Transformers Fan Fiction ❯ On Your Shore ❯ Oceans Inbetween ( Chapter 4 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Time. It waited for no one, paying no heed to the wants and desires of mere mortals. While it had been millenia since Flarestrike's death, Prowl found his bondmate's ghost impossible to shake. It was not that he wished to cling to the past. In fact, a significant part of him longed to move forward. Three times now he had collapsed into Ultra Magnus's arms and, try as he might to deny it, each time he had felt safe. More than that, complete. More complete than he had ever felt before in his life.
"You look like a 'bot who could use someone to listen to him."
Prowl started out of his thoughts, surprised to find he had wandered into the rec center's lounge, an open room with a scattering of tables, chairs, couches, and storage units. The room was surprisingly unoccupied, except for Hot Shot and REV at one table. Hot Shot appeared to be working on some sort of report while REV kept him company, lounging back in his chair. Both Spychangers were watching him with polite curiosity.
"Come on, Prowl, sit down, have a drink, relax."
"I wouldn't want to interrupt. . . ."
"He's scoring our combat trials," REV confessed. "Believe me, any interruption is welcome. Besides, you look like you could use the break."
"Well. . . ."
"Prowl," Hot Shot interrupted, "sit down. You wouldn't be here without a reason."
Prowl sat down with a sigh, quietly folding his arms on the table. Hot Shot was right, he needed to talk to someone, and his brothers were definitely out of the question. On the other hand, he didn't really know where to start. And he wasn't entirely certain that Hot Shot and REV were even the right audience.
"So what's up, Prowl? You and Magnus have another falling out?" REV asked casually.
"Wha-huh?"
"You two are like Ironhide and Mirage, only more violent," REV commented with a wry grin.
"This is a pretty closed community, Prowl," Hot Shot stated quietly. "And with a gossip like Midnight on the team, well, rumors are going around. Is there something between the two of you, or is Midnight just forcing his equations?"
Prowl mulled over telling them, searching for the right words. After a moment, he sighed and let the words tumble out as they would.
"Yes . . . yes, there's something between us. The past. My past."
He sat back in his chair, crossing his arms protectively in front of himself. Unbidden, memories of Flarestrike danced through his thoughts. The way he smiled, the feel of his touch, the taste of his kiss. Prowl powered down his optics, a pointless gesture since the visions came from within.
"Prowl?"
"I . . . maybe I shouldn't be doing this," he mumbled, powering up his optics as he sat up straight. He was about to stand when Hot Shot reached across the table and touched his wrist.
"Keeping this bottled up inside of you isn't doing any good. For you or for him. You need to talk to someone. If not us, then Magnus. He probably needs to hear it either way."
"I . . . I suppose you're right."
"Of course he is," REV murmured. "He's good like that. So . . . ya gonna talk to us or go find him?"
"I . . . well . . . I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try finding him. If . . . if he's at the base."
"Go," Hot Shot urged, his tone filled with a hidden smile. Prowl nodded in acknowledgment. Feeling decisive at last, he rose to his feet and walked out of the room.


Prowl stood at Ultra Magnus's door, his resolve faltering. He knew he needed to talk, but more and more, he just wanted to forget. To forget what it was like to be with Flarestrike, to forget that there had ever even been a Flarestrike in his life. Unfortunately he had very little idea just how to accomplish that.
Just activate the door chime, Prowl, he told himself firmly. You know you want to be with him. This doesn't have to be so hard. Just activate the door chime. He'll help you forget. He'll be glad to help you forget. Just do it.
He repeated the mantra a few more times before he actually managed to tap the door plate. For a breathless moment, there was silence, then the locking mechanism whirred and clicked. The door slid aside with a subdued whoosh, perfectly framing Ultra Magnus's bulk. For an instant, the powerful warrior stood over Prowl, scowling fiercely. Then recognition lit his golden optics and the scowl vanished as he stepped aside in silent invitation. Prowl felt his body freeze for an instant and then, as if in a dream, he was moving forward. . . .


"What brings you to me, Prowl?" he asked quietly as the doors hissed shut behind him. Now that I was alone with him, doubt flared within me. Why was I here? To drown unpleasant memory in the pleasures of the flesh? That was hardly fair, to Magnus or myself. But I was here now, and it was too late to just walk away.
" I . . . I thought we could . . . spend some time together."
He widened an optic, clearly disbelieving. I couldn't blame him; it sounded like a weak excuse to my audios as well. I broke away from his burning gaze, glancing around the room. It was a fairly normal single-occupancy apartment. In fact, as I looked around, I had a hard time picking out any signs that Magnus actually lived here. Everything looked to be standard issue. Not that I actually expected him to have anything from Cybertron, but the way he stood apart from his environment was . . . unsettling.
"Why are you here, Prowl? The truth."
"I told you," I replied quietly while avoiding his gaze, "I thought we could spend time together . . . talk. . . ."
"Talking has never been a high priority for you. Why should I believe now is any different?"
I said nothing, unsure just what I could say. I heard the faint huff of air and cringed. Irritation . . . it was as familiar to me as my own name. My whole body tensed, ready for the violence it had been trained to expect. The violence I had learned long ago to accept with the irritation. I curved inward, hunched protectively as I listened to the approach of his footsteps. One hand reached out to touch my shoulder and I flinched, whimpering slightly in anticipation.
"Prowl, what is it? What's wrong?"
Ultra Magnus turned me around easily, but of course I offered him no resistance. I kept my gaze averted, shame burning through me. He captured my chin easily in his powerful grasp, tilting my head up until his golden optics locked onto my own. Surprise replaced my shame when I saw concern burning in his gaze.
"Talk to me," he whispered, his thumb running along my faceplate. "You said that's why you were here."
"No," I whispered harshly, releasing the seals of my faceplate, letting it clink into his hand. "No, I'm tired of talking, Magnus. It never gets me anywhere."
I could almost feel the waves of surprise rolling off of him. Right or wrong, I no longer cared. I wanted . . . no, needed to forget. I needed to get Flarestrike out of my mind. I could think of no better way to do that than to focus on Magnus, to lose myself in his touch, his presence, his kiss.
"Just how easy do you think I am, Prowl?" he rumbled as he let my faceplate drop to the floor with a dull clang. "You think, after everything you've done to me, you can just walk in here, bare some skin, and get what you want?"
I flinched at his words, at their almost haunting familiarity. Shame flowed through me with renewed urgency as I broke my gaze from his. I tried frantically to think of some way to pick up my faceplate, my badge of shame, and get out with as much of my remaining dignity as I possibly could. Then, like a jolt of electricity, his fingers were trailing along the underside of my right radar housing.
"You'd be right," he purred, lifting me off my feet with ease. I didn't know what to think as he drew me up to his chest, his warm laughter cascading around me, filling me with it's positive glow. I surrendered to my relief, unsealing my shield and tossing it aside. Smiling, I reached out to cup his angular face in my hands. His head turned slightly to kiss the palm of my hand as he carried me over to his couch. My feet touched the cushions and I smiled once more, leaning forward to kiss him impulsively.
No longer needing to support my weight, his hands slid along my body, insistently kneading and caressing. I whimpered faintly, ordering my legs to lock in place, if only so I didn't collapse into a helpless heap. His hands were a terribly delicious distraction, drawing out the inner fire of desire. I leaned closer, kissing him insistantly.
"I am quite certain," he murmured between nipping kisses, "that you wanted to talk."
"Talking's overrated," I moaned faintly, wrapping my arms around his shoulders. His kisses lingered at my throat, sending warm pulses of desire throughout my core. My head tilted back, optics dimming in an effort to reduce the inputs to my neural networks. My fingers dug into the back of his shoulders, a low moan rattling against my neck as his whole body shuddered.
I wanted him more in that instant than I had ever wanted anything in my life.
Power tantalized and teased almost as much as Magnus's touch. I surrendered to the Matrix-energy, surrendered to the sweeping sense of re-energization, his gift to me. Every sense tingled, leaving me hyper-aware of every breath of air across my outer plating. I pushed us into the next level, forcing a gasp from Magnus as energy sparked between us. His head shot up, golden optics burning into me.
"What. . . ?"
I briefly touched a finger to his lips, nipping teasingly at his cheek. A low rumble and he nipped at my finger. I could almost feel his pleasure echoing my own. So close . . . so very close. . . . I could hear the rhythm of his air vents quicken as did my own, our bodies adjusting to cool our systems more quickly, trying to compensate for the ethereal heat of desire.
"Tell me," he gasped, his lips tantalizingly close to my neck. "Prowl. . . ."
I said nothing, willing us ever closer to bonding. For an almost painfully long moment, there was nothing. And then my awareness of him exploded through me. Hyper-aware of the feel of his hands on my body, I drew him closer to me, physically and mentally. I knew then this was what he had longed to do for weeks. To take me to the very brink of bonding and hold me there with him as long as possible before spiraling back down. Pleasure echoed between us, tinged with surprise and contentment. Our minds spiraled higher, riding a wave of mutual pleasure.
We both sensed that next level calling. I longed to take that next leap, but I could feel him pulling back, pulling me back as well. But I had learned well how pleasure could be used to advantage. I filled his mind with all the things I would do, projecting future pairings, all the while drawing him closer and closer to that critical brink. This time he didn't hesitate.
In a drowning wave, everything he had ever been, all his hopes and dreams, wants and desires, seared through me. Images and sounds flashed through my awareness, a blurr of his life. Then there was no him, no me, only us. For a moment that was all too short, we were one. Perfect love, perfect trust . . . perfection beyond words.
With a cry oddly tinged with anger, Magnus pulled free, the bond thinning almost to non-existence. Disoriented, I collapsed down onto the couch. I couldn't see his expression, but I could feel him through our bond. Shock rooted me in place as my mind put words to the emotion I sensed from him: the rage of betrayal. . . .


Ultra Magnus had never felt so . . . used. The taint of it mocked him, a silent reminder of what a fool he had become. He loved Prowl and Prowl . . . he had come here with one thing in mind: using him. Using him to try to forget the hurts of his past. And, like an idiot, he had walked right into it.
"How could you?" he hissed darkly. "Did you think I wouldn't find out when we bonded? And how dare you!? How dare you bond us?!?"
"Magnus, please. . . ."
"I will not be used, Prowl! You had no right!"
"You wanted it too," Prowl whimpered, somehow shrinking in on himself. "You can't deny that."
"Not like this!" Magnus exploded. He stopped, forcing himself to think rationally. Why are you really angry? he asked himself silently. Not at the bonding, not when you've wanted that for so long.
In the silence of his thoughts, he was suddenly aware of the anguish streaming from his new bondmate. Prowl looked for all the world to be trying to shrink into nothing, making himself as small as possible in one corner of the couch. The sight triggered a memory from Prowl's past: an unknown Mech - Flarestrike, a voice whispered - towering over him, glowering in absolute rage, one fist dark with smeared energon gel. The image - and the knowledge that it was Prowl's gel - pushed his anger past the flashpoint. His innermost core cried out for vengeance, seethed with a desire to kill Flarestrike.
"You can't have him," Prowl whimpered. "He's already dead."
"Prowl," he whispered, carefully gathering his trembling mate into his arms. "Prowl, why didn't you tell me? It shouldn't be like this. Why didn't you tell me?"
"I . . . I tried," Prowl mumbled, "but I couldn't. I . . . I'm sorry. I didn't know any other way."
Magnus folded his arms around his new bondmate, willing himself to calmness. It hurt to be used, but Prowl's hurt outweighed his own. He wanted to understand Prowl's desperation, wanted to understand what could make him gamble everything on a bonding. A bonding that could have ruined everything.
"Ultra Magnus, Prowl, this is a battle protocol!"
"Take your battle protocol and stuff it up your PCI bus, T-AI," Magnus growled darkly.
"This isn't a game, Ultra Magnus. Now get moving!"
"You can't order me around, T-AI. And if you think I'm letting Prowl go anywhere right now. . . ."
"Now you listen to me, Mister High and Mighty! Decepticons are attacking a dam on the upper Tigris. Prowl, your brothers need you right now! Team Bullet Train will meet you en route. As for you, Magnus, Optimus needs to see you at the ruins of Macchu Picchu right away!"
"Optimus can wait. Send Build Team. Prowl's staying right here with me."
"I can't send Build Team; they've got their assignment guarding Fortress Maximus. Now stop arguing with me and get moving!"
"Magnus. . . ."
"Fine," he growled, releasing Prowl. Prowl quickly gathered his faceplate and shield, hurrying for the door. Magnus caught his arm at the last minute.
"Prowl. . . ."
"I have to go, Magnus. Battle protocol."
"I know, just . . . be careful, okay? Meet me at the retreat when you're free."
"I have to go," Prowl repeated, never once meeting his optics as he pulled free and hurried down the hall. Magnus watched him for only a moment before sighing heavily. When he got his hands on Scourge, he was going to turn him into scrap metal.
First things first, he reminded himself. Pulling his canon from its recharger, he stalked down the corridors of Autobot headquarters. He silently prayed there were Predacons in Peru. He needed to vent and combat was the perfect outlet.


Prowl drove along the spacebridge in a haze of doubt and fear, barely taking the time to acknowledge Railspike when Team Bullet Train joined him. There was no undoing what he had done; he and Magnus were joined for the rest of their lives. It should have been a time of joy, of discovery . . . of peace and contentment. Instead, he was barreling headlong into battle, terrified that he had ruined everything.
What was I thinking? Pushing him into a bond . . . I must have been out of my mind. . . .
Oh, but he's mine. All mine. . . .
"Prowl, we're at the battle site," Railspike announced, breaking through his thoughts. "Transform and power up."
Prowl complied in silence, joining the battle with an odd sense of detachment. The six Decepticons were toying with X-Brawn and Sideburn, but they quickly became serious as Railspike lead his team into the fray.
"Decepticons, combine!"
Dread seeped into Prowl's circuits as he watched the five Decepticons transform.
"Ruination awakens!"
He froze in place, trapped in the past. The last time he had faced Ruination, he had almost died. Of course that situation had been very different. There was no reason to think history would repeat itself. But all Prowl could think was, this time, Ultra Magnus wasn't there to save him.


Ultra Magnus transformed as soon as he cleared the spacebridge exit. The first rays of sunlight lent the landscape a pale lavender hue, the false dawn lighting the sky just enough to be dangerous to any humans who might be about. Unsurprisingly, there were none; despite being almost equatorial, the high mountains of the Andes chilled rapidly overnight, particularly now that autumn was coming to the high passes. With no astrological importance attached to the day, tourists were unlikely to make the climb up into the ruins for several hours yet.
"All right, Optimus, I'm here. What do you want?"
"I had to recall Build Team."
"What?? You brought me all the way out here for that?" Magnus growled irritably. He crossed his arms, forcing himself to stay and hear his brother out. Optimus turned slowly, as if a great burden was weighing him down.
"You used to be a better warrior than that. A better tactician. I had to recall Build Team."
"Fortress Maximus is too important to be left unguarded . . . unless you knew we didn't need to guard him anymore. Or you knew we couldn't. So who has Cerebros?"
"Galvatron."
"Then what in the name of the Matrix are we doing here?"
"Galvatron has Cerebros but he can't control him or Fortress Maximus. They can try, but he wasn't designed to respond to Predacon inputs."
"That won't stop them for long."
"I know, that's why I'm here."
"Have you lost your mind? What do human ruins have to do with anything?"
"You forget, Brother, Fortress Maximus was sent here millions of years ago. We know Cerebros eventually left his base deep beneath the Japanese islands, but he wasn't always there. And Cerebros himself didn't remain there."
"What's your point? Cerebros wouldn't have just walked around the populations of a primitive Earth. It would be against his programming."
"On the contrary, Magnus. That is exactly what Cerebros did," his brother responded. "His duty was to protect this world. In order to do that, he needed to know something about it and it's people. Some hailed him as a god, some as a demon, but he was here."
"You do realize there's a battle going on while we're dithering about history, right?"
"Yes, Ruination and Scourge. T-AI told me. But you're missing my point."
"Probably because you haven't made it yet."
"Galvatron can't control Cerebros because he doesn't have the right codes, the key inputs that will trigger Cerebros's programming. But it won't take him long to find a solution to his problem. Which means we need to find a counter."
"Just so I know I'm hearing you correctly . . . Cerebros will respond to anyone who can get past his first level of security?"
"Four million years ago, there was no reason to seriously consider that such a person would be anything but another Autobot."
"Why do I sense a 'but' coming on?"
"But," Optimus continued, his tone warm with a smile, "Some Autobots were still paranoid. Once he combines with his base, secondary security routines will activate. Fortress Maximus will shut down until the second key is activated, a key Cerebros himself will have chosen."
"Paranoid? I'd call that more than just paranoid. I'd call that mentally unbalanced. How is anyone supposed to know what the second key is? Especially since, on a hunch, I'm going to say Cerebros will be quite stuck in Fort Max until someone does figure it out."
"And that, my brother, is why I am here. T-AI is already searching online databases for any information on Cerebros the humans may have gathered over the millenia without realizing it."
"Metal demons," Magnus rumbled, uncrossing his arms with a sigh. "You know, at any other time, I might almost find this interesting. But considering you just interrupted the most important moment of my life to send my partner into battle and to drag me out here to talk about theories, I'm not impressed. I should have taken the Matrix from you when I had the chance."
"If you actually meant that, we wouldn't still be talking. You remember our agreement? Work with me, not against me. I need your help. If that means you have to make sacrifices for the greater good. . . ."
"Don't you dare lecture me on sacrifices for the greater good! I sacrificed everything for the greater good during the civil wars. And what did it get me? A bunch of medals and a brush-off by Vector Sigma. I've done my time as the self-sacrificing Autobot. You want someone to make sacrifices, make them yourself. For your sake, you just better hope Ruination is having an amazing day or I'm going to make you sorry you even thought about sending Prowl into battle today."
Ultra Magnus turned on his heel and stalked into the spacebridge. Transforming in silent rage, he raced through the tunnels towards the Tigris river valley.


Prowl fought to stand his ground, fought to keep himself between Scourge and Sideburn. His little brother was offline and leaking fuel, but Prowl didn't have time to think about that. He and X-Brawn had their hands full with Scourge and he could sense more than see Railracer struggling to hold his own against Ruination.
Something's not right, he thought to himself. We should be able to take these guys. And why hasn't T-AI sent any backup?
"You fools! Do you really think you can keep me from taking what I want? Ultimate Main Battery!"
Artillery fire erupted all around him as X-Brawn threw himself protectively over their brother. Scourge's laugh echoed in his audios and for an instant, Prowl froze. That laugh . . . that laugh had been the last sound he had heard before going offline last time.
His hesitation was all the opening Scourge needed. An odd warmth blossomed in his chest, swiftly followed by a sense of detachment as he noticed the length of ruby metal pushing out of his chest.


Ultra Magnus arrived at the scene just as Prowl slid off the end of Scourge's sword. Unmatched fury roared through him, feeding off the pain that nearly brought him to his knees. Power surged upward, responding to his rage as a volley of stun cluster bombs launched almost of their own accord. Blue Bolts leapt into his hands and he sent a hail of bullets towards Scourge. The Decepticon commander staggered, stunned at the ferocity of the attack. However, he recovered quickly, raising his sword to cut a swath through the bullets.
"At last, an opponent worthy of my time," the Decepticon gloated. Ultra Magnus didn't even bother acknowledging, spinning his gun in his hands as it shifted to plasma cannon mode. Scourge staggered backwards as Magnus advanced, firing blast after blast and releasing another volley of stun cluster bombs. He was peripherally aware of others joining the battle, but he was much more interested in beating Scourge into the ground.
Scourge stumbled backwards, falling to the ground with a growl. Magnus allowed himself a sharp laugh.
"How's it feel, Scourge? Beg for your life, worm. Beg for mercy."
"Ultra Magnus!"
"I won't beg from anyone, least of all you, Mercenary. I do not beg from the honorless."
Ultra Magnus ripped the ruby sword from Scourge's hands, tossing aside Blue Bolts in his anger.
"Honorless? You wouldn't know honor if it swallowed you whole, Scourge. You don't deserve my wrath."
"Ultra Magnus!!"
"Stop bragging. If you mean to kill me, then get it over with. Or are you as much of a coward as the rest of the Autobots?"
"You're wrong, Scourge. Dead wrong."
Magnus raised the sword high with both hands before plunging it through the windows on Scourge's chest, pinning him to the ground.
"No swift death, no mercy."
"Fool. Ruination!"
A giant hand swept down, roughly pulling Scourge, and his sword, from the earth. Ruination rose into the air, fleeing the battlefield.
"You should have killed me, Mercenary," Scourge taunted. "Now it's personal."
"It already was," Magnus growled. "It already was."