Disclaimer: It tis not mine, nope.
Beautiful Tragedy
Chapter 11: Running Madness
Heedless night seemed like a compressed eternity for three lone mechs, traveling through its silence, hiding from the watchful patrols of Autobot hunters. The gentle sparkbroken Optimus, riding on the back of a red and orange mech's vehicular back, laid exhausted beyond comprehensive consciousness until the point that all were just a smudge of pictures and sounds. Though he felt like just rolling off his rescuer's roof and just remain there until the rust that made up the ground ate him alive, but he was too weak to do so. All he could do was blankly take in what the others' were doing...
From what the now runaway slave could barely manage to piece together, Hot Rod, was following closely behind his comrade, Springer, through a very ancient tunnel system, somewhat flooded with water run-off from the Kaon River, he had never once thought existed underneath the streets of Kaon's outer city. But he really didn't care to think about such trivalties...
The large Autobot whimpered as another prod of fresh guilt bled through him, cutting him to the core. The tunnels being so narrow, allowed much of the noises and crying the red and blue mech was causing to be finally heard. The rebel leader stopped and transformed, gently sliding the weeping larger robot into a calm embrace. He frowned intensely at the devastated beauty virtually laying limp with constant streams of tears and tiny, helpless mewls of agony in his caring grip.
Noticing the young mech had stopped for a while, the older rebel Autobot stopped himself and turned in grave annoyance. "What are doing you, Rodimus...?" he scolded softly in order to prevent an echo that could possibly be heard by anyone overhead.
The muscle car hardly felt the need to scold the triple changer for being so insensitive with another Autobot slave in pain, especially the semi who looked like he had just seen the horror's of Unicron's pit up close. "He's crying..." he spoke sadly, stroking the mech he found himself enamored with, hoping it would soothe him in some form.
The green mech rolled his optics at the obviousness on his statement. They had been told by the former top scribe they rescued earlier that this particular mech needed their help badly, no matter what he said or did. More the reason the other robot insisted on staying here for so long, waiting for their perfect chance. However that didn't mean they should become distracted now that they had the damn mech. "Of course he's crying... I would be too if I had been sold here...!" he hissed testily.
Once again, Hot Rod ignored the fierce urge to yell and hugged the weeping Optimus tightly to his chest, though it did very little to comfort him for some unknown reason. What could have happened before he picked him up...? "No, I mean... Something's wrong with him... Really wrong... Why doesn't he calm down...? Does he not even see reality anymore...?" he asked really mostly to his own inner worries and not the mech coming up beside him.
Both rebels flinched when the red and blue mech suddenly yowled and threw his helm back, almost breaking out of the red and orange mech's consoling hug. "I'm sorry...! I'm sorry! Kill me if you want! Please...! I just want you! Please kill me! Kill me right now!" he cried to the tunnel ceiling but didn't actually really see... anything. Not anymore...
Slamming his large hands over his ringing audios Springer snarled directly into his leader's own audios. "Ahhhh...! Shut him up...! Knock him out or something...!" he growled, patience running out entirely by this ridiculous risky rescue. They were going to get caught all because of the bleeding spark of scribe and his 'fearless' leader's sparklingish crush.
Wincing at the scream but refusing to let the large slave go, glared over his shoulder at him, icy blue flames of anger dancing in his sapphire optics. "Springer...! That's just barbaric...! I'm not knocking him out just because he's probably processor damaged...!" he snarled while quickly trying to silence the mech in his arms with a swift hand to his mouth.
"Do you want to get caught...?! Hmmm...?! Make him quiet somehow or the damn hunters will take us away for Primus knows what more tortures we have fought to free from...!" the larger green mech growled back at the smaller's face plates, clearly challenging his logic to his infatuation right at that moment.
The red and orange robot's glare died slightly before he broke away and bit his derma with a scowl. He heated to admit his abrasive comrade was right, but he knew he was. If they were caught this foolish mission, the rest of the rebels would soon be led to their own demise. He had heard rumors that chilled down his spinal strut that the Vizer had telepathy programs for interrogation purposes if he so needed it.
The rebel Autobot didn't want to resort to violence. He didn't want to hurt this mech anymore than he had already experienced. He liked him. Maybe... loved him. He could easily sense a pure spark underneath all the agony, what attracted him to his side in the first place. But if he didn't at least try to reach him and quiet him down, they were likely all doomed.
Decision made, the muscle car mech bent forward to the Autobot slave squirming to free his mouth, putting on the most soothing expression he could before speaking to his distant, frightened to death face plates. "Optimus...? Hey, if we aren't quiet we could be caught... Please tell me you understand the stakes...?" he inquired faintly desperate to reach the other mech so far away.
However, the semi mech only heard caught and nothing else. Caught...? He would taken back...? Back to... him...? His love... Yes... Yes...! Take him back! Yes! "...Let them take me... I want them to...!" he hissed madly, grabbing the other's wrist with a crazed smile and spooky brightly glowing optics around the orange hand still on his dermas...
The reaction was expected but was not welcomed to see in the least. He had been warned about him from a mech named Ultra Magnus to beware of his sanity when he was saved. It hurt horribly to see it was true... Depressed that now he had no more options, Hot Rod leaned forward and whispered a melancholy. "I'm... I'm sorry." before roughly pinching the tiny wire in the back of the semi mech's neck cables.
Optimus cried out when a painful pinch suddenly struck his sensitive wiring and struggled as best he could but was simply too tired... Instead he let the smaller mech cradle him and speak such sweet words to him, like... Like... ...His beloved...? Was that him...? Was it...? He whined pitifully as his gnarled spark made his optics glisten a blurry image of his kind master smiling down to him lovingly before they flickered off into unconsciousness before he was led away with the two free Autobots deeper down the tunnel...
Night seemed to drag its heels when a cautious light seemed to dawn on a strange foggy atmosphere even though there hadn't been any rain. Even still, its soft light pierced through the closed curtains and beamed on the massive mech lying sprawled on the soft floor. Megatron stirred at the annoying light that was burning his already smoldering CPU and clutched his scratched stripped helm as he sat up.
The memories of yesterday were so blurry... His processor still stung horribly... Externally and internally. But despite the pain and confusion his thoughts still melded into the slave he loved so much. His... Optimus... Didn't he...? Didn't he act strange...? Like... he was hiding some dark secret...? Like he was thinking of... him.
The Pharaoh growled, dragging his claws across his healing wounds he had created yesterday, causing them to ooze mech blood a little. The Prime... The bane of his life and likely his beloved. He wished he could trust him... but he was just so fragile... So fragile... So beautiful, naive, breakable...! He had to bleed him, break him... save him!
The silver mech flinched in pain as his maniacal thoughts produced sparks to shoot out from the slightly noticeable brunt edges around the fine seams of his helm. But despite the blurred, damaged mind he currently had, he still called his beloved, gripping his chest plates with a sparkling-like delight filled smile for the response that gave him so much life... and would give him it in return... Yes...
However something he paranoidly predicted in his confounded thinking but prayed would never happen. No response to his call... The silence chilled his burning raw circuits. Why wasn't he answering...? Did he find ignoring him on top of defying him something humorous? For his sake... he better not...!
Irritated, the Decepticon leader sharply rose to his pedes and stomped out of his room to the High Queen's chamber. 'Optimus... Talk to me... I want to hear you speak... You know I love to hear you... You know I do...' he spoke sweetly despite his rising tide of fear lilting to him that he should expect the worst possible outcome... No... The Prime didn't take him away... No...
Again the quiet remained and tortured him beyond belief. Furious at the lack of response, he felt the alien but strong urge to teach him his error at not talking back to him. '...Optimus! Don't ignore me...! Don't... I am not willing to, but you bring this on yourself you know...!' he giggled, biting into his finger while leaning his other hand against the silver doors, supposedly locking his beloved away from all the wicked monsters that could take him away...
The third time broke the deranged playful attitude into true deadly anger. How dare that little lovely slave ignore him! Did he have to teach him how he was his once more?! 'Optimus! Do you know how you hurt me?! Do you?! I don't like that!' he bellowed kicking the elegant silver doors in, sending them flying with massive dents and a sound as loud as a thunderclap inside the placid quiet room.
The large gun mech grinned at the destruction he created stepping inside with his arms behind his back as he strode proudly inside. "Ooohhh... I'm sorry... Heh... You know... For this outrage... that might cost some of your pretty face... Only a bit of course...! I don't want to hurt you..." he purred in psychotic pleasure, until he saw what was in the room... No one.
His beloved's adorable makeshift dress was lying on the ground discarded on the ground and the rare mirror shattered to pieces. But neither sanity nor madness gripped him when he saw the delicate rose and gold bracelets lying innocent in dried energon oil in the center of the large berth. Why was the semi mech's...? "...No..." he croaked in denial, wide-opticed as he numbly climbed the berth.
The Pharaoh picked up the precious items belonging to the beautiful red and blue robot once before a slight breeze licked his face making him look up and spot the wide open window with its curtains billowing around in the wind. "...No... No..." his voice shook as did his black hands. How was that open...? It couldn't have been, the Autobot... It had to have been someone else... It had to have been...
"PRIME!" Megatron screamed in bloody murder, snapping his claws shut tight enough to cause the items in them to slice open in his hands and readily drip through his fingers. Did the Prime have the bearings to take his precious slave?! But any attempts would be instantly noticed if he came in and snatched Optimus this way without alerting his master... That would mean simply... He went willingly. ...Why...? Why...?! Why?! Why?! Why?!
This would explain the dirty little secret his sweetspark had been so desperate to hide, even with the threat of his wrath! All of it! "BETRAYER! PRIME! LIAR! MONSTER! SUCCUBUS!" the Decepticon screamed random nasty titles to the open window, fangs bared, ruby optics wild. While none were there, he saw the Prime, tall and gleaming, holding his beloved in his arms. He gazed to the slave he adored in the other's muscular arms as the mech in question gazed up at the Autobot's leader face with a loving smile.
The silver robot watched with frozen shock, optics large and very unfocused at the highly realistic mirage before him. If any had dared to enter this room and somehow tell him it wasn't real in the finest... he was too gone to hear. All he could hear was the laughter of his beloved as he kissed the side of his bane's jaw as if he was the only thing in his world... "...No... ...You... ...You are mine..." he whimpered, reaching out to the illusionary pair, falling to his knees and crawling to grasp what was not there.
Sadly, that didn't stop the painful fantasy from running its imaginary course. And the moment the gun got close enough... the dream Prime gazed down at him with a pitying look before transforming into smug pride and turning to take off on powerful jet propelled wings out the large open window, leaving the distraught silver mech to collapse onto the carpeting. "No... Not his... The Prime's... Never... I kill you... You are mine... Mine to keep... Precious to me..." he whispered unselective, sparkbroken gibberish.
As if he had been brought back from the dead by the power of Unicron's dark energon... Megatron rose up, optics dark maroon and hidden under a menacing shadow created by his forehelm crest. "I taste you... I strip you... I consume you... Spark. My spark." he declared his mad rant to nothing and nobody. He would never escape... He would rather him dead then free... And if he chose to be cruel to him this way... He would be too...
It wasn't his fault... It was his... He made him fall in love... He hurt him... And now... he fled from him... Ungrateful succubus...! Unacceptable! "You want this...? I will crave my path through mech blood... I will overflow the soil with corpses... Until I have you, Optimus..." the silver mech hissed through drooling clenched fangs.
"You did this...! I love you and you do this! And if I... I... I have to kill you... I will tear open your beautiful chest with my denta and swallow your damn spark if I must keep you!" the mad Pharaoh blurted out unevenly towards the ceiling until it burst into hysterical laughter. Ancient weapons programming, almost an exclusive for the Decepticon breed, that had long been dormant since his youth, sprung back to life in his fervency.
With a smile of pure dark ecstasy the large Decepticon watched his long underused fusion cannon emerge from within the end of his right arm to the top of his right shoulder to glint in a nearly pleased light. A gift he once scorned from his sire, but now let it be put to good use clearing a punishing course to his risque beloved!
With a chortle befitting his crazed sparking CPU, the gun pointed it at the rest of the room and blasted it with a mighty violet energy burst. The floor burst open like paper, collapsing in a deafening flaming shower of debris with the creator falling along with it to the second floor. The stunned high-class Decepticons who were unfortunate enough to have been nearby where knocked back on their afts covered in hot soot.
Megatron rose from the cloud of rubble, completely unaffected by the destruction he caused or the mechs he had just very likely injured. Instead he rose with a hum, dusting off the gold and silver power before gazing up at the thunderstruck crowd watching him with wide optics and open mouths. Unbelieving that he did anything wrong merely smiled innocently. "Sorry... Just passing through. But if you try to stop me... Well... I'll kill you all." he growled despite the still present grin on his face plates.
The crowd of high-class Decepticons cringed back in horror at their leader before scattering in panicked screams when he released yet another shot from his infamous weapon. The flooring melted and fell once again just as easily as the top floor. And once more the Pharaoh fearlessly just allowed himself to fall with the hefty metal onto the first floor. Terrified that the palace was under attack and worse by the King himself.
In mere minutes Kaon palace went from a tranquil unusual morning into a state of pure disarray. Decepticons of all ranks that had not fled with their saving store here in the palace, scattered out the grand entrance doors while the Autobot slaves and servants could only press as far away as they were able to or get killed from their slave collars as the silver mech continued his insane desire to seemingly shake the very mammoth building to its foundation.
The chaos and fear around him was barely detectable to the gun mech... All he could hear was almost like a song sung by his smoking CPU, over and over... "Where is Optimus...? Where is he...?" he cooed at some of the frightened Autobot servants who jumped back and clung to the walls upon spotting terrifying fusion cannon that had not been seen and far less used since the Fallen used it himself in the Quintession Rebellion waved like a greeting.
When Megatron received nothing but recoiling terror from the mechs cowering before him, his face plates, now having streams of energon oil from his claw wounds being torn open and agitated with his rampage, fell into a nasty expression of vexation. "...No...? Idiots... You're of no help!" he snarled before firing a light shot in their direction, watching the servants barely managing to avoid the deadly blast scatter like crystal leaves.
However, even through the bedlam, a single seeker could easily spot his deranged prey from his seat by one of the main palace pillars. Primus... This had gone even better than he could have imagined! Optimus had left under all the pressure and sure enough, the great Pharaoh, under his own paranoia and obsession snapped entirely. Now was the time... The time to thrust the madmech of his seat of power!
"Oh, My Liege! You must please try to calm yourself!" Starscream cried dramatically, boldly jumping forward to his furious leader, hoping by some miracle he loses some of his anger when in reality he was simply trying to show the entirety of the Decepticons their real leader while sending little 'frantic' messages to the loyal Vizer what his precious King was doing.
Alerted by a harsh voice and by having a much smaller red and white robot suddenly in front of his unclear vision, sneered when the massive silver mech knew instantly whom it was, even half-blind in his madness. "You... Starrrrrssscream... Rrrrgggghhh... Do not ever... give me a command slime!" he boomed incensed at the little backstabbing mech, swiftly backhanding him clean across the ebony face plates to make him slide across the floor many feet from his position.
The all the mechs, both Autobot and Decepticon gasped in horror just as Soundwave rushed down the elevator to freeze in his pedes at what was before him. As much as he at first did not want to believe the constantly suspicions jet mech's rather bothering messages, the thunderous noise, structure damage alerts and screaming was more than enough to gain his attention. And now this... he... Didn't know how to act... It was... It was just...
Starscream looked up at the statue still stereo mech with a quick deceitful grin before skillfully transforming his expression with one of knowing accusation before pointing at the gun mech's back now turned to him. "Look at this my fellow Decepticons! Behold the true Pharaoh undisguised. Mad with lust for a filthy Autobot slave!" he called for all somehow still remaining to hear.
The blue mech flinched at the proclamation that was virtually asking to get attacked. But before he could reprimand the idiotic seeker, Megatron had already swung around with optics bright and wild, backhanding the High Priest yet again. However, this time he drew mech blood from the sharp cut jewels imbedded in his rings. "Don't speak of Optimus! You unworthy glitch!" he shrieked as the other mech fell to the floor again.
Primus it stung... But it was worth it... He was so close...! Just had to make the foolish stereo mech finally make a move to throw him away somewhere to get 'better'. "So you do not deny you obsession, My Lord?" the slender jet robot finally spoke the words he predicted would be the ones to make the Pharaoh unknowingly damn himself.
Without missing a pulse, the larger Decepticon roared with the fullest length of his deadly fangs glittering and slavering. "I will rend this fragging empire if I must find him! I will kill you all if I must! You all die!" he thundered firing a shot at the crowd behind him, causing them to scream and dispel once more.
The red and white mech watched with disturbing interest as the Vizer's fully masked face twisted in sorrow. "Quick take him to the Kaon sanitarium before he makes good on his threat!" he hollered dramatically up to the horror frozen mech beside him while inwardly lapping up the other's visible pain like light cream. It was fragging delicious!
With little other options now available on how to deal with a mech now little more than a maniac screaming to the singing voices in his bleeding helm, Soundwave rushed forward and grabbed the silver mech's fusion cannon arm. He didn't want to put this horrible device on him... Primus give him strength, he hated doing this... But he would not let do this to himself and other Decepticons!
The gun squawked when his strong arm was jumped on and shook wildly to get him off. "NO! Take your claws off of me!" he screamed, his once deep, gallant voice reduced to a high-pitched canter. But soon it shattered in a pained shout when a small white fist punched through the plating his side, yanking a manual system bypass many didn't know about and swiftly jamming a weapons lock chip inside the bare wiring.
The smaller Decepticon felt his spark crack at the sound of pain he caused to Megatron but this was for his own good... At least he prayed it was... "Help me! I cannot hold him and give him sedatives!" he cried out towards many of the Decepticon guards either shocked silly or still stunned either from the blasts of the fusion cannon or its destructive results.
Regardless, several as if re-energized, jumped to their pedes and rushed over to hold the mad Pharaoh long enough for the Vizer to pull out a syringe full of cybersedation medicine. For reasons he was not exactly proud of he luckily had some on hand. And though he hated always having it, he felt himself suddenly grateful he had some for right now as he jabbed it into the thick cables of the larger mech before quickly pushing down on the plunger to inject some of the concentrated medicine.
The Decepticon leader groaned as his strength left his muscular frame, still struggling but was much more uncoordinated and much less a homicidal threat. "...What...? What did... you... do... to me...?!" he hissed acidly, weakly reaching up and barely throttling the stereo's throat cabling. How dare he inject him! How dare he interfere!
However, the massive silver robot eventually lost the energy to even struggle and drooped forward in the guards tight grasps. He could not cease now...! He had to... He whined miserably as the slender blue robot moved off and told the mechs holding him to take him to the Kaon sanitarium.
Starscream grinned wide and malicious, hot sadistic charge bubbling around his panel. Primus he was so aroused he could have overloaded with a touch... but he couldn't do that... No... Though he had complete victory in his claws and had no real reason to do this, he felt it would a glorious end to a perfect day... "You have lost, Your Majesty..." he purred as he walked up to the gun's side, mindful that Soundwave didn't hear this.
Megatron lifted his striped bloody helm up, face virtually radiating mediated fury. Lost what...? No... No...! He couldn't have helped create this...?! That wretched little...! "You... You..." he hissed between his impressive fangs as his crimson optics relit despite his heavy sedation.
Incredibly amused the larger mech could still move and be conscious for that matter, continued. "Yes... I convinced the sweet Autobot, Optimus to flee your crushing protective embrace to go to your worst enemy, the Prime himself." he said a rather boldfaced lie but it didn't matter what he spoke really. Poor thing was insane after all...
The Pharaoh froze in stark horror before his thoughts became nothing but red. Red insanity. "I'LL KILL YOU!" he thundered psychotically, rising up almost like a ferocious quicksilvercobra lunging for his prey. If the Decepticon guards still holding him didn't grab and subdue him the moment he did.
The silver mech struggled with all he still had and even with his tremendous willpower, it was not enough to entirely break loose... "I can't hold him! The sedatives are not enough!" one of the guards holding his leader by one of his arms shouted.
In a last desperate move the massive crazed Decepticon bit into the guard holding him by his arms locked around his thick neck. "Ahhhhh! Hit him again! Please for the love of Primus!" the luckless mech yelled in pain while trying to keep the sharp denta from puncturing anything more as the Vizer quickly restabbed the much larger mech, even though he was aware it was risky to inject more of the powerful medicine, he had no choice...
The gun robot whined loudly and swooned at the second rush. ...Why...? Why did Optimus punish him so...? Why did he allow the Prime steal his love...? Why did he make him hurt...?! "...Op... ti... mus..." he managed to groan out in a dying vent, limply reaching out to try and touch a temporary illusion of the smiling Autobot slave that captivated him to no end vanish in a mocking laugh before black swallowed him whole...
The red and blue mech, now very far away from the palace, clutched his coolant dripping chest plates as a new dream tore through his aching mind. It was strangely like watching the second half of a holovid he didn't have access to before. First he witnessed Megatron, covered in his own mech blood, already chilled to the point of being a hideous black veil, screaming and crying to the blank dream's ceiling.
Predicably, he couldn't stand it and ran to him, hand outstretched. But instead of fading and waking, his hand actually grasped his broad shoulder, causing its owner to jump back to the false reality of the dream and snap his cerise optics towards him. At first, his facials screwed up in wounded anger, screamed something then tackled to him the ground, sharing his grim covering of vital fluid over the slightly smaller mech.
The semi didn't fight. He couldn't. He wouldn't. He wouldn't dare hurt him anymore... Instead he threw his arms around the Decepticon leader, howling his apology before thrusting open his chest, arms, sides and groin panels in ultimate surrender. The bloody Pharaoh halted in the midst of his rage and stared down at him, still dripping energon oil in eery streams before his face plates softened completely.
Optimus' bared spark skipped and his interface equipment flared when he heard, saw then felt bliss shoot into his frame as his virgin valve was plunged into as inner transference cables from the silver robot's arms and sides as they connected into his circuit ports, sharing his pleasure and him the same while his spark was merged down to the last grain of raw energy strands of his very being. All at once. It was a flawless, complete mating.
And the Autobot slave couldn't possibly be happier, being claimed, literally by processor, spark and frame. And in their hazy afterglow, as the gun mech glowed a bright silver and him a shining gold, laying beside each other optic to optic... he noticed a gaping hole where his beloved's spark should be. Looking down he was shocked to find his own spark chamber void as well but weirdly, it didn't hurt and from his eternal mate's expression it didn't hurt him either.
They appeared to be dead if they had no sparks but were not as they were still warm, still online. The illusionary Megatron chuckled in amusement before speaking something he again couldn't understand and kissing his forehelm. The red and blue mech closed his optics with a smile before feeling his dear Decepticon embrace him and fell asleep as their lit bodies' glow brightened their surroundings into paradise.
The truck robot gasped as if he had been racing around and snapped forward in his soft makeshift berth. His spark was pounding, screaming at a bond that felt so real it actually lurched around like it was looking for its missing half. A dream. Another damned dream... Worse... a sweet one...! It was the sweetest he had ever had in his entire life!
Optimus screamed, grasping his blue helm before throwing himself off berth he was on to roll around on the rugged floor. Primus why?! Why did he torture him?! Was it because he did this to him?! Was it?! He couldn't stand it!
The red and blue mech, unclothed apparently from being cleaned of all dirt and dried mech fluid, stumbled out of the tent he was housed in, shaking like a fragile crystal leaf about to fall. Obviously his manic wide opticed venting sight attracted attention from the Autobot ex-slaves and ex-servants that were wandering about in the campsite.
Hot Rod among some of the crowd saw the familiar highly loved figure stand shaking, unadorned before he rushed to him and embraced him happily. "Optimus! You're awake!" he said with pure joy not knowing how the other was really doing until he gazed at his beautiful face, effectively striking his cheeriness.
Alarmed at the wide-opticed, blank but dismayed expression the other Autobot had, the rebel quickly raised him by the chin to try and reason him back to realism. "Optimus... Hey... You're okay... You're okay..." he whispered as comforting as he could.
His words barely did much as the slave remained frozen in that horrified thunderstruck expression until his optic receptors turned to the younger ex-slave and focused slightly. Hot... Rod...? He was here...? Where was here...? Where... was he...?
Definitely sensing something was very wrong, the muscle car snarled over his shoulder at the almost leering crowd all around them in case that was what was bothering the semi mech so. "What?! You haven't seen a mech that came directly from Kaon palace?! And from him no less?! He isn't a show, so go about your business if you please!" he barked proudly in his dear mech's defense. Luckily the rebels either grew disturbed at the nearly insane large robot's antics or feared their leader's anger and left the pair alone for their own concerns.
"...Optimus...?" a soft voice spoke nearby, faintly reaching Optimus' CPU from it's fuzzy delirious haze. That... voice... Wasn't that... Ultra Magnus' voice...? When did he get here...? Or... Was he here all along...? If it was the latter... it made sense why he was so anxious to inform him about the rebels.
And sure enough, the former head scribe came out from a large main tent nearby before rushing over to his virtual brother. His worry rocketed sky-high when he saw the state he was currently in and joined with horror. "...What... What happened to him...?!" he cried, taking a limp royal blue hand into his own white ones.
"He was like this when we got him out of that Unicron pit... but I think it's worse now..." the orange and red mech said softly, stroking the larger Autobot's facials. Being leader of the rebel Autobots he had obviously seen lots of broken mechs taken under their wing and it didn't phase him too much except give him yet more fuel for his righteous cause. But with the large Autobot... he was struck dumb with what to do...
"Optimus... It's me... Ultra Magnus... Remember...?" the car-carrier mech spoke delicately almost he could break too from seeing this wreck that was supposed to be his dear gentle friend, while gripping the out of touch mech's chin to raise his optics to his own highly frightened ones.
The slave blankly looked up and saw the outline of the Autobot ex-servant. Ultra Magnus was with the rebels...? How did he...? Oh... he didn't care anymore... Come what else may come and hurt him more... It didn't matter... "...Magnus..." he whispered gravelly, frowning a bit.
Happy to see any reaction from the mech besides sparkbreaking silent madness, the blue and white robot sobbed and kissed his silver forehelm crest. "...Yes... It's me... It's me..." he whispered as Hot Rod brightened to seeing some results from his love.
Magnus continued to smile and nuzzle his only spoken as brother until his optics caught the glint of something on the red and blue mech's neck cables that made the energon in his fuel tank turn over. His slave collar. Grabbing the disgusting old piece of metal with a tight fist he turned his rage over its continued existence towards the mech that allowed it. "Why is this still here?! Huh?! I wouldn't be shocked if he has rust poisoning from this piece of scrap! Get it off him!" he growled furiously at his 'leader'.
Startled at the sudden anger from a mech usually quiet and kept until the red and orange mech regained his composure and snarled back. "Hey, relax! I was just waiting until he got up. He was horrible when we brought him here. We had to at least hope he didn't have processor damage and die in his recharge first before attempting anything." he said honest words that was told to him by the genius Autobot who found the universal code for the slave collars.
Unintimated in the least by the brassy young mech, the Autobot ex-servant rose up and bared his denta. "Well he's awake now, so take him to Perceptor, 'Rodimus'... Now!" he shouted directly down to the muscle car mech.
As much as the rebel leader really wanted to tell the car-carrier off and it was quite a lot, the large truck robot came first. To him, he would always come first. He walked over to their freed scientist's tent, gently cradling his love's helm to his chest, who was faintly watching as they entered the loose flap.
There was not very much inside, the rebel forces only traveled light and with only what was the most needed, meaning usually a berth, rug, a few chairs and sometimes a desk. There was a sole red and black mech working on an unknown device until he felt another mech's presence and looked up. "Oh, Rodimus. I see you still just enter someone's personal tent without a word." he snarked until he spotted the stricken Optimus in his arms.
"Oh good you noticed he's awake, Perceptor. So, is he okay to remove the slave collar now?" Hot Rod asked in a tone that was a mixture of annoyance at his insensitivity and relief he didn't ask too much about the questionable mental state of the soon to be ex-slave. The sooner the collar was off, maybe the faster he could recover...
Perceptor wandered over and bent forward to see the metal band up close with a serious face as he examined it. "...Yes. The mech seems... stable enough to do it safely. He did not experience a horrible shock from an active boundary program and worse didn't have the extermination command online in it either. Let's start carefully..." he said softly bring a single finger to the collar.
The large Autobot was silent during the extraction. Though he couldn't understand why he felt more horrible having it removed... Was it because he longed for Megatron to have removed it...? A fetching dream he wanted to escape and fall into but could never have because of his unknown damned fate... To him, Primus seemed to be quite a bastard...
And when a small insignificant click was heard, the red and blue robot's spark stalled. The ever present weight he had long gotten used to was removed to be lifted up to greet his optics up close for the first time. However, the red and orange mech quickly reached out and grabbed it from the microscope mech while setting the other mech down for a moment. "Please, allow me." he spoke in adopting politeness, drawing a small pistol from his subspace before heading outside the tent doorway.
With a simple toss into the air and quick manual aiming, the deactivated collar was shot right on target, shattering alike thin black glass. The large semi watched as the very much despised piece of metal was blasted to pieces in what was a mere couple seconds stretched to an eternity, unconsciously reaching to touch his naked neck cables. This should've been a blessed event to him... and yet... He couldn't even force himself to enjoy it... All he saw in that moment with its destruction was the last link to his secret lost love vanish...
It struck his spark with a plague of fresh sparkbreak while riddling his thoughts with the sight of the mech he betrayed... The mech he left... The mech who loved him... Why won't Primus let him die...? But that didn't real matter as the last thing the freed slave heard was the sound of the rebel scientist calling him in worried horror and the rebel leader crying his name before catching him as he fell...
Months passed for two mechs who's fates were forever intertwined and deep in lovelorn without the other. Optimus spent his days in the rebel camp deep in a unknown location in the rust desert. It was a rather simple campsite composed of tents made of thick cheap mesh, built around any wells they could dig up from the massive vein of Kaon River, never beside the actual river for fear of being spotted by the hunters riding by ferries increasingly often. Still, they traveled frequently from city to city, through the secret tunnel system left behind by their ancestors to hide from a possible second Quintesson invasion if it so happened.
Through it all, Optimus remained quiet and kind, his mask becoming constant on his face plates and only came off when he needed to fuel but rarely stayed with company closer than mere acquaintances in any case, even with Ultra Magnus, who was becoming grieved his dear friend wanted almost nothing to do with him. He couldn't bear being with anybody long enough to make friends again seeing as how he had virtually fled without telling them. More so when his tent was shared with the red and orange mech.
The muscle car himself was still trying to court and romance the sparkbroken red and blue mech at every chance he got. He knew very well the smaller mech was quite interested in him and he appreciated the endearing gestures but he didn't love him. It was not that he could never care again from his trauma however, his crushed spark would not see him as anything more and frequently pushed him away.
Regardless, Hot Rod's constant at first mildly annoying attempts for his attention eventually won back his tender smile, then his laugh and finally his return of his flirtatious hugs. And he couldn't be happier when the inspiration for the rapid growth of his rebel operation was showing some response to his advances. Likely adoring him to the point he was slightly delusional in the other mech's acceptance of him as a return of his almost smothering affection.
But it was not. The Autobot ex-slave may have had his wounded spark lightly sealed over with all the kind, generous attention from the rebels he met, but the scar of his love for his now former master was still hurting him. He simply could not forget Megatron, no matter how much freedom he was granted from his escape. And strangely, the 'pull' that remained in his spark still ached with his sparkbreak and nagged him to go to whatever it still may be trying to take him.
He wished to go to wherever it wanted him to, which he discovered was something related to the Kaon River, though was stopped from trying to follow it towards its source and was told multiple times that nothing was out there except the ruins of the old cities. But everyday he tried to sneak away but was predicably stopped until it became almost a routine and had 'guards' to watch him everyday when he attempted.
However despite that, through the travels, when Autobots slaves and servants began pouring into their camp, the red and blue mech began to regain some of his original beaten kindness for their sakes. Seeing some the mechs mutilated by Autobot hunters and Decepticons plus a few with horrific scarring by far exceeding his own, wounded him to helping the rebels' cause to evacuate the robots from their growing insane and brutal masters.
From the fame he had gained from his great 'seduction' of the Pharaoh to loosen the iron grip of slavery on the Autobots in the palace, him now being present with these escapes gave many of the devastated mechs hope. A few of the more religious mechs even dropped to their knees and praised Primus for bringing their Prime to their aid at last. Of course the flattered semi was humbled and tickled they found him the Prime when he knew it couldn't be. He was just a mad robot who was in love with the 'cruel' Decepticon leader... and nothing more...
The silver mech, however... did not have his time spent as somewhat kind. Ever since his complete mental breakdown, he had to be first rushed to the hospital to prevent his core processor from melting down and once he was stabilized he was placed in the Kaon sanatarium.
Though he was stable physically, emotionally and mentally, he was frayed from his burning love for his beloved... Day in and day out the massive gun mech screamed for Optimus, for hours occasionally without pause until he was pushed back into forced recharge from strong sedatives.
In dreams, in reality, the simple truth his darling Autobot was not beside him, maimed his spark enough that he tried on, more than one occasion, to tear it out and end his pain. However, after many attempts that were stopped many watchful Decepticon guards now kept him heavily mediated so he would not have too much strength to commit suicide any longer.
Megatron's unfortunate eruption of insanity had also placed a much more sinister mech in his empty throne. Starscream was a highly inapt ruler, especially for an empire about to collapse because of the expanding loss of its Autobots slaves and servants and a growing fear of the prophecy of the late Alpha Trion coming more true day by day.
Still this didn't frighten the High Priest turned Pharaoh usurper. All he cared about was being the King, nothing more. No matter how much his Decepticon populace lost their minds over their massive loss of income and their Autobot workers, he would give them no heed. Even if the entire empire he sits upon implodes, he wouldn't care.
However the only thing keeping the fragility of the Decepticon empire alive was the senior high-class Decepticons, namely the leader of the military, the Head of Arms, Shockwave and the Vizer to the Pharaoh, whom only obeys his true ruler and not the pretender seeker taking his place, Soundwave. But even with the bonded pair forming the main pillar of command in the empire could only hold out for so long...
The purple mech had it rough keeping his generals in check from a full scale blind assault for the rebel camps most tacticians predicted would be in the Great Cybertronian Rust Desert, that would just waste what little resources they had stocked from the vanishing Autobots who worked to make them the energon for their fuel and the metals for their weapons.
The stereo mech had it no better. With his head scribe missing, as well as the majority of his scribes in general gone, horrible data reports of the sharp decline packed high enough to reach the ceiling, swallowed his calm temperament alive. The passing days just made it worse when he read the sparkbreaking reports of the true Pharaoh's condition not improving. Hearing about his failure, something unheard of for the diligent blue mech, it crushed him almost into a madness of his own.
Long before the craziness of the decline, he once found himself straying every once in a while towards injecting sedation medicine to relieve his stress. Luckily, Soundwave had caught the addiction before it took hold months ago thanks to the thought of what his sparklings would think of their carrier being a growing addict. But now... he was almost steadily using nearly every day, releasing his strain. Until he had begun to run out and was forced to face his awful pain of loss and failure. And knew that he had to face the silver mech he caring for like his own sparklings... eventually... before even he broke...
Far from the Kaon palace, deep in the Great Cybertronian Rust Desert, in the large Autobot rebel encampment that proudly stood against the harsh sandstorm brewing around wildly in the mid course of the blistering day. Most of the rebel Autobots remained inside their tents with big jugs of cool spring water the had stored for just the especially hot days.
Inside the largest main tent, where one could get water and energon, Optimus sat on the gargantuan rug floor eating some soft energon bread by himself in order to think better on his current situation now that he was sane enough to. He found that he was simply unable to get the sight of Megatron's anguished face that one night he hurt him enough to attempt suicide out of his mind. That experience would haunt him forever...
But was leaving really a mistake in the logical sense...? The large Autobot didn't think so. He was a slave. He was captive of his brother race since the moment he was born. He was beaten, molested, humiliated and emotionally crushed at every opportunity his former masters had found convenient. All the while keeping a violent hatred towards Decepticons in check for the sake of his health.
But the Pharaoh... was different... He showed him the truth, he showed him true love, he showed him the joy of touch. He loved him. He always would, in spite of his insanity but it was too much to bare, him becoming a cruel new twist of himself... And now... he was as free as the bird drones... and yet... he felt even more trapped than when he was still a slave...
The ex-slave sighed depressed and took another tiny bite of his meal, watching the storm outside through a sliver in the door flap. He was not starving himself as much, but it still wasn't enough to bring him up to a healthy weight. Even being nagged that, that behavior was not normal, did not have the appetite. However, when he heard a pair of mechs nearby behind him, talking to each other about recent news they had learned about the Decepticon leader, he found himself tuning in automatically.
"Oh, sweet Primus...! Did you hear what's going on at Kaon palace?" the larger of the two, a black and grey SUV mech whispered to the smaller Autobot. The semi robot had seen these two a few times before. They were close but not chosen close, something of which hurt him in seeing wasted opportunities for love.
"No, what is it?" the other, a yellow and black crane robot, asked excited and very interested in hearing anything about the downfall of the heart of the Decepticon empire. Just another ignorant Autobot...
"Okay... Now you know that he had a kind of obsession with one of the slaves at the palace, right?" the larger mech, obviously an ex-servant judging from the scant amount scars he bared, continued, bubbling excitement oozing from his very words.
The crane mech nodded, urging more. "Yeah? Why?" he asked, curiosity at its peak. He on the other hand was a definite slave. He was scarred helm to pede in wicked jagged scars. Possibly a former builder, one of the worst positions an Autobot slave could have.
"Well, the rumor has it that the Decepticon was so in love with the Autobot that anything he did could help or break him. And he seduced him and such and such. But here's where the story gets juicy..." he dropped off in a softer but no less zealous tone. But that didn't stop the red and blue mech from tuning his audios to work at max capacity.
"That Autobot had heard about the rebellion and escaped in the middle of the night to join them in freedom. The next morning the fragger found out that his little favorite ran away and completely flipped out! They locked that lunatic in the Kaon sanitarium!" he finished with a burst of pure laughter.
His friend found just as equally amusing and hopped up and down where he sat in delight. "Wow! Really?" the yellow and black robot vented almost in a way he thought it was too good to true kind of fashion.
"Oh, yeah! He just went completely howling mad and starting shooting up his own palace!" the larger Autobot yelled before finally breaking into another peal of laughter.
"Ha! Serves him right as far as I'm concerned!" the ex-slave fell into his companion's laughter, falling back on the strawy by soft rug making up as the floor, almost crying from the force of his laugh.
But Optimus felt he was dying. So... He finally snapped entirely... And just like he had feared, it was his doing... He did this... He hurt him like the pretty little whore he was... Yes... "...Meg... a... tron..." he groaned in agony, squeezing his optics and his hands shut before he simply let his numbing chassis just give out to fall on the floor.
Hot Rod who had just come back from speaking to Springer about the next step in their plan noticed his beloved's predicament and quickly swept forward to catch the swooning mech in his arms. "Easy, Optimus..." he whispered lovingly, caressing his lovely facials with tender care.
The larger ex-slave didn't respond whatsoever. He really felt the rebel leader should have just missed him on purpose and let his disgusting frame slam onto the rust dirt. Because that was certainly where little betraying whores belonged... but no... Worse was being treated like a Primus sent angel... He literally made himself sick...
The muscle car mech oblivious to his self-loathing and mild suicidal thoughts due to being quite used to it since he rescued the larger Autobot, though was a little disappointed it had returned. And here he thought he was making such good progress... "Come on. Let's go back to my tent." he said gently pushing the other older mech to the their tent while sheltering him from the blustery gusts until they got inside.
The red and orange robot led the wilted red and blue mech over to his separate berth on the rugged floor. His face fell sadly when he watched the truck flopped down hard on the loose mesh sheets and ball up in his dirty torn cloak. Primus, he hated that ugly thing but he could never take it away if he tried. It was his precious shield.
Still, regardless of the nasty aura the other gave out in massive waves, Hot Rod sat down and rubbed his tense back in manner he knew helped him a bit. "...You fear for your friends?" he spoke gently.
Optimus only looked at him for a second under his mantle with half lidded optics that dully shone depression before they disappear within the ratty fabric. Not exactly... He couldn't lie, he had feared that during his former master's manic rampage they might've gotten injured during the melee but mostly feared what was done to Megatron because of it. Surely, Soundwave took the best judgement on what to do with him. He trusted the him to. Which apparently was to send him the Kaon sanatarium...
An the expected soft touch to his back moved up to his shoulder armor pushed him back to somewhat harsh reality. Annoyed that he wasn't being left alone to brood, the Autobot ex-slave glared up only to see the rebel gazing deep into his azure optics with a lovestruck, hungry expression. "Uhhh... What are you doing...?" he said in a hushed but confused tone while backing away from the other's uncomfortably close face.
The red and orange robot snapped out of his daze then cleared his throat tubing. He got a little carried away in seeing the semi mech so vulnerable and sweet but how could he resist any longer...? He wanted so much to the new light in his life, he would virtually jump every time. "Forgive me my dear Optimus. You're beauty has a way to hypnotize a mech to... do things..." he whispered sultry, his orange fingers sliding over his blue digits in raw affection.
The red and blue mech's face plates twisted a bit in revolt at display of aroused playfulness. "I know..." he growled once more cursing his beauty to himself. He was not beautiful! He was a ugly glitch...! Maybe he should make his mask his permanent face! Then maybe others would stop this... this insanity...!
The muscle car raised an optic ridge at the self-loathing the older robot that always seemed to radiate towards himself whenever he was told that simple compliment about his visage. However he let it pass with a small sigh, as it was all too common for him to see and instead gripped the other's chin to turn it towards him. "You shouldn't punish yourself for your beauty." he whispered to Optimus' abhorring cerulean optics, using his other hand to sweeping off the makeshift hood he created with his cloak.
The large ex-slave growled, narrowing his optics to icy slits. His caring scolding would never work if it was true... Always true. Always... "I always do..." he hissed, wanting to be left alone already. There were some points he really did loathe the other mech's stubbornness with taking a hint.
Not intimated because Hot Rod knew this was the larger mech's way of hurting himself, by making himself as vile as he believed to others. It was not happening and he would just have to deal with it. "...Well stop..." he vented intensely before pressing the hidden mask releases he knew where there and sliding his dermas passionately against his love's the moment it slid apart.
The older Autobot froze like a lightning bolt had struck him through his entire frame. Why was he kissing him...? Could he... have fallen in love with him...? Oh, Primus no... No! That was just cruel! He couldn't let another pure spark fall for his wicked allure and fall as well!
But still... The rebel leader's soft steel lips pressing to his felt so... euphoric and loving... His spark longed for a tender touch... it fragging hungered but... not for his. His spark still cried for his ex-master... And though it felt like boiling poison was running through his internals for this 'betrayal', he didn't really feel like pushing him aside.
Instead, red and blue robot raised his shaking hands on the red and orange mech's shoulders, neither an invitation for more nor a flat-out rejection. He honestly didn't know what he was doing anymore. So many ways his spark had been torn... Too many to be in real control...
Unfortunately, to the muscle car robot any reaction from the larger mech was an invitation for more. He moaned lustfully and pushed the still emotionally fragile ex-slave to his berth. His orange hands greedily explored the curvy larger chassis beneath him, swallowing a tiny moan that came of it with a smile. Oh how he adored the semi mech's sweet voice in pleasure!
Optimus gasped, shivering under the thirsty digits from both the sheer feeling of guilt and of being overcome with himself. This would, should be natural to give into a mech who's love, while unrefined and without any real direction, would be a renewed chance to be loved again... But he didn't feel it.
Make no mistake that he would thank the other robot for helping him escape, freeing him and showing him back to some form of sanity. He always would. However his spark pulsed for another... and when those greedy servos journeyed down to his blue panel, gripping it tight... It attacked him to stop now, before it was too late to save him from a one-sided romance that could definitely wound him for the worse.
The larger Autobot fiercely seized the other's hands and twisted his helm away, optics vehemently shut. His sore processor howled at him to speak, say anything that could before it was too late. Speak...! Speak now, damn it! Just speak...!
Incredibly confused, Hot Rod pulled away to see the larger ex-slave refuse to look at him much less allow to continue with their ministrations. "What is it...? Am I doing something wrong...?" he asked, wondering if maybe he acted too soon and if he did he really doubted he could force himself to wait any longer for his sake, as selfish as that sounded it was the truth.
The semi's optic narrowed in emotional pain, wincing as guilty optic cleaning fluid welled up. Him doing something wrong...? He could laugh! If he currently didn't feel so filthy... "No... It's just..." his voice died with a choked crackle and a blue hand over his mouth before he looked away.
The rebel leader frowned confused, slowly piecing together the reaction into something understandable. "...You're in love with another aren't you?" he asked, growing jealousy obvious in his tone as he lifted himself off the other with a look of vexation. This would explain a lot of his solitary behavior when he wasn't a eremitic mech at all.
The red and blue mech could not force himself to speak any longer but at least faintly nodded. He could feel the scars that had so gently been healing in his spark continue to bleed over. Why was it that every time things began to look for the better, that turned over so...?
The muscle car sighed, slapping a frustrated hand over his facials with optics closed for a moment to gather his rationality. Though that was rather hard with the evidence he might have competition... "Who is it?" he inquired at last after a few minutes, leering down at larger robot almost menacingly.
All the words wanted to speak were there but that look halted any ways Optimus could speak them. It was like him being in love with another was unacceptable. Like he was obsessed with him too... Like he was devolving just like... Oh, Primus...
Growing angry at the lack of response, the red and orange mech bared his denta in an expression that was rather threatening. Why did he have to be so difficult? Everything he did was contradictory to himself and quite frankly it was grating enough when he didn't speak to him! "Optimus! Tell me!" he shouted impatiently, slapping an angry hand down on the berth below creating a small cloud of dust.
The Autobot ex-slave whimpered bitting his derma to hold back his optic fluid tears. He dared not even give him a hint of whom it was he longed for... He wanted to push him away from the sword of truth not bring him further on it... If he knew... "...W-Why? Why do have to know so damn badly...?" he asked weakly, shivering from the force of his tormented grasp on control.
Why he asks... Unbelievable... Did he not get it yet? Was the older mech really that far in denial of himself? Or did he go back down the hole to insanity? Honestly, Hot Rod didn't care anymore. It needed to said sooner or later so, let it be now then. "Because I've fallen in love with you!" he declared with all his might.
Optimus almost choked on his own glossa at the bold confession. Primus above... he was in love with him...! He did not want to ever think that it was possible his fate could become something like his former master, but how could he when he said that with those kind of optics...?! "What...?!" he gasped terrified.
The red and orange mech reeled himself back after seeing how much he was disturbing an already unstable mech and intaked a few moments before continuing with a more calm tone. "From the moment I first saw you... I... I just had to take you with me." he said softly, stroking the other mech's rarely seen features.
The larger Autobot calmed slightly but it hardly dissolved his fear. There may not have been insanity in those untamed passionate lazuline optics but there was obsession. It frightened him... It frightened him that he falling down the same road the silver mech went too much so to comfort him completely... More so it meant... he was too late...
"Even if you don't love me the way I do... don't you think you owe me at least an explanation as to who you really love...?" the rebel leader asked, doing his best to control the impatience from boiling over inside him this time.
The ex-slave winced in sorrow, looking to the side. Now he was using his morality against him... Whatever ethics still remained with him anymore that is... "No... I can't say it." he growled firmly, biting his glossa to still any possible outbursts the younger mech could wring out of him. Though he knew he barely had the power to hold back anything that he could find out on his own...
The obstinate nature the red and blue mech had was wearing out the young muscle car mech's unrefined control quite quickly. Why was he so refractory when it came to speaking to him? They had connected on many other subjects, but one push into the direction of romance and Decepticons, he caged himself away. It made no sense! Was he that beaten? No. If he was then, why did he still hate Decepticons but not attack them outright and yet be friendly with the Autobots but not get close.
Then a crazy thought hit Hot Rod out of nowhere. If the one he was in love with was not an Autobot since he just shoved them away then it had to be a... Decepticon. "...Why...? If it's an Autobot then you shouldn't be... Oh dear Primus... It not a... Decepticon... is it...?!" he asked hushed in petrified possibility.
With the silence that answered him, it only confirmed the rebel's at first outrageous claim, to reality breaking truth. Now at last, all the pieces fit together. All of it. The self-abuse, the guilt, the mad looks of longing. All of it mixed together into a warped world-view that knocked the mech having them for a loop. "You... fell in love... with the Pharaoh... didn't you...?!" he hissed accusingly while standing up with a sickened expression above the larger robot.
The semi mech curled up under the nasty disgusted look the smaller mech gave him, feeling like he was being executed slowly from his bleeding guilt. "I do not deny it... But I don't care what you or any other Autobots think about it anymore... I know I'm not wrong for it... Love is never wrong... I... I love him..." he whispered sadly but honestly, gazing up with a look of pure bereft, desperate love.
The muscle car robot backed off like he had just seen the other transform into Unicron's pit spawn the Unmaker right before his optics. "You... You love the single worst cybertronian after the Fallen...? That's who you love?! Do you even know what you just said mech?!" he vented in incredulity.
"Of course I do... I love him... I do..." Optimus whispered with a bittersweet, mad lovestruck face that he could stop from making. He felt he was wrong from years of his own thoughts telling him so and from others, but in his spark... he knew he was right. However, the gun mech was gone now... but he still loved him...! It was hilarious, really! A divine prank! But one he could not fight if he still had the guile to...
That mocking laugh the larger robot let out to the heavens above drove a spike clean through the red and orange robot's spark. Primus he was far gone... but he wouldn't give up on him... No, the other was too precious to simply cast out, despite the frightened urging from his primal programming to. "Magnus was right about you... You are very sick." he spoke around a hand placed over his mouth, looking to the rugged floor with a blank, dumbfounded expression.
The large Autobot ex-slave didn't respond to the comment to his mental state of being as now they really did fit him and his current behavior. He didn't deny it. Afterall, he abandoned the mech he loved because he was too scared to love him and now he destroyed him from cowardly fleeing from him. Insanity seemed justifiable but was not guiltless...
Hot Rod raised his orange hand from his mouth to his closed optics and shook his helm with a sharp sigh. "Primus above... I should've found you sooner then maybe that lunatic's madness wouldn't have infected you..." he muttered sourly, somehow knowing that maybe that wouldn't have mattered any but it made him feel a little better about all this... However it was not by much...
The red and blue mech watched the mech before him almost reject the reality of what he had heard. Let him try, it would not change how he felt. Nothing would. Though he was curious as to what he was going to do now. Was he going to shun him like his 'friends' or genuinely try to help him? He hoped it was the latter but he predicted bitterly from sour experience it was going to be the former. It was too easy to be anything but... "Love is not wrong..." he whispered drone-like, connecting his fingers together innocently like a sparkling.
The younger ex-slave crassly ignored him, continuing his slight rant mostly to vent his overflowing frustration and sense of perfidy without adding more to it but failing. "...I don't even know if we should even include you tomorrow... Pit, if rumors are to be believed, he's not even there and that slime High Priest is..." he grumbled, beginning to pace back ad forth as if the other mech had somehow vanished while he was talking.
Though disappointed that his prediction might be true once more, the truck robot grew rather interested in the smaller mech's mutterings on current and possibly future events. Which sounded big... "What are you talking about...?" he asked in a meek tone, rising up from his berth while clutching his dusty cloak.
The rebel leader's pacing stopped as his optic receptor looked to the other mech from the side before sighing peevishly once again. Primus he didn't know if he should hear this... However, if the mildly deranged mech had found out on his own, something he knew would happen given his curious, caring nature, it would be far, far worse... "We were planning a complete overthrow of Kaon palace in the morning." he stated plainly, turning fully with his hands behind his back.
Optimus' optics widened at the news. Attack...? He had heard about no such thing...! He had actually thought that they were just going to rescue all the Autobots they could and leave the Decepticons to simply destroy themselves. But in that moment, a spitefully justified thought appeared in his CPU... Of his memories of the mechs he had met in his life, who were the exception to this unyielding hatred, rushed back to scold him with flaming swords of guilt...
Honestly, it was quite confusing, why his processor, so filled to the brim with craving thoughts of revenge bubbling steadily well beneath his true self, suddenly cringed at the thought of spilling vital fluid. Why...? The larger Autobot secretly trained from datapads he found of hand-to-hand combat in the case he ever needed to defend himself and it had helped numerous moments in the past, but never once discovered a need to truly hurt someone... no matter how much they may have done so to him... He just... couldn't do it.
Even now, he recoiled at seeing any mech, Autobot or Decepticon, in real pain and suffering. He was not a fighter, he was not a warrior. He would never be by choice and most certainly not by force. In his spark it was a truth that remained unbroken. The red and blue robot's face tempered into a disapproving scowl before speaking clear and steady while gazing down, deep into the smaller mech's optics.
"I not will fight for you if you intend to start mindless bloodshed, Hot Rod. You will only make things much worse. Believe me... You're just going to give them an excuse to start a war... Please, just... abandon the cravings of vengeance... I know its hard, believe me... but it will solve nothing. Let's... just leave somewhere. Away from this nonsense, Prime or not." the semi spoke gently while reaching up and touching his face, adding the Prime bit almost subconsciously. The other mech might possibly be their Primus chosen leader, but he beginning to think that was only something he believed to stroke his ego...
The muscle car's facials softened a bit at the sweet, caring touch but rehardened into a more scorned expression at the subtle comment in his words of him not being Prime before contemptuously brushing the blue hand away with a sneer. "...No. Even if that glitch is no longer sitting in that damned throne, it doesn't matter. He's just as guilty for no doing nothing as the ones who have." he hissed, narrowing his glowing sapphire optics while raising an accusing orange digit up their optic level to prove his point more boldly.
The larger ex-slave's beautiful face plates drooped sadly. He was only speaking honestly... The young orange and red mech did at first appear to be the legendary Prime, but after a while of being beside him, seeing his behavior and attitude, it was obviously false. But he didn't care if he was not him, he was still an incredible robot for leading the rebels through the darkest times they have faced thus far. He just had to see the reason from his self-importance and obsession before he did something really stupid... "Hot Rod... Please..." he puled desperately as the other turned to leave.
"...We're attacking in two months from now, directly at dawn, wether or not you decide to help. Honestly, that infatuation will be just in the way, so after that horrible city and its capital are razed to the ground and its 'new ruler' out of the way, I probably will have to chop off that psycho's helm clean of his shoulders... Maybe that will snap you out of your hysteria." Hot Rod growled, anger at all of the words he was too upset to take in properly, blinded him effectively to see his promise slowly destroying the older, more fragile mech shaking behind him as he stormed out to the main tent nearby.
And the moment the smaller Autobot was gone, Optimus fell to his knees and burst out into tears. No...! They couldn't kill Megatron...! He couldn't bare it! He couldn't! Why...?! His rapid thoughts flung his equilibrium sensors for a complete loop, weakly dropping his frame onto the berth below him while grasping his face and balling up. "...Hot Rod... Please... Don't kill him... You're making a mistake..." his deep voice crackled before his little amount of strength faded from all the drama...
Megatron tardily awoke in his rusty, dank prison, wrapped in a powerful chained straight jacket that was bolted heavily into the wall just behind him. His processor burned hot with constant overexertion and moved ever so slowly... It was so painful to think... To remember his beloved... was... was...
The ex-Pharaoh lunged forward as far as his binds allowed and roared before breaking into a long anguished whine as he viciously threw himself onto his back. He boomed in anguish, almost drowning out the exasperated sighs from his current pair of rotating guards, seated several feet away from thick bars rusted with age on his cage's door.
"There he goes again..." one of the large Decepticons muttered to his companion sitting beside him before leaning depressingly into his spear, visibly uncomfortable from the larger mech inside the cell's disturbing screaming and flailing.
The other mech groaned, getting up from his seat, equally tense but was much more reserved with it. "I don't want to deal with him this time. Its unnerving enough to see His Majesty... like this..." he whispered with a cringe at a particularly harsh yell.
The shriek was so loud the pair didn't even notice a visitor enter through the thick double iron bolted doors at the side of the large room. "Then don't. I will take it from here." he said clerically, stepping up behind the two blocking his way to the mad Decepticon ex-leader's prison.
Both Decepticon guards jumped at the new mech in the room behind them, barely half their large sizes before straightening up upon seeing whom it was. "But sir, he's..." one of the guards began but his warning died in his throat tubing at the Vizer's fierce look of dictation to move out of his path or get punished. With very choice but to obey their superior, left him to whatever mission he had come for with their former King.
The massive silver mech didn't even detect the movement outside of his cage. He could only lower his helm to the cold steel floor, venting heavily through the rust caking the ugly floor. He shivered horribly, clenching his mech blood stained fanged denta. Primus... Did he find humor in keeping him alive for your twisted amusement...? Let him perish or let him get revenge on all those who took his love away already...!
"Like father, like son..." a soft voice spoke in front of him through the dully glowing bars, barely a couple feet away from his fallen chassis, making lean his helm up to see who dared to speak to him.
Seeing it was a melancholy Soundwave, the gun robot snarled. "Does this amuse you...? Does my fate here make you feel better?! Hide away Primus' little screw-up...!" he ranted melodiously in a crazed cracked tone, rustling his chains with beastly glittering unhinged ruby optics.
The slender blue mech bit his derma as his worn spark cracked. His white hands nearly instinctively went to his welded injection holes in his arms, almost like a form of comfort in his extremely difficult confrontation... "...No. Of course not. I always knew this would happen someday... When or how was never clear... But I knew... almost on the very day we had bought Optimus..." he mumbled regretfully.
At the sound of his beloved's name, Megatron's face plates screwed up in raw sorrow, as his spark recoiled like a physical strike. His world spun anew in betrayal as he gasped in wheezed in loud dry sobs onto the cool floor. "My... Optimus..." he groaned pathetically.
The stereo mech grasped his chest on top of his crying spark at the other larger mech's radiant agony. What had that Autobot slave done...? Did he have any idea how hard the ex-Pharaoh had fallen for him or how hard he would fall when he vanished...? And he wasn't much better... Throwing him in the almost full Kaon sanitarium just to stay and work at an virtually empty palace to ignore the woes around him... "As much as you abhor your sire, you too have fallen madly in love with an Autobot, haven't you...?" he vented lamentably.
The silver robot choked lightly before rolling on his back plates to gaze in wide-opticed grief at the grim ceiling. Oh how he wanted to melt clean through his own armor... "I want him... I want my Optimus... I WANT HIM! HE IS MINE! MINE ALONE!" he howled abrasively, dripping fangs bared, twisting around in his tight straightjacket like a wild, trapped drone.
Soundwave forced himself to look away from the pitiful sight of the gun virtually regressing to both sparklinghood and animechood. It was alike so much to when he was sick with Red Rust Fever. One had to wonder if the sickness had done the trick to destroying the larger mech's psyche. But the soft mad tone that came out of nowhere disrupted his thoughts from continuing any further.
"Why did he leave me...?" the Decepticon leader whimpered his random fit sporadically calming into a depression. It made no sense... Nothing did with him... He loved him... He ran away... To the Prime's call...! Liar! Filthy liar betrayed him! He was always his! The fool!
"My guess freedom. He always had the desire. All Autobots do." the Vizer spoke in his usual dutiful voice, almost laughing at the sound he was using like it was a normal meeting when it was far otherwise.
Megatron clenched his optics shut and twisted his helm to the side, though tears streamed out freely regardless. Oh, it hurt... Lonely... Sad...! Lovelorn! Damn that perfect angel...! Hate him! Cut him! Love him! Love him! Love him!
Terrible silence was granted for several minutes until the blue robot broke it by sighing. "...I ...I never wanted this to happen." he spoke lamentably, rubbing his forehelm, taking note of his addiction's scars on his delicate white arm as he moved it. It matched his personality ironically perfect in many ways right now...
Annoyed at the pitying tone, the larger Decepticon bared his fangs ferally while getting to his knees joints. "I am not one of your sparklings!" he snarled in a shattered, sibilating voice. Foolish motherly wretch...! His love was not cared for! He was always there to only help him make him fall harder!
The slender stereo mech's face saddened further. Yes... He wasn't his sparkling... But seeing as how he had almost raised the other from youth to adult he couldn't help but feel attached to him like he was. And with tears threatening to pool from his optics, all the more. "...I know." he chuckled joylessly, leaning his turned back plating on the bars while drooping his helm down.
The ex-Pharaoh's optics narrowed into a nasty glower. "Oh but you actually really hate me, don't you, Soundwave...? Being the son of the Fallen... the precious one you could not save... Oh, yes because he could love and would sacrifice everything for him... Unlike you..." he hissed like acid.
Soundwave flinched so hard he almost cramped his muscle cables before he swung around and grabbed the bars, sliding back his full mask plating to rarely show his full slender face on the edge of outraged optic fluid tears. "I care! Don't you dare say such vulgar things!" he shouted grievously.
The massive silver robot rocked his helm back and cackled loudly, causing it to echo eerily off the rusty iron walls. "...You care? You care?! If you cared, you would release me! Release me to him! RELEASE ME!" he screamed maniacally, oral fluid dribbling down from his dermas and chin.
The Vizer barely held back his optic fluid from spilling over his pale cheek plates. Every single logic circuit in his processor was shrieking not to release into what was sure complete lunacy. Releasing a madmech from his prison...? More madness in itself. But... a haunting memory too much like the tragic fate of his late sire, continued to appear to him.
About how they did keep him in a place he didn't desire until finally he succeeded in killing himself. And that was something he could not bare to see the other mech repeat... "...Do you really want this...?" the smaller Decepticon asked blankly, his face plates reflecting his voice flawlessly but within he was squirming at what he might do if he did what the larger robot screamed for.
The gun mech threw himself back on the floor and wailed. Did he not hear his words...!? Or did he ravish in this painful play before him...?! "...Free... me...!" he hissed through his denta long and slow, glaring at him with demonic crimson optics from the semi darkness of the room.
The blue mech clutched his face with a distressed white hand, his calculating processor running at a pace he never thought could but could hardly sort out fast enough anymore, before limply dropping it to his side once again. "I should not... But I can't bare to watch you suffer either..." he croaked brokenly, clearly torn between his logic and emotions.
Megatron scarcely heard him talk over the static and wispy smoke coming out of the seams of his scratched up striped helm from his insane rage. Much of his chassis was chafed from his constant thrashing, much of his gold and jewelry were removed to prevent him from cutting himself on some of the sharp edges and only his violet cape was left which was in ragged tatters, adding to his rather savage appearance.
But the stereo only smiled in a mixture of ragged sorrow and motherly pride. "Primus, damn me for eternity for this..." he muttered as he inwardly accessed the sanitarium's cell and straightjacket codes with ease, noting inwardly that he was damned anyway for doing this to him in the first place. His white finger shook as he managed to poke it inside the keyhole and twisting it while uploading its code in one skillful motion.
The loud grind of old gears were heard from the inner mechanisms of the giant barred doors as they creaked unevenly open. The moment they were open enough for a mech to pass through, Soundwave walked inside and crouched beside the wide-opticed, stunned ex-Pharaoh.
The massive Decepticon ex-leader glanced up at the other mech who rubbed his striped helm fondly until his facials twisted aggressively and growled. Filthy mothering mech...! But he could only watch with ire as the Vizer then stuck his finger into the back lock of his straitjacket and twisted once again.
The jacket and its chains snapped loose to fall with a metallic clang as the silver mech moved his incredibly stiff arms. They were off... He was... free. Free at last! A jagged smiled spread on his dermas and a great laugh of mad joy that began slow from inside, then finally erupted from his mouth like a clap of demoniac thunder.
The slender Decepticon said nothing at the harsh laughter. As if his words ever could reach him... He could only observe as the gun mech violently tore his offline straitjacket to shreds completely out of spite. Why did he let the lunatic out...? He didn't want him to suffer anymore... Why didn't he deactivate the weapons lock chip he had so painfully jammed into his frame...? He didn't want others to suffer...
Megatron took sizable delight in ripping the bonds that kept him prisoner for so long to utter pieces, licking his slavering fangs. Oh, joyous day... Happy! So much! "...Optimus... I'm coming for you..." he giggled psychotically as he walked out of the open door with his optics glowing as bright and violent as Unicron's pit...
The night was silent, cold and quiet, too much so for something to happen. But it was destroyed regardless by a loud powerful explosion that shook the rust ground violently around the rebel campsite. Optimus' optics sprang open and he quickly sat up in his berth. Screams and shouts were heard all around him as well rushing sound of pedes hitting the ground at a rapid pace and an orange glow that lit up the dark.
Rising off his berth and opening the tent's flap opening the Autobot came across a sight that struck him almost dead with horror. It was the ex-Pharaoh. In a sight that jabbed painfully hot towards his horrible vivid dreams he was covered with mech fluid but it wasn't his own. He had wounds from the fired shots from small arms he didn't know they collected during the travels, from the Autobots simply trying to defend their campsite as well as themselves.
"What... is... this...?!" was all the large ex-slave could whisper through his coming optic tears, even less comprehend in his processor. This was... his master now...? No... Not his beloved... No please...! He didn't deserve it...! He didn't deserve it!
But that was not the thing that frightened the red and blue mech the most. It was the sight of the silver robot he had come to love with all his spark, rushing into the melee, completely unarmed probably from a weapons lock chip as if he had a berserker death wish. He watched with tunneled horror as he almost split Autobots he got close enough to but missed due to his hampering injuries.
Moving at rate he didn't even know he could run, the semi mech shoved one Autobot that couldn't get out of the way fast enough, just as the cutting edges of the gory black claws came screaming down to slam on the rust. "MASTER! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! STOP!" he wailed skidding several feet away, hoping by some miracle his screaming at him would snap out of his craze.
The gun slid his manic charge to a halt with a metallic screech, lowering his bloody hands with wide shocked optics toward the voice he didn't expect to hear again so soon. "...Op... ti... mus...?" he drawled out, optic receptors drifting over to spot the mech he loved, craved so panting nearby.
Optimus locked optics with the other mech while rising to a shaky stand before feeling a moment of his own madness overcoming his fear to approach and rushing to lightly embrace him. "Yes, it is me! Stop this! Please!" he pleaded clutching at his former master's gore slicked armor, ignoring the want to purge his fuel tanks from its sick warm feel.
Megatron blinked at the gentle but gentle touch then growled primally, his face contorting into a fierce rage. Little tramp...! He just rushes to him then runs to him to protect the Prime...?! Vile beautiful creature! "You... You left me!" he snarled throwing the other mech to the ground with a foul slap to his maskless face.
The ex-Pharaoh hissed down at the Autobot ex-slave clutching his sore cheek plate in horrified shock. Well deserved! "We were supposed to be together...! Just the two of us! How could you...?!" his voice breaking into a hellishly high-pitched voice as he advanced toward him menacingly crouched over his fangs and claws gleaming from the fires crackling around them in random places.
The slightly smaller red and blue robot felt his optics overflow with tears, blinding him slightly as he crawled backwards away from the other mech. "My Lord... Please...! You must grip your sanity...! Please... You're hurting people...!" he whimpered lowly, his voice virtually reduced to a meek, delicate tone he hated to his core.
The smaller mech pules fell on deaf audios. All they did was further enrage the monster the Decepticon was becoming... "You promised... You promised me..." he ranted to himself gripping his striped helm as static buzzed out painfully. He then threw his helm up to the darkened sky and laughed wildly.
The semi mech watched with a dismayed expression, for once in his entire life he was too terrified to even speculate what he was going to next. All he could was brace himself for whatever the madmech concocted to do to him when he stopped...
The massive silver robot's demented cackle cut off sharply to grin maniacally down to the Autobot below him. "You think... you're free from me...? Though you don't have your collar no longer attached to you... you still will belong to me... You will always belong to me..." he spoke, still advancing on his retreating beloved.
Optimus whimpered at the murderous joy on his former master's bleeding facials, moving back until he almost swallowed his spark in fear at being forced to stop because of running into the iron lip of the makeshift rebel well. "Please... Master... Stop..." he whispered in a last ditch desperate attempt to talk him down now that he was currently trapped.
Whatever it was that was stopping the gun from attacking was violently struck down with an almost physical snap. "Stop...? Stop?! Why would I want to stop?! I LOVE YOU!" he screamed insanely before raising his sharp fingers above his helm and bring it down to slice into the terrified mech below him.
The ex-slave's optics widened at being attacked and quickly rolled out of the way, just barely feeling the graze of the sharpened points on his outer white thigh armor. "No! This not love...! This is... This is insanity!" he cried out, stumbling for his footing to better avoid a tough spot like that again.
"How dare you call me insane! All I've ever done is love you! And you... you just enjoy hurting me!" Megatron shrieked taking another swing at the now standing mech but missed once again, feeding his already undone sense of crazed anger, betrayal and sparkbreak.
The large Autobot dodged the swing of bloody claws at him, over and over again. Primus how he wish he had the power to make him better, but he honestly didn't know what more to say than the truth... and it was doing virtually nothing...! "No! I never meant to hurt you! You have to believe me! But what you're doing is wrong! If you love me you wouldn't be trying to kill others and me!" he shouted defensively.
Strangely the words of kill got through the red haze of the ex-Pharaoh's madness, causing him to pause in a pose of stupor. Kill him...? Kill his beloved...? No... He would never... He just wanted him to stay...! He wanted him forever! Not the filthy siren called Prime! "...Kill you...? I'm not trying to kill you... I am simply trying to get you to stop running away from me..." he purred sweetly with a deranged smile and an innocent tilt of his helm.
The red and blue robot felt his spark shrink. It was those damn words again...! He... He was gone... But that didn't mean he had to leave him this time... He didn't like it here after all...! The 'pull' called him even in this crisis of a situation... why not let it take him and take his fallen love with him...? Away from this...
Ecstatic to see his beloved no longer fleeing but instead standing there in apparent surrender, the Decepticon ex-leader neared him to the point their facials were mere inches apart. "So... why did you run from me...?" he vented huskily, licking away some of the vital fluid pooling from small injuries on his forehelm.
However, before either of the two mech could make a move, a young rash voice rang out to the pair drawing their shared attention. "Hey, Pharaoh! Nice of you to come out of whatever hole of a building they put you in to save the trouble of finding you personally for the coming attack." Hot Rod who was standing a few feet away, pointing a fiercely glowing energon sword in the direction of the silver mech's neck cabling.
The semi mech was about to tell the rebel leader to leave and let him handle his problem his way but the massive gun robot's optics widened before narrowing into a death scowl. "...You... Prime..." he growled, noting he was smaller than what he pictured his dreaded enemy would be, but there was no mistaking the Prime when he saw him!
Spurned on by the crowd of Autobots ready to begin firing whenever he gave the order while watching him, including the mech he was still angry at but still adored nonetheless, pressed forward gallantly. "Keep your filthy energon oil stained hands off that Autobot, Decepticon!" he snarled, crouching in a battle stance.
"Silence your glossa you naive fool! Optimus belongs to none but myself, the Pharaoh!" Megatron bellowed, grabbing the slightly smaller mech beside him with a brutal grab to his arm before painfully yanking him close.
"No, monster! He is mine! He is all of ours! He has been freed by me and will be beside me, far from your mad grip." the muscle car mech declared boldly just before speeding forward and slashing at the muscular arm holding his darling. As predicted the large Decepticon flinched in pain, allowing him to wring Optimus from his temporarily weakened grasp.
The ex-Pharaoh recovered with a thunderous expression seeing the 'Prime' holding his dear Autobot in his arms lovingly. He broke with a primaeval roar... "Then he will belong to NOBODY!" he shrieked like the madmech he was now and charged at the red and orange robot, ramming the smaller robot.
The ex-slave watched the carnage continue without pause with absolute horror. He couldn't stand the thought that this meaningless bloodshed to his former master was merely because of him being here. It was simply too much...! Enough was enough...! The silver mech was his problem to deal with and damn it he was going to solve it now! "NO! I CAN NOT STAND THIS ANY LONGER!" he screamed while throwing a nearby pot at the larger of the two mechs' helm, hoping it would snap the two leaders out of their frenzy for him and draw the gun's attention back to him.
It worked. Megatron had easily pinned Hot Rod beneath his weakened but still far greater strength by the throat tubing until a clay pot shattered across his face. It was far from anything that could have hurt him but got his attention and turned to see his beloved venting madly with an expression almost mirroring his in insanity. "...Optimus?" he inquired innocently, confused at the new behavior as his face changed from maniacal glee to genuine confusion.
"You want me?! You want me so damn badly?! Then you follow me! You chase me! Chase me right into Unicron's very arms but don't you dare hurt them over me! Don't you dare die in my name! I will not allow it!" the red and blue robot shouted, exposing his denta.
The ex-Pharaoh's eerie blazing optics sparked as his mech blood soaked dentals were exposed in a psychotic smile, highlighted by the orange glow of the surrounding fires as he rose up from his wheezing adversary. Finally... He saw the truth...! To flee from the little 'Prime' at his pedes...! Delightful! Excellent!
The semi flinched at the evil sight but only slightly before grinning himself to hide his excess of raw unsortable emotions. "Yes... Chase me... You want it...! We all secretly want it! Frag, who am I kidding... I want it!" he declared to anybody who was even listening to his mindless, mad babble as he walked backwards to tease the other into pursuing.
The rebel coughed as his squished neck cables readjusted themselves to their natural position then gazing up with a shocked look at Optimus' declaration of near sacrifice. What was he...? He couldn't really mean to... "...Optimus...?" he croaked from his place on the bloody rust sand.
The larger Autobot ex-slave quickly looked down at the rebel leader with an extremely brief look of 'I'm so sorry, I hurt you too...' before returning a determined mad expression to his facials then bolting into the surrounding night, painfully transforming for the first time in his long life into his handsome vehicle form.
The Decepticon ex-leader wholeheartedly laughed at the other's reckless moxie to toy with him before racing after his beloved's red and blue form in the quiet night, happily leaving behind a stunned frozen stiff red and orange mech and crowd of flabbergasted Autobots...
A/N: My Primus... This is the longest chappie for Beautiful Tragedy I have ever made so far... Which actually is not all that surprising since I had a lot of events I had to cram into this one chapter. Good news is the sweet romantic sparktugging chapters are all that's left. Hang in there guys, their a coming! Also, sorry for the massive delay... Life is all I can say to that... Hope you enjoyed anyway, reviews are always loved and... I will see you next time! Peace!