Along Came a Spider INTERLUDE 2: The Ninjabot and the Prime

Interlude 2: The Ninjabot and the Prime

Elita knew something was wrong with Prowl.

The ninjabot had been coped up in his room for the past two days, ever since the debacle with Lockdown and Starscream's clone. She knew he was upset by what had transpired that day, what he had done under the influence of those upgrades. And she had seen the expression on his face, the utter shock and disgust, when he saw that, unwittingly, he had crushed that fragile bird nest with the three eggs inside.

And the broken expression on his faceplates had made her own spark swell with sympathy, and... something else. Something that made her want to go to him, and to try and comfort him any way she could. Her spark that had clenched painfully and throbbed as it reached out for the obviously hurting mech.

However, that had been two days ago, and the usually quiet, secretive mech hadn't been out of his room. Not even to refuel, and that was starting to genuinely worry the young Prime. She may be a young femme with very little experience outside of her time as a Academy student and her following career as a Space Bridge Repair crew Leader, but there was something she knew well, and that was guilt, and pain, and the weight of failure.

And Prowl... After what had happened, she was more than persuaded that he was going through those emotions and that, in his very solitary, very stern way of going through everything, he felt like he needed to do this alone. However, and that was what worried her the most, she had seen how shaky he had been, how pale and that he looked quite sick.

Yesterday, she had come to talk to ratchet about it, seeking his advices on this matter, as a true Leader should. And what he had revealed to her had made her deeply concerned, even a bit affraid, for her friend.

*-*FLashback*-*

"Ratchet, may I talk to you for a moment?"

Hearing his young Leader's voice, the old medibot looked up from the parts he was cleaning and smiled at her, waving her over. Elita had that frown on her faceplates that she always seemed to wear every time she was worrying about one of them. And he had a feeling he knew who it was about, this time. He had been there the previous day, and he had seen Prowl disappear into his room without a word to anyone. The lad had a tendency to be a martyr, and it would one day cost him his life.

"Of course, Elita. It's about Prowl isn't it? Youngling got himself all worked up over that mess..." The old medibot grumbled but he also sounded concerned, even with his gruff, grumpy attitude.

"Yes it is." Elita confirmed with a sigh, and she asked, concern clear in her voice, seeking his advice. "I tried knocking and talking to him, but he didn't answer the door. I heard him though and he seemed to be either... well, sobbing, maybe or it could have been panting. he sounded in pain, Ratchet."

The medic, if anything, looked resigned at this and shook his head sadly. He put down the wrench he was holding on the table and looked at the young Prime seriously, arms crossed over his chest.

"That young fool... He had managed to land himself into more trouble than he bargained for." He started in his usual grumpy tone but there was a fair amount of worry as well. "There is a reason why unsupervised upgrades are illegal, Prime. That's because they're fragging addictive, and I mean by that, that the addiction sets in very quickly. Like drugs for humans, when you suddenly decide to stop, there will be consequences. Withdrawal, Prime, and not the light, easy to ignore kind."

"You mean..." She started, optics widening slightly as realization sets in. "Prowl is going through that right now? That's why he locked himself out then..." She came to the conclusion herself, it wasn't that hard, Prowl being the guarded, silent loner that he was. "What can I do to help, Ratchet? Is there anything we can do?"

"I'm afraid not, Prime. There are ways to alleviate the symptoms, but he won't let me do anything. He says that he deserves whatever pain he got and blame himself for everything, of course. Stubborn youngling." The stern, severe expression on the old medibot's face was tight and said clearly enough what his thoughts were about that kind of attitude. "He prefers suffering in silence. That young mech loves to play the martyr. That's not a good thing, Elita."

Elita nodded, but her mind was already working hard on the problem. Prowl had always been kind of an enigma. He was a Circuit-Su adept, that much she knew, but hadn't finished his training, as the markings on his waist suggested. He struck her as rough and cold the first time she met him after getting that assignment for Space Bridge Repair Crew. However, she had quickly discovered that there was more hiding behind that cold blue visor and she had wanted to learn to know the mech better. He hadn't let her many chances to try though, but she was nothing if not persistent.

So she had relentlessly came out to him, talked to him, tried to get him to open up, and bit by bit she had started to learn more about that mech, and the curtain around his shady past had started to lift a bit. She knew he trusted her, he had said so himself once, and she implicitly trusted him in return.

What happened yesterday though... That had opened a whole new set of questions and once again, she found herself wondering, who exactly was Prowl. Returning her attention to Ratchet, she said firmly, her tone bearing no protest.

"I will take care of that. I'M your Leader, that's the least I can do."

"He might not want to listen to you, Elita. Be vareful. In his state he might even be dangerous." Ratchet warned her as she was leaving the repair bay.

Looking over her shoulder, she said with a small nod, a half smile on her lips.

"I think I can handle him, Ratchet. Wish me luck though."

ANd then she was gone, and Ratchet ended up sighing and saying to the now closed door.

"Good luck kid. You're gonna need it."

*-*End Flashback*-*

And that lead us to now.

Elita was standing in front of Prowl's door and she lifted a hand, knocking three times firmly on the wooden planks. Fine tuning her audios, she heard shuffling and grumbling, something that wounded like hacking or clearing their intakes, but no one came to open the door. Trying again, she said, loud and clear, through the door.

"Prowl? May I come in?"

She almost jumped out of her plating when there was a loud 'THUMP' from the other side of the door and the sound of a mech gasping with pain. Without further delay, she flew the door open and found herself kneeling down next to Prowl. He had a dent on his helm, looked awfully pale and was shaking like a leaf.

"Prowl! Primus, Prowl! Are you alright?!"

He didn't answer, but the brightening flash of his visor told her that he had heard her and his expression twisted with both pain and fierce determination. He pushed himself off the floor, but his legs were wobbly and he had trouble standing straight. Elita's arm was immediately around his shoulders and holding him up. He seemed like he wanted to push her off him but she would have none of that. She tightened her grip and her optics grew stern and determined, full of concern and sympathy.

"'m fine..." Prowl grumbled and tried weakly to push her off. "Jus... dizzy."

His words were slurred and jumbled and that, adding to everything else, worried her more then she could ever imagine. Prowl NEVER stutter nor slur his words. He was also so sharp and precise in his way of speaking.

"No Prowl." She started, her tone denying any form of protest he might have had. "You are clearly NOT fine! Primus, let me HELP you! How many times would I have to say it until you believe it? I am your friend!"

Reluctantly, he stopped his weak attempts at pushing her off him and bowed his head, his visor dimmed with obvious shame but also a shy, tiny speck of relief. And maybe something else, but it was so brief she might just as well have imagined it. She hoisted him towards his berth in the far end of the room and gently lowered him in it, being very kind and caring. He rolled on his side immediately and started to heave, as if he was going to purge, and she quickly looked around for any kind of container. However, all that he did was dry heave and hack like he was wracked with pain, and she ended up sitting on his berth behind him and supporting him, rubbing gentle circles between his shoulder struts.

It lasted through the whole night cycle.

Come morning though, Prowl had fallen into a real recharge and Elita, whom had stayed on his berth and suported him through the whole ordeal, found herself gently caressing his forehead. Those elegant horns were very sharp, she realize as she pricked a finger on it and sucked the bead of energon the swelled from the tiny pinprick. She was tired, but she couldn't leave him throughout the night, so she stayed. At some point woke and spoke to her and she had listened, feeling her spark constrict, not sure how aware he was and if it wasn't all delirious. And then... things got a bit more... complicated...

*-*Flashback, sometimes during the night*-*

"Elita...?"

She had been resting her head a bit, since Prowl had fallen into a light recharge a few minutes ago and she had a bit of respite. Hearing her name spoken brought her out of it and she blinked a couple times, then focused on the form on the berth. Prowl was looking at her, his visor clearer then it had been all night cycle.

"Prowl? Are you feeling better?" She asked, walking up and sitting at the end of the berth by his pedes.

"A little. Thank you... for staying." He said, his tone clear and his words sharp this time. A pained grunt left him and he flopped on his back, a hand rubbing over his aching and empty tank. "Frag... what a fool I was... Trusting that no good two credits bastard..."

Elita opted to remain silent, letting him say whatever was on his mind, but she was listening attentively. Storing away the conversation to analyze later when she would be less tired.

"I was reckless, foolish, stupid... I'll never be a true Circuit-Su Master. Don't deserve it... Stubborn fragger, too prideful... Master was so right to cast me out..."

Hearing him belittle himself so harshly, being so hard on himself, made her spark clench in a way that made her feel almost warm. It was a warmth that pushed her to move to the head of the berth and sit by his head, gently letting him rest it on her thigh and she placed a hand on his shoulder, comforting, supportive, as she said.

"Prowl, stop. Listen to me." She started and locked her tender, understanding blue optics with his. "You are neither a fool nor are you stupid. What you did was... ill advised, I will give you that. But anyone can make mistakes, terrible ones even. I'm not an exception to that rule... I've done my fair share of terrible mistakes that I am still trying to redeem for."

Prowl didn't move as she arranged him like that, either too tired still or not willing to, she couldn't tell, but she continued when he didn't say anything, just looking up into her face, now written with her own guilt and sadness.

"Do you know why you aren't like that, Prowl? Why the mistakes we make help us grow stronger and wiser?" She asked, this time expecting an answer.

"Mmmm... Why do YOU think?" He finally said, sounding a bit guarded, wary now.

"Because you feel guilt and regret, something mechs like Lockdown will never feel. That's why you are a better mech for going through those trials, and why it's important to learn from them."

Her hand had moved to his cheek and she was cupping it with her thumb tracing the elegant seam that split it in two. She hadn't even realized and when she did, she paused for but moment, before resuming the motions. It felt... right. And Prowl hadn't told her to stop yet, so he mustn't feel it was inappropriate. When he started to push himself to a sitting position, she shifted out of his way and let him settle beside him, turned to face her. In that position, their faces were inches apart and she felt her spark beat increase a fraction. Prowl was a handsome mech, graceful and lithe. His faceplates were so stern and yet held so much of his personality. She knew they can twist into angry or hateful masks, she had seen it before, but right now she couldn't decipher exactly what he was reflecting.

"Of course..." His tone was so soft she barely heard him, and he gently took her chin between his thumb and forefinger. Lifting it so their optics were fully meeting. "Elita... There are things I wanted to tell you for a long time now... I..."

He trailed off, the tension between them had grown exponentially, and she found herself short for breath, unable to come up with an answer. Her processor was a blank and she leaned a bit closer, almost closing the gap. Her optics dimmed, her lipplates parted slightly. Expecting... something... And when it came, it was like being zapped by a lightning. Her whole body tingled and her spark raced so fast she thought it would burst out of her spark casing.

Prowl was kissing her.

A real, deep, passionate kiss.

She had offlined her optics and responded willingly after a brief moment. She felt a hand wrap gently around the nape of her neck and pull her closer, and she sighed. How in Primus's name had it come from serious to intimate in such a short lenght of time? Had she really been so blind as to never see the signs?! This... this couldn't have come out of nowhere, and it couldn't just be brought on by whatever was affecting Prowl. In part maybe, exacerbating what is already there. She felt herslef melt, overwhelmed by feelings the kind she hadn't felt for millenia.

Not since Optimus...

Optimus...

She pulled away suddenly, gasping, her optics onlining as she looked at Prowl a bit breathless. He looked hurt, somehow, and immediately she felt guilty. She hadn't meant to reject him. It had felt wonderful, truly perfect but... She had suddenly felt like it was betrayal. Maybe she was just a foolish little girl holding into a dream, but Optimus was still somewhere inside that monstrosity that was Tarantulas and if ever there was a chance to bring him back...

Who was she kidding?

Even if he ever could return to what he once was, she held no illusion that they could magically get back to how things were before... all of this. She HAD to move on from him! CLosing her optics once more, she thought 'to the Pit with that' and was the one to crash her lips to Prowl's this time.

*-*End flashback*-*

Eventually Prowl had fallen back asleep curled against her side and she had held him through the rest of the night. She wasn't sure how things were going to unfold from now on, but looking down at him, she smiled a bit. Never in a thousand Vorns could she had imagined that things would turn out this way.

And she realized that... she didn't mind in the slightest.

She felt him shift and she saw he was looking at her now, optics online. His expression was, as always, hard to read, and she let her optics take in every one of his features. He looked relaxed and content, if anything.

"Hey. DO you feel any better now?" She asked him with a smile, caressing his back where her hand was gently.

"I do. I think it has passed now." He replied and pushed himself to sit more comfortably. "Elita, about last night..." He started but she stopped him with a raised hand.

"There is nothing to regret, Prowl, and don't you dare tell me it was a mistake." She said sternly, but there was an amused glint in her optics.

"No, of course not!" He started quickly, looking appalled that she suggested that. "But what I was about to say is, maybe it should stay strictly between us. I don't think it would be... wise... to spread this... development to the others."

Elita relaxed and her expression grew more serious. He was right. She was their Leader, and she couldn't afford to let anything make her look weak. Even if she knew her team wouldn't feel that way, the less peoples knew, the smallest the chance of rumors spreading to the Decepticons. So she nodded and reluctantly, pushed herself to stand.

"Of course, Prowl." She said softly and her eyes were gentle, ind, loving as she looked at him, seeing him, truly seeing him, for the first time.

Who could have imagined...?

The Ninjabot and the Prime.

Life truly is full of surprise.

"I order you to report to Ratchet for a full physical scan. And I would hear no protest. Is that clear?"

"Yes Ma'am."

If anything, Prowl's reply was dripping with sarcasm and he made a too-stiff, mock little salute.

-To be Continued...-