Work Text:
Someone said if we see ourselves in another world, sometimes we will be grateful that we are not in the same place as that person.
That was a sentence from an old story on the datapad he had read while helping Alpha Trion in The Hall of Records a few months ago, it was a sentence filled with profound meaning, but he found it nonsensical…
Well, for him, no matter what world it was, it didn't change the fact that he would continue to put on a smile and serve the Primes so that one day he would seize the opportunity to be in the same position as that old fool council and not serve them anymore.
“Heh, how foolish” the young secretary smirked at the thought before continuing down the wide hallway toward Zeta’s office because the Matrix bearer was still working late at night, and he took the opportunity to help ease the burden a bit.
As the blue-gold mech was walking along the hallway at the moment his blue optics suddenly caught sight of a mirror with a beautiful gold frame in the corner.
‘How did it get here?’ Sentinel thought in confusion as everything around him turned black as his blue optics glanced into the mirror.
In the mirror, he saw another version of himself, whose optics were filled with fear and pain instead of the mischievous gaze and innocent mask he usually has.
But when he looked at Zeta Prime in the mirror, it sent a chill through Sentinel circuit for some unknown reason as his blue optics looked at the tall figure of the same mech he knew but Zeta's frame was filled with pitch-black like an exitless black hole, and the ornamental designs that were once beautiful gold were now colored with a blood red reminiscent of the color of death.
‘What is that…?’ The young secretary could only stare at the reflection in front of him with confusion and a deep fear that suddenly rose up along with the sound that echoed from the mirror and echoed in his processor.
“Why are you looking at me like that, my little bird?” A low, cold voice was spoken as a pitch-black servo reached out to tilt the young secretary’s chin up to force him to look into his red optics, which caused the Matrix Bearer to smirk wickedly in satisfaction at the sight of his little bird’s bright blue optics filled with fear.
“I… I apologize, Lord Zeta”
As the voice ended, the image in front of Sentinel was his other self smaller frame in the mirror being forced interface by a Prime known as understanding and gentleness without mercy, every touch he could sense was filled with coldness and the smell of death, while his entire frame was trembling with pain from his other self feelings in the mirror was feeling, and it was being transmitted directly to all of his spark without ceasing.
It was so painful, suffocating, and tormenting that he almost lost his mind right there, and the image of the small figure in the mirror was repeatedly violated, both physically and mentally, and instilled fear into the depths of that poor spark until his entire body was reduced to nothing more than…
Prime's favorite toy.
“I… I’m sorry, Lord Zeta- ugh! I beg you- ah!”
Enough
“You have no right to beg, my little bird.”
Stop
“I’m begging you, Lord Zeta, please have mercy- Ahh!”
I said stop it!!!
When it was over, Sentinel flinched when he felt a warm servo gently and concernedly rest on his shoulder.
“You don’t look well, what happened, Sentinel?” Zeta Prime’s deep, gentle voice asked with concern, as his green-blue optic looked at the young secretary who was panting and the older mech noticed Sentinel's blue optic was showing some fear.
When Zeta asked, Sentinel finally came to his senses when he saw that he could barely stand and when he looked at the spot where the mirror should have been, it had disappeared as if it had never been there in the first place.
‘What the hell is this?’ The blue-gold Mech kept thinking to himself, but the pain in his valve and the energy tank inside him confirmed that he was not dreaming.
Because of that, the sentence from the datapad replayed in his processor again.
/Someone said if we see ourselves in another world, sometimes we will be grateful that we are not in the same place as that person./
At first, he didn't understand it and thought it was ridiculous, but now he understood it clearly, especially when he looked at the Prime in front of him who now had a more concerned expression on his face and the touch from his black servo next to the side of his faceplate.
It was filled with warmth and tenderness, unlike the cold, death-filled aura his other self in the mirror had to face.
Thinking back to what he had seen, a little feeling emerged for the first time inside the spark that was filled with greed and jealousy.
‘He understood why sometimes we are grateful that we are not in the same place as our other selves.
Because sometimes the mech we know is the best thing for the mech like us could ever ask for.'
A thought filled with love and relief deep within the blue-gold mech spark, as the smaller servo held the larger servo and spoke in a soft voice without the mask he usually wore.
“I’m fine, thank you for your concern, my Prime”
But even though Sentinel showed this feeling for the first time, it was eventually overshadowed by greed and jealousy on the day he killed Zeta and his siblings in that cave.
After that event, he felt as if he was being pulled into that mirror every time he closed his optics until one day when he opened them again, he found himself in front of that pitch-black mech with the ornamental blood red just like those bright red optics…
“You look different, my little bird.”
“....”
Sentinel didn't reply, but his spark was screaming for Zeta Prime he knew.
His Zeta.