Shadowfire

Chapter 52

"Are we sure we want to do this?" It was Wheeljack, of course, the only one who had never met Shad as she was before. There was a universal intake of breath, mouths coming open as dozens competed to be the first to defend their decision. Wheelie beat them all.
"I get it, messin' with tha mind's a scary as Unicron thing, but I'd give my life for my royal highness. I may be a little mech but she never once trod on me as a 'Con, she was there when the Decepticon leadership went to hell in a handbasket, she made sure nobody was gonna crush poor little Wheelie, but she didn't treat me as lesser either. She's a femme who inspires loyalty without even trying, and she worked her magic on me, on all a' us. We'd die for her, a little scrambled circuitry is nothin'" a rumble of agreement went through the the group of assembled mechs. Wheelie nodded in satisfaction at a job well done, glad he'd been able to articulate his point, glad he'd been listened to, not talked over. He knew he had his princess to thank for that. 

The small mech looked away from the assembled cybertronians, still glad to have a place among them, optics trailing towards the other, smaller cluster of mechs. His liege and lieutenant had arrived planetside the previous night, bringing the original 'Con crew and Optimus with them. They had responded to the message instantly, and the little mech was glad they had been able to arrive in time to help. He knew they'd all be devastated if they had missed it. Further away there was a group of humans huddling for warmth around a fire, Wheelie watched his liege slowly drift from the group, Starscream engaged talking with the other top 'Cons. He got it, if this sucked for him it must be even worse for Megs. He'd died, everything had gone to slag, come back only to lose his daughter on top of everything else. It must be hell, but his supreme masterfulness would get through it and save Shadow as he always did, the little 'bot was sure of it.

Lennox watched as Megatron drifted away from the group of the upper ranking 'cons. He understood, he really did. When he had first gotten out of gaol it had taken him a while to really feel at home amongst his men again, to think of them as his troops once more– and that was without a whole succession of other leaders meaning split loyalty for supreme command. And he hadn't emerged into an entirely new world, there'd been enough hints that a lot of it had been logical prediction, he had been at least somewhat prepared. But Megatron– Lennox admitted he felt sorry for the intimidating warlord, not pity but shared commissary. They had both lost a daughter.

He moved to stand by the giant mech, completely dwarfed but equal in spirit. They were two fathers, two leaders from different worlds united in their grief, side by side in silence. Eventually Megatron spoke, Lennox close enough to feel the ground vibrate beneath his feet. Neither of them bothered with useless platitudes or hopes they already knew they both shared. There was no 'I hope she comes back to us', it was evident that everyone present was united by the sentiment and beneath both their positions to voice it.
"I don't deserve it" Megatron confessed, his voice a low and damaged rumble. "All the things I've done, I have hurt and murdered and killed for the sake of it, I have conquered and fought and survived. But my biggest regret was allowing the Decepticons to be controlled, our righteous purpose tainted and corrupted, the destruction of our world– I don't have enough good to give"

Lennox didn't know what to do with his once enemy's guilt, knew himself not qualified to address millennia of mistakes and difficult choices. But they were united in their love for Shad, their desire to do everything possible to save her. Lennox put his hand on Megatron's massive forearm, the warlord's helm curving down to look at him.
"Never underestimate the power of a father's love".

They stayed like that for a time, silent, thinking, lost in their emotions. Finally, Megatron spoke.
"I can tell you more about what happened to her, if you like. It's– it used to be not common but not rare on Cybertron"
"Yes, I would like that" it seemed he and Megatron were bonding.