[G1 AU] Hate the Dark (part 8 - fin)

[nkfloofiepoof]

Title: Hate the Dark
Arc: 'Til All Are One
Rating: R (PG in this part)
Characters: Optimus Prime, Starscream
Summary: After Cybertron's destruction, two survivors wait out their final months after crashing on a forsaken and dangerous planet.


I was told later what happened. The last thing I can clearly recall is rolling down the slope and crashing. I don't remember driving up the hill, I don't remember mowing down dozens of wyrms, and I don't remember entering the ship - I don't even remember Rumble or Ravage even though I was told Rumble was on top of me for the last portion of the drive. After my painful and rather embarrassing crash down the slope from the cave, my memory is a blank until I awoke, aching all over, in what looked like a repair bay with several friendly and deeply missed faces hovering over me.

"Long time, Optimus," one spoke to me with a smile. "'Ya look like a Sharkticon chewed 'ya up and decided 'e didn't like the taste a' 'ya." Primus, I missed Ironhide's drawl.

"I feel like it too, old friend," I responded, hating how weak my voice was. I moved my gaze to Ratchet and Wheeljack, unable suppress a shudder of relief. I almost couldn't believe that Ratchet and Ironhide had survived - my last memories of them were telling them to go find their own evacuation pod just before Unicron tore into Cybertron. Yet, there they stood over me as alive as they were when I left them far too many years ago.

"It's going to take a lot of repairs and energon infusions to get you back in shape," Ratchet was saying during my reverie. "But when we're finished with you, you'll be as good as new."

"I couldn't save Arcee," I blurted out. I needed to get that out even though I was sure they already knew. I didn't mention Arcee in the final distress call, only myself and Starscream, and my other distress beacons were generic calls for aid. "She died before we could escape Cybertron."

"We guessed, Optimus," Wheeljack assured me from where he was hooking me up to another energon cube, infusing my weakened body with energy. He looked back to me when he was finished and seemed to anticipate what I was going to ask. "There aren't many of us left compared to what we once were."

Ratchet nodded, taking over the explanation as he said, "A very good number of Autobots survived - most of them were on Earth at the time. Of the ones who weren't, Jazz, Spike, Bumblebee, Ultra Magnus, Hot Rod, Kup, and the Dinobots survived. The Decepticons weren't so lucky."

Ironhide finished for them both, "Th'only ones we know of are Soundwave, four a' his cassettes, Skywarp, three a' th'Constructicons, Thrust, an' Thundercracker. An' now Starscream. There may be more out there like y'all were though."

"Where is Starscream?" I asked. I couldn't remember anything that happened after we left the cave and I crashed - I had to know if my rushed exit had damaged him further if not finished him off or if he was finally getting the professional treatment he needed for whatever was wrong with him.

Ratchet shook his head but then answered to quell my growing sense of dread, "His spark chamber fell out of his body while Rumble and Frenzy were pulling him out of you. Thankfully, Rumble acted fast to catch it before it hit the floor, but he had to drop the end of Starscream's body he was holding in order to do it. The impact more or less finished off his body, but it needed to be completely rebuilt anyway. I've got his spark in stasis now just over there." He jerked a thumb to point behind him, and Ironhide slid a hand under my back for support when I tried to sit up. They tried to keep me down, but I had to see it for myself to assure myself he really was fine and alive.

The first thing I noticed was Soundwave's back as he tapped away at a console at the other end of the room with Ravage curled around his feet. Frenzy was sitting on a table not far away, resting on his knees. He was on the same table as the machine which was keeping Starscream's spark in stasis, and the Cassetticon was slowly running one of his small hands up and down one edge of the spark chamber. Starscream's spark was dim as it had been the two times I removed the casing before he awoke in the cave, asleep so as to avoid subjecting him to sensory deprivation any further. Between his spark chamber and the table on which I sat was a second medical table which held what remained of his body.

Under the bright light of the ship, I could finally see just how badly his body had deteriorated. It was a miracle from Primus that he had lived as long as he did. His paint was flaked, dull, and peeling in the very few places he had any remaining at all, and the ashen grey of necrosis had taken his right foot and was starting on his fingers. I saw what Ratchet meant when he said the fall had "more or less finished off his body" - Starscream's right thigh was split open and probably only still connected by a few wires, his shoulder vent had crumbled, his cockpit was shattered, and he only had half of his head left. It was a gruesome and chilling sight, but it was made less disturbing when I looked away and back to his dim spark where it drifted in stasis, secure in the knowledge that he was still alive.

Satisfied, I let Ironhide ease me back down onto my own table and turned my attention back to the three friends I thought I'd lost. "What all did I miss?"

Wheeljack laughed. "I think we'd better give you the abridged version so you can get some more rest. We're on our way back to Earth now, and you can get the full story there." He placed a hand on the table and leaned against it, his other hand resting on his hip. "Ironhide an' Ratchet reported what happened to Cybertron when they got back to Autobot City."

Ratchet took over from there, "We were worried when we didn't receive anything from you. Ultra Magnus manned a search party to head back and see if he could find any survivors. Galvatron intercepted and separated the search team, but we eventually met back up on the planet Junk. By the time we found a new ship, we found Galvatron's armada trying to fight Unicron who was headed to Earth. Unicron sucked us all inside it where we got separated again."

"We're not quite sure what happened after that," Ironhide finished. "After 'bout six cycles, Unicron started breakin' up." He cut himself off and glanced over his shoulder when the door to the room hissed open. He grinned jerked his thumb over his shoulder as he continued, "An' then Hot Rod comes outta nowhere gatherin' everybody back up t'escape sportin' a new look an' a new name."

Hot Rod - or, at least, he used to be - came into view beside me. He was much larger than I remembered him, and his features were more distinguished. As a former Matrix bearer, I could feel its thrum inside him, and I knew I was in the presence of the new Prime. I like to blame my lapse in courtesy on the fact that I was still exhausted.

"Hot Rod?" I blurted, my stupefied shock evident in my voice as I had never expected him to be chosen as the next Prime.

All four of them laughed at my surprise. "It surprised me too," Hot Rod responded when he finished snickering. "The name's Rodimus Prime now. Oh, stop that," he chided when I tried to raise a weak hand in a gesture of respect. "Not only are you in too bad a shape to be worrying about that, it just feels wrong. As far as we're concerned, you'll always be Prime." His statement was corroborated with a trio of nods from the others, and I was too tired to argue.

Instead, I asked, "What about Mega- Galvatron?" That new name was going to take some getting used to as was Hot Rod's.

"Don't worry about him," Rodimus reassured me. "He's dead. I made sure of that, and the surviving Decepticons we've found so far aren't eager to continue the war." My relief must have showed since I felt Ratchet's hand on my shoulder. I wouldn't have been surprised if the only reason the surviving Decepticons didn't want to continue the war was because they were grotesquely outnumbered, but it was peace. Whatever the reasons, I was going to welcome it with open arms. I knew Starscream agreed though maybe not as much, and I was never quite certain if he truly meant what he said months ago before the planetary eclipse or if he was simply too depressed to argue. That would have to be dealt with when he had a new body.

"Starscream won't be happy when he hears you killed Galvatron before he could," I said, amused. I could see Starscream's reaction to being denied his revenge. I wasn't sure if he would throw a tantrum, sulk, try to shoot Rodimus for denying him, or all three. I was leaning toward all three.

"Considerin' his track record, Rodi' probably did 'im a favor," Ironhide scoffed.

Rodimus looked ready to say something in response, but Ratchet cut him off. "We'll all have plenty of time to reminisce and explain what he missed later. Right now, he needs rest, so if you don't have to be here, I want you out." No one could cut one as tough as Ironhide and incorrigible as Hot Rod down to size like Ratchet. With a few parting words, the three left, leaving me more or less alone with Ratchet. Soundwave was still against the far wall typing at the console for whatever reason with Ravage and Frenzy hovering nearby. I had no idea what he was doing, but Ratchet didn't make him leave, so I assumed he belonged.

I moved my gaze over to Ratchet who had turned away to check the computer monitoring me. "I don't remember coming aboard," I told him. "How low were my energy levels?" When he looked as if he wasn't going to answer for a moment, I knew it was bad. "You may as well tell me. I'm fine now."

"You were down to three percent," he replied. "Your systems nearly crashed as soon as you were inside. Some of your vital components are still in danger of shutting down from a combination of lack of energy and some sort of toxin I'm still filtering out of you. How did your fuel lines become infected with this?" I explained as best and as quickly as I could the last five years of consuming the tainted energon though I did leave out the details of what Starscream and I had done to make the last few months' worth. I only stated it was low quality. "Well, if it's all you could get..." Ratchet shook his head. "I'm going to be working it out of you for a while though. It did a lot of damage, and you running so low didn't help at all. You shouldn't have transformed while you were that low." He crossed his arms over his massive chest and favored me with his trademark "you slagging idiot" glare.

Primus, I missed him.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time," I muttered in response. "And it worked." That earned me a scolding slap upside my helmet, and I laughed. I missed this so much.

"Well, you just shut up and get some rest," he ordered, his tone leaving no room for argument. Not that I wanted to. My optics were trying to shut down on their own anyway, so I let them and gave a small shiver as I allowed myself to truly relax for most likely the first time in a quarter of a vorn. I shook off the claw-like grip of depression and focused on what the future held, now secure in the knowledge that I would see the future - a future that held my closest friends and peace.

The future looked bright already.