The Love We Let Go Of [Completed]

9

"What did he mean?" Dark demanded. "He..." I couldn't get myself to say it, it seemed to far from truth it seemed like it couldn't be. "I will explain." I said steadying myself bracing for the impact my words would have. "What I have told you about him before, wasn't all of it. Apallo.... He was ours." I said my voice catching for a moment. "Yours?" Bee asked, "Our direct descendent. Our sparkling." I clarified knowing I had to own up to it. "You were in love with Landslide?" Bee asked a little off put. "Yes, but you need to understand he wasn't always like this. There was a time when he was funny, gentle, and kind." I said my memory giving me a
good feeling. "I think you need to tell us all of it, and leave nothing unsaid." Dark said more agressive than usual. I sighed and nodded, they deserved the truth. "When I met Landslide he was a playful go lucky young adult, he always found something fun in the difficulty that was surviving. So when we met he shared that with me. At the time he was the only one who could get me to laugh or even crack a smile. We became a pair, sparkmates. When it was time for eggs it was a particularity difficult season, it seemed we would have no young that year. But then Apollo. He was always a fighter, even when we had to travel many nights without refueling. This month in particular we couldn't find any energon to scavenge so Landslide traveled a great distance to find fuel for Apollo, and to a lesser extent us. He said he had found some strange purple crystal and ingested it to see if it was safe. It turned him. I never expected the attack to come from within the family group." I stopped, I couldn't keep going. There was nothing else they needed to hear. Bee seemed sympathetic, but Dark appeared to be fuming. "So all those chances to do away with him and you let him go!?!" He roared. "Yes," I could barely speak. "You have no idea what he has done to this pack, to MY PACK!" He roared, my breath was caught in my chest. I went to respond but he cut me off. "He terminated my sparkmate and took our offspring!" It seemed as if he could no longer contain this. "Mudslide is yours." I said confirming  what I had suspected. Dark seemed like he wanted to explode, but incredibly he walked off sparks flying from his optics. I felt like someone split me in half with a dull knife. I turned to Bee, my chest felt like it was made of led. "I... I'm sorry," was all I could find to tell him, there was nothing that I could say that would bring anyone to understand this. I expected some equily harsh reaction from Bee, but nothing. Tears were threatening to well up in my optics. He took a few steps forward and hugged me [or the predacon variation of a hug]. I let my form relax and a tear ecaped my optic. "I'm sorry." I said again, "Don't be," he said, slowly the pain that had built up dissipated. "We need to go after Dark." Bee said, "I'm not so sure, he may not be in the best condition for a one on one confrontation. I know as well as most that emotions corrupt combat. Usually." I muttered the last part. "Let's give him some time, primus knows he needs it. If he wants to join us I have complete faith in his ability to track." I finished beginning to lead us back to the main room where I saw something that in my lifetime I thought I'd never see.

Backlash stood over a mangled clone, I was personally amazed it was still alive. Rage slipped into my voice, "What is going on?" I asked moving between Backlash and the clone. "He just told us where they moved the cloning operation." Backlash said, "You're welcome." He almost growled. "Backlash, we don't do this." I snarled indicating my disposition. "So what? You may be the alpha but I know you will agree this was nesisary." He said not easing off, even with his aggression or possibly stress I could sence his regret. Inspite if this I still felt slight rage pulse through me. "It is irrelevant." I said flatly, "Let's go." I turned my attention off him. At the moment the world was black and white, but sadly it never stayed like that for long. Time blurred as we ran to the coordinates Backlash has secured. I almost shuttered thinking of his methods. Not much was known about backlash, he had joined the pack when he was an adult and he had said nothing about his life prior.

I stood still, my optics were set on the building. I was hesitating, for good reason I imagine. I was putting off attacking what was my significant other. I guess I had an out but I couldn't let myself think that way. I had a responsibility to my pack, and to anyone Landslide might attack in the future, I had to take him down.

We pounded in the door on the first try and this time the location was teaming with cons. We acted quick and efficient. They took out the guards then we went after the scientists, but we hadn't counted on one thing, the clones were pretty light sleepers. They began to break out of their tubes. "Stand your ground!" I thundered as I turned towards a predacon, along the edge of the the row of tubes. They were modifying the clones' minds! The clones weren't even thinking for themselves. This wasn't right, the cons were in complete control, the clones were just... robots. I snarled as in each and every tube a crack webbed out indicating the glass was at its breaking point. "C'mon." I taunted watching as adrenaline hit my system.