Old Friend

    Darkened, crimson orbs looked up to the evening sky, watching as the myriad of colours danced above him, above Cybertron. Life. His home had been devoid of life for eons and now, it had been renewed… but at a price. The ultimate sacrifice had been made, he knew full well, only one would remain… but never did he think it would end in such a way. Never did he imagine that his oldest enemy would willingly perish, or that he, the Mighty Megatron, Lord of the Decepticons, would so willfully abandon his quest for power. The old gladiator watched from his perch, far away from the Autobot celebration, knowing he would not belong, despite his reprieve. He would never belong, then again, he had never really belonged anywhere… except the arena; except in violence.

    The brightly coloured lights dissipated into the blackness, relinquishing the awe of the evening back to the multitudes of constellations, shining proudly above the now life-bearing planet. From the distance he now had travelled, he could see the small movements of the remaining Autobot team, still standing above the Well. The former warmonger furrowed his optic ridges. How could they be celebrating? Their leader was dead… did they already forget his sacrifice? Did they not fathom or comprehend the depth and gravity of what had transpired? Had they already forgotten him, the one whom without which, they would no longer remain? Was he wrong in feeling this way? Feeling mournful, even… betrayed?

    Betrayed. If any bot knew of betrayal, it was him. It was Orion who had betrayed him after all, taking the title of Prime, the title that was rightfully his and his alone. It was he, Megatron, who was betrayed that day… The weary titan rubbed his tired optics with pointed and scarred fingertips. It was he who was betrayed on this day as well… not only by his brother… but also by himself. He heeded to the will of Unicron, he relinquished his only remaining power to his enemy, he had walked away from the war, and it was he who had finally admitted defeat. The crimson red optics scanned back over to the entrance of the Well half expecting to see the Autobot celebration continuing. Instead, he saw nothing. They were gone. For how long exactly, he couldn’t be sure, but there was no sound, only silence, it was always silence.

    The disheartened former Decepticon leader trudged back to the Well, searching the distance for bio-luminescents, and listening intently for the rumble of engines. There was none. It was only him, alone in the darkness and in the quiet. The Autobots, they had a chance to pay their respects, to say goodbye, but not him. Such a luxury was taken from him; then again, he never knew what had happened until it was too late. Despite the many years of war, anguish, and contempt, they had once been friends, brothers. His respect for the Prime outweighed his hatred.

    Tentatively, his heavy pede steps echoed at the entrance, as he peered over the dark edge. The large gladiator remained still; standing above the opening as the gentle wind from below ran through his circuitry. He knew what he wanted to say, intended to say, but now that the moment had come, he found himself speechless. He found himself weak. Weak, a concept he had never really known or felt, until now; a feeling that consumed him from the inside out, reminding him of the emptiness that resided in his spark. The tall Cybertronian towered above the surface, bowing his helm respectfully as his tired optics stared into the darkness below.

    "Why did it have to end this way? How could I have been so blind... and now, now that the shroud has been lifted, only now do I see what you had begged of me... all those years ago..." He paused, raising his helm to the quiet horizon. "Peace." He laughed to himself gently, feeling a faint smile spread across his faceplates.

    "My arrogance made me forget what peace truly was... but you were always there to remind me, though, I still did not listen..." He paused again, looking up to the constellations shining above him. He took a moment, recollecting his thoughts, feeling his heavy spark pulse morosely in its casing in solemn remembrance.

    "I wish you could see this... this world born a new... it is everything you dreamed of... we dreamed of...” He returned his gaze back to the depths below him. “It’s not fair, that you fought so long, so hard for this, and now you cannot share in the rewards… or that I remain.” He took another pause, breathing deeply, trying to control his wavering ventilations.

    “Why did you have to go? Why did you leave me just when I realized the error of my ways? I had hoped that maybe… maybe we could’ve been how we once were, that we could’ve made up for time lost… but it’s too late. You’ve left me, alone, and I… I don’t know how to continue. Even in our war, you were always there… though we fought and hated each other, you were still there… but now you’re not. You’re gone, like a whisper in the wind, with nothing to show for your sacrifice.” He narrowed his crimson optics, balling his fists tightly at his sides.

    “All that remains are the broken memories, the time that was lost… the time I wish I could take back. I know I am to blame. That I am the reason you are gone… I knew in the end this was our fate, but I still had a faint hope, that it would’ve been me instead…” He took a sharp breath, bowing his helm. Lubricant tears had begun to swell in his optics, but he contained them, ashamed that he was on the brim of crying.

    “That you would remain, instead of I.” He titled his helm back, hastily wiping away a tear that had begun to roll down his scarred faceplates. He could feel a strange consoling inkling, residing deep within his spark, causing him to smile faintly.

    “But, I know you are not truly gone, that sparks do not ever leave us, that they live within us through memories. Those we have lost… they live on, waiting for us from across the Well..." The former Decepticon stopped, feeling a familiar ache in his broken spark arise once again. "Till the day when all are one… just as you said.” He took another deep breath, lowering his voice into a barely audible whisper. “Used to say." The titan took a step back from the edge, preparing to leave, but he turned, his optics softened, filling with lubricant as he steadied his pained ventilations.

    "Promise me, that you'll wait for me there... that you will be there like you always said you would be. Promise me, that when the time comes, I will see you again, and that we will live on together, as it should have been…" The shattered spark began to walk from the Well slowly, as a lubricant tear rolled down his scathed faceplates.

    "Old friend."