Author's Note: Thanks to I am Blueberry (the parenthesis represent dependents, in other words sparklings and younglings) and Riptide2 (plenty I'm sure) fro reviewing the last chapter! As a side not I'm going to rework Aggressive Negotiations. I've found some problems such as consistency, etc and am planning on fixing that. It won't change anything on the plot but it will change Aggressive Negotiations slightly. The revised version is going to be posted as another story (Aggressive Negotiations:REVISED) which will be retitled Aggressive Negotiations with the old one deleted after the new one is completed. I will be messaging those that don't let me know they've read this (if you don't want to write a long sentence just put PINEAPPLE at the end of your review in in your review). Sorry for the long note and enjoy. I own nothing but my OCs
What It Takes To Live-Bittersweet Goodbye
"Promise me you'll never forget me because if I thought you would I'd never leave"-Winnie the Pooh
Farewells over the next couple of days were bittersweet; especially among the Decepticons. The Autobots were well used to being separated over extended periods of time by now but the Decepticons were accustom to working in regular groups and now some of those friendships were going to be stretched to the limit. One in particular was Shadow and her brothers. Rarely separated, even though they had been young when the war began to gain full momentum, they were about to have thousands of miles put between them. The four spent as much time as they could spare together, trying to cement each other in their memories.
Similarly Interra and Nieva, who had never split apart even when Tavianna was still online, spent spare moments together, trying not to think of what life would be like apart. Flashfire spent every moment she could making sure Skysong knew everything she needed, realizing that even though Ground Hog was an accomplished medic they would be caring for the Autobots along with the Decepticons, with the occasional help of Jolt.
Skywarp and Thundercracker did the opposite of the other sibling groups. They avoided each other, unwilling to breech the subjects that were now going to split them apart. Still they both knew the other's reasoning and relished the bond between them for as long as they could. Skywarp was staying because of Tavianna, Too many memories lingered on Cybertron to torture him and he couldn't force himself to return to them. Thundercracker was returning because of Starscream. The new Decepticon Commander would need a bodyguard and Thundercracker had appointed himself the job, turning down Jetfire's offer to step down from second and let TC take the position. No one had been particularly surprised about TC's denial to take the SIC position.
The Autobot goodbyes, on the surface, seemed simpler but they were not. Longtime friends Ironhide and Optimus were going to be separated for the first time since the beginning of the war as well. Ironhide had elected to stay on Earth, even knowing that his leader to whom he had become a bodyguard and confidant was leaving. Chromia and Elita were also separating. The two femmes were strong friends and the separation was going to wear hard on them.
Jazz and Prowl, friends since before the war, were also leaving each other's company but they took it in stride, facing what would be their new duties with confidence. Prowl was taking charge of the Autobots on Earth and Jazz would help take over Prowl's assigned duties on Cybertron. Blaster was wary of leaving the paranoid Red Alert alone on Earth but knew that he couldn't convince the mech to change his mind and was now setting out to acquaint Red Alert better with Earth's culture.
The two days and the difficulty of leaving behind also strained the new friendship developing between Optimus and Starscream. The Autobot leader found his Decepticon counterpart on the highest end of the island the night before departure morning. Starscream had seemed restless and unusually sharp the last few days and Optimus thought it prudent to repair their friendship if possible before their journey back to Cybertron. "Do you need something?" the Seeker asked when Optimus approached.
"I was simply wondering whether everything is all right," Optimus replied. "You've been forced to make some difficult decisions since you've taken over the Decepticons."
"It was to be expected," Starscream replied with a sigh. "Still I didn't like finding out who would stay and who would leave. It feels uncomfortably like something Shockwave or Megatron would do when they were worried about dissention."
"I apologize for forcing you to do that then," Optimus said, suddenly understanding the younger leader's oppressed and downcast mood.
"It wasn't your fault. It would have been made sooner or later. Now we should probably get some rest so that we're actually alert tomorrow and they don't decide to leave without us," Starscream said, taking silently to the black sky and leaving Optimus alone with new questions on how the Decepticons had actually worked.