Life Itself ~ Ultra Magnus X Reader

Thought That I Was ~ 25

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
2ND POV
11/15/17
~

"Oh, Magnus, I'm so excited!" You whisper-squealed euphorically. The commander let a small smile form on his face as you spun around in the air next to him out of pure happiness. You were his best friend and he cherished every moment of your adorableness. You made him feel this weird fluttering feeling in his tanks that sped up his sparkbeat. The commander didn't know what it was, so he decided to consult Ratchet at a later time.

Just before the two of you had been walking down this particular hallway, he had called down a couple selected Bots who were currently free for the taking. The day before—shortly after your more than enjoyable girl time with Arcee—you had sped over to Magnus with an extra energon cube in servo. Once you'd reached the control room where he was consulting Bulkhead about construction, you had proposed your Insecticon scouting plan. After the Wrecker left, though.

Ultra Magnus hadn't been entirely been onboard with it at first. Life hadn't thrived on Cybertron for over a millennia, and he was sure that Jack and Arcee's encounter had simply been a coincidence, or bad karma at least. The sparkle in your optics that he hadn't seen for so long had made his spark melt, and he thought that following along wouldn't hurt anyone.

"I can tell." He replied in monotone. The commander wasn't used to showing emotion to many, so doing it around you was a special rarity. One that you knew would not be gifted to you today.

"So who'd you choose?" You asked curiously. The mech had yet to inform you, though you suspected that he was keeping it a surprise. You weren't too good with those, considering how your curiosity always grew to large.

"You will see soon enough." The lieutenant answered. You frowned, but shrugged your shoulders anyways. As long as you went through with your plans, you would be satisfied. Nothing would get in the way of your dream to regain your title as Insecticon Queen. After all, who were you, if you were not the leader of a hive?

You reached the end of the hall, and Ultra Magnus types in a code on the door. It slid upwards revealing the entrance room to the base filled with your Autobot friends. The ones there were mostly people you liked, such as: your favorite two-wheeler, Bulkhead, who had probably finished construction, and . . . oh no. It was those two bothersome Predacons that kept trying (and ultimately failing) to be charming: Darksteel and Skylynx.

You glanced back at your friend beside you, silently asking all the questions that popped into your helm. You knew they bothered him too, so why would he invite them along? Then again, though the lieutenant might not like somebody, he wouldn't act out on his bias. Unless, of course, you were a Decepticon.

"Alright soldiers!" You yelled, capturing their attention, "Let's move out!"
~

   "Hey Bulk?" The two-wheeler asked as the two of them examined a seemingly abandoned building. The Wrecker turned hims helm to give her his attention as they entered.

"Yeah, Arcee? What is it?"

   You had led the group to an area where Insecticon activity had been high during the war. The two Predacons had went as a pair, and you had chosen to explore one area alone. Honestly, she couldn't blame you, considering how agitating the duo could be. Ultra Magnus hadn't come because he had to keep an optic on things back at base, like Predaking, Knockout, and the rest of Team Prime.

"Nothing, I'm just . . . a little concerned about our mission." The femme answered as the rounded a corner. The halls were dark and covered in rust, and the ground beneath them creaked and squealed.

"Ultra Magnus wouldn't have allowed it if it didn't have the potential to be successful." Bulkhead told her confidently. He helped her over a hole in the floor that blocked their path. This place has a lot of wear and tear, he thought.

"It's more about Y/D, actually." She corrected. "I just wonder what she'll do if she finds the hive." The walls, she noticed, were covered in scratches and dents, as well as the floor. Any windows had their glass missing or shattered. Arcee didn't have a great feeling about this place, and she was sure the Wrecker felt it too.

   "The Queen? What do you mean?"

   "Well, I-" she sighed at her friend's cluelessness. His spark was almost the size of his body, but his processor could use a bit of a tune up. "I'm just afraid she might turn out like Airachnid." That made him suddenly stop and bump into her, nearly knocking the femme down.

   "Why would you suggest something like that?" Bulkhead asked her incredulously. She scoffed, as if it wasn't obvious enough.

   "Ambition can get to Bots' helms, Bulk! It got to Megatron, and it always gets to Starscream! And—" the conversation worked her up just at the idea of her newest best friend making a full 180. It would probably affect her worse than Tailgate and Cliffjumper, except in a completely different context. Arcee took deep breaths like Jack had taught her to do when she became too angry.

   "'Cee," he said her designation calmly. She kept her helm down, and her back facing him as he spoke, "'Cee, look at me." The two-wheeler finally turned after a couple quiet seconds, ashamed of what she'd suggested. It, according to her, was an incredibly unfortunate possibility. Bulkhead continued, "She's not going to turn on us."

   "Oh, how would you know?" She pouted, crossing her arms.

   "Have you seen the way she and Magnus look at each other? Besides, she wants to be as good of a ruler as Predaking does. She's not going to be like Starscream, and she never was, and I'm sure she never has been. As her friend, you have to have faith. And if she does like you say, well, only time will tell." The larger mech told her firmly, lightly gripping her shoulder plates. Arcee groaned and leaned into his chassis, allowing him to pull her into a hug. She laughed abruptly, almost startling her teammate.

   "I never knew you were capable of such words of wisdom!" Arcee commented with a giggle. It was good to see the smile on her faceplates again for himself, the mech thought. He joined in with the laughter, turning her around so they could keep exploring the wide rooms and winding corridors of the semi-destroyed building.

   The laughter died down as they entered a particularly dark room with a ledge in front of the door, overlooking a pit. A foul odor came from the suspicious looking pit, and the two became terrified once they identified what was in it.

   The room was filled with piles of Insecticon corpses that had been torn apart and stained with now-dried energon. Dismembered limbs lay scattered around, along with torn out circuit boards and brain modulators. Puddles of energon that had slowly bled out furing their torturous deaths had pooled beneath most of them. It had looked like someone had been pouring it on others like a stack of pancakes.

   "Y/D?" Arcee said through the comm, unable to pull her optics away from the gory scene, "We found something, though I don't know if you want to see it."