TFA: Together We Stand (Season 1)

Chapter 18

"So....yeah that's the end of the story." Mantis finished.

Silence.

Silence that spoke a thousand words; Silence that carried decades' worth of pent up emotions; Silence that stretched forever at the same time, for seconds.

Then Prowl rushed forward and hugged Mantis again.

"I'm sorry." He choked out as the tears came out tenfold. "I'm so so sorry, I failed you, I failed Master Yoketron and...Primus you didn't, you shouldn't have had to live like that oh god, I am so sorry." Then his words became to tumble out until they were nothing but a jumble of incoherent pronunciations.

Mantis didn't realize the tears until she felt them drip onto her brother's shoulder. "Hey, it's ok....it's ok......" a choked sob escaped too. "I'm fine....we're both fine....I'm here and you're here....it's ok....it's...." another sob. "Oh screw it, I MISSED YOU SO MUCH DAMN IT!" then she too began to cry again.

Then soon her happiness over her reunion gave way to sadness and grief as she realized something.

"Brother.....I...I need to ask you something." She said.

"Anything." Prowl said.

Mantis craned her helm up and looked him in the optic. "Is it true?" she asked, voice barely above a whisper.

"Is.....what true?" he asked though he already had an inkling of what it could be.

"Is Shifu offline?" she asked. "Is he really gone? I....I need to hear it from you. Yo- you were the......the last one." She added.

The last one.

The same one who failed them.

Prowl's entire being felt like it just got hit by Bulkhead's wrecking ball full force. His circuits froze and wires went taut. His grip on Mantis tightened as the truth came forth.

He knew this was coming eventually. He didn't expect it to come now, after so much had happened, before he could even think of a way to tell her the truth without reopening old wounds.

But he can't just ignore this either.

It was like a tumor. He had to slice through the protoform to remove it, it would hurt but.........it would heal eventually.

It was better than leaving it to spread and worsen.

They disconnected from the hug but Mantis sat down and leaned onto his side ever so slightly, one of her servos grasping his for support.

Primus, he missed snuggling with her like this, some things never change.

"I'm sorry." He wished he could take that back, how many times has she heard that? "But.....it's true." He hung his helm low in shame as the guilt crashed down on him once again. "Master Yoketron is one with the Well." He said, voice barely above a whisper.

But Mantis heard.

And those words carried a thousand meanings.

She had known, a small part of her had always known the cold ugly truth and tried to come to terms with the harsh fact but that tiny, minuscule part of her had still clung onto that hairline fraying thread that there was hope.

The final thread snapped.

"I was there....." Prowl said.

"What?" Mantis asked.