To those who saw funky formatting last chapter: it's been fixed. Sorry about that.
And this is the last of my backlog, so chapters will come more slowly again.
Fandom: Transformers G1
Author: gatekat, ultrarodimus on LJ
Pairing: Axe/Dai Atlas/Titanus, Wing/Tradewinds
Rating: PG-13
Codes: Slash, Historical Setting, Knights of Light, Mechpreg, Death
Disclaimer: The authors are only playing with their own twisted muses. Transformers belong to Hasbro. Fandom-side, check the inspirations page (gatekat-fics .livejournal 290 .html). We draw from a ton of amazing stories and authors you should read.
Kneeling to the Sword 20: When a Sparkling is Too Large
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Several metacycles had passed since Dai Atlas and Titanus had been confirmed to be carrying. The big teleporter had moved into the Citadel a metacycle before, well before the growing protoform he carried grounded him. Many mecha outside the Citadel had not been pleased, since the giant flier was in very high demand as a courier. Fortunately for the sanity of the Citadel's residents, Titanus had proven much more laid back and mellow a carrier than Dai Atlas was ... which made sense, given how much more laid back he was in general.
Both mecha had been doing well, though Dai Atlas' temper, as expected, was steadily getting worse as he began to show his condition and it took a noticeable physical toll on his abilities. Hardwing had been keeping close tabs on both of them. There had been no signs of any problems. Now the newsparks were mere decaorns from migrating downward from their carriers' spark chambers into the developing protoforms.
Titanus was watching Dai Atlas spar with Shogun; Axe and Stormcloud watching with him. It was a fascinating show with well-matched opponents since Dai Atlas had been slowed down by his state.
The white and deep gray mech leaned against the wall, one folded wing twitching slightly. His arms were crossed over his chest, Wing sprawled across them. The small jet had been taking every opportunity to climb all over Titanus' frame, touching his abdomen where the protoform was being constructed, even though nothing was showing yet. It was something he couldn't do with Dai Atlas unless he wanted to chance getting swatted, but Titanus was perfectly calm about it.
"His temper's worse than before," Axe said quietly, shifting as he watched the match. "I hope that means the sparkling is a strong one to be draining on him that much."
The bigger mech hummed softly. "If his temper reflects the strength of the sparkling, then it will be quite strong. And probably a handful to raise." He shifted slightly, careful not to disturb the jet draped across his folded arms.
"True enough," Axe chuckled. "Sheerwing definitely was, especially for Wing. Having a sparkling capable of breaking his brother's wing off before he's old enough to realize it's not a toy was challenging. We managed, though, and hopefully Dio Onshar's temperament will remain closer to yours than his carrier's despite his designation."
"We'll just have to wait and see," Titanus replied. "Starspark is probably going to be just as much of a handful. I can already sense the mischief. Primus help us when she's old enough to join Wing, Sheer, and Firefly in their shenanigans."
"As long as it's not mean mischief," Axe's optics glittered as he grinned at Titanus before every shred of humor vanished from him in a flash that saw the black and gold Knight over the railing of the observation area and onto the arena floor with a snarl as he charged for his mate even before the giant began to crumble.
Wing jumped at Axe's sudden movement, clamping onto Titanus' armor as the big teleporter followed. Wide golden optics fixed on the scene, watching as Axe and Shogun caught Dai Atlas, keeping him from hitting the floor.
"What's wrong?" Titanus hurried over, armor ruffling and standing on end across his upper back.
"His spark..." Axe had to fight for every intake he got as the pain flowed through the bond. "Medbay."
Titanus shifted Wing to his shoulder, the small white jet clinging to his armor. Processors already starting to run complex calculations, Titanus grabbed hold of the entire group. "This might feel weird, but it's the quickest way to the medbay." Blue optics flared as he teleported, the whole group reappearing in the middle of the medical bay.
Hardwing and Redline paused in their scramble to grab portable equipment at their sudden appearance. "Berth, both of them!" Redline barked, comming Dagger to get his aft into the main room.
"What happened?" Hardline demanded.
"Dai and I were sparring, and then he just collapsed." Shogun looked completely baffled. "Axe managed to mention his spark before Titanus teleported us all up here."
Wing clung to Titanus, resisting the temptation to cling to his creators. Under him white and gray armor shivered as Titanus helped the older pair onto the berths, then got out of the way so the medics could do their thing. The retreat was also fuelled by easing the distress on his spark being so close to so much pain caused.
"I was afraid of this," Hardwing said grimly, hooking Dai Atlas up to several monitors and support equipment while Dagger did his best to soothe Axe. "Titanus, do you have a strong connection to Dio Onshar?"
The big teleporter nodded. "Yes, I have a strong bond with him. Why?" Titanus shifted his weight from pede to pede nervously. "What's going on?"
"Don't go far," Redline said firmly as Dai Atlas went under stasis. "This is likely to hurt."
Axe tried to get up, only to be pushed down by Redline. "Stay," the medic growled.
"He's losing the newspark," Dagger elaborated for those who hadn't been in the loop.
Titanus' optics went wide. "He's... what?" The big mech felt his way to another berth and sat on it without taking his shocked gaze from the medics who were scrambling to hook Dai Atlas up to an array of machines. Wing scrambled off his shoulders, torn between staying with Titanus or going to Axe. "Why? What's happened to Dio Onshar?"
"He's too large for Dai Atlas to support," Hardwing grunted as he plugged into Dai Atlas to try and force the newspark to migrate to its protoform early.
"He'd likely be a small city-former," Redline picked up for his mentor as Hardline tuned out the outside world in a last ditch attempt to save both lives. "If we can't get him to migrate early, he'll have to be terminated to save his carrier."
Two pairs of optics, one sapphire blue and one sun-gold, just stared at the medic for a long, stunned moment. Titanus' hands tightened on the edge of the berth, almost denting the metal. Starspark responded to his distress, reaching out to him and trying to reach her sire, knowing something was wrong but not what.
"Primus willing, save them both," the teleporter murmured, armor alternately flattening against his frame and flaring out in distress.
"Focus on Dai Atlas," Shogun insisted as he walked up to take control of Axe, though he wasn't resisting at the moment. "I've got him if something goes badly."
Dagger nodded and turned to monitor duty while Redline sent the medical overrides to open Dai Atlas chest. Rich red light flooded out, eclipsed every seventeen nanokliks by a golden red as the newspark passed in front of his.
Though the entire family knew the newspark was large, something Dai Atlas was pleased by, this was the first time any of them really grasped that Dio Onshar's spark, even at this stage, was larger than his carrier's.
"What's going on?" Sheerwing demanded as he came in for a near-crash landing from the open balcony window, drawn by his carrier's pain.
Several pairs of optics widened as they took in the size difference between the two sparks. Titanus' folded wings flared out to their full span, almost hitting Wing. The white jet leaped out of the way, landing on his younger brother. "Dio's spark is too big for Dai to support... If he won't or can't migrate early, Hardwing will have to terminate him to save our creator," Wing told the younger mech, his field merging with Sheerwing's, communicating his distress.
A sharp intake greeted the news, then Sheerwing's attention snapped to Titanus.
"Likely fine, unless he can't take the shock of the creator bond breaking with Dio Onshar," Dagger answered.
On the second berth Axe whined and shuddered, responding to his mate's pain and distress as he struggled to fight Hardline's commands to force the newspark to migrate early. Carrier protocols were viciously strong in Dai Atlas, back by a personality and history that taught him to fight with everything he had.
A shudder ran through the teleporter's frame. "I've never experienced a broken bond before; I have no way of knowing if I'll be able to handle it or not. But I also have Star to think about. Losing both sparklings, rather than just one, would break all of us, I think." Titanus' sapphire optics were riveted on Dai Atlas and the newspark orbiting the blue mech's own.
Wing keened very softly, all but flattening himself against the side of Sheerwing's neck as his younger but much larger brother held him, offering support as much as needing it.
"She's not too large, is she?" Sheerwing blurted out.
"She's small," Dagger spoke up so the more experienced medics didn't have to pay attention. "As long as Titanus' spark does not falter seriously, he's more than strong enough to support her."
"Most of the energy went to Dai, for Dio Onshar," Titanus added, finally looking up. "Star will be a small femme, probably not much bigger than Wing." Blue optics turned back to Dai Atlas, white and gray armor flattening down so tightly it creaked in response.
The golden-red spark flickered, its next orbit lower and not completely eclipsing his carrier's.
"That's good," Dagger told them. "Dio Onshar is trying to migrate. Dai Atlas is much more likely to survive now."
"If Primus is willing, both will survive." Titanus' hands tightened on the edge of the berth, leaving deep finger imprints in the metal.
"I hope so," Wing murmured. Shogun hummed his agreement from where he was kneading Axe's shoulders and neck, trying to help keep the black mech calm and grounded despite the intense pain and distress pouring into him from his bond.
The room fell largely silent except for the stuttering and hitching of Axe's vents, and occasionally Titanus'. They all watched as Dio Onshar's giant spark gradually disappeared from sight. Then focus turned to Axe as the best indication of what was going on inside his mate. When the black triple changer screamed, his optics going blindingly white as he thrashed in the grip of pain too strong for even him to control everyone held their collective breath.
Plating rattled as another, stronger shudder ran through Titanus' frame. One palm pressed against the teleporter's own chestplate, over where his daughter's spark was pulsing frantically, wanting to know what was going on. Wing shivered hard at Axe's scream, all but melting into Sheerwing's armor, he was pressed so close. Shogun wrapped his arms around Axe, holding him firmly, hoping to keep the older mech from hurting himself or anyone else until the thrashing stopped.
Dai Atlas' chest armor closed, but no one really noticed that, or the arrival of Vanguard, Aurora and Marwir, who remained well out of the way but ready to keep anyone who needed to be controlled from hurting themselves.
Even in deep stasis Dai Atlas entire frame twitched, a sign of just how intense the pain was. His spark was fighting to hold on to its frame and the sparkling that still desperately needed his support.
A volatile series of curses escaped Redline as comprehension hit him just a few nanokliks after Hardwing realized what was going on. It took a moment longer for Dagger to catch up, having to go by the monitors.
"We're going to lose Dio Onshar," the youngest medic warned them. "He's not nearly as close to natural migration as we thought. His spark is not mature enough to support itself."
Wing's keen was echoed by Titanus' deeper voice, the teleporter all but curling up on himself on the berth. Shogun's hold tightened on Axe, trying to keep the black mech firmly pinned. The former policemech had seen all too many sparklings deactivated and knew how hard it was on the creators. This was more like a trine of Seekers, since even though Axe had no bond with the newspark, he had a very strong one with the carrier.
Vanguard stepped close to Sheerwing, supportive but also ready to keep the young Knight where he was should the bond with his carrier or simple emotional fallout cause something to snap inside him. It kept him close to Wing as well, though Marwir was trying to coax the white jet off his current perch and into her arms. It left Aurora to keep a sharp optic on Titanus as the sire-bond began to unravel.
It took a lot of coaxing to get Wing to come down from his brother's shoulder, his armor and wings tight to his frame, field roiling with distress. The white jet shivered all over, keening, optics darting from mech to mech as Marwir held him tightly, her field wrapping around him in support and comfort. The tremors running through Titanus' frame grew stronger and stronger, though otherwise he didn't move as the tight bond frayed and came apart. Sapphire optics flickered unsteadily, his keen rising in pitch and intensity. Aurora offered an embrace, offered her support, though she did not force it on him.
With a whisper Marwir edged Wing over to Axe, who'd settled somewhat, though his ventilations were still harsh and his optics unseeing as he fought to keep his mate in his frame and force Dai Atlas to let the sparkling go. Wing went more willingly to his creator, pressing against black armor. Shogun shifted an arm out of the way, giving the little white jet more room while still keeping a firm hold on Axe.
Titanus didn't seem to notice Aurora's presence at all. His attention was turned inward, on holding himself and Starspark together against the tide of pain coming through the fading creator bond as his spark thrashed in rejection of its loss.
Time stood still for everyone, all echoing the pain centered on Dai Atlas' spark as it thrashed and fought to sustain a life that would ultimately cost its own to maintain.
~Let him go!~ Axe howled across the bond, desperate to keep his love alive. ~Please!~
~But our sparkling...~
~Will still extinguish anyway if you do,~ he tried to use reason. ~Love, let him go.~
Dai Atlas' spark cried out in denial, knowing what the medics would not discover for more than a vorn; that this was its last chance. There would not be another.
Through the creator bond Dai Atlas shared with Starspark, the tiny femme sent fear, distress, and confusion. She didn't know what was going on, only that her sire and carrier were distressed and in pain. Titanus was keening, as curled into a ball as he could manage, his optics fixed on Dai Atlas.
In the end none of that mattered to Dai Atlas. It was his own spark-level coding demanding he survive. With a silent keen he let go of the life he'd nurtured at the cost of his own health and felt it fade even as it fought for its life. All he could do was gently hum to Dio Onshar and try to assure him that once the pain was over things got better.
Titanus' keen rose to a near-shriek as he felt the bond break, making nearby mecha wince. His whole frame spasmed several times, then he slumped back against the wall, optics dim, misery in every line of him.
Wing keened, pressing against black armor and burying his face against Axe's plating. White plating was flattened against his frame, field roiling with distress. His adoptive creator was no help; Axe was hurting just as much, if not more. Only Shogun had enough detachment from the situation to try and offer comfort to the pair.
Yet the grief was not the focus of the three medics. Those mecha would continue to function and they all knew it. The only spark at real risk was Dai Atlas. He was fighting for his functioning as the second strongest spark bond known to mecha snapped, sending spark energy out of equilibrium.
Wing slowly peeled himself away from Axe, moving over to latch onto blue armor, keeping out of Hardwing's way. The white jet's hands tightened around Dai Atlas' arm, field flickering against the larger mech's. Starspark tried to reach out again, but she was already exhausted, sinking back into silence, though distress still trickled through the creator bonds.
Axe's optics dimmed, all his attention on the bond he shared with Dai Atlas, trying to hold his mate as Dai Atlas fought for his life. Though Axe hadn't been there for the previous two times Dai Atlas had faced such a backlash to his spark, he had experienced it once himself. They both knew through hard experience that as painful as this was, it would pass and there could be a good functioning after it.
In the moment, though, it was difficult to remember that.
~Not going anywhere,~ Dai Atlas promised weakly.
~Good,~ Axe replied, slumping back against Shogun in relief. ~I don't want to lose you, and neither does anyone else.~ Blue optics warmed up, taking in his mate's frame and the small white mech wrapped around one arm, then lifting to the larger white and gray mech on the other berth.
"They'll both be fine," Shogun assured him. "It's traumatic and stressful, but Titanus is showing no signs of her spark failing."
Axe went almost limp with relief, leaning back against the red mech's frame. "Losing one was traumatic enough. I don't even want to think of losing both."
SxSxSxSxSxSxSxSx S===================S SxSxSxSxSxSxSxS
It had been several metacycles since Dai Atlas' miscarriage and the loss of his sparkling. Titanus had moved into his own quarters in the Citadel full time, spending some time with Axe and Wing during the day but keeping to himself at night. He showed very little sign of his carrying, the developing protoform being so small that his own bulk very effectively concealed any sign of it. Hardwing had been monitoring him even more closely than before since the loss of Dio Onshar, not wanting anything to go wrong.
Wing had been with the big teleporter when the first separation warning had appeared on Titanus' HUD, and it was the little white jet who passed the news on to the rest of his family while Titanus made his way to the medical bay. Axe appeared shortly after the bigger mech settled onto the berth, bringing with him one of the sparkling blankets that Titanium had sent for Sheerwing so many centuries before.
Dai Atlas was right behind his mate, though still somewhat distant. The bindings and time had eased the intellectual and some of the emotional pain of his loss, but there was no getting around the fact that he still wasn't himself yet. On a very important level he still was not connecting with the world around him quiet correctly yet. Hardwing assured those who asked that it was normal, that as long as he wasn't pulling away from his mate that it would settle in time. It still distressed many in the Citadel to watch the ancient in such a state of only being half alive. It brought back too many memories of the battle and his final trial.
"How big will she be?" Dai Atlas finally asked, taking in the fact that even at this stage Titanus didn't seem to be showing at all.
"In her full adult frame, she will likely be no bigger than Wing is," Titanus answered, his wings twitching rapidly as he reacted to the impatient squirming inside his abdomen. "Very small." His armor began shifting out of the way, the sounds of movement from underneath becoming more audible.
Wing was right up on the edge of the berth, having parked himself next to the giant flier's shoulder. Bright gold optics watched as white and charcoal armor parted.
"She'll be one of the easiest separations in history," Hardwing grunted. "As long as she doesn't crawl the wrong direction. She's smaller than Demeter right now."
Deep red optics cycled as Dai Atlas took in the information and realized that if the energy had been split correctly, both sparklings would be the size of their creators rather than one trying to form into a city-former too large to support and the other small enough for a normal mech to carry.
A rustling sound emerged from under parting armor, an imperious chirp following a moment later. Tiny optics had caught the glimmer of light through the mass of her carrier's internal systems, and she was going right for it. Titanus made an odd sound low in his throat as circuitry and wiring were shoved out of the way. "Primus, that feels so weird..."
For the first time in metacycles Dai Atlas perked up at the tug on his spark and crept forward to peer down, into the small opening in Titanus' armor and the two tiny pricks of purple light, somewhere between Titanus' blue and Dai Atlas' red in color, staring back at him. The sparkling went still for a moment, staring, then began wriggling her way toward the opening again. While Titanus did his very best to hold perfectly still, except for his twitching wings, Starspark pushed and squirmed her way through the mass of her carrier's systems. It wasn't long before a tiny hand emerged, scrabbling at Titanus' armor, seeking a hold with which to pull herself free.
"So small," Dai Atlas murmured in amazement as the hand was followed by a second, then the top of a protoform helm.
"Wing, that's the size your sparkling should be," Dagger grinned at his Daoshi.
"She's perfectly formed," Hardwing assured everyone.
Starspark chittered to herself as she got a firm hold, bracing one tiny pede against Titanus' protoform and pushing herself out. Tiny wing nubs, folded down against her back the same way Dai Atlas' did, flopped open as the femme sprawled out on white and deep gray armor, taking a moment to rest before lifting her helm to look around.
"Very small," Titanus agreed. "But beautiful."
Wing chirred, creeping closer. "Might be a while before we find out," he replied, grinning back at Dagger.
The tiny femme's helm showed the beginnings of a chevron similar to Axe's, while the sides sported what looked like the beginnings of stylized avian wings. Her protoform greatly resembled her carrier's, though her facial features were a softer-edged mirror of Dai Atlas'. She even had the same dark markings under her optics, curving down her cheeks. Starspark turned, looking right up at her sire.
He looked back with the awe that everyone, even he, feared he could not muster. Yet it came honestly as he looked at this tiny being he had helped create with his mate and their lover. Cautiously he extended a finger that likely weighed more than she did to stroke along her back.
A contented chirr answered the touch as Starspark leaned into the touch. "That feels good..." She had a soft, warm voice and highly resonant; the tonal range one that none in the family had but all recognized. The voice of a great singer or orator in the making.
"She's beautiful," Axe murmured, his optics glowing warmly, his shoulder just brushing his mate's. Relief and joy at his mate's response to the tiny femme was thick in his field.
"And vocal," Dai Atlas chuckled, thinking back to other youths he'd known.
Starspark blinked at the big black and gold mech. "Is that for me?" She pointed at the soft blanket in the big black mech's hands.
"Yes," he smiled, glancing at Hardline for permission. The medic nodded with a smile, encouraging Axe to strengthen his bond with the sparkling.
Titanus gently nudged Wing with the crest of his helm. "Could you grab that small energon cube, please?"
"Sure." Wing retrieved the object, knowing that Starspark would need it before too long. Settling back onto the berth, he moved closer, trilling a greeting to the tiny sparkling.
Starspark trilled back, watching the white jet curiously before reaching out to tug the blanket from Axe's hands. "Ooh, it's soft." She smiled brightly up at the black mech, reaching up to grasp Dai Atlas' finger.
"Vocal and tactile," Dai Atlas chuckled, red optics looking teasingly at Titanus. "Are you sure she's not Wing's too?"
"Quite sure," the teleporter replied with a chuckle. He ran a hand lightly over Starspark's helm, getting a purr from the sparkling.
Bright purple optics spotted the energon in Wing's hand, her hand releasing the blanket to reach for it. The white jet held the cube for her while she drank, her other hand still gripping her sire's finger. She let go of the cube when it was half finished but never let go of Dai Atlas' finger as she began to drift off.
"Recharge, little one," Dai Atlas hummed to her. "You are safe here."
A soft chirr escaped Starspark's vocalizer as she settled down, curling into the soft blanket, clinging to Dai Atlas' finger like a plush toy. Wing cooed softly at the adorableness of the sight, while Axe took several image captures to add to his files. Titanus gave Starspark a klik to settle into recharge before gently prying her tiny hands away from Dai Atlas' hand.
"She likes you," the teleporter commented, carefully wrapping the blanket around the tiny protoform, shifting her up onto his chest, directly over his spark. One fingertip lightly traced the developing chevron.
"That's good," Dai Atlas murmured, leaning against Axe as he watched Starspark recharge. "Will she be raised in the Citadel?"
"My carrier died in an accident centuries ago, and my sire hasn't been the same since. Something in him snapped when his bonded deactivated. I haven't been in touch with him for a long time, and I have no other living family. So the Citadel is the safest place for her to grow up." Titanus nodded, meeting the older mech's optics.
"Few mecha recover from a broken bond," Dai Atlas murmured, entirely too familiar with the truth of it. "There is good reason it is a common myth that losing your bonded is a death sentence." He reached out to stroke Starspark's helm with an impossibly light touch. "She will always be welcome in our home," he met and held his lover's blue optics. "At least one of us will always be able to look after her."
The recharging sparkling purred softly at the touch, nestling deeper into the blanket and settling down again. Her hand snuck out to paw lightly at the large finger stroking her helm.
"You're probably going to be watching her quite a bit, especially once I start couriering again," the teleporter replied with a smile, grateful that his sparkling's sire wanted her in his life after the loss of her brother. "I have to go a lot of places where a sparkling would not be safe, and I don't want to leave her alone."
"You'll never need to," Dai Atlas promised, earning a chirr of agreement from Wing and nod from Axe. "Between the four of us and those we trust implicitly, if someone is not off duty one of us can trade a shift easily."
"Yeah, caring for a sparkling is something that we value strongly," Wing agreed. "We'll all have a lot of leeway when it comes to needing to care for her."
"All right, everyone shoo," Hardwing waved the gathering off. "Once I check them both over he's free to return to his apartment."
"And I'm sure the entire Citadel is waiting for news," Titanus added. He reached over to stroke Wing's helm briefly. Axe caught his hand, squeezing it gently. "I'll see you later, when Hardwing lets us out."