Disclaimer: I don't own the Transformers, I just like to write about them.

Author's note: Yay, finally, all I can do is apologise for how late this is, but between writers block and the chaos my real life has descended into it's lucky that I got this finished at all, I won't bore you with details but I will say that I'm doing better now and things are looking up. The other thing I have to say is my heartfelt thanks to the wonderful Daebereth, not just for betaing this, but for really coming through for me time after time in the last month or so, thank you babe, you're amazing. Okay let's do this shall we.

The Price We Pay

Chapter 6

A few more steps and he would be there, a few more moments and he would be making the speech that he dreaded. There was no backing out. Like so many things that had to be done, he had been given no choice and all he could do was hope that his unit would follow him. He hated the fact that he had to ask so much of them but that was what a commander did.

Just before he reached the door, he paused, allowed himself a moment to settle the nervousness that seemed to buzz around his systems, cycled his vents once to calm himself, then moved on again.

Optimus Prime strode purposefully into the room and glanced around the 'bots that had gathered, mentally checking them all off and finding relief in the fact that everyone was already there.

His optics settled on Elita One, and just for an astro-second and through his spark he reached out to her. She responded lovingly, reassuring him that he was doing the only thing that could be done, and he found himself wanting to stay right there, wrapped up in their bond. It was so new to him, less than a vorn had passed since it had been forged, but he couldn't imagine his life without it.

Sensing his reluctance to pull away, his bond-mate gave him one last burst of the love she felt for him and moved her attention away from the link.

Only one mech in the room seemed to have noticed the brief exchange, but Optimus was so used to Jazz's ability to know exactly what was going on that he wasn't surprised when the saboteur gave him a quick, knowing nod and returned his focus to the gathering before anyone else realised that it had been anywhere else.

One last stride brought him level with his officers, Prowl and Ironhide flanking him, both mechs' faceplates unreadable. On Ironhide's other side, Ratchet then Wheeljack stood to attention. He noticed that the C.M.O. seemed agitated, but that was nothing new - what was different, was that his optics rarely moved from where Sideswipe sat with Bluestreak. With his twin still in the med-bay, the red warrior could be forgiven for looking unhappy about being called to the meeting and the young gunner beside him fidgeted nervously.

Wheeljack fiddled with the datapad he had shown his commander earlier in the cycle as if he would rather not know the information it contained. Optimus could understand his situation, as that data was the reason for the meeting and none of it was good news.

On the other end of the line, next to his bond-mate, Jazz stood motionless. From long experience, Prime knew that this was a rare occurrence. The saboteur hardly ever appeared so still and although Optimus would never admit it, the black and white's stiff posture and serious manner bothered him, as it just didn't seem natural.

Of all his officers, the Special Ops commander was the one that still perplexed him, off-duty Jazz was easy-going and almost always ready with a cheerful word or smile, but as an officer he was also without question, among the more dangerous in his unit and the hardest to predict.

Every once in a while, Optimus remembered a mech who he had guided home vorns earlier, a mech whose optics didn't work very well and was getting over a virus, and it seemed impossible to the Prime that the mech had become the one who stood only a pace away from him.

All of these thoughts came to him in a spark-pulse and were dismissed just as quickly. He couldn't afford such distractions, there was work to be done, he told himself, and he forced himself to begin.

"My fellow Autobots," he began in a neutral but clear tone, "You all know the events of the last cycles, of the danger that threatened us and that some of us risked their lives to save us all. Thanks to them we have time, but it has been brought to my attention that Megatron's weapon has damaged our planet. The energon reserves have been depleted and unless we find an alternative source we will be unable to sustain ourselves."

A hum of whispered exclamations shot around the room then quieted again, all optics looking at him expectantly.

"We have one real chance: a mission to other planets, other Autobot outposts or uninhabited worlds to find the energy we need and replenish our home. This mission may well be dangerous and because of this, I am asking for volunteers. You represent the best our forces have to offer and I have only one question for you all: can you find it in your sparks to risk your lives to give Cybertron a chance of survival?"

"How long will we be gone?" a voice called from the crowd.

"I cannot answer that. I hope that we will find what we need quickly, but nothing is certain at this time. I am not asking you to decide now, think on what I have said and report to your unit commanders when you have made your choice."

He stepped back as urgent conversations filled the room and found himself thanking Primus that his task was done. Ultra Magnus and Elita One joined him almost immediately.

"We're both with you," his bond-mate said warmly.

"No," he replied reluctantly, "The Autobots will need leaders while I am gone and I am trusting the two of you with that responsibility."

"But Optimus…" Ultra Magnus began.

"That decision is made," he said firmly. "I will not abandon those I leave behind. Everyone knows how much you both mean to me and your presence will reassure them. You will take command of Iacon and keep it safe until I return."

"You plannin' on leavin' me here too?" Ironhide's gruff voice asked.

"The idea never occurred to me old friend," Optimus answered honestly.

The red mech appeared somewhat mollified and glanced out into the crowd, "Let's just hope some of them chose to join us," he muttered.

The meeting had broken up quickly once Optimus Prime had left the room. Wheeljack had stayed, hoping to catch Mirage, but there had been no sign of the blue and white. He'd even asked Hound, as the scout was one of the few Autobots who had the right scanners to detect the spy when he was invisible, but he hadn't been able to help.

So the engineer had left the rec room and headed for his lover's quarters. Mirage had once told him that, although he had travelled a lot as a youngling, he had never visited another planet to rival Cybertron's beauty and that he would not leave the planet again. That statement combined with the spy's hasty exit worried Wheeljack.

He hoped that he would be able to change his partner's opinion. Travelling the galaxy sounded like an adventure to the engineer, but if he had to leave Mirage behind he knew it would be a lonely one.

Hesitantly he knocked on the door. It was unusual for him to go to his lover's rooms, as an officer Wheeljack had the luxury of private quarters, but Mirage shared his with Hound. The three mechs got on well, but part of living with so many 'bots was respecting each other's boundaries, so normally Mirage came to him.

"Enter," Mirage called and the door slid open. The room beyond was an odd mix of the spy's extravagant tastes and Hound's simple possessions. Wheeljack recognised some the green mech's sparse collection of treasures, most of which had been saved from the ruins of Perihex vorns earlier and found their familiarity comforting.

The thing that caught and held his attention though was a large, beautiful painting of Crystal City, Mirage's former home captured perfectly, glowing with the lights of thousands of energy crystals taken from nearby mines and used to build the spectacular complex.

"It's magnificent," he said quietly.

Mirage nodded and moved to stand at his shoulder. "Just like the real thing," he muttered sadly, "I will never forget the glory of my home."

"Nor I, but we can't live in the past 'Raj, your city was a marvel but it fell because it couldn't evolve."

"If hoping for peace has become a sin, then I would hope it is one we are all guilty of," the spy said curtly, "I know why you're here Wheeljack, and I can tell you now that I will not change my decision. Cybertron is my home, I cannot abandon it to the Decepticons."

"Not even to save it?" Wheeljack asked. "Perceptor and I both checked that report several times, we didn't make any mistakes, if we don't take this chance then Cybertron will fade into memory, just like Crystal City."

Mirage folded his arms stubbornly. "I would rather die trying to protect what I have now than give up everything again."

"Kaon was beautiful once," the engineer said softly, "I had a good life there, a home, a job, a femme, and I lost it all when the Decepticons took the city. Some mechs might have said that I was lucky, as I was in Perihex on business, but everything I knew and everyone I loved was destroyed. I'm not delusional, I know that if I'd have been there I would have perished too, but it took a long time for me to be thankful that I survived."

Mirage nodded, "that sounds a lot like how I felt," he admitted, "But then I met the Autobots and you…" his voice trailed off as doubt crept onto his proud face, and Wheeljack was glad of the mask that hid his smile.

"We've all lost a lot to this war, but somehow we found each other, so I'm going to ask you just once, will you come on the mission? Not for Prime but for me."

For a long moment the spy looked at Wheeljack, then turned his face to look at the picture of his former home, and after nearly a breem of silence he looked back, "For you," he agreed in a whisper before they embraced as if they never wanted to let go of each other again.

The door of his quarters cycled shut behind Jazz and he threw himself into a chair with a relieved blast of his vents. Close to his hand lay the datapad that contained his copy of Wheeljack's report to Prime, and fury rose in him at the sight of it. He'd done everything he possibly could have done but it hadn't been enough.

With a feral snarl he hurled it away, it bounced off his nearby desk and shattered. The sound of it breaking felt wonderful to him, and while he knew that in reality the broken pad changed nothing, just for a moment he allowed himself to pretend that he had solved the problem. He snatched up another pad and launched it after the first, a third and a fourth followed quickly.

He'd just picked up the last of the infernal devices when strong arms wrapped around him and pinned him effectively, "What in the name of Primus are you doing?" his bond-mate's voice demanded.

"Breaking things," he answered without any sign of remorse, "Wanna help?"

"Why?"

"It feels good," he retorted as he crushed the final datapad in his hand. "And it's my job to make a mess, or did you forget that?"

"I never have Jazz, but I fail to see how smashing up our quarters will help anything."

Jazz stopped struggling and leant heavily against his lover. "Every datapad makes it worse, reports of cities falling, failed assignments, casualties, when was the last time we won anything more than a minor skirmish? Or had a completely successful mission? We fight, we lose, we get a little bit harder and tell ourselves that next time we'll do better but we never do, we're not just losing this war Prowl, we're losing who we are too."

"I should have realised how much you knew," Prowl said sadly, "You never were one to ignore the truth."

"Who else knows?"

"Prime, Ironhide, Red Alert, everyone has access to the reports, but I doubt many read them. I told Bluestreak a few cycles ago, maybe that was wrong but with the way things have turned out, I think it's good that he knows."

"D'you think he'll come?"

"I think that whatever he chooses, we have to back him," Prowl said simply. "But in the meantime, I think you should go down to medical and get your hand looked at while I clean up the mess you made."

Jazz looked down and was surprised to see that the shattered datapad had sliced open a coolant line and blue fluid was slowly seeping through his fingers. "Ratchet is not going to be pleased to see me, is he?" he muttered.

Prowl shook his head with a fond smile, "I'll come down to you once I'm done."

Cautiously, Sideswipe peered into the med-bay. It didn't take a genius to work out that Ratchet was in a foul mood, the crashes and bangs that gave that away could be heard several corridors over and that never boded well.

The red twin had also seen his lover's faceplates before the medic had left the meeting. Everyone who had stood in his path had received a glare that all of them knew better than to tangle with, but Sideswipe firmly believed that he could handle what ever was wrong.

Over the vorns they had been together he'd learnt a lot about Ratchet's temper. He'd never been one to back down from it anyway, but after a while he had realised that letting his partner rant until his anger was spent and then making up was far more productive than letting Ratchet fume for cycles.

"You okay Ratch?" he asked cheerfully once he was fairly sure he could make it through the door without being hit by any projectiles.

"No," the medic snapped, "Go away."

"You know me better than that," Sideswipe smirked. "Let's have this out shall we?"

"Not this time Sides."

"Why not?"

"I don't want to."

"Since when did that make a difference?" the red warrior argued. "Slag it Ratch, you've never held back on me, so why start now?"

The medic turned, his stance was as tense as Sideswipe had ever seen him and his optics were bright with fury, "Because I'd rather we didn't end in an argument," he explained fiercely.

"What?"

"This mission of Prime's, I know he said volunteers, but I'm his C.M.O., he needs me with him and your brother needs you here."

"Sunny might come," Sideswipe whispered, but his confidence was wavering.

"He will stay with Blue, you know that, and Bluestreak won't want to risk the mech he loves again so soon. Sunstreaker's systems need time to recover, not another dangerous situation."

"He can beat this," the warrior insisted.

"I'm not saying he can't, just that he needs time and you."

"How come every time things get hard the first thing you do is give up on us?" Sideswipe ranted, "Haven't you realised yet that I am in love with you? Is it that I don't say it often enough? Or just that you don't believe me? I'd do anything for you but you keep pushing me away."

The sound of something breaking snapped both mechs' attention to the side room where Sunstreaker was confined, and whatever Ratchet had been about to say didn't make it out of his processor.

"What the slag is going on in there?" the medic demanded to know.

"Something's got Sunny fragged," Sideswipe muttered, as he looked deeper into the bond, fearing what he might find.

"Did he hear us?" Ratchet asked.

Sideswipe shook his head mutely, sensing that Sunstreaker's rage was not directed at him, just before a new sensation burst into the bond and realisation dawned. "Blue," he said in a horrified whisper, "He's in there with him."

Ratchet stormed across to the door, uttering a stream of curses as he moved. Sideswipe followed with trepidation, unable to work out what was happening to his brother.

"It's jammed," Ratchet snarled. "The only mech who has ever managed to lock me out of my med-bay is Jazz. I'm calling him down and all we can do is hope that he can unscramble this mess."

"Don't bother with the comm, I'm right here," the saboteur said smoothly, causing the other two mechs to spin around in surprise. "What's happened?"

"This is what happens when 'bots like you raise sparklings," the medic hissed, "Get that door open!"

Jazz didn't need any further prompting and bent to his task without a word. "Blue did a good job," he muttered after a brief moment, "But I'm better."

"I don't care if you're Primus himself," the medic snapped. "What are you doing here anyway?"

The black and white didn't look up but somehow managed to give the others the impression that he was embarrassed. "I had a little accident in our quarters, I came to get it fixed, but it can wait," he explained.

"Just do what you've got to do," Sideswipe cut in, "I don't know what's going on in there but Sunny's afraid, I can feel it," fear crept onto the red twin's faceplates as he spoke and Ratchet found himself needing to try to comfort his lover.

"It's going to be alright," he said soothingly as he wrapped his arms around Sideswipe. The warrior shook at his touch and sank into his embrace.

"I don't understand this," he murmured, "Sunny and I don't usually effect each other like this, but since the shuttle back to Iacon, I've been more aware of him…" he broke off with a puzzled frown.

"What is it?" Ratchet prompted.

"It's Sunny, he's fine… and I mean fine, he's happy."

"Jazz, I thought you came down here for medical attention," Prowl stated as he joined the small group and looked down at his lover.

"Well that was the plan," Jazz muttered. "But it didn't pan out that way, Blue locked himself in with Sunny and Ratchet isn't doing anything else until they're out."

Prowl nodded, his concern for the younger mech clearly visible on his face and stepped back to allow his bond-mate to continue.

"We're in," Jazz called triumphantly as the door finally slid open. Sideswipe pushed passed him instantly and ran to Sunstreaker.

The yellow twin looked up from what appeared to be a very tender moment with his young lover and found himself all but pinned to the berth by his brother within an astro-second.

"Sides…" he began only to be cut off abruptly by the red warrior.

"What the Pit has been going on in here?" Sideswipe demanded, but his tone was softer and thick with emotion when he spoke again. "One moment you're angry, then you're scared and all of a sudden… you're alright… and I mean completely fine, you haven't felt this calm in I don't know how long."

"It was Blue," Sunstreaker said with a nod to the younger mech, "He realised what was wrong and fixed it."

"How?" Ratchet barked from the doorway where he and the other two officers were still standing.

"Sunny was struggling because of the holes in his programming," Bluestreak explained in a quick, nervous tone, "I patched them up, it was easy really."

"Then why didn't you come to me?" the C.M.O. snapped. "You couldn't have known how Sunstreaker would react, he could easily have hurt you and then what would happen to him?"

"I knew what I was doing," Bluestreak informed the medic.

Jazz cut off any retort Ratchet had by stepping between them. "The important thing here is that it worked," he stated calmingly, "And that just leaves us to answer one question, what do we do now?"

"If you're talking about the mission that Prime has planned," Bluestreak answered, "Sunny and I have made our decision," he stood up, leaving the twins behind and looked at Prowl. "I know that you're not my unit commander but Ironhide isn't here so I'm telling you instead. We're in but…" he hesitated to draw a calming draft through his intake vents, "This will be my last mission, when it's done I'm putting in for some alternate training, taking myself off the frontline and bonding Sunstreaker."

Sideswipe was the first to react, diving at his twin again and grinning from audio to audio. Jazz clapped Bluestreak on the shoulder then drew him into a warm hug, to be joined a moment later by a beaming Prowl. As the twins stood to join the others the red warrior realised that Ratchet had disappeared. He was about to go searching for his partner when the medic returned to the side room with a canister of high-grade and enough smaller drinking vessels to go around.

"It seems like a celebration is in order," he smirked, "Prowl, as ranking officer, would you like to make a toast."

Prowl shook his head solemnly. "Not as an officer," he said with a glance to Jazz, "As a guardian and as a friend. Everyone in this room has known Blue and Sunny for vorns, if not all their lives, we've watched them grow up, loved them unconditionally, stood at their shoulders, they've come through for us when we've needed them and it's because of them that the rest of us have become a family, which in itself is something we can all be thankful for…"

"What he's trying to say," Jazz interrupted impatiently, "is that we love you, we're proud to call you our friends and that we couldn't be happier for the two of you."

"Thanks," Prowl said softly through their bond as Bluestreak beamed at the two older mechs, "All we have to do now is make sure they get through the mission."

"I know," the saboteur agreed grimly, "No matter the cost."

A/n: Yeah I know I'm talking a lot on this one, but I wanted to say that there will be one more chapter on this one, there are a few loose ends I need to tie up before they leave Cybertron, so if there is anything you want to see or think I might miss let me know. Also, the bit where Blue and Sunny are alone together will be going up in Treasured Times just as soon as I get the chance. Thank you for reading.