself out of this experience and not mess with it." He hummed, giving the chest plates hiding the artifact a rather stern look. He knew Optimus' spark and the Matrix were fused but he also knew both existed side by side within the artifact.

"On a whole, a Matrix seems unable to resist effecting many things in a Prime's life," Optimus said as he rested a hand over the spot, "At least mine is never that quiet." He chuckled.

"We'll see if it desires to change your perception, one can only hope so much of cheeky artifacts." Wing snickered, producing a length of lilac rope. He shifted around to stand in front of Optimus, tilting his head slightly. "Your wrists please." Wing's voice turned soft, almost hushed. "I'll be here throughout the entire thing. You will know the ropes meaning afterwards, it's upon you to reach out to me when meditation has finished. Whatever it leaves you feeling like, I won't refuse to help you anyway I can."

He waited patiently for Prime to hold out his wrists, binding them in a simple yet beautiful pattern, leaving a loop near one thumb. "Tug on it if the pressure becomes too much."

Optimus didn't say anything as he watched Wing bind his wrists together. The rougher hands brushing against the smooth metal of the younger mech. He tilted his head in a way that echoed images from his own youth, as what was happening and about to happen was new knowledge. Despite the war and ages, Optimus still had that love of learning new things.

"Meditation, though not hard to attain may take some klicks," Optimus said softly, it wasn't unlike his stillness, but when you heard the whispers of the Matrix and life all around it was hard to block it out. More so with a Matrix merged with one's spark. Not imposable but just...needed a bit to calm it down.

"I took me half a joor the first time. Axe was rather amused at Dai, blue and grumpys patience was wearing thin by then. He had some rather unpleasant things to deal with earlier that orn and me drawing the binding out like that made him want to strangle me... again." Wing giggled and tugged Optimus over to the sword, it was resting in a height that was unsuitable for the jet but acceptable for Optimus and maybe even his creators, though he wasn't sure if it wasn't too low for them. He poked Optimus in position hooking the bound wrists over the swords pommel, then prodded him into kneeling, it was straining his wrists not the most comfortable position but acceptable enough. "Take your time, this isn't something meant to be rushed. I'll be here." The jet assured again, and then moved away, settling just outside of the larger mechs field, his own on the edge of touching.

The Prime shifted, parts of his armor fairing as he adjusted his balance, not used to this position but didn't resist Wing's guidance to it. Venting deeply, Optimus traced a few lines in the sword, as he stilled and calmed down more he was more aware of songs of live humming around him- more in a way if he delved too deep as this was a living world. The Matrix rotated and reached in habit out to, To Pure For This World, pleased and humming to it.

The sword brushed back gently in a greeting of its own, then seemed to fall silent again. It took a while before Prime found himself drawn to memories of the time with Elita, contemplating the relationship he had had with her. Memories surfaced unbidden, switching slowly from the love he held for her on to the more platonic love for his friends and comrades. He was led further along those thoughts. Memories of being entangled with others, Arcee, Jazz and everyone else who made a habit of cuddling at times. Optimus thoughts shifted to some individuals who had evoked more than just platonic feelings, mechs and femmes who had caught his optic, had not hidden their open desire for Optimus. The sword gently steered him along the way, pushing him towards good memories, stirring the somewhat dormant part of him that desired to have a willing partner writhe under his frame.

Manipulating sword that Too Pure was it kept the focus on such things before shifting back towards an utterly different kind of love.

Bonds between mates, it showed Optimus memories of it's own past of the way dozens of mechs had walked past it, fields open, optics offline. How the Great Sword had reacted with a soft but firm possessive flare of ~Mine~ to them. It pushed the most recent one to the fore, a much younger, more innocent Wing brushing against it, touching the hilt for the first time. The way it just felt right for both of them, the intuitive feeling of belonging to each other. The first time the young knight had held it and then bonded to it. The sword did not obscure the memory, letting the Prime see how the innocent jet exposed his spark to an ancient artifact willing and able to consume his spark fully. Too Pure's siren song calling Wing to join fully, the deep desire of a lover to never let it's partner go again. It briefly shifted a bit, almost voices of Knights who had never left the chamber alive, who were trapped within the sword for eternity. None of then regretted leaving their mortal life. Then Wing had pulled away from the crystal, leaving a small piece within the semi sentient blade, a piece that was cherished deeply.

Wing had been exhausted but glowing with happy pride at gaining the sword's trust and love. It pulsed with the knowledge that the jet never joined it because his desire to make the world a better place for other far exceeded the need to join paradise.

Slowly the memories faded, the sword hinted with sadness that it was very similar to a mech, not sparked like mecha but called from Primus as well. The crystal that ran throughout the entire sword from pommel down to and through the blade was made out of the same that a spark chamber consisted off, that the Matrix partially consisted of.

Very slowly awareness of his surroundings came back, with it came the pain of energon deprived hands and wrists.

Pain was something Prime knew, and could mostly ignore as his optics flickered back on. He could feel those old feelings no longer dormant, and it was a different kind of pain. A bittersweet kind mixed with remembered pleasure and longing for the past mate- his spark edging around the broken bond once more, his field reached out to someone as the Matrix reacted to him.

The unheard song encouraging and soft to its Prime, flooding its own love to the mech and helping to soften the hurt once more. The Prime would need some help getting free and to let go of the Great Sword.

Despite it all, there was a low, vibrating purr coming from Optimus' chest and frame.

Wing was at his side, gently taking hold of the wrists. He used his thrusters to get them lifted off the sword then he was quick to catch the much larger mech and lower him to the ground.

Small hands were quick, expertly removing the binding. The length was subspace and Wing busied himself with massaging both larger hands, encouraging the energon flow back. His field was supportive, not interested in details of what had happened.

The Prime rumbled, his purring continued as one hand, when feeling was mostly back, lifted up to run over Wing's helm. There was that arousal still, but it was slowly settling as the will wasn't really behind it as Optimus bowed his head, then looked up thoughtfully at the Great Sword.

Wing chirred softly, nuzzling the hand. His own field held the perpetual arousal the jet was known for.

He chirped questioningly, both asking if Prime wanted help with his leftover arousal and if the older mech had found answers.

Optimus rumbled back, reaching up to where his spark was in the Matrix, "Interesting..." He didn't seem to know just what to do with that desire.

Wing had an answer for that though as he tugged Prime up and over to the berth again, once the larger mech was lying he joined him, snuggling close and seemingly not deliberate strokes across Primes chest had the desire return.

Optimus wasn't sure about interfacing, not only had it been so long, but he didn't want to hurt Wing. His last partner had been Ratchet, and the medic was reinforced more than Wing. It was a frustrated sigh like vent that came out of him, the red and blue mech stroking Wing's side as he tried to calm down, but it was distracting.

Dark blue optics turned to eye the Great Sword.

The gem glittered back, mischief lurking in it. It had been the one to suggest lilac for Prime.

Wing kept petting the larger mechs armor, tracing armor seams in a not quite innocent way.

"I will hurt you Wing." Optimus started to shake his head, rumbling at the strokes.

Wing snorted. "You won't." He shifted his frame around, sincere optics regarding Optimus.

Optimus didn't seemed convinced, "You are quiet a bit smaller." Nor did Wing know him enough for lighter bonds, what the Prime really liked, even back as Orion.

That got Prime a look somewhere between 'Are you kidding me?' and 'You are not the largest I've had.'. "Achat indulges every interest I might have, that includes spikes larger than yours." Wing purred amused, draping himself across the broad chest, nuzzling under Optimus chin. "Unless you don't desire me this way at all, you do not have any valid arguments." He chirped, challenging Prime. Wing might need a bit of stretching, but that was worth the feeling of fullness a large spike would bring.

The red and blue mech blinked slowly, taken aback for a moment before he made a sound not unlike a, "Hmm." as he had completely forgotten about Wing being a Titan-consort, and an apparent favorite.

"Interfacing physically has lost some appeal to me Wing," Optimus explained, reaching up to hold the pale mech and rubbed his fingers on edges of armor, "After Elita was taken from me, I was unable to do anything. Light bonds is what I like- and what is safest." So his Matrix didn't overwhelm someone.

"Ooh. One of the things I never got around to trying. Though I heard of that. I'm willing too." Wing said, lazily stroking over red armor. His purr deepened with the light petting he received.

Optimus tilted his head, regarding the smaller jet. Surprised, as most mecha it took some time and normally a healthy friendship before they would consider a bond of any kind.

The jets field spoke of the sincerity his words had carried. Wing had contemplated this before, if anything he sought to build up a connection with a mech who had earned his trust quickly, and whom he felt drawn too much like he had felt drawn to Achat. Both Metrotitan and Prime were considered a link of the divine, a link Wing knew he would be considered to be as well, if he had managed to prove himself to the shard.

That too was a reason he sought Optimus' proximity.

The mech scratched at Wing's back and side humming softly before craning his head to rest against Wing's helm.