TFA: Together We Stand (Season 1)

Epilogue

The worst part of an event- have it be good or bad; peaceful or violent- was the aftermath. Don't get Prowl wrong, his entire being was grateful that not only him but also the rest of his team, especially Mantis, was still online and in one piece considering they just fought Megatron and his top lieutenants a few hours ago.

But they didn't come out of it unscathed.

Sari's father- Professor Isaac Sumdac was missing. They had no idea where he was as there weren't any clues left behind. They could only assume that Megatron had abducted him for some reason.......hopefully it wasn't a painful one.

Either that or well.....they didn't want to think of the worst case scenario.

They didn't have time to dwell on it either as the adrenaline wore off and fatigue settled in. All of them were drained, physically and mentally and even Bee was tired to the point he was slightly quieter than usual.

But despite how his processor was begging him to rest, Prowl couldn't. Everytime he closed his optics all he heard was that horrible SNAP as Megatron ripped Mantis's servo off and that spark breaking impact as he kicked her away like some dog.

She was fine now. Her servo was reattached and swinging and her processor was fine and she was....well.....still Mantis.

But it didn't get rid of the weight gripping his spark, anchoring it down and twisting it tightly in its tendrils of self-loathing.

'I should've just asked her to leave.' He thought. He should've just asked Sari to use her key to repair that escape vessel she came in and sent her back to Cybertron, her home where she belonged.

Away from human villains with acid and Headmaster units; away from merciless Decepticons; away......away from nature and himself.

Yet, in his spark, he knew that would've been so wrong. Oh so horribly wrong. How could he just push her away like that? He knew he wouldn't find it in himself to ever ship her off to another planet, not when he was all she had left and vice versa.

Plus, that action would've hurt her in ways he knew she'd never heal from. Mantis loved him, he loved her. He wanted to protect her, she wanted to protect him and the other friends she's gained and come to look at as family.

Prowl sighed and rubbed the heels of his servos on his face. Is this what being a parent was like? If so, he's glad he's still technically her big brother...........then again, all things considered, he may as well also be her parent-figure at this point too.

After tossing and turning for another few minutes, he gave up. He stood up and made his way to the rooftop. Perhaps some stargazing would quell his mind.

Much to his surprise, there was already someone on the roof.

Mantis.

She sat there, one pede swinging back and forth lazily as it dangled off the edge of the roof while the other was tucked against her chest. Her chin rested on top of her knee and in one servo, she was gazing melancholically at a picture on her datapad.

A picture of a younger her, himself and Yoketron.

.......looks like he's not the only one, huh?

"Can't sleep either?" she asked, not turning around.

".......nor can you." He said. "May I sit with you?"

"Sure." She said, patting the area next to her.

Prowl sat down beside her and for a while, they lapsed into a companionable silence.