Discoveries

Tyrannus knew he was going to have to face the music, as the humans put it, sooner or later. Megatron’s son and heir had enlisted the help of his younger sister, Conquest in locating and kifing certain personal effects belonging to their parents. Tyrannus required Conquest’s help because she lacked the moral conscience and honor that he possessed; and thus would quickly and efficiently complete her task. Hopefully, they would be able to return the belongings before their parents realized they were missing because according to his sister, she had to go through three maximum security locks and then crack a few passcodes before she even discovered what was *in the box* much less what was on the datapads. That was after she had located the secret space where they’d been stashed. “Screamerproofed” she’d called her father’s security measures with a chuckle. Whatever these datapads contained, Megatron hadn’t intended to share; and if Megatron found out that they’d been rummaged through, there would be no end to Tyrannus’ and Conquest’s suffering. Tyrannus also felt a stab of guilt for intruding on his parents’ much cherished privacy.

Tyrannus was fervently hoping that the information in his father’s old journals would give him some insight into whatever had spooked his parents just a few days ago. And spooked was the appropriate word. It took much to rattle the mighty Megatron, but Tyrannus had never before seen such a haunted look in the old warlord’s optics. He remembered this creature from somewhere and the memories appeared not to be pleasant. Silverrose had withdrawn to her quarters and simply refused any attempt to talk about it.

It appeared that NightSight, whom Megatron had hired for various purposes, had a rather merciless and feral subprogramming that had been controlled by someone else. Apparently shortly before the war broke out, she had been responsible for many deaths and disappearances, both Decepticon and Autobot. Megatron didn’t elaborate much further. NightSight had been at Decepticon HQ for a short while now, but no one knew that NightSight was the creature as she attacked in the shadows or at night and the victims had never lived long enough to describe her. It wasn’t until the subprogramming reasserted itself and NightSight attacked Conquest that her identity had finally come to light. It had been a shock for many at HQ, including Tyrannus, who had befriended her. What it had to do with his parents, Tyrannus was hoping to find out.

He had bridged up to Cybertron hoping to put some distance and time between him and his parents in case they discovered Megatron’s box of goodies missing. He keyed open the door to Conquest’s quarters in Darkmount, hoping no one would think to look for him in his sister’s room and keyed open the large steel gray container. Inside were several stacks of datapads, ceremonial items that were probably handed down to Megatron from his father before him, and a few weapons that looked to have been used during his parents’ days dueling in the Arena.

The datapads were going to take a while to read through and there was no time like the present. Tyrannus figured the best place to start was with journal entries dated to just before the war when Megatron had said the creature had taken the majority of its victims. To Tyrannus’ surprise activating the first datapad brought up schematics instead of journal entries.

Whose schematics were these and why are they important to father?

Tyrannus scrolled down a ways to find the name Magnum. He decided it was a good search word and might just lead to something pertinent. He keyed in the word Magnum into the search parameters of the journal, which promptly returned all journal entries including that name. Feeling a bit apprehensive, Tyrannus began reading the entries.

At long last I shall have a son and heir. I have named him Magnum. Silverrose is still recharging in the other room, no doubt exhausted. Sparking is said to be quite draining on the female as her systems nurture the spark until it’s mature enough to sustain itself inside its own spark casing, generally about 4-6 weeks from sparking. Mercifully, the offspring are sparked with fully adult personalities; they simply require knowledge and some guidance by the parents which they get primarily from interacting with their parents before their spark is placed in its own shell. Magnum and I have been able to sense each other’s thoughts if I’m in physical contact with Silverrose. She seemed all but dead to the world while Magnum and I sorted out the schematics of his bodyshell and transformation this morning. He mentioned to me that while his mother sleeps he’s able to peruse her memories and knowledge without barriers. He also told me that it was an excellent way to pass the time when she’s busy or recharging. I am most pleased with his initiative.

It is early morning in this part of Cybertron still. In a few hours I must dispose of my opponents in my scheduled matches in the Arena; then tonight I begin the first of what will hopefully be many secret meetings with close friends and Decepticons as we plan to overthrow those accursed Autobots. Now that I have a son, I am confident that the fight will continue if I should be killed in battle.

Tyrannus just stared at his father’s datapad in shock, trying to digest the knowledge that he wasn’t the first child as he’d always believed he was. His parents had never mentioned Magnum and they had apparently taken great pains to ensure that no one found out about him.

Yeah, why is that? Tyrannus scanned through a few more entries, noting that his father didn’t update his journal everyday. It appeared that Megatron logged events a few times a week, covering a week’s worth of events in just a few entries. There seemed to be mention of Magnum’s progress, the continuing construction of his bodyshell, and notes about the rebellion. Tyrannus stopped to read more thoroughly when he came upon an entry that not only mentioned Magnum, but also the creature that he was hoping to learn more about.

The resistance meetings continue to go well. As much as my cohorts, my son, Magnum has been invaluable to me as a sounding board when I return home. He seems to have a talent for devising clever battle tactics; a very cunning mind he has indeed. I am growing impatient for his spark to be placed in its own shell, but that will not be for at least another three weeks. I am…looking forward to future collaborations with my son so obviously time doesn’t feel like it’s passing fast enough to please me.

Silverrose…is trying my patience with her recent moodiness. I can’t really fault her for it though. Apparently cabin fever has been setting in for her. I’ve commanded her to stay in our quarters until Magnum is in his own body. This creature that the news has been harping about for some time is still prowling Cybertron and has claimed three more victims this past week alone. I don’t want Silverrose risking herself or Magnum while she is still carrying his spark. Once Magnum is in his own shell, I won’t stop her from resuming her life as it was before. I know she’s been restless, not being able to fight in the Arena as well, but there’s nothing I can do about it. I still have duties to attend to. She’s just going to have to deal with it on her own.

Tyrannus chuckled ruefully to himself. His father was deluding himself if he thought he could garner Silverrose’s compliance by ordering her around. In fact it would likely achieve the opposite as Silverrose often liked to do the opposite of a person’s wishes simply to be ornery. Unfortunately, the clues were so far pointing to something unfortunate happening because of it. Tyrannus decided to skim through a few more entries in hopes of spotting the extremely important one that would tell him more of the creature and what happened to his older brother. Ah yes…

My son is dead. Lost to me forever. I cannot even begin to imagine what I’m going to feel once the shock and numbness wear off. Soundwave and I just brought Silverrose home from repair bay and she is recovering upstairs. Our son’s spark didn’t survive her injuries. We had a rather spectacular argument after I’d come home from my matches in the Arena. I was gathering up my notes for the meeting later that night when she came downstairs and mumbled something about going stir crazy. I knew where she was headed with her comments and wasn’t in the mood to fight about it…again. I simply growled, gathered the things I needed for the meeting that night, and stormed out. It never really entered my mind that she’d be so desperate to get out of our quarters that she’d run blindly into the night, not paying attention to her surroundings. I assumed she’d obey me without question as my concerns were for the health of our child and the restrictions only temporary. For reasons even I can’t fathom, I didn’t factor in her capacity to act rashly when emotionally overwhelmed. I guess I didn’t want to examine that possibility too closely lest I be distracted while carrying out my other duties. Denial.

Silverrose would be dead now as well if I hadn’t been nearby when she radioed for assistance. Even so, by the time Soundwave and I reached her position, she had lost a great deal of fuel and energon and was barely conscious. We patched her up as quickly as possible then rushed her to the nearest repair facility. The creature I had dealt with swiftly, but I wasn’t able to determine if it had died after it retreated to the shadows. I was much too large to follow it.

Learning of my son’s death was a crushing blow. Magnum had been much of what I’d been looking for in an heir. He will be greatly missed.

But this unfortunate experience has taught me that I can’t balance offspring with my obligations as a leader in what could become a civil war. My duties simply require too much of my time. I would still have a son if I’d been home more than a few hours during the night. I have much to think about.

Tyrannus dropped the datapad down on the table in front of him, just as he heard a gravelly voice emanated from right behind him with a tone that could freeze fire.

“Didn’t your parents teach you it’s not polite to go through someone else’s personal belongings?”

Tyrannus froze in dread.

To be continued.

After what seemed like eternity, Tyrannus turned and faced his father, holding the older mech’s dark gaze steadily.

“You are correct. Kifing your personal belongings was a reprehensible act; however I felt it necessary. You and mother have been acting strangely ever since we discovered NightSight was this creature you two seemed to have recognized. I would have preferred not to have done this, but you and mother were hardly forthcoming and I wanted answers. Apparently I had an older brother that for reasons unknown to me I was never told about. I’ve been pouring through some of your journal entries during the time that the beast was actively claiming victims and I’ve discovered that, much like your outward personality, your journal reflects very little of your feelings, mostly just the factual recounting of the events in your life. Enlighten me father, did mother and Magnum mean so very little to…umph!”

Tyrannus’ body impacted with the wall about a split second after Megatron’s fist connected with his jaw. “You know nothing of my feelings for my family!” He spat.

“Yeah, that’s pretty ironic considering that I’m part of that family. And if we don’t know it’s because you don’t show those feelings. I’ve wondered for some time if you don’t just consider mother a mere breeding machine for your precious heirs. That seems to be all we are to you; a means to an end.” Tyrannus braced himself for another strike. He knew full well that speaking to his father in such a manner was a gamble, though the fact that he was Megatron’s much wanted heir offered some protection against the legendary temper.

Megatron exhaled in an attempt to regain control. “Son, if I did not care for your mother she would be feeding the scrap heap as we speak for disobeying me. Her foolishness led to the loss of our first child.”

Tyrannus sat back down, feeling a smidgeon of compassion return to replace the fury he had felt for his father earlier. “She made a mistake; so did you. I obviously don’t know her side of the story yet, but it sounded like from your journal that she was getting lonely and claustrophobic. I’m sure those meetings could have waited until after Magnum’s spark was put in his own shell.”

Megatron shrugged. “I can’t change the past.”

“No, of course not; you just bury it as best you can.” Tyrannus’ tone was laced with sarcasm and he was beginning to wonder why he was bothering with this whole ordeal. Talking to his father was often about as effective as beating one’s head against a brick wall. He couldn’t for the life of him understand what Silverrose saw in him. “You know you might find that your family would be there for you if you just gave them a chance. Mother insists you’re simply a very private person, but private person my ass! You deny yourself and your children a close relationship with each other because you’re afraid of losing one of us again. You coward!”

Megatron’s optics glowed dangerously as he watched Tyrannus storm off and slam the door behind him. Slumping into the chair Tyrannus had vacated, Megatron radioed Silverrose and brought her up to speed. She could handle Tyrannus since she was much better at such matters than he.

To be continued.

Silverrose knelt next to Tyrannus and watched her son for a long moment, waiting for him to speak of what was on his mind. He was sitting on the bottom few steps in the Hall of Leaders, lost in thought. After several moments Tyrannus finally voiced the major question he wanted an answer to.

“Now that I know of Magnum, I am forced to wonder if I’m inadequate in my father’s optics; that he’s distant because I’m not the son he wanted. The son he longed for was taken from him long ago and I’m the one he had to make do with.”

Silverrose sighed. This wasn’t going to be easy. Tyrannus was easily as stubborn as his father. “That’s not true. You’re being much too hard on yourself and on your father. He has never compared you to Magnum. In fact, your father has often spoken of how much potential and promise you have. He’s very proud of who you’ve become even if he doesn’t find it easy to tell you. Tyrannus, you complain of the emotional distance between you and your father and yet, you have been very critical of him and you regard him with a very cynical attitude. You deserve part of the blame for the distance. He may not tell you this, but he has told me that he feels rejected by his own son and he doesn’t understand why. Do you even know?”

Tyrannus hung his head. “Not specifically, no.”

Silverrose nodded. “I didn’t think so.”

Sighing, Tyrannus got up and began pacing at the bottom of the stairs. “I’m his son. It hurts that he won’t open up to me. Is it truly right that I had to find out about my older brother this way? I understand that it’s a very painful part of your lives, but don’t your other children deserve to know? Doesn’t Magnum deserve to be remembered?”

Now it was his mother’s turn to cast her gaze downward. “Your father and I thought it best not to burden you with our pain.”

“You assume it would be a burden, mother. Look, it just feels like he doesn’t trust us by hiding these things. I mean, if he can’t trust his son and heir who can he trust?”

Shaking her head, Silverrose chuckled. “You must understand son, your father has that typical “men do not express their emotions lest they look weak” programming. You may find that you inadvertently did your father a favor. Now that you’ve discovered your brother you may find your father more willing to talk about him; “broke the ice” on the subject so to speak. I know that you doubt it, but believe me when I say that your father was devastated by Magnum’s death.”

“Well, now that I know, you want to tell me about it?” Tyrannus asked, his voice was laced with concern as he sat down next to Silverrose on the bottom step. She was silent for a moment, pondering how much of this part of her life she really wanted to relive.

“I don’t know how much of your father’s journal you were able to read before he found you, but this was just before civil war broke out. Megatron was not yet Emperor and we were both gladiators in the Arena. Back then the Autobots ruled over the Decepticons as if they were second class citizens and most Decepticons of a certain age were made to spend some years dueling in the Arena for the entertainment of the Autobots. The idea was that the combat would sharpen their combat skills and prepare them for service in the military as Cybertron’s defense. The Arena was where I met your father and we became friends.

Anyway, many, many years later your father became increasingly restless and irate at the treatment of the Decepticons as second class citizens. He began meeting secretly with other friends and Decepticons with similar opinions; among them were Shockwave and Soundwave. Shocky and Sounders were never the type to act on their own, but like many others they would follow a bold and daring leader.

It was during the initial stages of planning this rebellion that your father came to me and asked me to spark with him. Apparently his father had expressed some apprehension about Megatron leading a rebellion that could get him slagged. As you are already aware, Megatron was heir to the Decepticon Empire, though at that time the Empire of course answered to the Autobot government. The easiest way to explain it is that the Empire lacked much power in the eyes of the Autobots. The Emperor and his family were figureheads more than anything. They governed the Decepticons, but still had to answer to the Autobots in all matters. I don’t need to tell you that your father found the whole thing despicable and vowed to change it before he inherited his father’s throne. Anyway, Megatron and his father, Imperious hammered out a compromise. Megatron could risk his life to his spark’s content after he provided the Empire with an heir. Magnum was more or less your father’s safety net if he was slagged or the rebellion was squashed.”

Tyrannus growled. “I knew it! His kids are all just a means to an end to him. He’s a soulless monster I tell you!

“Oh will you just calm down, Tyrannus. Your father would have had to have children at some point anyway. When it comes to heirs and successions rarely do the wants of the parents supersede the needs of the Empire.”

Optics flashing, Tyrannus grumbled. “I still think father is an asshole…”

Silverrose rolled her optics in frustration. “Anyway… I agreed and Magnum was conceived. At about the same time, a creature emerged that had been murdering both Autobot and Decepticons alike. Not much was known about it other than it attacked mostly at night in very dark places; alleys and such. Your father didn’t want me going out alone because of this creature, but he also didn’t cut back on his meetings. He was gone from early in the morning fighting in the Arena and didn’t come home until very late at night after his meetings with the other rebels were finished. After a while the loneliness and confinement started grating on my nerves. Sparking is very draining on the female’s systems and being constantly exhausted didn’t help with my mood. Megatron would usually come home for a short time to gather things for his meetings after his matches were over in the Arena. We often argued during those times. I knew deep down that what he was doing was for the betterment of the Decepticons as a faction, but at the time I was lonely and feeling a little claustrophobic. I was being selfish. I wanted company. I never really felt that he didn’t care about me and the child, but it upset me that he *always* put his duties to the Empire first. That wasn’t something I would truly understand and accept until I’d grown up a little.

Finally about a week before Magnum’s spark would have been mature enough to be placed in his own bodyshell, your father and I had another fight. I knew that he was reaching the end of his tether with all the emotional outbursts, but I was also at my wit’s end staying in our quarters alone just to avoid that creature that was roaming Cybertron. After he left for the evening, I left our quarters. I didn’t feel up to flying so I just walked for a while. Unfortunately, I was also alone and not paying attention to my surroundings. I was too busy focusing on my own turbulent emotions so I wasn’t prepared for the attack. The creature, whatever it was, was feral. I got a few good shots in, but not before it managed to inflict heavy damage. I was able to radio your father, but I was told by the time he was able to reach me I had already passed out from fuel loss and was barely functioning. I was taken to a repair facility and patched up, but Magnum’s spark didn’t survive. After so much damage, my systems went into survival mode and began shutting down all non vital systems, including my sparking routine. Basically, Magnum’s lifeline to me was severed.”

Silverrose’s optics dimmed in sadness at the painful memories, but she continued on.

“I didn’t find out about Magnum’s death until the next morning when I finally woke up. It was several moments before Megatron realized I was awake and I watched him carefully. He sat very close to me by the recharge platform with his face buried in his hands. When he finally moved his hands and noticed I was awake, I expected to find fury flashing in his optics, but I didn’t; just unimaginable pain. At first I didn’t realize what was wrong, but then I searched for my link with Magnum and couldn’t find it. That was when your father knelt by the bed, took my hand in his, and broke the tragic news. I’d never known him to kneel before anyone so I knew it had to be what I feared.”

Tyrannus wrapped an arm around his mother. “I’m sorry. But let me guess, you started blaming yourself immediately.”

Silverrose chuckled ruefully and nodded. “That was the first thing I did. It didn’t help any that Megatron was blaming himself for it as well. We kept going over all the “what ifs.” What if I’d just obeyed Megatron and stayed home? What if we’d hammered out a compromise instead of fighting about it? Woulda, coulda, shoulda, but hindsight is 20/20. I was young and stupid. Your father is just stubborn.

Later that afternoon, your father and grandfather took Magnum’s bodyshell to the smelting pits. Megatron said he didn’t want to keep it for another child and didn’t plan on risking the loss of another child for a very long time. To this day, your father still tells me that taking your brother’s shell to the smelting pits was the hardest thing he’s ever had to do. Over the next few weeks, we discussed our future and we decided to part amicably, at least for a while. He wanted to focus on the revolt and I needed some space so I went offworld. Some time later, I heard that Megatron’s vessel had disappeared and that he was presumed dead. I never anticipated ever seeing him again until he sought me out on his own after he was revived on Earth. You came along a few years later and here we are.”

Tyrannus got up and resumed pacing, pausing every once in a while to gaze at the statues of the leaders that came before his father. Silverrose joined him.

“I do have a question for you, son. Why is it that you are angry with your father and not with me? I kept the same secret from you that he did.”

Tyrannus looked over at her in surprise. “You mean he didn’t command you not to speak of this?”

Shaking her head, Silverrose smiled. “No, he didn’t. We decided together not to burden you with our pain, at least not until you were much older and comfortable with your own places in the Empire. You need to stop looking at me with rose colored glasses, pardon the pun. Your father is not the unfeeling monster you insist he is. I’m not the perfect mother you seem to think *I* am. I know it often seems that your father puts the Empire before family, but the Empire would not be as it is now if he hadn’t. When I was young and stupid I couldn’t see that either. The good of the Decepticon Empire comes before everything. It doesn’t mean your father doesn’t care about us. We’re all in this together. One day you will completely understand what I’m telling you, though your relationship with your father would improve greatly if you’d try to understand it now.”

Tyrannus grumbled for a moment and Silverrose chuckled. “You two are both so stubborn. You are more alike than you realize. Swallow your pride this time, son. It’s the only way to cross the distance between you and your father. And yes, before you grumble anymore, your father will talk to you. It will take some effort, but he will talk to you. He’s already lost one son; I know he doesn’t want to lose another one even if it’s in a different way.”

Tyrannus thought about it for a moment. His instincts were pretty much warring with themselves. He wanted to patch things up with his father, but he also didn’t want to cave in so easily.

“Please, for your mother.” Silverrose grinned.

Tyrannus groaned audibly. “You know I hate it when you do that, mother. Fine, I’ll go see father if I can find him.”

And then Megatron stepped out of the shadows, followed by Conquest, who for once was looking rather uncomfortable and uncertain. Her father was in an especially foul mood that she and her brother were rarely the cause of. Tonight they were and it chilled her spark to be near him now.

“Unnecessary. I’m here.”

Tyrannus folded his arms in disgust. “Spying father? That’s not usually your style, though I’m not surprised to see my dear sister listening in.”

Megatron growled and dragged Conquest behind him, his large, ebony hand clasped tightly around her much smaller wrist. His optics flashed angrily. “I radioed for her to join us here. I only plan on dealing with this *once*. And I grow tired of your continuous sarcasm. The bottom line is you and your sister had no business entering your parents’ quarters or going through our things and I’ve yet to contrive a suitable enough punishment for you both.”

Megatron gently pushed on Conquest’s wrist towards her mother, indicating he wanted her to join Silverrose; then released her wrist. Conquest sat down next to her mother, rubbing her wrist. Wrapping her arm around her daughter, Silverrose tried to quell Conquest’s trembling. “Did you hurt her, my lord?” She demanded, appalled. Silverrose had never seen Megatron haul either one of their children around like that before.

Megatron shook his head, though his optics also flared warningly at his mate. “She is physically unharmed, Silverrose; though if she’s frightened of me now, she should be. I am aware of the role she played in this invasion of our privacy.”

Returning his attention to his errant offspring, Megatron continued. “I know you’re both aware that I am furious at what the two of you pulled today. That said, you also proved yourselves worthy of the title Decepticon because I certainly expected the both of you to respect your parents’ privacy. I am mostly surprised by you, Tyrannus. Passive aggressive behavior isn’t normally *your* style. Now Tyrannus, your mother and I weren’t planning on telling you about Magnum until you were much older. We felt that you would doubt yourself and your place as my heir less if you thought you were the first child. And as we had anticipated, you are now having those doubts as I’d heard you ask your mother if I would have preferred Magnum be here instead of you. Your answer is yes, we wish that Magnum was alive and with us now. No, we do not wish that Magnum was here *instead* of you, nor do we wish you were him. One child cannot replace another and it is unfortunate that your mother and I don’t have both of you and your sister. Both you and your sister were wanted as much as I wanted your brother. If I didn’t you wouldn’t be here. As for your adequacy as my heir, you have exceeded my expectations. I am optimistic that the Empire would do well under your rule. You needn’t compare yourself to Magnum as your mother and I never have. And Conquest, just in case you’ve ever wondered; no, I’ve never been disappointed that are female. Am I clear?

Tyrannus and Conquest nodded.

“Excellent, because I’m only coddling you once. And if I ever catch either one of you meddling in my personal space, belongings or affairs, you will regret it. Understood.

Brother and sister looked at each other and nodded enthusiastically, knowing this was all about to end soon.

Megatron rubbed his chin, thoughtfully. “We shall see. Now get your afts home before I change my mind about being lenient.”

“You ain’t gotta tell me twice!” Conquest said as she leapt into the air. Tyrannus followed her in less of a hurry.

Sighing, Megatron took a seat next to Silverrose. After a moment she spoke. “You know, in a way, this might have been a good thing.”

Megatron’s optics brightened in surprise. “How so?”

“Well, it’s over now and out in the open. We no longer have that discussion looming on the horizon anymore. And it may have been especially beneficial for Tyrannus. He’s wondered how you feel about him as a father for some time now.”

“Feelings aren’t an easy thing to speak of.”

“Eh, you get your point across in your own way.” Silverrose chuckled. “Come on. Let’s follow them before they get into more mischief.”

Megatron groaned.