What is faith?

Author's notes: All characters of this fanfiction belong to their respective owners.

This is a dark fic, so expect to find issues related to this genre. If you don't like, please don't proceed.

Prologue

Prowl allowed his glance to travel again around the cell. Darkness surrounded him; that was nothing new… Many cycles had passed since his arrival there, and every time he onlined his systems after recharge mode he focused on his surroundings with the hope that he would find the different scenery that refused to arrive.

His faith in his leader should have vanished a long time ago, but the memory of his companions and friends was enough to keep him going on.

His group was fragmented, broken; his only hope was on the shoulders of Optimus Prime and the small group that departed with him. Prowl hadn't had news from them, not for a long time since before his capture.

The tactician straightened himself, trying to assume a more comfortable position. His structure presented severe damage caused by his captors. The once imposing wing-like doors were lax at his back. His enemies had been magnanimous enough not to tear them apart, and at the same time very cruel when they dislocated them, making sure that pain would be a constant companion in the Autobot's existence. But, after suffering after all that time, Prowl was very used to it.

His hands chained to the roof of the cell gave him no mobility other than switching the weight of his body from one leg to the other one. That was all he could do as he waited for his captor to return, the only one that sooner or later would deliver rest to his wounded spark.

But why was he waiting for the return of the one being that only carried pain with him, that only brought words of hate and rancor?

The answer was more than obvious: it was the only way to know that he was still there himself, still functioning…

His exhausted processor returned the images of that last moment… the farewell…

His friends, his leader… departing in search of the Allspark, leaving Prowl and the rest of the Autobots to continue fighting, waiting for their return. All they had when that goodbye was said, was faith.

"Faith… it no longer exists in this Universe," he heard a cold voice, the same voice of the one that tortured him with words every time he lost himself in his own thoughts. Why couldn't they leave him alone? They had won the war. What was the victory in torturing him? Logic prevailed in that single moment, exposing the bare truth.

"Tell me now, where is your faith, tactician? Where is the answer you are waiting for? Where is that leader that abandoned you?"

Questions assaulted Prowl with renewed strength, as he felt a rough hand touching his shattered armor.

"WHERE IS HE?" the voice repeated.

But the game was over. Words had lost their meaning a long time ago. A punch made Prowl react, making him focus his attention on the owner of the abusive hands all over him, the captor that refused to kill him but that at the same time possessed his freedom.

Prowl had only one answer to his questions, only one.

"He will come back."

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What is faith? How far can it take us?

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"Why do you keep believing so blindly in him? What has he given to you to keep you going on? Why don't you surrender? You already lost the war," the words continued spitting their poison.

Another hit was enough to offline Prowl again, his resistance weakened, but once again only one thought existed his mind.

Optimus… where are you?

To be continued.

Thank you very much for reading.

Thanks to Taypan for translate this fic, and thanks to Irate Pirate for Beta Reader.