Born To Be A Hero

Chapter 15: Vulnerable

"The connection between you two share is stronger than you think. I've yet to find a solution for it. Your mental state is messing with Ultra Magnus. Must have been torturing him since you disappeared. I should have noticed sooner."

Alias paused at the words, shocked and guilty. She knew Magnus had given up his position and authority to search for her, even when everyone else thought she was dwad. She knew that couldn't have been healthy or pleasant, but... she didn't think he'd been sharing her pain. All that pain, it wasn't his to bear.

Ratchet forced open Magnus's locked door with some odd tool in his wrist and rushed inside. Alias tore herself from her overworked thought process and followed.

She heard him before she saw him. Magnus was whimpering, muttering, crying out quietly. He sounded heartbroken and hopeless. It physically hurt to listen to him. Alias's heart and stomach clenched painfully at the sounds.

This wasn't the powerful, strong Ultra Magnus, second in command of the Autobot forces. He sounded like a wounded animal wobbling on it's broken legs.

Alias's eyes watered. Was this her fault? Her nightmares spreading to him? Hurting him? He didn't deserve that.

"Magnus," Ratchet gently placed his servo on the bigger bot's shoulder and rubbed it. "Magnus, wake up."

Alias knew the moment he woke up. The whimpers were silenced and his body stilled, tensing up. A dim blue glow hovered over his face.

A moment later, he sat up. His expression was horrified and embarrassed. The blue tint to his face deepened when he spotted her on the floor.

"I–I need to go." Magnus stood up. "There is– there's work to be done."

"Magn–"

"Don't follow me," Magnus interrupted Ratchet and quickly went out the berthroom door. He made an effort not to look at Alias again, or Ratchet for that matter.

Alias ran after him and stopped right outside the door, her eyes glued to his figure before she called out to him. "Magnus, wait!"

He turned the corner and disappeared without any indication he heard her. The ground shook a little as Ratchet stepped up to her from behind and stopped at her side. "Give him space. He'd rather conquer your demons than his own."

Alias shook her head and looked up. "This is my doing?"

"It's Primus's doing," Ratchet corrected. "I don't know what the Allfather was thinking when he bonded you two, but I'm sure he had his reasons."

"Like he had his reasons for possessing me?"

Ratchet pursed his derma. "The war ended that day."

Alias bristled. "You think that justifies it?"

"You blew up orphanages and stole children from their only chance at a normal life just to get back at the tragedies of your past. Don't even try to lecture me about how the means justifies the ends."

She sneered. "It seems to me like you and Primus both have a glitch in the processor."

"I–"

"Save it for someone else who is heartless," Alias snapped as she stomped away.

She followed Ultra Magnus's path out of the base and into the cold night air. His blue frame was difficult to hide amongst the small, dull buildings surrounding them, so she had no trouble locating him. The problem was approaching him.

Because Ultra Magnus, the emotionless, cold-hearted, Autobot commander was sitting down, slouched over, and crying. Alias's heart stopped. It didn't make sense. He shouldn't be the weak one. He was Ultra Magnus. He was invincible.

She could barely believe it, despite him sitting right in front of her. The idea wasn't plausible. It was unprecedented. Alias didn't know what to think or how to react, she just knew that she needed him to stop.

Why? To bring back some sense of normalcy? It was wrong, watching this titan be so vulnerable, but Alias realized, Ultra Magnus was just as human as she was. Perhaps not in biology, but in the mind. In essence. He deserved to have this moment, to break down, to be weak and sad and pitiful.

Alias made her way forward and placed her hand on his knee. She was silent. She didn't know what to say or do, but she wanted him to know she was here. For him. Not the other way around. This time he was allowed to be weak and she would serve as his rock.

His helm shifted away, hiding his features from her. Silver lubricant dropped down from his chin and hit his thigh, gleaming in the moonlight. Alias looked away, giving him some semblance of privacy. For a moment, she wondered if she had made the wrong choice by coming out and trying to comfort him.

Magnus changed her mind. His servo slipped down his leg and softly landed in front of her, palm facing upward and digits curled ever so slightly. Alias hesitated before walking forward and sitting in his palm.

He lifted her up and coddled her with the other servo, pressing her against his chassis. Alias leaned in against him, feeling the pulsing of his spark through the plating. It slowed down steadily until reaching a calm pattern that Alias recognized deep within her. This was the sparkbeat that drummed in the back of her mind, making it's presence known in the hidden edges of their bond.

He was a part of her. Maybe, yes, Alias didn't know Magnus very well before he left, but the sync in her soul made up for all the time apart. She could feel his spark, not just the sound and vibration, but the very centre of his soul gleamed just out of reach.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Alias closed her eyes and nodded softly. "Of course."