Be prepared to cry with this one...cause I sure did. :'(
Rawspark
"Ah, I love the new year." Flowvolt smiled, leaning back into the mech beside her.
"You know, technically it's not the new year here." Rawspark corrected, settling his deep red optics on the love of his life.
"Oh don't be a spoil sport. For the humans its now officially nineteen sixty five." The sun yellow and aqua blue femme smiled.
Rawspark quickly caved under her spring green gaze, and just blew out a sigh of defeat. This made Flowvolt giggle in amusement.
"Those sighs don't suite you Sparks'. We're enjoying ourselves here." She mockingly scolded him.
"Are we?" Rawspark smirked with only his optics.
She laughed and stood up, backing away from the cliff's edge. The blades of her helicopter alt twitched on her back, revealing to Rawspark she was itching to go.
Didn't realize she was that excited about the opening. The mech also crawled to his feet, beaming as he scanned over Flowvolt.
She froze, and suddenly posed, laughing at Rawspark for checking her out. He looked away, flustered by her laughter.
"Give the guy a break 'Volt, he does love you after all." A hulking mech suddenly walked over to them, his plating configuring into an C500 Kenworth oil field bed truck from Earth.
"Topmortar…" Rawspark grumbled.
"What, I was defending ya!?!" He raised his massive hands defensively.
Rawspark just glared at the bright red and black mech for a moment, his dark red optics bearing deep into the other's clear blue ones. Topmortar blinked stupidly, before breaking into a fit of laughter and sweeping his mighty arm over the slimmer neutral's frame.
"Lighten up little bot, or ya gonna get stuck tha way." Topmortar boomed merrily.
"Well someone has to keep an optic on you or else Mars would implode." Rawspark replied, but broke into another optic smile at the end.
"Come on boys, it's opening time!" Flowvolt called from afar, already heading towards the base of Olympus Mons."
She suddenly transformed into her sight seeing helicopter form, but mostly used her hover motor for lift. The thin atmosphere just wasn't heavy enough to keep her suspended on its own.
Rawspark changed into his own FB-111 form, and zoomed past the femme. She let out a jealous snort, and attempted to speed up. Topmortar drove along from behind, watching the sky born pair fondly.
*****
Camera's swooped in low near Rawspark's face as he announced the opening of the largest space bridge on Mars. As chief designer and overseer of the construction, he was of great importance to the entire project, and a very popular mech all around.
"You put on quite the show." Flowvolt commented as she joined his side after he had stepped off the podium.
"Did I? I wasn't trying to." Rawspark raised a surprised optic ridge.
"You always say that, and I'm beginning to think you're lying." She accused with a smirk.
"Believe what you want." Rawspark leaned in close to her faceplate, allowing his vents to blow a cool gust of air over his favorite femme.
She smiled softly, and lifted her faceplate to give him a gentle peck on his face mask.
"Awe dang it, I interrupted the lovers again!" Topmortar suddenly exclaimed, far closer to the pair than they had realized.
Flowvolt jumped and Rawspark staggered back, staring up at the larger neutral in alarm. A smug grin lit up the big lug's faceplate, and he gave Rawspark a playful jab.
"So when are you two gonna tie the knot? I've been waiting for about three vorns now." Topmortar griped, like he was truly distressed over it.
"I don't know Topper, it depends when Rawspark grows a spine." Flowvolt looked at Rawspark with teasing optics.
"Ha-ha." Rawspark laughed sarcastically.
"Oh come on Sparks', cheer up! It's not everyday you become the highest recommended space bridge designer." Topmortar laughed, having no pity.
"Hm, you're right. Which means…I've got a lot a work coming up." He sounded enthusiastic, but his voice quickly stiffened.
"Sparks'…" Flowvolt rolled her pretty optics.
"Don't Sparks' me Flowvolt. You'll be seeing a lot less of this," he pointed to his faceplate, "for the next few orns."
"A burden I'm going to have to bear I suppose. What ever shall I do with only Topmortar to talk to?"
"Hey, now tha' ain't funny." Topmortar frowned childishly.
"No its not. We need to find Flowvolt a better influence quickly!" Rawspark kidded with a fond chuckle.
"So you do have a sense of humor." Topmortar feigned being impressed.
"Oh shut that gasket of yours. After we finalize the foundation tomorrow, I've got a nice little break for us planned out. I think you'll both be thrilled to." Rawspark could see a curious gleam come into both neutral's optics.
"And just what is this little break my darling Rawspark?" Flowvolt let her voice drop low and sultry, hoping to swoon him and make him spill.
"Hey, it wouldn't be a surprise if I told." Rawspark chuckled, only to be swatted by the femme.
"No fair! I need to plan if we're going anywhere big." She grumbled lightly.
"Already taken care of, I assure you. Both of you." His gaze lifted up to a still surprised Topmortar.
"Raking in the dough now are we?" Topmortar finally managed to speak.
He didn't respond, just grinning up at his best friend with knowing optics. He then tilted his head for them to follow him back home.
*****
Rawspark draped his slim legs over the ledge just in front of his door installed to the side of the canyon, staring out at nothing in particular, but content at the same time.
"And what are you doing out here all alone? Topmortar told you to be well rested for tomorrow." Flowvolt took a seat beside him.
"As I recall, he said the same thing to you." Rawspark drifted his gaze over to the bright femme.
"But here we are…" She smiled.
"Indeed."
Flowvolt shook her head, the smile gracing her lip plates only growing wider and purer. She slowly leaned into him, and he smoothly wrapped a steadying arm around her, keeping her both comfortable and safe.
"Does it bother you that we still aren't a pair yet?" Rawspark suddenly asked what was on his mind.
Oh great, why'd I ask? Stupid, stupid, stupid! He regretted his words instantly.
Flowvolt tensed against him for a moment, before suddenly relaxing once more. Her optics lifted up to his, looking rather peaceful.
"Rawspark, I've no doubt that you love me, so no, it doesn't bother me. I'll wait as long as you stay true." She then snuggled her head into his chest, and the faint flutter of his spark just barely vibrated through to sooth her.
"You spoil me." He sighed.
"I don't mean to."
They sat there for awhile longer, just enjoying one another's presence and having no need of words or actions. Once Rawspark felt himself beginning to grow groggy, he gently lifted the now snoozing femme into his arms, and gently carried her to her berth. As he set her down, he was surprised to see her optics just barely crack open.
"I love you."
He smiled, and gave her cheek a gentle stroke.
"I love you more."
She giggled weakly, and then shut back down for the night. He left silently for his own berth, passing by a snoring Topmortar. The mech had always had a problem with the cycling in his intakes whenever he lay horizontal, but he didn't do anything about it, claiming it helped him determine his true friends.
I suppose only good friends could put up with him. Rawspark chuckled to himself, and then stretched out on his own berth and got some rest.
*****
"Pretty impressive, I must say." Topmortar stared up at the huge space bridge, for once being smaller than something.
"Hopefully it'll stand up to our expectations." Rawspark muttered, more concerned about the enormous structure than his friend was.
"You know, raining on your own parade is typically not a good thing." Topmortar grinned.
Before Rawspark could make a comeback, Flowvolt suddenly slunk up to his side, intertwining her arm with his. He looked down at her, and a mischievous glint caught in her optics.
Oh Primus, what now? Rawspark mused.
"I still wanna know where you're taking us." She cooed, purposefully making herself look sweet and innocent.
"I'm not going to spoil it for you." Rawspark growled.
"Awe…Sparks'…" She tried again.
"It's almost like you don't want to be surprised." He snorted.
Flowvolt let go of him, only to step back and place a hand on her hip in typical femme fashion.
"I love surprises. But what I don't like is being unprepared for a big event." She snuffed up her nose.
How come she looks so cute when she does that? Rawspark asked himself mutely.
"You are prepared 'Volt, trust me." He smiled weakly with his optics.
She pouted for a moment longer, but the moment her optics met her lover's big pleading ones, her look melted and she blew out a sigh.
"Well, you've never let me down before…"
He quickly sprang to her and scooped her up into a hug. Flowvolt tried not to look happy, but failed miserably.
"As soon as you and Topmortar finish up, we'll be leaving so…ha!" Rawspark gentled nuzzled his helm against hers.
"Okay darling." She kissed his face mask, with Topmortar gagging in the background
"Oh clamp it!" Flowvolt broke away and threw the huge mech an almost murderous glare, though Rawspark knew it was fake.
"Don't worry, maybe we can find him his own girl while we're away?" Rawspark snickered.
Topmortar looked ready to protest, but Flowvolt cut him off and dragged him away with merely a touch. The gentle giant after all never resisted to either mech, due to the fact he could seriously damage them if he wasn't careful.
Okay, just the final sweep, first test run, and then we are good to go. Rawspark turned and headed back towards the main station where the major controls were located for one final examination.
As he checked over the controls to the massive construction, a blip lit up on one of the warning bars. He paused, staring at the tiny blip in wonder. The blip had gone off, but no specification to what was wrong had been shown; just that there was a problem. He strode over to it, even tapped on it wondering if the device was simply broken.
"Hey, did you test run all of these?" Rawspark called over to one of the other workers in the station.
He looked up from his own control check, nodding his head. Rawspark snorted, wondering what on Mars could have possibly gone wrong.
"I'm not getting any other readings of a problem." Rawspark muttered, and peeked under the panel to ensure the device had been checked correctly.
He frowned mentally as he saw a loose wire fall. Grabbing it he carefully reconnected the tiny thing, only to have a full blaring siren go off on him. He fell back in alarm, staring stupidly at the now blasting warning system. Alerts rang off about the base of the structure, and Rawspark spun his head towards the other worker.
His jaw had fallen slack, and immediate guilt filled his optics.
"Send out a message to all workers that they need to evacuate the premises now!" Rawspark ordered, and the guilty mech quickly nodded and ran to the speakers.
"All workers evacuate the work floor. I repeat, all workers evacuate the work floor, this is not a drill!" The mech called through the speakers, sounding panicked.
Rawspark ran for the door, intent on getting everyone that hadn't heard out himself.
"Sir, where are you going!?!" The worker called after him.
"Not everyone would have heard that if they were within the structure, I'm getting them out!" Rawspark spat back, still sprinting away.
"But Sir, the bridge is going to collapse at any moment!" The tan worker protested.
"I've got it handled!" Rawspark snarled as he opened the door.
"Handled? The whole fragging place is going to come down!" He exclaimed in terror.
Rawspark glared back at him, and suddenly lifted his hand, creating a force field from his palm. The worker stared at his ability in stunned silence, and allowed Rawspark the chance to leave.
He sprinted out of the control room, and headed straight for the bridge itself, knowing exactly where every worker would be found. He ran right into the structure without a moment's pause, shouting at anyone he passed to get out immediately. They all seemed confused at first, but upon recognizing him, they quickly obeyed his orders.
Flowvolt, Topmortar, where are you? Rawspark's thoughts consisted of only two bots as he got everyone else out.
The building gave a terrible shudder, enough so to make Rawspark fall to his knees. Metallic groans echoed around him, and his optics widened. A sudden sharp snap boomed down the halls into Rawspark's audio receptors. Out of instinct he formed a protective shield around himself, just as the great bridge collapsed under itself.
No! Flowvolt! Rawspark cried out as his force field was harshly beaten against by the falling metal and debris.
For what felt like an eternity Rawspark stood there, just trying to maintain his shield so he would not be crushed. Finally the debris around him ceased shifting, and the grating of metal silenced.
Taking a moment to summon what was left of his energy, Rawspark condensed layers into his shield, before suddenly pushing it out and up, hoping to find daylight above. With a mighty heave he broke through, and scattered the once piled up metal. Panting, Rawspark took a moment to assess how much the strain had depleted his energy. He was low, but not dangerously so.
"Flowvolt." His optics widened once more, and he quickly began to scan for her signature, as well as Topmortar's
He sprang through the piles of debris, mostly hovering just a few centimeters above it and only touching down whenever he detected a spike of energy. A signature caught his attention from up ahead, but it faded before he could recognize it. Quickly he zoomed over to the spot, and tore away at the debris, not wanting to see who was underneath.
Please no, please no… He prayed internally.
He heaved back one final slab of broken debris, and stifled a gasp at what he uncovered. Hands trembling, he dropped to his knees and reached out to the fallen mech's hand.
Topmortar's once vivid red and black plating had faded to a cold dead gray, and his optics were dark. Rawspark shook his head in denial, and further uncovered the large bot's body.
"Topmortar…" Rawspark's voice was hollow and quiet. "Not you…not you."
His friend could not offer him any comfort, or a snide comment to lift his spirits. The gentle giant was gone from his life forever. Still trembling, Rawspark managed to pull the larger mech's frame from the wreckage, and saw that it was a long supporting pole that had killed his friend. It had shot down through his chest, cutting into its center and impaling his spark chamber, which meant Topmortar's death had been instant.
Rawspark choked back a cry, and clenched his best friend's hand for the last time. Then he gently lowered it at his side, and turned away solemnly.
Why did this happen? Rawspark shook as he trudged along, still in search of his love. Was it something I overlooked? Were the workers cutting corners during construction?
A faint energy signature caught his attention, and he stifled a gasp, recognizing it immediately.
"Flowvolt!" he ran over to a tall pile, and quickly began to dig through it.
"Can you here me? Flowvolt!?!" he called desperately into the twisted metal.
A muffled mumble replied his call, and he scrabbled away at the debris faster, tearing the plating on his finger tips clean off in the process. He flinched in pain, but did not slow. With one final shove, he uncovered Flowvolt's mangled body, and tried not to turn away.
"'Volt…" He couldn't find the right words to say.
"Hey there…Sparks'." She smiled up to him weakly.
One of her optics was shattered, and her torso was attached to her hips by a few mere wires and energon tubes. Bright sparkling energy sizzled out at a steady pace, but a surprisingly little amount of energon had leaked out.
"H-Hey." His vocalizer couldn't keep his voice stable.
"Is…Topmortar…okay?" She whispered.
Rawspark swallowed back a cry, shaking his head.
"He uh… won't have to worry over us…anymore."
Flowvolt fell silent, but then she shakily looked back up at her lover. He shook as he cradled her head, trying to deny the sight that lay before him.
"Guess we won't…be going anywhere…after all." Flowvolt winced as a cough suddenly jolted through her vents.
"I…suppose you're right." He whispered tenderly.
"You…never told me…where we…were going." She coughed again.
Rawspark winced, and managed to force his optics to curve up in a shaky smile.
"You always said you loved the…h-holidays."
"And just what…holiday…were we celebrating?" He could feel her energy continuing to drain away, and the beating of her spark was ebbing.
"That erm, silly little human holiday they call Valentine's day." The distraught mech answered her.
Her single optic momentarily brightened with warmth, but suddenly faded again, only now continuously growing dimmer and dimmer.
"I was going to…going to ask you after we got there if…you would like to be my…my…" choked sobs broke up his words, and he was rendered speechless.
"Of course…you silly mech." She smiled despite the intense pain that must have been wracking her systems.
His weeping increased and he gently wrapped his arms around her, embracing her in a protective hug. Her lip plates found his face mask, and gave him a gentle peck.
"I'm not afraid of deactivating…'Sparks…just that, you won't be with me…for awhile." She murmured softly into his audio receptor.
"You'll just…have…to….have to deal with Topmortar until then." Rawspark's voice nearly failed him again.
"He's such…such a bad influence." She joked tiredly.
Rawspark pulled back from his hug, looking deep into her single functioning optic. For her he put on a brave smile, but it was fake underneath.
"Until…all are one." She spoke like a ghost, quiet and lingering.
Rawspark's optics widened at the Autobot saying, but he found it comforting at the same time. She slowly reached up and brushed his face, trailing down it until her arm suddenly fell slack, and her optic's light extinguished. A great coldness spread through her frame as Rawspark cradled her there, and her beautiful yellow and blue color grayed into lifelessness.
Rawspark finally released a strangled cry into the empty air, screaming to no one but his own agony. He then fell down beside his love's body, whispering her name over and over as medics suddenly came rushing onto the scene and ran over to his weakened form.
Rawspark could not find the energy to move, or even respond to the frantic medics, and allowed them to pick him up and drag him away from Flowvolt's form. He shut off his optics, unable to look anymore. Almost as if a terrible injury had been inflicted upon him, his body began to shut itself down in emergency mode, and he fell into stasis lock. He would not have to deal with his grief until he reawakened a megacycle later.