Okay, so this is a one-shot about Megatron's violence toward Brawn for choosing a new mate despite the fact that they're still bonded. There are some things you should know:

Kyrus is an OC. She was once a human, with an IQ of 157. She is the epitome of everything I hate in a Transformer's fanfiction, and for that reason she will be getting her own story telling you about herself. Right now though, I will surmise it shortly. She was a very smart human, who was sick her entire life. The Decepticons thought they could use her intelligence to help themselves get Engergon. Didn't happen. She got tuberculosis and was ready to accept her death. Ratchet, however, had fallen in love with her while hiding her from the Decepticons and decided to turn her into an Autobot (Avatar style, if you've ever seen that movie). She now is a metalic blue with gold flames fembot. She transforms into a 2001 Mazda Miata. Ever since becoming one of them, she had bonded to Ratchet, and become rather ambitious. She wants to be the next Prime.

This story shows that Brawn is bonded to Megatron (oddest pairing, but I got it from something I saw in an episode once, so please no flames) but he is in love with Windcharger now (also something I got from the show). They're happy together, but Megatron wants to remind his boy-toy what happens when you disobey. Very odd indeed, but I like it. Here's hoping you do too.

~Cara Lea

Brawn had never thought much of mates. Once, a long time ago, he'd had a mate on Cybertron. He'd been a young mech then, and a little more convincible. His mate had been a bully at best, but he'd never been a bully to little Brawn. In fact, the bigger mech had always known just what to say to get Brawn to agree with him. They had become first friends, then lovers one night under one of Cybertron's full moons. It hadn't been a conscious decision on Brawn's part. He had been talking with his bigger, much better looking friend when things had become different. His bigger partner had kissed him, claiming him. His black hands had roved over the small green-transformer, touching him in all the right places and sending the smaller mech into overload.

And after that, they had been very close. Megatron had always known just where to touch his partner, when, and the result was that Brawn soon practically became his lapdog. Then, one night, they took it further still. The bigger mech hadn't asked Brawn if it was what he wanted to do. They were lying together on the metal floor of Brawn's then home when those black digits had prized open his spark chamber. Even then, just before the merge, Brawn had had a sense of foreboding. But he had let it happen anyway.

And now he was forever merged with the darkest Decepticon ever to walk on either Earth or Cybertron.

To be fair, back in those times, there were no Decepticons. Back then, it had just been mechanical life forms that had all had a similar purpose: survival. He had ignored that sense of foresight because he'd had nothing to fear. Who cared if he had a little fun in his lifetime? And Megatron had certainly been a fun partner, especially after the merger. Their private meetings had intensified double that what it had been, for every tingle he felt on him was mirrored by whatever his partner had been feeling too. Some of those erotic fantasies still made his exo-shell tingle.

Likewise, the night of Megatron's ultimate betrayal still stung as well.

But all pains faded. It didn't hurt nearly as much as it had the night it had happened. Brawn no longer felt the horror he'd felt when he'd seen the damage done on Megatron's first attack. He no longer saw his partner's blazing crimson optics as he'd declared himself the future ruler of Cybertron, and that he would be keeping Brawn as his pet forever. He no longer even felt the cold excitement his ex-lover had felt through their bonded sparks. Long gone were the days where words could sway him into doing things that were bad for him. Now, raw strength and headstrong determination kept him on the path that would lead to his freedom. He had to believe that Primus was looking out for him, because Primus must know what it is like to be linked to an evil doer. After all, Primus was Unicron's twin brother.

As for the fantasies…well, he'd had new hands touch him since then. He'd found a new lover in the spare few moments they could find alone together—mostly away from the crashed starship they all lived in. He'd let his hands explore a new exo-structure, and hear the delicious moans that he could coax out of his new partner's mouth. Red hands now were the ones to explore him, and to make him tingle. A gray mouth was the one to now claim him in a kiss, and blue optics were the ones he looked into after every time they'd been together—comforting and secure.

He glanced over at his new partner as they explored the terrain a little away from the crashed Ark. Windcharger was frowning as he pointed at something in the sky. "Hey, check it out." Brawn followed the path indicated by the red digit and narrowed his optics. There, against the grey cloud cover, was a large black bird-like creature circling overhead. "Looks an awful lot like Lazerbeak, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it does," Brawn agreed. His gray hand reached up to block the brightness where the sun should be in the sky. "Spying on Autobot headquarters. Well that little bird-brat isn't getting any information this time."

In most cases, Brawn's weapon of choice was his brute strength. If he'd wanted to, he could have knocked down all of Mt. Saint Hilary a long time ago. But when dealing with one like Lazerbeak, he had to admit that his strength would do him nothing. His long-distance weapon of choice was a standard Cybertronian laser gun. It was similar in style to a human weapon known as the pistol, but rather than shoot bullets, it shot concentrated energy. When a direct hit, it would knock Lazerbeak from the sky.

"Wait, we should let Prime know," Windcharger hesitated. "I mean…perhaps he can use this development to trick the Decepticons and win a battle for once."

Brawn shrugged. He loathe argue with his friend, but didn't necessarily agree. "I guess you're right." He lowered his weapon.

A sudden shot fired from behind, sending the black energy pistol flying across an expanse of land, coming to rest at last one Deca-meter away. Black hands gripped the weapon. There stood Megatron, his weapon raised and pointed at the two Autobots before him.

Cold fury drove strength into Brawn's chassis. "You!" he exclaimed as a tide of anger broke over him. "What are you doing here?"

"Don't you understand by now, Brawn? I have come to claim what is mine."

The green transformer twitched in confusion. Come to claim what is his? That didn't sound good at all. Megatron spoke quietly, his fiery optics leveling on the duo trapped before him. "I have wondered who you have chosen as a new mate. Lazerbeak has been watching you for me. Very interesting reports have been coming in about you. Why, just the other night, Lazerbeak came out and found you mating with this mech right here. Not up to your usual standard, Brawn. But I had to come and see for myself if it was true."

If Windcharger was at all embarrassed at having been caught and recorded alone with Brawn, he was very good at hiding it. "It's none of your business what we do, Mega-creep!"

The silver gun-transformer smirked, looking from one mech to the other. "You mean to tell me that you haven't told your new mate about your old one, yet?"

Brawn shuddered as Windcharger gave him a sidelong glance. "I have only had one lover that I can remember."

Windcharger smiled slightly at one corner of his lip-components. It faded quickly at Megatron's next words. "Oh yes, you could never say you loved someone who betrayed you, could you? But you were wrong, Brawn. It was you who left, and now you will pay the ultimate price!"

Done with his speech, the silver warlord fired Brawn's pistol, stunning Windcharger to collapse in the dirt. Brawn's yell of surprise was cut off as the weapon now turned on him. He fell to the ground next to the red Pontiac-transformer. Megatron's grating voice sounded somewhere next to Brawn's audio input. "You think that by choosing to betray me, and by blocking your spark, you have spared yourself from me? You think that you are free to be his? It is not true, Brawn. You will never escape me. And for trying, you must pay punishment."

Brawn struggled in vain against the temporary paralyze holding him as a single black foot blocked his view. He watched in horror as the warlord bodily lifted Windcharger, throwing him over his shoulder. The Decepticon leader walked back to his miniscule troupes of Thundercracker and Soundwave. He nodded to each of them before taking off into the waiting blue sky.

…

This was not an ideal situation for Windcharger to be placed in. Megatron watched in growing excitement as the Pontiac-transformer was stripped of his weapons and thrown into a single metal cell. Rather than be sent to the normal cells at the bottom of the crashed Nemesis, he had been placed in a solitary confinement cell, where he was surrounded by nothing but walls. In the center of the room, Megatron had had Hook install a surgical table, complete with restraints. The minibot was now tied to a stiff metal bed, in a closed-off purple cell with who knew what coming his way. No, it was not an ideal situation for him to be placed in.

The gun-transformer thought back to when he had bonded himself to Brawn. Not that he liked to think about it. In fact, he had almost entirely forgotten about his old boy-toy when he'd started to have flashes of emotions that weren't his again. The first had been an emotion of extreme panic. It had faded so he couldn't feel it anymore, but the damage was done. Curiosity welling, Megatron had sent for Soundwave, ordering that Lazerbeak go to Autobot headquarters and find and follow the one known as Brawn.

He'd been more than shocked when Lazerbeak had returned with the recording he'd found. There wasn't much talking going on, but Megatron had not gotten as far as he had by being stupid. It was rather obvious what Lazerbeak had discovered his old lover doing. He had snarled in utmost fury. Brawn had been his little toy, his main form of entertainment back on Cybertron. He had watched Brawn become his slave slowly, and was looking forward to the day when he would have many little slaves to look after. But that dream had changed when the war had started. Little Brawn had been so upset. Megatron remembered the emotions coursing through his spark the night that his ex-lover had declared himself an Autobot.

He felt for his toy in his spark now. What was Brawn feeling about Windcharger being taken? Fear. Stone cold panic made Megatron's limbs lock temporarily. He shook himself free of this emotion. Brave as the green-transformer acted, he seemed to feel fear quite a lot these days.

He wondered if Windcharger felt the same fear. As Megatron walked into the lab and looked down on his puny new toy, none of that paralyzing terror in his features. There was just a small spark of defiance—the same spark that Megatron had come to know in his old lover. He bared his teeth components in boiling enthusiasm. He couldn't wait to see that spark extinguish from that face forever.

…

"He really did a number on you," Ratchet's gravelly voice spoke. It was full of concern for his fellow that Brawn did not feel. He was consumed by panic. It was so vivid he could taste it. His limbs kept locking up, and he'd have to manually unlock them. Thinking was such a difficult task that he had by now given up. He lay on Ratchet's operation table, so tense with fear that he couldn't even tremble, and awaited for his major panic to subside.

"What did Megatron want with Windcharger," Wheeljack mused. "It's not like Megatron to do a hit and run like this."

"Maybe it's a trap," Bumblebee stated with a growing excitement. "He wants to lead us to wherever they've got Windcharger so they can attack us, or attack the Ark while we're away."

"But that would mean we can't go to get him," Prowl said. "I mean, if he's just a diversion, they won't kill him."

"No!" choked Brawn from the table while his limbs locked again. "We can't leave him!" He hadn't told the others why Megatron had taken Windcharger, but he wasn't going to let them ignore this new threat. He alone knew what Megatron really wanted, and considering the latter's tone when he'd spoken of catching Brawn with the Pontiac-transformer, Windcharger wasn't going to survive any sort of interrogation that Megatron chose to hold.

"Hey, relax," Ratchet sounded worried as he fretted over his charge yet again. "You're going to hurt yourself if you keep this up. Don't worry, Prime won't leave him if he can help it."

"That's right, Ratchet," Primes deep voice came from the lab entrance. "But Bumblebee's concerns must also be met. I want to take a small group to pinpoint and fetch him. The rest of you will wait here in case of an invasion."

"Yes, Prime," Ironhide said. "But who'll you be taking with you?"

"I will be taking Ratchet, Kyrus, Ironhide, Prowl, Bumblebee, and Hound."

"Can I go too, Prime?" Brawn asked, trying to sit up and failing miserably.

"No, Brawn. You wait here." Seeing the look on his subordinate's face, Prime's voice softened. "Wait and see if anything comes up on Teletraan. If so, you can come out and join us. But only after you rest first, got it?"

Brawn nodded sullenly. He certainly was not okay with this new development, but he could sense the authority behind Optimus's order. He took a deep breath and tried to force his locked joints into relaxing.

Satisfied, Prime gave the call, "Autobots, transform and roll out!" And the search-and-rescue team went out.

…

Red optics met blue optics. Prisoner and prison-keeper, glaring at each other with all the hatred they could muster in their present situations. Megatron smirked. This was going to be a lively interview, that was for sure. And based on the look on Windcharger's face, it was going to be a fun one. It always was more fun when they fought back.

"Everybody out," he ordered briskly. Looks of surprise flashed around the room. Soundwave began the exit, but some of the other warriors weren't as submissive.

"Surely you want us to stay and help out with the interview, Megatron?" Starscream said eagerly. Megatron snarled viciously, leveling his weapon at his lieutenant's head.

"Perhaps I should find new ways to convince you of where your loyalties should lay, Starscream. Do you not think I can handle this puny Autobot on my own?"

The air commander took a step back, fear crossing his normally arrogant features. Never before had Megatron displayed such a show of rage on the first argument. "Of course not, Megatron. We are all just concerned—"

"It is not your job to be concerned," he growled. "It is your job to do what I tell you!"

With one last contemptuous glance at their Autobot prisoner, Starscream lead the other Decepticon warriors into the hallway. Megatron watched the door shut behind them, already calm from his mild tantrum. He had no reason to be angry anymore. The biggest problem in his life was about to be solved right now.

"You know, little Autobot, Starscream is right to be concerned. Perhaps he is finally growing a brain in that thick head of his." He turned to stare at the minibot with laser read eyes. "You can laugh. It was funny."

"I'm not scared of you," Windcharger responded defiantly. "You're just an overgrown trash can. You think you're special because you can torment people. If that you're specialty, then you can live assured that you will be going straight to the pit when you die."

Megatron frowned at his captive. "I make a joke and you insult me. What bad manners. No Windcharger, I am not special because I can torment people. I am special because I am the supreme leader of the universe. Even your foolish Autobot leader Prime cannot stop me. One day, I will wean this planet dry of all its natural resources, and when I do, your little faction is finished. I will win this war in the end, and that is what makes me special."

Windcharger spat. "The Autobots will beat you."

"Why, because you are honorable? You think that honesty will win you this war?" Windcharger didn't answer, and Megatron sneered. He knew he had hit a weak spot. "Tell me, Autobot fool, have you bonded with Brawn yet?"

"That's none of your business!"

A smile played at his silver lip components. "I thought not. Do you know why?" Windcharger did not answer, but he did not care. He was already on a roll, seeing an outlet into which he could begin his true interrogation. "Brawn is already bonded to another mech: a Decepticon, actually. I have known for some time now, and I have found this weakness to be very useful. Without meaning to, his honesty has given me quite a spy into the workings of an Autobot mind. I know exactly what drives people like you, and exactly how I intend to end you."

"If you knew about this bond between one of your people and an Autobot, why didn't you do anything about it? It could have been just as easy to turn the bond around and work it the other way. We would have had a spy right in your headquarters!"

Megatron smiled in full now. "I could not have kicked him out. You're right; you could have had a useful spy in my headquarters." He leaned forward, sliding up on the table so that his head was right next to Windcharger's. His knee slid up in between the minibot's legs, and for the first time, the prisoner showed and emotion other than the calm courage he had been displaying thus far. Fear crossed his face as he looked down at the position Megatron had put them in. "But your new mate is too noble to probe into my mind, Windcharger."

"It was you?" Windcharger asked incredulously.

"That's right, fool." He leaned closer, running his nose across the sensitive wires in Windcharger's neck. The smaller mech shuddered at that simple touch. Megatron knew that he was afraid of what was coming, and for that reason, he wanted to prolong the moment. A wanting was building up inside him, and he knew that this was going to be a long day he would never forget. "I mated myself to Brawn back before the war. When I became Decepticon leader, he betrayed me and left to go join Prime and his goons. Now he has found you, and inadvertently brought us together."

Speaking softer still, he leaned in so that his mouth was practically touching the shaking mech's audio input. "I never punished him for that. It wasn't anything I would have expected from my future slave." He caressed the chest plating with his black hands, moving smoothly up to the neck. He wrapped his digits around the fragile plating and squeezed. The other mech's whimpers cut off as he choked the air out of him. "I have found a punishment worthy of betraying your master. Unfortunately for you, he picked to make new friends with you."

He stepped back and observed the face now. There was still that spark of defiance, but it was buried underneath the steadily growing panic. It was too easy. He released his prey, who gasped in stark relief. But Megatron wasn't done with him.

He reached out a long silver arm and pressed a button on the side of the table. Instantly, the restraints retracted, and Windcharger sat up. Megatron lifted an arm and threw the first punch, landing squarely in the jaw. The smaller bot flew back from the table and hit the wall.

"I will enjoy this, filth."

…

Brawn had finally managed to make his limbs relax. Now he felt like they were too loose. Too fluid was his motion as he sat upright on the table. Azure optics roved around the lab as he let them wander. He had opened himself up to Megatron most unwillingly, but desperate to know anything. The first thing he had felt since his new mate had been taken course through him, almost locking his limbs again. It was a sick wanting, a deep sense of pleasure that was building slowly. And although the erotic emotion was supposed to be an enjoyable one, it brought with it the fear that Brawn had been trying to throw off since he had discovered what Megatron truly was.

Another emotion that was entirely Brawn's flitted through his processor: guilt. All that lust that came from Megatron was born from the fact that Brawn was denying him. He had been a target of the silver warlords since they had gone their separate ways, a fact he had known and accepted. So why, when they had finally been alone since their declaration on the mountains, had Brawn allowed himself to be seduced by Windcharger's advances? He should have known that by doing so he was making the other a target. He could have predicted that Megatron would sense what was happening through the bond, and would want to put an end to it.

If Windcharger died, it would be on his head.

He began to shake again as another wave of sweet wanting washed over him. Retching slightly, he tried to lay back down. It did not make him feel any better. He gasped suddenly as the emotion intensified, and it was all he could do not to moan in ecstasy. Jazz looked at him.

"Hey little dude, you okay?"

Brawn tried to sit up again, staring at his superior with a would-be-cool expression. "I'm...fine."

Jazz tilted his head. "No you aint. I seen that look before. Does it hurt?" Brawn nodded mutely. "Well, I hate to say it, but that's probably a good thing. That means he's alive."

Brawn was still puzzling over that when Teletraan's screen flickered. He looked up at the screen as it flickered to life. "Autobots," said a nauseatingly familiar voice. "I have a message for you, but until now, I have not been able to find the perfect messenger. Now that I have one, I would like you to meet him. Windcharger,"

The camera lowered to hone in on Windcharger. He was in a right state. The metal of his helmet had been stripped away at the one edge. There, the head plating had been dented horribly. One of his optics had been pulled out, the other shattered in. His arm appeared to have been shot off. One of his legs had been bent the wrong way at the knee. Brawn gaped, too stunned by the appearance of his lover to even feel surprised.

Windcharger was talking nonsensically. Nothing he said could be taken of any real value, but Brawn held on to each sound like lifeline. He was alive enough to make noises, and that was only a small comfort. All of that pain he had been feeling seemed to course through Brawn's body. He rubbed his arm unconsciously, staring at the vacant space where his lover's arm should have been.

"Say exactly what I've told you to, Windcharger and it will all be over quicker." The blind Autobot flinched visibly at the grating nasal.

"Oh no," Jazz murmured. The visored mech was staring at the screen in horror. "He's gonna kill him, and make us watch."

Brawn moaned in horror. "No. I won't let it happen."

Windcharger spoke, and his voice shook compared to what it had been. "Guys…guys don't watch. I don't re—aggh!"

Roaring in anger, Megatron gave a heavy kick, throwing the smaller mech across the room. Brawn winced. He couldn't watch anymore. Transforming into his vehicle mode, he took off. He had to get to Optimus's group right now. It was the only hope he could have that Windcharger would survive.

Jazz watched him go before looking back at the screen. He was glad that Brawn had chosen to leave when he did. For there, on the screen, Megatron had pointes his weapon and fired. Precious energon spilled from Windcharger's mouth, spewing over the wall before him. It dripped from his nose and onto the floor, already sick with lifeblood, below him.

…

Megatron glared down at his prisoner. Shudders wracked his body as he looked down at his handiwork. He cut off the connection to the camera as he kicked the broken and bleeding mech below him. Windcharger's chances of survival were less than 1% at this point. That was good. He crouched down next to the whimpering bundle and whispered seriously, "That'll teach Brawn not to mess with me again, don't you think? I am glad we have had the opportunity to have met, Windcharger. You make me feel alive again!"

The dark fusion cannon rose to point at Windcharger's head. The now blind mech couldn't see it, but he seemed to sense his death was coming for him. He raised his head a fraction and stared sightlessly at where Megatron's head had been kliks before. His trembled slightly at the effort. Energon dripped from his face as defeat seemed to enter him. Megatron smirked. This was what he had been waiting for.

Just as his finger bent on the trigger, a shrieking alarm went off, making him jump. He missed his target, whose head jerked in the direction of the shot as it sent an airwave into his missing optics. Stomping over to the intercom on the wall, he spoke with an unraveling anger. He was through with his latest toy. He wanted to be done with it already so he could go clean himself and head to his birth for some well-earned rest before he raided the Autobot base to return the body to them. "Soundwave," he demanded roughly. "What's going on out there?"

"Autobots attacking," came the monotone reply. "What action do you suggest we take?"

"Take an offensive one, you idiot!" he snarled. "I'll be out in a klik. I just have something I need to take care of."

He left the intercom without waiting for a reply. If what Soundwave said was true, it mean that he had limited amount of time to dispose of his ugly new friend here. "Well, Windcharger, it's been a real pleasure knowing you but now it's time for us to part ways." He smirked at his blind prey. "And this time, I won't miss."

Suddenly an explosion sounded. The noise of it made Windcharger cry out. Megatron turned his furious red stare and found himself face to face with none other than Optimus Prime. The Autobot leader took one look at the scene and open fired on Megatron, causing the silver gun-transformer to topple over. Brawn entered the room, followed by Ratchet and Kyrus. "Brawn, hold them off," the fembot ordered briskly. "I'll load him into Ratchet."

"Brawn?" If the green-transformer hadn't seen him say it, he would never have believed it was Windcharger speaking at all. His voice had once been light and humored. Now, it was practically a growl. Even that one word made more blood leak out of his lips. Brawn reached out and touched him lightly with one hand.

"I'm here, buddy. I'm so sorry."

Windcharger relaxed at the touch. He must have slipped into stasis, but it was hard to tell because of his optics being ruined. Brawn turned back to fire at the oncoming Decepticons. "We need to get out of here, and quickly," Kyrus said. "Ratchet, you'll have to go first, and try not to let any water leak in on him."

"I got it, Kyrus." Ratchet was too worried to even show his usual display of irritation at his girlfriend's tone. Optimus gave one last fire at the Decepticon leader as the Autobots tore a hole through the wall of the crashed Nemesis and swam for safety.

…

Brawn paced relentlessly on the perfect linoleum floor. Everything was orange, and it was bothering him severely. Orange was too bright a color for these dark times. Everyone who knew anything about Autobot biology was in Ratchet's medical bay working on Windcharger: Perceptor, Wheeljack, Ratchet, and even Kyrus were all fighting to save a life that need not be lost.

Brawn just hoped that Primus saw that.

"Hey," said a familiar voice. Jazz was approaching him steadily. "Man, I saw him. I think he'll be okay."

"Do you?" he asked nervously. He bit his lower lip as Ratchet filed out of the medical bay.

"He's ready, if you want to see him."

Without waiting, Brawn pushed his way past the medical techs that were filing out and made his way over to the table where Windcharger was now sitting up. It was hard to believe that only a few earth-hours ago, this very mech had been facing termination. Everything from his head-plating, to his optics, to his awkwardly bent leg had been set right. Now, he was leaning back on his arms (the one that had been shot off having been entirely replaced, it looked like) and staring at his mate with strong-glowing azure optics.

Brawn sat nervously at the end of the medical table and stared at his partner. The red warrior just stared at him before swing his legs up so that they were sitting beside each other. "Oh, Windcharger, I'm so sorry. If I had—" his carefully thought out apology was cut off as Windcharger caught him in a fierce kiss.

Brawn was so surprised at first that he didn't know how to respond. But Windcharger's glossa ran between his lip components, and suddenly he was kissing back. Hungrily, he tasted his mate again. It was the sweetest taste, with lubricating oils and the tiniest sharp taint of energon lifeblood. It was the most beautiful taste in the world because it was entirely Windcharger's, and nobody else could ever give him such a satisfying delight. He wrapped his arms tightly around the red-transformer's waist while the other steadied his head with careful hands.

Sniggers reached his audio receptors from those who were watching, but Primus, he didn't care…as long as he never had to let go of his lover again. Someone beside them coughed. Brawn held on tighter.

"Hey guys," Kyrus's sharp voice cut in. "Don't mean to interrupt, but Optimus wants a word."

Finally they broke apart. Brawn gaped soundlessly at their heroic leader, embarrassed but still a little taken aback by what had just happened. He licked his lip components silently and glanced over at Windcharger. His other didn't look any ashamed. In fact, he looked rather pleased.

Prime did not show any sign that he had witnessed his two warrior's interaction. "Windcharger, you must fill me in later on everything that happened in the Decepticon base." The red minibot nodded.

" 'Course Prime. I'll get to it as soon as possible."

"Don't go immediately," the leader said sternly. "I want you've had time to heal some." His tone made it clear that he was not to be hearing later of Windcharger doing anything other than resting. Windcharger smiled up at his leader thankfully.

"Yes sir."

Orders taken, the great leader dipped his head slightly as he walked toward the entrance. Prowl joined him, followed by Jazz (who threw the two bots a thumbs-up). Over in the corner, Kyrus and Ratchet were standing staring at each other. Ratchet had lifted his hand and placed it on his bondmate's cheek. The cerulean/gold femme curved her own hand over his and pressed it into her face-plating. It was an odd ritual that they could be seen performing from time to time. It was a very human thing, which explained why they did it. It must have been hard for Kyrus to give her life up the way she had, and now she had her reward with Ratchet.

Their optics bored into each other's in such a way that Brawn knew they were silently communicating. There was nothing that needed to be said, because everything they were feeling was being sent to each other via spark. Such a deep emotion they felt for each other that it radiated away from them. Brawn found himself looking at Windcharger with new eyes.

They didn't have to be bonded in order to understand each other. The way that they acted towards each other went beyond physical contact. There was a deeper connection that waited to be harvested and used. It was stronger than any emotion, deeper than any wound, and it was always pulsing rhythmically in time to their sparks.

Windcharger leaned his head on Brawn's shoulder. "So Prime said no heavy duty activities. This pretty much means I'm not allowed to leave the Ark or do anything, for that matter. So what do you want to do?"

Brawn shrugged quietly. "Let's just sit here for now, let them see you're not doing anything to strenuous."

Windcharger was quiet for a moment, then breathed into Brawn's audio input, "You know I don't blame you?" Brawn trembled miserably. Anguish at his mate and what he had caused seemed to fill him. The red-transformer beside him knew without having to ask. "It wasn't your fault. Megatron's sick. You must have known the sick pleasure he was feeling. It wasn't yours, Brawn. One day, we'll kill Megatron, together, and then you'll be free again."

Brawn let his head rest against his mate's. "I will never be free. Megatron was right."

"When he is dead, and you can share yourself with me…you will be freer than you've ever been."

He didn't bother to correct his comrade. He just sat and let his spark beat in time with his emotions, enjoying the fact that he had his lover for more time yet to come. He did not regret having allowed himself to be seduced. Windcharger was right about one thing: Brawn would kill Megatron. Because now that he had his new mate, Brawn had something worth fighting for, and if he died doing it, so be it.