#but what about other megatrons? what would have to push them for them to decide to change?

[wifeguycyclonus]

legit tho, I’ve been thinking hard about what redeeming Megatron would look like and what parts of him actually need to change to count as redeemed, especially in series where the war starts because of class oppression and abuse and his initial reaction is correct

[yes-i-write-fanfiction]

What if Earthspark Optimus and Megatron were sent to the Prime universe?

How do both factions react to the pair being allies and TES Megatron having abandoned the Decepticons?

-TFP Optimus is happy to see that at least one version of Megatron and himself managed to overcome their differences and became friends. He not so secretly hopes that maybe this will inspire his own Megatron to do the same.

-Yeah, no, Ratchet doesn't buy it. He's long since given up on Megatron and while this other version does seem to have turned his life around, that doesn't mean that Ratchet trusts him one bit. Reluctantly tolerates his presence, only because Optimus (both of them).

-Bumblebee is understandably wary at first, distrustful of this mech that is so similar to the one that took away his ability to speak. But after some time, personally witnessing how different this version of Megatron is, he ultimately decides to give him a chance and trust him. Treats him with kindness but there's still some tension between them.

-Surprisingly, Bulkhead accepts it faster than you'd expect it. Look, he doesn't really understand this whole 'alternative dimension' thing but this is clearly not the Megatron that they know. Yeah, there's a sense of distrust and unease but Bulkhead won't actively try to antagonize this other version of Megatron.

-Arcee doesn't trust this Megatron. He might have turned over a new leaf but that doesn't mean that his past is forgiven. And if he was anything like their own Megatron then he's got a lot of things to make up for. Keep a close eye on him, just in case.

-TFP Megatron detests this version of himself. He could never even imagine abandoning the decepticons, the army and legacy that he's created. This version of himself is weak, pathetic and a coward and it's his duty to kill him. In the deepest part of his mind, Megatron can't help but wonder if this will one day be his own fate.

-There are some mixed feelings for Starscream. One on hand, if Megatron were to abandon the decepticons then it would serve as the perfect opportunity for himself to take the place as leader. Surely his own alternate dimension counterpart have already done just that. But at the same time, there's this anger and disgust that wells up inside of him when he thinks about it for too long. Because how dare he? After everything they've done for him, after everything Starscream has done? To just give up and cast them aside? Like all those sacrifices meant nothing to him? It leaves Starscream with a bitter taste in his mouth and a feeling of resentment towards Earthspark Megatron.

-Soundwave have never considered the possibility of Megatron abandoning the decepticons. It's always seemed impossible, crazy even. He knows Megatron better than anyone else, knows his conviction, his resolve and unbreakable will. Yet this version of Megatron forces him to consider it. It's a thought that leaves him feeling confused, devastated, furious. So many emotions that he has no idea how to handle. So, he pushes them aside, buries them in the deepest parts of his processor and locks away. Soundwave can't allow himself to start doubting, not now, not ever.

-Now, Knockout have never considered himself to be the picture of a loyal decepticon but the mere thought of Megatron, even alternative version of him, abandoning the decepticons and allying with Optimus Prime, is very amusing and slightly gratifying to him. He's always had the backup plan of defecting to the autobots if his situation with the decepticons ever took a bad turn so this makes him feel better. Of course, he would never tell anyone this.

-More than anything, Breakdown is confused. Why would Megatron abandon them? He doesn't know the situation in this alternative dimension but still, this mech was still the leader of the decepticons. What made him lose faith? What happened that made him decide that it wasn't worth fighting anymore? These questions make Breakdown feel doubtful and causes him to look at their own world's Megatron a bit differently, with some hesitation.

-Honestly? Shockwave couldn't give less of a fuck about these questions of loyalty and betrayal. Nah, he's much more interested in this alternative dimension that the two bots came from. Imagine the data, the knowledge he would possess if he managed to figure out the science between cross-dimensional travel.

-Dreadwing remains adamant in his belief in the decepticons and lord Megatron. He refuses to look at this copy of his lord and compare them to each other. They are clearly two very different bots and should not be confused as one and the same. As for the fact that this mech abandoned the decepticons? It is treachery of the highest degree and is deserving of death.

-Airachnid sees this as an opportunity to seed some chaos among both the autobots and the decepticons. She whispers words of doubt to both sides, things that will make them falter and turn them into easier targets. When everyone else are fumbling for answers it will be so much easier for her to come out on top.

[in1-nutshell]

Can we have more of idw Ophelia? Like Megatron catching on or finding out that Ophelia is his sparkling? The angst and fluff that could happen

ANGST!!!!!

That's all the clues.

Hope you enjoy!

Megatron finds out about Ophelia's identity

SFW, Platonic, ANGST, Familial, Hinted Romance, Mention of injury, Cybertronian reader

MTMTE

There were good days and bad days on the Lost Light.

On a good day, you’d find some sort of clue about the Knights of Cybertron or a team building day.

On a bad day, you’d end up fighting something that wanted you gone.

Today was a bad day.

Some of the members of the DJD had found the ship and decided to mess with the crew a bit.

It was more for fun than getting actual work done.

What made matters worse, Overlord had decided to join in to ‘stretch his pedes’.

Everyone was armed and prepared to defend their home.

Megatron was leading a group of bots consisting of Ophelia, some new bot named Steve, Rewind, and Chromedome.

Sadly, the group would encounter a familiar Decepticon in the halls.

Overlord turns the corner and sees the group of bots. Most of the ‘senior’ bots immediately stand in front of Rewind with their arms ready. Chromedome just holds his Conjunx to his chassis glaring into the six-phaser optics. Overlord seemed to have his optics trained on Megatron. Overlord: “Megatron, it has been so long.” Megatron: “Overlord.” The taller bot smiles sadistically. Overlord: “I have been waiting for this moment.” Ophelia steps slightly in front of Megatron with her blaster ready. Overlord: “Oh? You have more bots fighting your battle Megatron? Typical.” Ophelia: “Surrender or risk getting terminated Overlord. You are not touching any bot here as long as I function.” Overlord laughs. Overlord: “Oh that’s cute. Now tell me Autobot have I fought you before?” Ophelia stays silent glaring at the Decepticon. Overlord: “Maybe I fought someone you knew. Either way, you stay out of my way, and I might make Megatron’s death quick.” SLAM! Ophelia had punched the Decepticon across the face surprising everyone. Ophelia looks at Megatron panicky. Ophelia: “Run! I’ll buy you some time!” Megatron: “Ophelia—” Ophelia doesn’t listen and tackles Overlord onto the ground. Steve tries to follow her, but Megatron grabs him and pushes everyone to the opposite direction. Steve: “No! Megatron, she needs—” Megatron: “We have to go now!”

Megatron did not want to leave Ophelia behind, but considering how fast Overlord fought and most of the bots with him never having any fighting experience close to his, he ran.

There was a lot of resistance from Steve but had to stop when more cons started showing up.

Thankfully the battle did not last long.

The DJD had found something more important and had retreated to their ship and flew away.

Now it was time get the injured or those who had gotten terminated.

Their little group immediately tried to go back to the hall where Ophelia had told them to run.

They were met with Ratchet kneeling over a large grey frame.

There was a missing pede, mangled servos, so many dents littered all over the chassis and dented helm with offlined optics.

No…

Steve: “OPHELIA!” Steve ran past Megatron and kneeled next to Ratchet, his servos hovering and shaking unsure of what to do. Megatron, Chromedome and Rewind walked over. Chromedome: “Is she—” Ratchet: “Shush! I’m trying to listen.” Everyone went quiet. TAP! TAP! TAP! Ratchet broke into a humorless laugh. Ratchet: “She’s still there.” Ratchet looks at Megatron, a flash of guilt flashes but covers it up. Ratchet: “Chromedome, Megatron I need you to pull open the chassis—” Megatron: “What?!” Ratchet: “I will not repeat myself Megatron! Now listen! Chromedome grab on my side and Megatron grabs the other side. If we work fast enough it should open fast. Steve, Rewind Stand a bit farther over there. There’s no telling where she’s going to land.” Megatron, filled with questions does as he is told. The chassis groans and creaks. Ratchet: “One more time! 3… 2… 1! NOW!”

The bots pull at the chassis hearing it groaning and creaking.

Suddenly the chassis opens up and something goes flying out.

Steve was fast enough to grab the flying object, knocking him on his back.

Megatron stood up to see what he had grabbed.

The ex-warlord never quite understood the human term ‘having the wind knocked out of you’, but he was sure he was experiencing something similar.

Cradled in Steve’s arms was an injured minibot.

A minibot who looked extremely similar to…

But that would be impossible…

She was killed before the war even started…

He doesn’t register Ratchet and Chromedome making their way to the minibot in Steve’s arms.

He doesn’t register them calling his name.

But he does recognize that lost look on her faceplate.

His Little One.

Ratchet notices Megatron’s face of realization. He is grateful that Ophelia isn’t completely conscious to realize the one mech who wasn’t supposed to find out about her identity… well, finding out like this. Ratchet turns to Megatron. Ratchet: “We need to get her to the medbay now. We don’t know what else Overlord did to her internally and by the looks of it, it isn’t good. We need you to get us a clear path to the medbay.” Megatron snaps out of his trance and looks at the doctor. Megatron: “H-how long—” Ratchet: “Megatron now is not the time!” Steve: “HEY!” Both mech’s look at Steve. He looks like he on the verge of a nervous breakdown, shaking with Ophelia still in his arms. Steve: “I don’t know what is happening between you two but ‘Lia needs the medbay now! Megatron, are you going to help or not!?” Megatron is a bit stunned but stands up. Megatron: “Follow me.”

It is a silent trip to the med bay.

Ratchet ends up kicking everyone who isn’t a medic out.

Most injuries the crew had received were dents and scratches.

The only one to have serious damage had been Ophelia.

It wasn’t like many bots willingly threw themselves onto the sadistic mechs either.

Megatron truly didn’t care for the others right now.

His entire world had just been flipped upside down.

His sparkling, his daughter was alive.

He doesn’t know if this was a blessing, or some cruel joke Primus was playing on him.

It became painfully aware that he could have directly or indirectly have been responsible for her termination and would have never known.

There is no news about Ophelia’s status, and it was eating Megatron from the inside.

Megatron had requested Magnus, Ratchet (when he had a break) and Rodimus to come to a private meeting.

He asked them how long they knew about Ophelia being his daughter.

Ratchet gave them the clear to talk.

Megatron could not believe everything he heard in that meeting.

He stayed silent the entire time, wanting to absorb all the information as he could.

It was in the middle of the meeting when Ratchet had received a message from First Aid.

Ophelia was awake.

Ophelia groaned as she looked around. Ophelia: “Urgh, my aching helm…” Ravage: “I’m surprised that is the only thing that hurts.” Ophelia: “Hey Ravage… wait… Ravage?!” Ophelia was now painfully aware of her lack of suit. Ravage looked tired and relief. Ravage: “First Aid just messaged Ratchet you’re awake. He should be coming soon.” Ophelia nods slowly, wincing a bit at the dull pain in her helm. Ravage jumps to the vents but pauses. Ravage: “Talk to you later kid.” The felicon disappeared. She looks at the door as the sounds of multiple pede sound. Ratchet: “Megatron I’m not sure if she—Argh!” Megatron had pushed Ratchet out of the way. He looked desperate and scared. His optics land on her. He slowly walks over to Ophelia who could only sit and watch him come over. Megatron stops right by the berth side. Ophelia: “…Hello Megatron… It’s been a while, huh?” THUD! Ophelia jumps a bit as the ex-warlord falls to his knees. He takes a shaky intake. Megatron: “Little one?” Ophelia couldn’t stop the tears from spilling from the old nickname. Megatron hesitantly wipes her tears and slowly places his larger servo on her backstruts. They both stay like that for a while. No words exchanged. Words would come later. Now they just drank up each other’s touch they had not felt in years.

[brandwhorestarscream]

Angst someone?

Tfa Optimus, maybe?

Or someone from tfe? It's been a while since we do anything with tfe

I have the perfect TFA Optimus angst

Conaider: TFA Megatron having lost a child to the cruelty of the system (this is important to the story trust me). It's one of his greatest motivators: he knows his sparkling is alive as the bond never broke, simply went dormant. He has little hope of ever reuniting with his bitty, but he'll be damned if he won't tear any world to shreds that would allow such practices.

Picking up at the end of season 3 (sans Prowl death because tbh I'm still mad about that), Megatron and the other decepticons have been dragged off to Cybertron. Sentinel has been removed from his temporary seat of power, and with Ultra Magnus still in recovery, as the one who apprehended Megatron, Optimus is left temporarily in charge. Or, at the very least, he's been given some decision making power, but it mostly amounts to paperwork and public appearances as the newest autobot hero

The council decides pretty swiftly that Megatron shall be put to death. Execution is the safest option, and they offer Optimus the honor of snuffing his spark.

And Optimus.......... he's honestly sick at the thought. He's a good autobot, of course, make no mistake! He definitely thinks all decepticons should be in prison forever, but the death penalty? It's too much, he can't stomach the thought. He's never taken anyone's life before, has never even really hurt anyone before, he could never bring himself to raise a weapon against someone that cannot fight back. He firmly declines, says there's no way in hell he'll do it, and begs the council to reconsider. Murder isn't the answer! Killing him won't solve anything!

Unfortunately, he's unable to sway their decision, and desperately tries to search for something, anything, a loophole or some obscure old law to delay the execution. He's hoping that, if he can just push it back til Ultra Magnus is back on his feet, he'll surely cancel the whole affair. His word is law, after all, and- and Ultra Magnus is a just and fair old mech. He'd never approve of this!

He finds a temporary solution while pouring over the autobot laws surrounding practices and procedures of such things. The mech to be executed can choose to be awake or sedated, is entitled to a final cube of warm energon, and is permitted to make a reasonable final request. That last bit catches this attention: reasonable requests are defined in the books as something not monetarily excessive, in no way harmful, and lasting no more than one megacycle. It's... not much, but he's determined to make it work.

He brings the law to Megatron, and implores him to think of something, anything, that would take the autobots awhile to procure but wouldn't be expensive or harmful. He's old, right? Maybe he can ask for some obscure old musical record from before the war, or-

Megatron cuts him off with an unreadable expression, saying he already knows what he'll request.

Come the day of the execution and it's Optimus that brings up the law concerning final requests, and they must uphold every written rule, no exceptions. And what could Megatron ask for but to see his sparkling one last time?

"The only thing I'll request is a brief reunion with my son."

Which in turn sets off a wild goose chase trying to find any record of a singular stolen sparkling from 4 million years ago. It's an airtight request, as all the information pertaining to the sparkling should be in public records or private elite guard files, either way they can't be charged to view them. And if there's an argument for the cost of labor, Optimus volunteers to do it for free 🤭 so long as he does the search without pay and the scheduled meeting between Megatron and his "sun", whatever that is, lasts less than a megacycle, the execution can be delayed indefinitely. Optimus just has to work slowly and hope that Magnus recovers soon!

And then, y'know, Optimus discovering what sparklings are, where they come from, uncovering the hideous truths about how bad Cybertron was way back in the day, and eventually 👀 unraveling the mysterious identity of the lost mech he's looking for. Things start piling up, he finds more and more suspicious bread crumbs, criminal records, police reports, etc, and eventually through like 10 active cross references and several weeks of intensive research, he finds his answer. A file that's millions and millions of years old, detailing a civilian sparkling's removal from his carrier because warframes were universally deemed unfit to parent other frametypes. The sparkling in the photo looks terrified, tiny hands clinging to the bars of the small cage he's being transported in, looking at the camera with wild optics and a terrified, tear streaked face. The poor little thing is painfully small, still nubby and round everywhere he looks. His optics are a bit too big, and his finials are a different shape, but it's unmistakable... Optimus squints at the picture for several seconds with a sense of dawning horror, and he realizes it all at once: he's staring at his own face >:)

[transingthoseformers]

Nononono. I love SG!ConstructProwl. Because consider in IDW Baseline he never accepted them truly and they left him.

In SG they are successful at wooing him.

Oooooh.

Concept.

In SG it is the Constructicons are medics. In BL, they forcibly converted Prowl because of orders and feel in love with his brain. In there's during the SG!ProwlOP divorce, they find him beaten and broken left to die, and having seen what he went through feel sick at the idea of leaving him, and his Spark case is compromised. So they temporarily hook him into their Gestalt system since it is made to accept others, but Prowl latches on to them and is utter enraptured by their loyalty and love. He knows it exists but feeling that kind of loyalty and naivete about being goodness in the world after everything he sees is charming and what's more he wants it. So they've been chosen by a feral sleazy cat/mean girl who is very much now "Optimus who?" and eyeing them up while they squeak and push at him with a broom especially since he refuses to break the bond and gives them sad cat eyes that they know–they can feel his think which is beautifully sharp and horrifically clear and calculating–it is fake but the thought of hurting him and echoed memory of rejections and beatings and not being enough that radiates at the spark of him makes them unable to let go.

Even more Prowl is more than rwady to go full ride or die and has decided to be their murderous "he said no pickles" girlfriend and torment them into not overworking themselves and glare at the Decepticons who ask for assistance or projects and make sure they eat and are fed and have a schedule. The Constructicons overextend themselves to support everyone and have issues saying no.

Prowl does not.

The Decepticons are horrified at the implication of taking advantage and Megatron finds himself agreeing with Prowl about them taking care of themselves while they get upset at first but reluctantly admit he's right.

"Of course I am." Is Prowl’s only response as he shoves cube of Energon flavored to each of their exact tastes and locks down their work stations (Soundwave conveniently distracts Shockwave so he can't help them hack back in) and shuffles them to berth.

Hm, I have thoughts now about Workaholic!SG!Constructicons and their small bossy new self-assigned wife.

Exactlyyyyyyy

In SG, they said "we may or may not be able to fix him but we can try"

Also yes yes on SG medic!constructicons.

Exactly, SG ProwlOp is a toxic relationship I can absolutely see happening as an on/off thing that's been going on since before the war but of course this is the final off switch.

They just have to save him, they've gotta. And they do. Prowl happens to latch on very tightly and does not want to let go lol

It is such the opposite of canon and now he's the one who is sticking close by, because he has felt Positive Emotions that do not come from someone else's Negative Emotions for the first time and he's hooked.

"Would you like me to kill that guy???"

"... No thank you, but it's the thought that counts?"

Yes I'm fiddling around with the constructicon's colors and I am so tempted to keep the purple and not the green

Awww yes and he is making sure they don't implode by being selfish for them (oddly selfless of him, but he'd deny that)

Sdfg yep yep he is their evil bastard they have adopted and he's bullying them into self carem

[lets-try-some-writing]

Ooh, have any of the Decepticons done anything with their holoforms, if they have any? Have they lead fake lives? Is that why they disappeared for a few years? :0

Anyways, I'd imagine Megatron would use his to either become a poet writer, or the most badass wrestler you've ever seen. Maybe even both.

Oh boy have the Cons goofted off with their holoforms.

Previous part here.

━━━━━━ ⊙ ❖ ⊙ ━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⊙ ❖ ⊙

In light of Optimus teaching in his holoform, some of the Decepticons got the grand idea to use holoforms as well. It started small, usually with the Con in question just going to watch a film or wander around. But with time, they grew more and more bold.

Knockout took to joining up with the racing leagues. At first, he was just an observer. But after mocking the drivers for their poor form a few too many times, he was pushed into joining the race where he promptly dominated all his competitors through his expert understanding of his frame. Sure a sports car in rather unconventional, but none of his fellow racers felt the need to get on his case about it when Knockout was almost always the victor. The best part about the whole thing is that not a soul can figure out who Knockout is. He comes once a week to the race, joins or watches, and then seems to vanish into thin air afterwards.

He has gained the lovely title of "Ghost Racer" due to his habit of appearing everywhere and anywhere without warning. There are rumors that he was perhaps a racer who died in an accident and now haunts the track to get his rightful medal. Others say that he is a retired racer just looking to stir the pot a bit. And there are some who murmur that perhaps Knockout really is just some guy with luck that really shouldn't be plausible. Knockout is aware of all the rumors and goes out of his way to foster each of them. He enjoys the respect they get him.

Breakdown didn't mean to use his holoform at all. But during a quick scouting mission, he decided to use his holoform to get a better look around a small town and see if the energon readings were real or not. As he wandered, he did not at all expect to find an old man working on his car out back. Curious, Breakdown watched from a distance until the elderly man invited him over to have a beer. Then being interested, Breakdown accepted the offer and ended up spending all afternoon with the man he came to know as Mr. Carpenter. From that point on, he was in deep. The cover story he gave was that he was an immigrant without any living relatives involved in some shady under the table business to stay afloat. In light of his story, Breakdown found himself adopted without meaning to.

Now he comes by a few times a month to help around the farm. He assists in fixing cars, usually by holding the light and passing Mr. Carpenter tools. He puts down fence posts when he can and overall does whatever he is able to in order to assist his elderly companion. He is always invited in for dinner and has since become an adopted son of sorts. Mr. Carpenter's children adore him and he has since become the fun uncle to the grandkids. Unbeknownst to Breakdown, Mr. Carpenter and his family are fully aware that he is not human. However they have never been ones to judge a book by its cover, so they treat him as if he were just a young man a little lost in life. He is a full member of their household, and Breakdown adores the feeling of family.

Soundwave uses his holoform very rarely. But when he does use it, he does so to go buy cat food for his favorite felines. He goes to the same Walmart every. single. time. And Primus, the employees fear him. His holoform is unnerving in the oddest of ways. He looks totally normal, too normal. His eyes are too bright, his skin too glossy. Everything about him is perfectly average, but without fault. The employees have dubbed him "The Skinwalker" and have since allowed him to come in, buy what he wants, and leave in absolute silence. Not a soul speaks to him, and for good reason.

Starscream and Shockwave do not use holoforms. Both see it as beneath them. However against all the odds, Dreadwing has used his holoform a handful of times in order to do some private investigation work. He is fond of true crime, and off and on, he will wander around to inspect cold cases. Cybertronian tech is more advanced than human tools. As such, he has had the satisfaction of cleaning up a few old cases through leaving anonymous tips. Police across the world have given him the name "The tipper".

Megatron, once he got back from his little escapade in space, used his holoform for more recreational reasons. Once in a blue moon, he will turn up at underground fighting rings just to beat the snot out of the rookies who try to make it big. He finds joy in reliving his days as Champion of Kaon. He has even gone so far as the made his underground fighting name "Kaon" Just so that when he wins, he can be dubbed the Champion of the place he once called home. He knows its a waste of time, especially since his holoform can't really be beaten. Despite that, he has a grand time putting criminals in their place and giving a few tips to the upstarts who have potential.

[transformersbrainrot]

MegOp is making me crazy as usual, but now I have some new, specific inspiration!

So it started with @that-fanperson-meg saying this under a post I made about the Transformers account posting a TFO MegOp edit.

I recognized the name of the song but had never actually listened to it, and hooooo boy, it activated something in the part of my brain that thinks about MegOp... So, I'm listening to this song, and I have the clearest vision that it's about Megatron's mindset/thoughts during his mental health's lowest point in the worst depths of the war. (fair warning, my analysis/brainrot is based on my own personal continuity/au, so there are some minor references to that, but it's all fairly standard, and I explain it a bit, so just go with it, and you shouldn't be confused.) Ok, preamble over. Time for the lyrical analysis:

I hope that our few remaining friends Give up on trying to save us I hope we come up with a failsafe plot To piss off the dumb few that forgave us I hope the fences we mended Fall down beneath their own weight And I hope we hang on past the last exit I hope it's already too late

Megatron assumes that Optimus is in just as bad of a place as he is. He's wrong, of course, OP certainly isn't enjoying himself, but he has an actual support system that he feels comfortable leaning on. On the other hand, Soundwave is the only thing even approaching a friend for Megatron (and he is waaay too closed off at this point to admit it). Starscream is a backstabbing, power-hungry sycophant with his own heap of baggage (I really gotta make a post about my version of all that sometime); Shockwave is purely logic-driven as usual, only interested in advancing the Cybertronian race via the Decepticon cause. By this time, Megatron feels like both sides are too deep into the war to even consider peace. He honestly can't fathom it.

And I hope the junkyard a few blocks from here Someday burns down And I hope the rising black smoke carries me far away And I never come back to this town again in my life

Megatron has always wanted to escape the path that was decided for him. But now, after losing what he and Orion had and the resulting fallout, he won't go quietly into the night, not before causing some irreparable damage first. And the war will do just that. He hopes the destruction the great war causes keeps pushing him forward, even out beyond Cybertron. At least then, he won't ever need to face the past and who he used to be. He couldn't recognize himself now if he tried, so he doesn't even try.

I hope I lie And tell everyone you were a good wife And I hope you die I hope we both die

Even though it's clear to him that they hate each other and are not good for each other, Megatron still has some form of loyalty to what he and Orion had. If somehow, someday, someone were to ask him about them, he wouldn’t tell them about all their problems, but instead that they were good together. Maybe if this hypothetical future version of Megatron doesn't mention all the pain their split caused, then maybe it was a little less real. He knows that as long as Optimus is around, he won't be able to stop fighting; he's just too hurt and angry. He wishes Optimus would just die, that they both would.

I hope I cut myself shaving tomorrow I hope it bleeds all day long Our friends say it's darkest before the sun rises We're pretty sure they're all wrong I hope it stays dark forever I hope the worst isn't over And I hope you blink before I do And I hope I never get sober

Soundwave, the only even semi-positive influence on him right now, is the one telling Megatron it's darkest before the sun rises. Soundwave is a true believer in the original cause of the Decepticons, probably the last one in High Command; everyone else is either using the cause as a means to take out their pain (Megatron and Starscream) or as a means to an end (Shockwave). Megatron is finding it harder and harder to believe Soundwave with each passing day, and yet again assumes Optimus is doing the same. He's starting to hope it never ends. He's comfortable with it now; the war fills the hole that his old life left in him. All he really knows is that he can't bring himself to yield to Optimus and doesn't think he ever will. If he did, he wouldn't know what to do with himself.

And I hope when you think of me years down the line You can't find one good thing to say And I'd hope that if I found the strength to walk out You'd stay the hell out of my way

Megatron is hoping that Optimus is suffering too, since he is, and doesn’t want him to feel anything positive through this since he cannot. But at the same time, he’s trying so hard to be a bastard so that it won’t hurt as much. He does still want to speak well of their past if he gets the chance, so some loyalty or fondness remains deep down. If there were good times to look back on, there would be sadness that those times are over. If Optimus has nothing good to say about him, all he would feel is relief that that part of their lives is over.

I am drowning There is no sign of land You are coming down with me Hand in unlovable hand And I hope you die I hope we both die

Megatron can't see any way out of where he's gotten them. To him, there's no path to peace anymore. The only solace Megatron can find is the hope that Optimus falls with him. Even now, the two of their fates must be interlocked, as if it were a universal constant to him - simple common sense. He just wants it to be over, even as he can't bring himself to stop.

[theoceanoasis]

Dratchrod mechpreg angst with a happy ending please?

He gasped putting a hand on his belly in horror. He'd been feeling off the last couple of days. At first he thought he might be coming down with something.

As his symptoms continued, he started having a bad feeling. He tried to push it off for as long as possible. Until eventually he couldn't hold back any longer.

Even though he knew he was likely sparked. He was still hoping the tests was wrong.

He knew who the sires were. They were the only ones he'd been interfacing with for the past few months. The problem is, they were in a relationship with each other and he was only there when they wanted a threesome.

After they were done interfacing. He would always leave, while they cuddled together giving each other aftercare. He'd go back to his room all alone and cry himself to sleep. Wishing he was enough, but he knew Ratchet and Drift would never like him like that.

The closest he would ever get was interfacing. When they find out he was sparked. They would want nothing to do with him or the sparkling.

In fact they'd probably be angry that he was stupid enough to get himself sparked. He should have been more careful. Even though he wore spark baffles and other protection. Along with making them both wear spike sleeves. He should have realized something was wrong. Figured out some way to stop it.

He rubbed a hand over his belly unsure what to do now. He couldn't go to the medbay they'd get suspicious.

Feeling the small bump forming. He knew it wouldn't be long before he began showing. Maybe he could pretend it was someone else's.

Even though he didn't want to. He needed to see a medic. He decided to go when Ratchet was off shift and went to see First Aid.

After looking him over it was confirmed that he was sparked.

He stared at the screen for a long time. Tears in his optics. He still didn't know what he was going to do but he wanted to keep it. First Aid gave him a picture of his little one which he kept close to his chest.

Leaving the medbay, Drift called him wanting him to join them in fragging. His spark twisted in his chest and he refused lying that he was tired.

Going back to his room. He laid down and immediately fell asleep.

Over the next few weeks he was definitely showing. Having no choice he finally told everyone.

Megatron and Ultra Magnus were shocked but promised to be there for him with whatever he needed. Which made him cry a little.

Ratchet and Drift were also surprised and managed to corner him asking if it was there's.

He lied saying it was someone else's. Trying to ignore the way they both looked hurt. Which didn't make sense because they weren't exclusive.

The next few months seemed to fly by as he prepared for his sparkling. He tried to avoid Ratchet and Drift as much as possible.

He felt slightly guilty for lying. Even though he knew it was for the best. He didn't think he'd be able to handle their rejection.

For some reason they continued trying to talk with him. Drift wanting to help set up the nursery and Ratchet wanting to make sure the sparkling is healthy. Even though First Aid was his medic.

They were always trying to touch his belly and bring him food. Making sure he was taking care of him and acting like they were the sires.

When they'd been resupplying on this one planet. One of the locals congratulated them. Mistaking Drift and Ratchet as the sires because they'd been hovering around him the entire time.

Neither of them said anything and Ratchet even thanked them. Which made him feel something he didn't want to think about.

When he was nearing his due date. Ratchet and Drift cornered him wanting the truth. They both knew the sparkling was there's and wanted to know why he lied and didn't want them in the sparklings life.

He tried to dismiss it,.but they wouldn't leave him alone. Blocking him from leaving as they kept asking.

He gasped. Holding his stomach as he felt a weird cramping sensation throughout his body.

"Don't think you can fake some kind of emergency to get out of this."

Ratchet scolded as he shook his head looking down in shock.

"I'm in labor."

Immediately the two leapt into action. They carried him to the medbay where after a gruelling six hours he finally gave birth.

He leaned back feeling exhausted in a way he'd never felt before. Hearing his sparkling cry he reached for him.

Ratchet gently placed him in his arms and he smiled down at his sparkling.

"Hi little one. It's your carrier."

He opened his chest plates and felt his sparkling latch on. Stroking his little head he felt Ratchet and Drift sit on either side of him.

"Why did you lie?"

He felt a tear fall as he held his sparkling close.

"I thought you wouldn't want him."

"Of course we would."

Ratchet pulled him close.

"We love you."

He shook his head.

"You two don't want me. You only want me when you want to interface."

"That's not true."

Ratchet argued.

"Roddy. We've been trying to court you."

"What?"

He looked between the two of them in surprise.

"We love you and we love our little one. We want to take care of you both."

He felt tears fall as Ratchet and Drift held him.

"We love you."

Ratchet and Drift cuddled against him. Reassuring him that he was loved. They still had a lot to talk about but he enjoyed feeling their arms and warm fields wrapped around him. Making him feel safe as he fell asleep. Exhausted from having their sparkling.

[cozzzynook]

Someone doing something to Drift causing him to be Deadlock again. He recognizes Ratchet and although he's weary he trusts him and is the only person he doesn't attack.

He doesn't trust Rodimus who feels horrible and is trying to be supportive. When Ratchet brings Deadlock back to their room Rodimus is inside and Deadlock thinks he's breaking in. He attacks Rodimus and sends him to the medbay with a broken arm and bruised neck.

They decide it would be best that for the time being Rodimus stays somewhere else. The entire time he's depressed and not doing well.

Omg yes!!!!

I both love & feel the feels towards this!!!

Big brain babes! Big brain!!

Poor Rodimus and Drift.

I just know Rodimus is worrying for Drift and Drift is traumatized all over again when he turns back. Poor mech.

As Deadlock he’s so different and yet so similar and Rodimus didn’t really think it through when he approached nor when he got a bit too close for comfort and received a deep gash that he had to get treated.

He tells Ratchet its fine and that he doesn’t wanna tell Drift who did it. As Deadlock he has no idea its him they’re talking about nor does he care. He just wants to get away from the mech that makes him feel weird.

Ratchet is ready to disagree when Rodimus cuts him off and says he should take Deadlock to their habsuite, and man that hurts them both to hear and Rodimus feels his glossa thicken at how wrong it feels but how strong A possibility it’d once been and how no matter what it still ended up being the outcome. He’s lost them, he feels. The two were conjunx before adding him and he’s always wondered how long or if it could last.

Seems he’s got his answer even if he knows they’re working on a way to change him back.

Time goes on and he notices the way the two have a natural chemistry between them that he’s never been able to just flow into. Not even when Deadlock was Drift.

It reminds him of all their differences and how out of place he looks besides them. How out of place he always looks no matter where he goes.

He takes to spending time away from not only his partners but every bot making up the crew. Rodimus had kept to himself in his office using his couch as a berth much to his spoiler’s dismay.

He couldn’t go back to the hab they all shared and he wouldn’t take up a cot in the medbay so he figured the next best thing was his office.

Megatron vehemently denied this when he caught the speedster in uncomfortable recharge after immediately noticing his optic bags and drooping spoiler. Not to mention his dull paint job accompanied by his lack of energy and poorly healing gash.

Rodimus doesn’t push Megatron away when the large mech lifts him from his couch and takes him back to his own hab. Where he changes the gauze on his bandages after cleaning the wound with careful digits that trace the seams of his cords making him shiver.

The touch is gentle and personal in a way he’s never bothered questioning. A habit really, to accept whatever touch and movement the large mech gives.

Rodimus doesn’t think when he feels the mech lower him into a steaming oil solvent bath. He’s much too comfortable and lost within to do anything beside lay his helm back and close his optics as large servos gently unclasp his chassis and reveal vulnerable soft pouches that make him whimper.

A kiss to his helm for comfort is what gives them both focus and ground as gray and black servos check his barely flickering spark.

Its the beginning signs of an episode and he knows the mech he once laid with outside of battle as Hot rod is comming First Aid to bring his medicine to his suite.

A servo rests on his spark casing, the other accidentally brushes the sides of a flat tank that once made it impossible to stand.

They both curl into the other at the thought penetrating their psyches at once.

The connection that never went away with distance or time feels as fresh and deep as the day they created it.

It hurts.

Heals.

Torments him.

Fills him with silence after his screams. Vision blurred and frame staggering to lift as he reached before falling. The slow crawl and opening of his chassis was not enough, not with his spark weak from pain and dysfunction.

Neither of them had been able to do a thing.

Its something that haunts them when forced to confront it.

With Drift and Ratchet he can float keeping it at bay but here or alone he never grants a moments peace with the knowledge he failed.

“My sun,”

“Don’t,” he whispers, optics shedding fluid. “I have to go.”

A comm pings them both and Megatron knows he’s right. He can read the younger with such ease it scares him. A feeling he knows the other has with how naturally he manages to comfort and assure Megatron without words or meeting his optics.

The two always stayed away from each other for sake of privacy and secrecy. But Deadlock had watched Rodimus more than the flame mech knew.

He noticed how Megatron laid gentle touches just below the yellow spoiler or how a thumb brushed along red hip platinng in a gesture of safety and long carried feelings.

Deadlock also noticed how the red mech didn’t push the warlord away. How easy he melted to such touches, how different he looked when it was just the two. How they shared a feeling of pain none of the others were aware of.

Deadlock could see how Rodimus was tense in videos with a mech named Drift and his Ratchet. He’d found a lot of the videos with just Ratchet and the mech named Drift before eventually seeing Rodimus being added.

Deadlock by no means was a bolt brain. He could tell Drift was him. He just couldn’t fathom why he changed to look like that.

It soothed something inside him both old and foreign to know he’s with Ratchet and he can’t deny seeing the red and yellow speedster as very attractive and even funny. But he’s not sure why the red and yellow mech is even with him and Ratchet if he has such easy chemistry with the now former warlord who looks at the other like he needed him as the stars in their galaxy needed the infinite of space to exist.

He didn’t bring it up with Ratchet.

He wanted to watch the two more closely before saying anything.

He didn’t exactly feel bad for landing that gash across the flame speedster but he did want to check to see if the damage was healing.

He found a moment in time where the two were far apart and Ratchet was in the medbay.

He’d done something he wouldn’t typically do but the mech before him made him feel things he’s only ever associated with Ratchet.

So touching the mechs hip and tank instead above where the gash lay, he found himself being shoved off harshly with flaming servos melting his plating as a distress rev of his engine and vocal cords called out leaving him stunned at the panic in the youngers optics.

No. Not panic.

Terror.

The kid felt terror at something so simple.

He knows he hurt the kid but he didn’t he hurt him that bad. Not when the kid would give him sad gentle smiles and polite waves that looked like they hurt his spark when he would pass him by with Ratchet. The kid looked like he wanted to stand beside them but knew his place wasn’t there anymore. And for every time he saw that look, there was Megatron showing alien kindness by comforting the mech with something far deeper than the kinship Ratchet said the two held.

So he wasn’t too surprised seeing Megatron appear by the captains back and hold him tight to his chassis. Spark to spark as he looked him over with his canon and blade ignited.

What was surprising was him going through a literal steel and concrete wall unfazed while other mechs were just in shock from the display.

It was Megatron whispering something in Rodimus audial that got the mech to snap back to reality, breaking into tears that went unseen as he hid his face plates in Megatrons neck cables.

The former warlord looked like he wanted to hurt something and someone but he also looked…defeated.

Something no bot on either side had seen even after he changed sides.

Ratchet caught sight of the end of their interaction before checking Deadlock over asking what happened.

Deadlock waited until they were in the privacy of their hab to tell Ratchet he doesn’t think their captain had just a kinship with his cocaptain.

“He answered a distress call. It’s something Nyonians used to do when in deep pain among other reasons. Megatron was on the other side of the ship and barreled through a wall to get to him. That call was for amica or conjunx. You said Drift and Rodimus were amica. I know I’m Drift Ratchet and that call wasn’t for me.”

“Kid..what..when did you know?”

“A few weeks ago. I wanted to be sure before I said anything about those two though. I’m not saying he’s cheating on you or future me. I’m just saying something is there thats older than the time spent on this ship. Something they kept to themselves that they didn’t want anyone finding out.”

Ratchet pinched his olfactory sensor with a deep sigh because he knows Deadlock is right. He’d been watching Rodimus too and he could see how hurt the kid was keeping his distance but he could also see how Megatron genuinely couldn’t stand to see the kid so hurt. Whereas Ratchet gave sympathetic glances and kept watch over Rodimus, Megatron actively went out his way to comfort the younger.

“Frag,” his shoulder plating drooped and he sighed heavily, “The kid has his reasons I’m sure.”

“But to not tell us and he’s supposed to be a partner of sorts?”

“Well..”

“We’re conjunx. I can feel it. Even now,” Deadlock informed the old medic who looked surprised. “I even feel something for the little speeder, but I know we aren’t conjunx with him. Why?”

“We..we never asked him,” Ratchet spoke like air left his vents, “and he never asked us,” he looked down.

“That leads me to my next question that was confirmed earlier when I touched him,” Deadlock spoke, “where is his sparkling?”

“Kid what?”

Ratchet looked exasperated at the mere mention of a sparkling and Rodimus having one.

“Kid he doesn’t have-”

“Yes he does,” Deadlock interrupted, “I’ve seen him zone out touching his tanks the way carriers do. Earlier today I touched his hip and tank while his back was turned and he was zoned out. Thats what gave that reaction. He has a sparkling Ratchet. What I want to know is where or if he’s sparked now.”

Ratchet took that as his moment to sit down and stare into nothing thinking it through.

He’d know if the kid was sparked now which he wasn’t. Rodimus wore two baffles instead of the standard one. The kid was by no means sparked. So that left him with only one other option.

“We ask him tomorrow. Perceptor and Brainstorm have the processor and frame ray complete and await us tomorrow to change you back. After you rest, we ask him then. Deal?”

“Will I have my memories from now?”

“Yes,” Ratchet promised.

So deadlock agreed and by the next day he was back to being Drift with all his memories of what happened and a happiness to be back to himself and hug his conjunx.

“Ratty?”

“Hm?”

Ratchet was still drunk on the scent and feeling of having Drift in his arms this way, so much so he almost forgot what they agreed to.

“Oh yeah,” Ratchet felt bad for forgetting Rodimus and Drift felt bad for hurting him like that but knowing Rodimus he wouldn’t hold it against them.

None of the crew abroad had seen either of their co captains so Ratchet figured they try Megatrons hab and surely enough they were both there.

With a knock on the door it was answered but not by Rodimus who they figured wouldn’t since it wasn’t his hab.

“Drift? Ratchet? I see they’ve changed you back. Good to see. I’ll wake Rodimus and alert him of your presence. Just give me a moment?”

It wasn’t much of a question but the two nodded as he went back into his hab and closed the door. They noticed how tired he looked and the paint transfer on his neck cable and chassis. It didn’t feel sexual by any means but that didn’t make them feel better.

Because a moment later they saw Rodimus with gray and black paint transfers and signs of tear tracks that littered both their frames.

“Drift, I’m glad you’re okay. Ratchet.”

Rodimus didn’t make an attempt to hug either of them but his smile was genuine even if it was tainted with sadness.

“I’ll um..I’ll come by you guys hab later okay?”

“Roddy? Our hab..its all our habs..”

“Oh well, yeah,” his spoiler didn’t bounce as he tried to make it and they noticed how he shrunk in on himself.

And how Megatron was able to put a servo on his lower back along with the concern in his stained optics.

“I..I’ll come back to our hab later on, okay? I just need to finish up some things first,” he looked like he was in pain and they knew their guess was right when Megatron spoke next.

“It’s time to take your medicine. First Aid was very specific about having it before the signs got worse.”

“I,” the sigh and frustration building in Rodimus frame and optics with balled servos wasn’t to be ignored by any of the mechs but a rub of Megatrons servo along Rodimus hip and a poke to his chassis made the younger deflate and pout a little.

“Alright fine,” he looked to Ratchet and Drift, “I’m really glad you’re okay Drift. You two should get some alone time together before I get back. You gotta miss each other like this yeah?”

Somehow it felt worse knowing Rodimus didn’t mean anything spiteful or mean by it. He genuinely was just sad and saying how he truly felt.

With one last smile Rodimus lets Megatron move him into the hab and they see him go for spark medicine before laying in a nest on the berth.

There’s a little plush in the center thats old but well taken care of. Ratchet snd Drift recognize it from miner culture. When their partner was sparked or they adopted a sparkling of their very own they’d make a plush by servo for them. The little plush even held a bit of Nyon culture to it. The colors were bright like the people of Nyon and the sight of Rodimus looking at it so entranced and zoned out gave answer to their question.

Megatron bid them farewell with a nod before returning his attention to the plush and Rodimus.

As the door closed they saw the two curled together with the plush in the middle and something broke inside both of them as they realized why the two were so close.

-

My brain does this thing where it goes off to another idea while trying to Incorporate the idea brought to me. I hope this is something you can still enjoy

[notgonnaedit]

Given to Fly

Masters and Students

Summary: Martha "Marty" Thorne was a basic teenager, a little antisocial maybe. But her life changed the day she met the Autobots and joined them in their fight.

Pairing: Optimius x Teen!OFC (Platonic)

Chapter summary: Optimius and Bee fight an old enemy.

Warnings: Canon-typical violence, Ratchet being a control freak, Cybertronian death, Optimius is trying his best, (If I miss a tag LMK)

Updates are sporadic. If you want to be tagged LMK

Master list

Optimius stood looking at the ground bridge. The metal formed around the drilled stone in an arc, filled with unseen circuitry. But that was not was he was focused on. Rather the events of the battle in Earth's atmosphere played in his mind. "Optimus, why so glum?" Asked Ratchet from behind him. "This planet –all planets– are finally free from Megatron's tyranny." "I do not disagree, Ratchet," Optimius said, his voice carrying more sorrow than he would have liked.  "It's just... A small part of me hoped to change Megatron's mind, not exstinguish his spark."

"Optimius," Ratchet said. "his vileness was not slain by your hand, but by his own twisted arrogance."

"Hmm," the Prime hummed in thought. He knew Ratchet was right, but he still felt an uneasiness about the whole ordeal.

"I'm sorry," Ratchet apologized. "I know the two of you had quite a history," he referred to the time when Optimius had considered Megatron to be a mentor, an older brother.

"But the Megatron whom I once fought beside perished eons ago," Optimius said, pushing away his impractical grief. "the day he chose to become a Decepticon," he turned, now facing his friend. "The Decepticons may be in disarray, but they aren't without leadership. And while Starscream is no Megatron, he is far from predictable."

Suddenly, there was an explosion on the other side of the base, rattling the metal lined walls.

"Decepticons!" Ratchet warned. "We're under attack!"

Optimius' first instinct was to find Martha and the other kids, and get them out of there. However, as he and Ratchet ran to the site of the explosion, it became apparent that there were no Deceptions, but rather a coughing Raf who was waving away the smoke with Bumblebee.

"It's no attack, Ratchet," the boy said through coughs. "It's my volcano," he gestured to the brown cone with red paint mimicking lava. It's form gave way, and the model flattened out. Raf's shoulder's slumped. "Or was." "Hold still, Bulkhead," said Miko. Optimius turned to see her with a paint brush while her guardian held up what looked like a model of Earth's solar system. "Jupiter needs its red spot. Whoopsie!" She said when a drip of red paint hit the floor.

A sharp twang sounded through the base, making everyone wince. "That's not right," came Martha's dry voice.

Optimius looked over to see her sitting on the floor, her guitar in her lap and her laptop by her side, a cord ran between the two items, with another connecting the guitar to a small amp. Ratchet was barely able to contain his anger. "What...ln the Allspark...is going on in here?" "Our projects are due tomorrow," Jack said from where him and Arcee seemed to be assembling a motorcycle. "Maybe it needs one of these doohickeys," Arcee suggested, holding a part. "You're a motorcycle, Arcee," Jack said with a smirk and a hand on his hip. "Shouldn't you know how to build a motorcycle engine?" "You're a human, Jack. Can you build me a small intestine?" She sassed back.

Optimius couldn't help but notice that all the kids had the help of their guardians except Martha. She sat alone working on her project. Optimius felt a twinge of guilt. Had she asked him for help he he didn't notice? "Well, you can't work on these projects in here," Ratchet decided. "You're...Making a mess." "But the science fair's a big part of our grade," Raf said. "Yeah," Miko agreed. "If Bulkhead doesn't help me finish this model of our solar system–" "Oh?" Ratchet interrupted. "And what does Bulkhead know of your solar system? Or Bumblebee of your volcanos, or–"  "Arcee of our motorcycles?" Martha asked with a raised eyebrow, lips quirked up in a smirk. "Yes," Ratchet said, either not catching on or ignoring her comment. "we're not earthlings. And they're not scientists." "But we Autobots are their guardians, Ratchet," Optimius reminded the medic.  "Would it hurt to learn more of Earth by helping our young friends with their schoolwork?" Ratchet shifted slightly. "Well, maybe our young friends should try learning more of Cybertron." "We try, Ratch, but you never answer my questions," Martha said.

"Ridiculous," The medic retorted.

Martha raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? You don't even give me a chance. I go, 'Hey, Rachet.' and then you yell that you're busy." 

Optimius stifled a smile at her words, especially since Ratchet didn't know what to say after that and walked off. His charge had a way of humbling people with only her words. He wondered if she even knew of her gift.

He made his way over to her, looking down at her project. There didn't seem to be anything physical like the other kids, but it was clear she was working on something. "What are you working on, Little One?"

Martha glanced up at him before turning back to her work. "I'm trying to calculate sound waves without doing all the math."

"Have you been successful?"

"Kinda. I plugged my guitar into my computer and have been trying to get my chords to directly translate into graphs, and it's working, but the sound come out funny when I play the audio file on my computer."

"Is there any way I could be of assistance?" Optimius asked. He wanted to help her, even if he didn't quite understand Earth technology.

Martha furrowed her brow. "I'm honestly not sure. I've done all the configuring, and I don't wanna take you away from your duties."

The twinge of guilt expanded to a blow. Martha was wise beyond her years, and until now Optimius thought that would benefit her in life. He knew he was busier due to his authority, and so did she, but he never wanted Martha to feel like she wasn't allowed to ask him for anything.

"You're not taking me from anything," Optimius assured her. "I am your guardian, and I would be glad to help you with your school work."

Martha looked up at him, a small smile gracing her face. She didn't do that often. Her eyes always seemed to be dampened, but when she smiled they gleamed with light. She turned back to her work as Optimius sat on a crate. "Could you listen to see if it hit the wrong notes?"

"Of course, Little One," Optimius obliged, even though he knew she would only hit the intended notes.

Martha leaned against his foot as she played, filling the air with the soft sound of her strings.

)()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()(

 Marty stretched her arms, letting out a soft yawn before closing her laptop. "There. Finished," she said as she pushed up her glasses and rubbed her eyes. "I am ready for  million year nap," she stood up, slinging her guitar over her back and picking up her laptop and amp.

Optimius held his hand down for her. She stepped in it, holding to his finger as he lifted her to the platform. Marty nodded her thanks before putting her things away in their respective cases and flopping onto the couch. Her eyes were sore from staring at so many screen, and her body was not happy with her for sitting in a hunch position for so long.

The other kids still hadn't finished their projects, but it didn't seem like their guardians minded. In fact, Bumblebee seemed to be in the middle of telling an enthralling story, waving his hands around in an animated fashion.

Raf nodded along as he made another paper mache volcano. "Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Really, Bumblebee? Then how do you make warrior class?"

Bumblebee buzzed his answer.

"But I've seen you in action," Raf said with a grin. "You're awesome!" I"second your opinion, Raf," Optimius said placing a hand on Bee's shoulder. "But Autobot's life cycles are much longer than those of humans. And though it may be hard to believe, our young scout still has much to experience."

Suddenly, the computer beeped, causing Marty to sit up and look over. "Exposed Energon," Ratchet said. "and it's on the move."

"And since we ain't moving it, guess who must be," said Bulkhead. "Decepticons," Arcee growled.

"Without Megatron?" Miko asked. "Unfortunately, Megatron's legacy will live on as others rise to take his place," Optimius said. "Autobots, you have projects to complete. Ratchet, I may require aid."

Ratchet got a look in his eyes that Marty didn't like at all. "The science fair is a big part of their grade," he murmured before turning back to Optimius. "Perhaps I'm better suited to remain behind and supervise."

Optimius nodded. "Very well. Bumblebee, let us see about this Energon in transit."

)()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()(

With Bumblebee watching from a distance, Optimius walked up to Starscream and the other Deception. He was big and green with bright red eyes. Skyquake. He was towering over Starscream intimidatingly, but his attention was jerked away once Optimius spoke up.

"It has been awhile, Skyquake," Optimius greeted.

"Optimius Prime," Skyquake stood up straight. "I haven't seen you since the battle of Technar. Megatron ordered me to annihilate you."

"That was a long time ago," Optimius said.

"That may be, Prime, but my orders still stand."

"Is this ancient war still worth fighting when so many comrades have been lost and worlds destroyed?" Optimius asked before turning to the smaller Deception. "If you want to be a true leader, Starscream, then stray from Megatron's path and lead the Decepticons toward peace."

Starscream narrowed his eyes and smirked, tapping a long finger to his chin. "I would be willing to consider a truce...if you would be willing to bow before me, Optimius Prime."

Optimius knew nothing of what was said before he arrived, but it must have been heated. Skyquake reeled on Starscream. "Again?! Bow to this!" He punched the new leader, causing him to slam into the canyon wall before transforming and flying away.

"Skyquake," Optimius said, taking a tentative step forward. "this is a new era on another world. Side with the Autobots, and help me end this conflict forever."

Skyquake glared at him. "I will never side with a Prime!" He roared as he charged Optimius, ramming him into the canyon wall. He recovered quickly, activating his cannon and blasting at Skyquake.

Unfortunately, the Decepticon had his own mini gun strapped to his back. He took it out and fired at Optimius, hitting the Prime.

Bumblebee rushed out from his hiding and shot Skyquake in the back.

"Bumblebee, no!" Optimius said.

The young scout hopped from wall to wall, blasting at the Decepticon until he was thrown into the rock. Before Skyquake could shoot him, Optimius ran forward and pushed the gun away from it's target, allowing Bumblebee to attack.

When both of them were thrown back, Bumblebee buzzed a question.

"Skyquake has not yet aquired a vehicle mode," Optimius said, his eyes never leaving the Decepticon.

Skyquake roared and charged them.

"Fall back!" Optimius ordered, transforming and driving away with Bumblebee.

"So, time has made you a coward, Prime?!" Skyquake roared as he shot into their dust.

)()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()(

Marty watched with concern from the platform as Ratchet welded pieces of metal together in the vague shape of a volcano. Raf stood next to him, equally as concerned.

"Um... What is it?" He asked.

"You'll find out," Ratchet said.

"But, Ratchet, shouldn't I be doing the work?" The boy asked, reaching a hand out.

"Eh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Don't touch!" Ratchet's words were short and clipped. "Just watch and learn."

Bulkhead shifted from where he stood next to Arcee. "So, we're just gonna go help Jack and Miko finish their–"

"Without my supervison?!" Ratchet snapped up. "You want them to be right, don't you?"

Arcee and Bulkhead shared a look, neither of them knowing what to do in this situation.

Ratchet took their silence as a 'yes'. "Then watch a master at work!" He said with a wild look in his eyes.

"Control freak," Miko said.

Marty exhaled and opened her laptop, deciding to go over her project one last time.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Asked Ratchet.

Marty looked at him. "Double checking my project," she narrowed her eyes. "I already finished mine, so don't even think about messing with it."

"Then how will you know you've calculated the sound properly?" Ratchet argued.

Marty opened her mouth in an retort, but she sighed instead. "I don't have a choice, do I?"

Ratchet went back to working of Raf's project, giving her all the answer she needed. She wished Optimius was here to reign in the medic. Unhinged was not a good look on him.

)()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()(

Optimius watched from the ground as Bumblebee rode one Skyquake's newly acquired jet form, ripping him apart. Agent Fowler flew by in his own jet, somehow it was functional after Skyquake scanned it. 

Bumblebee jumped from the dying Decepticon onto Fowler's jet just before Skyquake crashed. He hopped onto the ground, running up to Optimius as he examined Skyquake's mangled body. All the fighting, and for what? To what end?

"Had Skyquake chosen to stray from his master's path, we might not be burying him today," Optimius said with a twinge of sadness in his voice.

)()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()(

Marty sat in the backseat with Raf as Bulkhead drove them back to the base. She couldn't stop replaying the science fair in her mind, and how upset her aunt and uncle would be when they got the phone call from the school. 

Once Bulkhead parked, Raf, Miko, and Marty stepped out. Optimius and Bumblebee were there, making Marty feel slightly better. But that diminished as soon as Ratchet leaned down with a wide grin.

"Ahahaha! There you are," he greeted. "Well? How were my– Uh, our projects received?"

Marty glared up at him as the other kids explained the catastrophes. "And you're sound wave thing," she added with folded arms. "emmited a sonic blast that shattered all the windows."

"Well, on our planet, you would have been awarded the highest honors," Ratchet huffed and walked away. "Absolutely no gratitude. See if I help them...."

Bumblebee buzzed something to Optimius that earned him a slight smile.

"Indeed, Bumblebee," said the Prime. "Our human friends would have been wise to stray from Ratchet's path."

Marty let out a huff. "Would've been nice to know he was could go mad with power in a snap."

Optimius looked down at her. "I'm sure Ratchet meant well."

"Mmm hmm," Marty hummed with a raised brow. "Sure."

Optimius felt a slight smile come over him. His charge was something else.​​​​​​​

Previous

Next

[malewife-overlord]

Six Cycles Later -- Part II

Prior chapter can be found here. Next chapter is here.

Word Count: 7471

Trigger Warnings: none

Chapter summary: Invert leaves for Bali, Luster goes to the doctor.

“Victory, cmon!” Invert stood before the double doors of the weapons vault, a frown etched on her faceplate. “Open the weapons vault! It’s an emergency!” 

Emergency protocol not engaged. Clearance level 3 required to access weapons vault. Present clearance level: 1. Weapons vault cannot be accessed.

“Victory!” She pouted, shaking a fist. “Come on! It’s me! I’m the only ‘con on this ship, I should have maximum clearance!”

Clearance level: 1. Weapons vault cannot be accessed.

“Victory!”

The ship gave her no response. Invert growled and tried the keypad again, then the scanner, then the keycard. Nothing. As if in warning, a loud buzzer sounded at the end, a illuminating a red light above the vault.

“How am I going to rescue my fellow Decepticons if I don’t have a weapon?” She asked aloud, glaring up, as if Victory would answer her. “I don’t even have proper blasters anymore!” 

Silence. Maddening, maddening silence. 

“Fine! Fine. I’ll make due. I’ll just run headlong into the Autobots and die, and no one will be left to maintain you! Then what?”

Nothing. 

A groan escaped her. “Really? …really. Fine.” 

She turned on her heel and stomped for her room, where she knew at least one weapon was waiting. It was dangerous, and could possibly blow up in her face again, and hadn’t seen actual use since the first test, but…well, it was better than nothing! And sure, she could access the weapons collection Starscream had in his habsuit, or the rare crafts Megatron had in his, but…

The punishment for even touching any of those would be far worse than anything the Autobots could do to her. She shivered and pushed the idea aside. Nope, not risking that. If she touched anything in their rooms, when they returned, they’d kill her. 

Then again, if she died on this mission, she wouldn’t have to worry about them killing her. 

Her personal pet project was in her habsuit, resting on the tiny desk she’d dragged into it. Her habsuit was at the very end of all the others–the Constructicons had had no desire to build it, so they’d shoved her in what had been the previous broom closet. The fact that she fit at all was a miracle, as was that they let her get away with stealing a desk for it. 

Perhaps after seeing what she’d started to make, they’d decided against reclaiming it. After all, not many bots could say they got to personally observe Shockwave working in his lab, and even fewer could mimic his proficiency with crafting weapons. 

She was not one of those fewer, but she had watched him work in the past. Being his personal lab assistant/slave had been eye opening in that way. And furthermore, it had led to her accumulating a few parts that would otherwise be impossible to acquire on Earth.

All of those factors combined to let her craft her own weapon. The intention was for it to be a sniper class with a greatly extended range starting at ten miles. That was to start. If everything went according to her dreams, it would be able to fire more than twice that on both planets and the cold void of space. 

Dreams, however, didn’t guarantee results. The prototype she kept in her habsuit had been her pride and joy until its original test fire had caused the damnable thing to blow up in her face, right in front of her fellow Decepticons. If anything had wounded her ego, that was it. 

And since then, she hadn’t bothered to fire it once. 

She stepped into her habsuit and observed her experimental weapon for only a moment before picking it up. This would be the second time it’d be in the field. She’d tweaked it over and over since that embarrassing day, changing the scope, the trigger, the barrel, the energon pump, and even provided it the ability to transform. The latter wasn’t anything particularly impressive–the scope and barrel disengaged anyways to permit carrying it, and without the barrel the rifle was the same size as a blaster. Furthermore, despite its simplicity, the rifle had to be manually transformed, something that even simple blasters could pull off otherwise.

But it was her first attempt, her first real, genuine attempt, at making a weapon, and she felt she’d done a decent job for someone who’d never previously handled tools. 

It took a few seconds to convert the rifle, which was almost as long as she was tall, to its smaller, spike shaped form, which she then attached to her forearm via its magnetic underside. Utilizing it in jet mode would be impossible like this, but it was better to know she had a weapon than be a sitting quasiduck on her mission. 

Her blasters had been sacrificed to make the rifle. She sincerely hoped that the investment would pay off. 

“Alright!” She yelled, throwing her arms out. “That’s all I get, Victory! Just one experimental weapon! No blasters! No grenades! No fusion cannons! No null rays or swords or electric staves! All of which I could use if you’d just open the weapons vault! Are you really going to send me off with only this?”

Judging from the lack of response, it seemed that yes, it was. 

Frag this. She kicked the doorframe and stormed Skywarp’s habsuit. He was bigger than her and would make her life a living hell for two chords, but he’d get over it. Besides. She could punch him back without anyone giving her trouble for it. What occurred between Skywarp and whoever punched him stayed there. 

His habsuit was sparsely decorated, and what existed in it was usually so filthy no one else would touch it. Today she lowered her standards and grabbed one of the blasters she knew he kept under his berth in the hopes that no one would find them; considering how often he had his own revoked, and how much the others hated him, Skywarp had found it necessary to maintain some form of private collection, if only for self-defense from revenge that was absolutely earned. 

And now his constant need to misbehave was paying off: she wouldn’t be entirely unarmed for this flight, and having a sidearm was better than gauging her hopes on an experimental rifle. 

Attaching the blaster to her other forearm, she made for the hangar. Her tank felt like it was fluttering with each step. A quick diagnostic scan revealed nothing unusual–nothing besides her own wiring. For this first time ever, she was going to visit the hangar and take off from it.

The idea that she was flightless was, in truth, only partially correct. Invert, like all Seekers, had been forged with wings on her back. Yes, they were upside down, and yes, when she transformed, they pointed the wrong way, with the delicate trailing edge leading as opposed to the leading edge itself. This caused the angle her wings made to work against her, and normally kept her out of the air. But a messed up angle alone was not enough to keep her grounded forever. 

An Earth plane would struggle and stay put, never to dream of the sky. A Cybertronian would reason that with enough Energon and determination, anything could be done. And that was exactly how she intended to fly to Bali. 

She could fly. The force from her thrusters alone, once in the air, could keep her going upwards, though they would consume Energon at a rapid rate. For this reason she visited the Energon vault and procured five additional cubes–her present fuel levels were adequate enough she felt no need to recharge. As long as she kept her thrusters engaged and made sure to ride the wind currents of Earth perfectly, she calculated a likely path to Bali that only had a 32.6% chance of her crashing and dying in the process. 

Odds of 67.4 percent seemed favorable enough to her. She paused before the double doors of the hangar, vented, and opened them, stepping in.

“Victory, elevate the hangar.” The entire structure rumbled as it rose, the whoosh of water outside indicating they’d broken the surface of the ocean. She could hear waves beating against the metal. “Open. When I leave, return to the bottom of the ocean. I’ll be back. Even if you don’t seem to want me to.” 

She grumbled that last part.

The hangar doors opened. Bright sunlight poured in, causing her optics to readjust. She blinked a few times and took several steps forward, gazing out at the outside world. 

The ocean seemed to go on for eternity. Its color was a deep blue. White peaks formed and faded away as they crashed over and over against on the hangar. 

Above, the sky was cloudless. The winds were strong, rushing past her and howling in the enclosed metal environment. It was a good day for a flight. 

Invert returned to the back of the hangar and pulled up the coordinates in her hub. Approximately 8,502 miles. She’d cross it in a few earth hours if everything went well. 

If.

The Energon cubes felt heavy in her chassis as she transformed, lowering to the ground. The movement of her wings, shifting to her sides, becoming the things she’d have to rely on, felt wrong. It always did–like going from standing on two steady pedes to posing on one’s servos. One was natural, normal, comfortable, done without even thinking. The other required precise balance, intense focus, and a constant consumption of energy to maintain. 

She’d be more used to it if they let her practice more or gave her some lessons, perhaps. Perhaps they would do just that when they came back. And when they came back, they’d be proud, perhaps, of what she pulled off while they were gone. 

Giving her fuel supply one final check over, she engaged her thrusters and charged forward. 

Just like what you’ve seen Starscream do. Engage, shoot forward—

And she plummeted, shooting right into the ocean instead of the air. Spluttering, Invert turned back and barely managed to regain her balance before smashing into the seabed. A school of fish shot away from her, followed by some of the many legged organics and one of the squishy, color changing ones. 

She groaned, knocked a fist against her helm, and turned back to Victory, determined to try again. She’d get this right. She had to. 

She wouldn’t stop until she did.

—

Eight hours was all it took to reach Bali with the speed she maintained once airborne. High above the cruising altitude any human plane would comfortably fly at, she watched the unbroken ocean, speckled ever so slightly by the white peaks of breaking waves, and read over the logs on Insecticons. According to the writer of the Decepticon database, Insecticons were about as useful as unrefined Energon and equally likely to explode. Good to know. 

They were also incredibly disloyal. Of the three, Shrapnel, Kickback, and Bombshell, none had any kind of investment in the Decepticon cause. Their adaptations had given them the ability to consume organic matter and drastically increased their hunger. All they cared about was food. 

That would be troublesome, if she took them back to Victory immediately. With how low the Energon supply was getting, even one of them deciding to stuff himself could mean that the Decepticon cause on Earth died, permanently.

She’d have to approach them cautiously, without the same hospitality she’d extend to her fellow ‘cons (a good punch to the face, usually). What approach she’d provide, she’d have to decide, soon, since the coastline of the island nation had just manifested on the horizon–

When a warning suddenly appeared on her hub, covering almost her entire vision in red:

LOW POWER. ENERGON LEVEL: 10%. SEEK IMMEDIATE FUEL SOURCE. 

She cursed, but before the word could even escape her, her body convulsed, forcibly transforming back into its robot mode. Her nose cone dipped before turning back to her chassis and head, leaving her plummeting head over pedes. Her balance modulator began to scream in its efforts to right her, only to immediately disable as the rest of her forcibly entered power saving mode. 

The ocean was coming up fast. The wind whistled past, blocking out her audials. Tumbling over herself, Invert tried to use the boosters in her struts in an effort to slow her descent–and their force promptly made her tumble even faster. The world became a blur of blue as her systems flashed every warning under the sun. 

Then she hit the ocean, and the impact was so painful she momentarily offlined. Something cracked. Pain shot all throughout her frame, a damage report automatically pulling up in her hub as she sank below the greenish water, straight to the bottom below. 

It wasn’t a long drop, but just the act of hitting the sandy bottom exacerbated the pains shooting through her frame. She may as well have hit a wall at full speed. Blinking her optics several times, her damage report finally came into proper view. 

It wasn’t particularly savage, but neither was it promising. As she moved her arms to pull herself from her prone position on the seafloor they creaked ominously, the sound accompanied by broken glass spilling from her cockpit onto the sandy bottom. Glowing Energon joined it. 

That got her up. She practically leaped to her pedes, grabbing the cubes and stuffing them back into her chassis, cursing a storm as two of them began to leak. Cracks were apparent in both, and the delicate energy they provided bled out into the ocean currents. Two would be an entire recharge for her–she couldn’t let them go to waste. 

Pressing her servos against the cracks and praying that would be enough, she swiveled her helm, searching for the shore. The water was shallow–only about fifty feet, if her depth meter was to be trusted–but the open area she’d found herself in was still miles from shore. 

Miles she would not make without more Energon. Grimacing, already aware of just how poorly this would fare for her tanks, she brought the first of the cubes to her dermas and forcibly gulped it down, taking in far too much seawater in the process. Warnings popped up about contaminated fuel, followed by analysis of the contents: 96.5% water, 2.5% salts, .2% inorganic particulates, .8% organic particulates. 

The latter part almost made her purge what she’d consumed, but she kept it down. It was energy enough, she wouldn’t have to do it again and once she was back on land she’d purge anyways and forget that this ever happened. Tossing the empty cube aside and pocketing the second, she checked her map again for which way was land. 

North. She took off in that direction, the sandy floor gradually turning into some kind of living rock formation. Slimy looking organics of odd shapes populated the colorful stones, darting away as she stepped on and crunched them with ease. They left slime on her plating, which did not help her growing desire to purge. Stepping over what seemed to be an entire shelf of the organics, her helm finally broke water.

Ahead of her was a beach densely populated with humans. Around her, gasping and shrieking as they swam away, were more humans, all of whom had been previously enjoying themselves, somehow, in the ocean. 

She gave a dirty look to the closest ones and stomped forward, gradually rising out of the water as she approached the beach. The humans occupying it screamed and scattered, abandoning their little colorful fabrics and strange striped pole structures. A few foolish ones froze in place, staring at her in awe. 

Dripping with saltwater, covered in slime, and with a broken, gaping cockpit on display, Invert didn’t have the time nor patience to put up with any of them. Decepticons hardly had any concern for humans anyways, but it was generally discouraged to avoid stepping on them–it ruined your paint. 

Considering the damage her beautiful lime green had already attained, she didn’t think she could care less now. 

“Hey!” 

With her map pulled up in her main hub, she hadn’t noticed the one human that, as opposed to running in fear, had frozen up and stood their ground. She glanced down, spotting a tanned one just by her pedes. 

“Are you one of those Autobots?” 

The question actually made her pause for a moment, considering the Decepticon brand on her wings. If she were feeling a bit more patient or playful, she might tell him yes, she was, and he and all his friends should absolutely be fine with her holding a few of them for potential hostage situations later. Perhaps she could convince them to take her to her quarry without even an ounce of concern that they might call for help. It was an action that would make strategic sense, that any intellectual Decepticon would leap at. 

Invert, however, was tired, cranky, and not particularly fond of anything made of metal at the moment. 

She bent and flicked the human aside, not paying any attention as to just where the hell it might have landed. Humans. Worthless, bold, idiotic creatures. So tiny and delicate. And yet they still thought they could talk to beings like her. 

“How much longer till I get there?” She asked her systems as she headed off the beach, crunching a few human structures along the way. It responded with a calculation of the remaining distance to her quarry: halfway across the island, nestled in a ‘mangrove swamp’. Another thirty minutes of walking. 

Her pedes crushed plants and bent concrete as she followed the straightest path, ignoring whatever might have been built upon it. Humans panicked and ran in all directions to avoid her, their tiny screams grating on her audials. They were turned down in response, muting any potential crunching that may have occurred as she kicked aside a wooden structure marked with the image of a cone. The humans and their worthless, useless, delicate structures, were left behind in no time. 

And foolishly, she did not once consider that one of those screaming, fleeing humans might have called for help.

—---------------------

The coordinates lead her to a swamp. After a good ten minutes of walking, Invert found that the island gave way to less populated areas, rife only with animal and plant based organics. They were no more pleasant to deal with, but they didn’t scream nearly as much, and their movement patterns were relatively predictable. They fled to the undergrowth and hid there, as if they were praying she’d leave them alone. 

Good organics. They knew where they belonged. 

As she neared the swamp the dirt moistened, sticking to her pedes, and the water made its damnable return, flooding the land and forming pools that ran up her cadulens. The trees lifted themselves upon their roots as if they intended to walk away, forming cages which entrapped more organics within them. It seemed to her like a great prison, formed by the rejects of the Earth itself.  

Her map suddenly lit up, providing her with a name for the place she’d stepped into–the “Demon Swamp”. An informational packet came along with it, indicating that the Insecticon ship was nearby and that her Decepticon brethren had visited this place prior. She ignored everything except the part about the Insecticons. 

Invert was hasty, but not stupid. She done her research on the three of them during her flight–it had been difficult with the amount of focus she’d had to maintain at all times, but she’d pulled it off, because unlike some other one trick mechaponies in the cause, she could be taught how to do more than one thing. 

Of the three Insecticons, her greatest interest was in Shrapnel. They all seemed like frankly awful comrades, but the ability to produce clones was undeniably powerful. It wouldn’t matter if she was the last Decepticon on Earth. It wouldn’t matter if she only found him. It wouldn’t even matter if he could only make a few clones–a clone was still another robot, and numbers were what they needed more than anything. 

Silently, she hoped that he was the one who had created the distress signal, and that maybe, because of his electricity powers, he’d caused that infernal buzzing. It made sense. What else could have?

She made her way through the Demon Swamp cautiously.. For all she knew, Autobot soldiers were waiting around every corner. But more than that, the environment itself was actively hostile to her kind. 

The water was brackish, and sediment easily gathered between plating. The air was humid, which could clog vents. Organics constantly chirped in the background, distracting audials. The foliage from the mangrove trees moved constantly in the wind, requiring constant optic adjustments for lighting. And the water she waded through gave her position away to anything with ears in the general vicinity.

There was no approaching stealthily, not with the twisting roots that threatened to constantly trip her or the water that sloshed and bubbled like it was boiling. There was so much noise, even with her audials turned down, it was almost difficult to think. 

And that didn’t even begin to cover the constant buzzing that had risen into the air, one that she recognized. She was approaching the ship, she could feel it. Her map was pinging wildly, her coordinate numbers were rapidly growing smaller, and the buzzing of the signal, audible to everyone in a mile radius at minimum, was practically screaming. 

Actually…she paused, disabling her coordinates and turning her map off. The buzzing was still audible. Raising a hand to her helm, she disabled her comms as well. 

The buzzing was still audible. 

It wasn’t a signal, then. 

She took in a sharp ex-vent and continued forward, the mangrove trees overhead beginning to close together, blocking out the sunlight from above. The route she was following had taken on the qualities of a tunnel with mangrove roots forming its walls. They twisted and crawled over one another like tentacles. It made her plating crawl. 

The path curved sharply. She was met with a curtain of organic filth, gray and twisting. The buzzing had turned to almost shrieking now, and her scanners indicated that Cybertronian technology was very close now. Grimacing to herself, Invert grit her dentae and shoved the curtain aside, convulsing only slightly as it draped over her plating. It worsened her desire to purge–but that wasn’t the only contributor to the growing feeling. 

Before her, nestled in a massive grotto, was an old, crashed ship of Cybertronian origin. The doors to it had long been blown off and water had pooled over its floors. Organic filth grew over its top and mangrove roots had looped over its wings, trapping it in place. Its interior was pitch black, but she could detect some kind of movement from within. 

From the heart of that dark void the buzzing originated, sounding like the shriek of static. And just below it, she could hear a voice. 

“LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT!”

—---------------------------------------------------

Seek alternate fuel source.

By the time Uptick’s data package sent him the notification to end recharge, Luster still hadn’t managed to offline for even a moment. Throughout the entirety of Earth’s night he’d laid still, listening to the endless humming that droned in his processor while watching the light of the moon creep across the floor. Earth’s moon was a small satellite structure about fifty times smaller than the planet it orbited. From the safety of the organic’s home it appeared as a particularly large orb in the sky and went through eight different phases: full, waxing gibbous, first quarter, waxing crescent

He vented harshly at the image and promptly sat up, the constant pinging in his helm only now properly registering. Uptick had so graciously set an alarm for him that was thirty Earth minutes prior to when he was expected at the clinic. As if on cue, he heard a knock at his door, and a quick check of the electrical field coming from outside told him all he needed to know of who was waiting for him. 

A comm arrived in his link before he could disable it. Despite the alarm literally ringing in his processor and telling him to get up, which Uptick would know he was presently experiencing, another notification from the same mech now waited patiently in his inbox, politely and firmly reiterating what had been told to him the night prior. 

It would soon be time to go to the clinic. He was not permitted to avoid or skip this appointment. He was on his second strike, and a third would mean that he would go into lockdown. They did not want to make him a prisoner. This was for his own good. 

Tank capacity at 50%. Fuel uptake at 15%. Seek alternate fuel source.

He didn’t manage to close the notification in time and it promptly opened a dozen more. Groaning to himself, Luster slammed his helm into the nearest wall, the damage report temporarily clearing his hub. 

Another comm and knock arrived only a second after he completed the action. If his optics could roll into his helm, they would have. 

‘I’m up,’ he sent back. ‘Out in a klik.’ 

His comms were promptly disabled, blocking out Uptick’s response. Then, the damnable alarm that hadn’t once stopped ringing was seized, taken to the back of his processor, and disabled in the least humane way he could imagine. Lastly, every last notification was closed and its accompanying pop-ups blocked. 

Finally, a moment of quiet. He swung his legs off his berth and took in a few ex-vents, mentally preparing himself for just what he was going to experience at the clinic today. During his last visit, they’d given up on trying to get him to manually recall the details of his trip. Whispers between the medics had agreed upon bringing in “the big guns”. 

Whatever “the big guns” meant, he couldn’t say he was eager to find out. 

There were guesses he’d had towards just what such a term might be referring to–a psychic patch in, perhaps, or maybe the complete removal of his processor for dissection. Maybe they’d do a deep scan and recreate him in a digital space, just so they could pick him apart like a particularly interesting puzzle. 

That was all he was to them. A puzzle. Something to be solved, categorized, put together, pulled apart, and put away once solved. 

He couldn’t even solve himself. What made them think they could do it?

Uptick pinged him again. It had been exactly 16 kliks of blissful silence. Luster vented and stood. Despite his tanks remaining half full, he could feel the aggressive pangs of hunger nipping at him, ever on the edge of his mind. They were pushed aside as he tapped the keypad to his habsuit, opening the door. 

Uptick stood just beyond it, taking up the entire frame and more with his bulk. He stepped back when the door opened, a mandatory smile crossing his faceplate. 

“There you are! That’s the fastest you’ve ever arisen!” He beamed at the prospect of his work bearing fruit, which Luster found annoying. “I’ll keep this in mind for next time. Now, are you ready to go? If we’re early, they might be able to admit you faster, which means a shorter session, eh?”

“Sure. Shorter.” He grumbled and slinked past Uptick, who closed the door he’d left open and followed along. 

~

The clinic he visited on a weekly basis was located on the opposite side of Metroplex, towards the back of his city form. During the war, there had been dozens of buildings just like it, designed to hold the wounded and dying. After the assault on Autobot city and the incident with the Chaos Bringer on Cybertron, many of the clinics on Earth had closed down as the medics and doctors returned home. There were, after all, far more injuries and casualties on Cybertron, even without the war raging. 

The peace of Earth had seen all but two clinics close, which were kept open out of necessity. Rare as it was, on occasion an Autobot might return from sparring with half his arm blasted off, or from a drive amongst humans with his front completely ruined. Humans, as Luster had quickly come to learn, were awful navigators and drivers. They ran into everything from still trees to moving cars to thin pedestrians on the side of the road. 

And sometimes they ran into Autobots, and what was merely an inconvenience for them was a fatality for the fragile organics. 

He didn’t feel quite strongly about the humans. They were alright. They were small, and weak, but surprisingly intelligent. They thought he was fascinating and scary. Some thought he was a friend. Many had grown accustomed to his kind, and would look at him with expectant eyes. 

He couldn’t offer them anything. He didn’t know why he intrigued them. The less interactions he had with the small things, the better, he supposed. The only slightly less maddening thing about their company was that the beat of their ‘sparks’ didn’t drive his processor crazy. 

Which was reason more why he despised the clinic. If there were weak in Autobot City, they were here. And the weak…the weak made easy prey. 

The streets were full of Autobots this early in the morning. Most everyone was up at this point, stretching their legs, tires, and waking up their engines. With every Autobot that dashed past them, racing along eagerly in alt mode, Luster felt his solvents building. The clinic was within sight, and he could see a black and yellow mech lingering by it, chatting up one of the nurses. 

Their sparks were so bright he could almost see them through their plating. 

Seek alternate fuel source.

Luster staggered to a halt in the middle of the street, venting harshly as he slammed a fist to his helm. 

Uptick startled behind him, instantly raising a hand. “Luster? What’s the matter? Are you alright?”

He gagged, hissing through his dentae. “I…I need to leave. Now. I need–”

“Now is no time for cold pedes.” Uptick said firmly, crossing his arms. “I know you’ve been opposed to these sessions, but the medics have assured me–”

Seek alternate fuel source.

The notifications were building nonstop. He couldn’t focus on moving, ignoring the sparkbeats, tuning out Uptick, resisting his aching tank, and closing the pop ups, all at once. He needed just a moment of calm, anything to temporarily turn it all off. 

“I need Energon,” he spat, ignoring whatever else Uptick had said. “Now.”

“Luster–!”

Jerking away, Luster staggered in the direction he knew the bar to be in. Three streets over, seven blocks down, take a left at the lamp post, follow the street until you see a lit up sign–

“Luster!” Uptick yelled, catching up with him in a moment and grabbing him by his shoulders. Luster growled and tried to shake him off, but he held on, turning him around like he was only an indignant sparkling. “You are absolutely not visiting the bar again. I tolerate this habit of yours on your best days, when it is appropriate to do so. Believe me when I say this, I understand how… appealing it can be to try and drown yourself in energy when you’re faced with the horrors of the past. But you…you’re taking it to dangerous levels.” His faceplate was more stony than the diamonds in Luster’s helm. “And I know for a fact that your tank does not empty at a rate so rapid that you’d need to refuel after only six hours of recharge.” 

“I didn’t recharge,” Luster snapped back, reaching up to grab one of Uptick’s servo’s. “I couldn’t offline for even a second last night. I’m starving, I need Energon, Uptick!”

“You need to stop acting like this!” His grip only tightened as Luster scratched at it, some of the white paint chipping away. “Avoiding your appointments to drink at the bar won’t change anything for the better, Luster! If you keep resisting change, you’ll end up trapped in the past!” 

The street had been sparsely populated only moments ago. Now, Luster was aware of other Autobots pausing in their going-ons. Several helms poked out from buildings, curious to see exactly what one of their enforcers had caught. 

He didn’t want to make a scene. The last thing he needed was more Autobots in the area around him. The quiet pounding sounds rapidly surrounding him were like drums on a quiet evening. But before he could even try to look around another notification popped up. 

Feed me.

“It’s not about being stuck, idiot!” He screamed back, a snarl twisting his faceplate. He could feel the metal threatening to crack and break apart at the seams, right where his jaws would hinge. “I NEED this, or I’ll offline! I’ve got a fuel deficiency!”

“DON’T LIE TO ME!” Metal creaked as Uptick’s grip suddenly became painful, earning him a hiss. “I’ve have personal access to your file! There’s nothing wrong with your physical health!” 

Nothing wrong? NOTHING WRONG?!

The file was already so wrong by claiming that, and none of them even knew it. 

Seek alternate fuel source.

There are many sources nearby. 

“Is that so?” He grit out, feeling something on his back shifting. “Is that what they told you?” 

Was it so, Uptick? Would it always be so? Would it be so when he broke his faceplate, snapped his servos, and–

And what was he thinking?

He froze in the middle of forming his next sentence, voice dying before it could make any words. There was something shifting on his back, beneath his drill, and it replaced all the anger he felt with instant fear. There were witnesses. There were Autobots he knew around. If he let any more of himself slip, he would never speak to any of them again. 

The fight left him as quickly as it had entered, uselessly bleeding out like the Energon in his tank. Uptick seemed to sense this, his own rage subsiding, loosening along with his servos. Their impression had been left behind in Luster’s shoulderpads. He’d barely felt them bend, hissing only out of reflex. 

It was supposed to have hurt. He hadn’t even felt it.

The noise was coming back now. It was accompanied by the voices of other Autobots. He was suddenly so aware of the gazes upon him. Standing in the middle of the street by the clinic, he’d made himself the spectacle of the sector. And Uptick…

“We’re here early,” he muttered, venting quietly. “If you attend, and give them no issue, then…perhaps after your appointment…I…” He trailed off. “Your favorite refuge, it’s the Lead Pigeon, right?”

Luster did not look at him, or anyone, for that matter. Numbly he headed for the doors of the clinic, the red and orange nurse from before waiting for him. Uptick said something, following him halfway to his destination before stopping in the street. The medic cast him a glance before focusing back on her patient. 

“Luster! It’s good to see you.” The nurse held out her arm and spoke like she hadn’t watched him almost assault an enforcer in the street. “We’re almost ready for you, if you’ll just follow me. Got to take vitals.”

“Right,” he muttered, the noise of his notifications starting to drown out the street he’d left behind. Amongst it all, a ping came in from Uptick. He lingered over it for a few seconds as his body trudged along, leaving his mind stuck at the doors of the clinic. 

“Luster?” The nurse stopped by a machine. “Please step on the scanner.” 

He dismissed Uptick’s ping and obeyed. 

After the initial scans, he was led to the back of the clinic. The nurse took him to a small room with an examination table and a monitor. He moved to the table while she retrieved her datapad and tapped him in, the door sealing shut behind them. 

He’d been to the clinic a dozen times before, but it was the first time they’d taken him to this individual room. It was smaller than he’d thought they’d put a mech of his size in. With both their frames crowded in alongside the monitor and table, the place felt almost stifling. He shifted uncomfortably, dismissing more pings and notifications as she finally looked up from her datapad. 

“Alright, you’re all checked in. I’ve sent a comm to the surgeon you’ll be working with today.” She smiled, again. It was starting to bug him. “Have you been made aware of the treatment you’ll be undergoing today?”

“No,” he grumbled, crossing his arms over his legs. “What is it?”

Ignoring his tone, she kept smiling and continued. “Are you familiar with mnemosurgery? Following your last encounter at the clinic, the doctor felt it would be best if an alternate approach was used to help you regain your memories. A specialist was called in from Cybertron, just for you.”

Luster cringed at that. All the way from Cybertron. Someone from home, or what home was supposed to be. Someone who’d remind him of how much he’d changed, how much home had changed. Was it anything like he remembered?

Mnemosurgery. It meant nothing to him. He frowned. 

“So he’s come all the way from Cybertron to do…something weird to me?” He vented. The drill on his back felt all the heavier. “Wonderful.”

The nurse was still smiling. Did she ever stop? Did she think it was reassuring? He felt like he was going to purge. 

“It’ll be fine, don’t worry. Mnemosurgery has been used plenty of times to help mechs struggling with trauma. The doctor wouldn’t have prescribed this if he thought it would be harmful to your health. And–”

A knock on the door interrupted her. Turning, she flipped the lock and it slid open, revealing a lavender mech with teal and yellow accents. He was wearing a silver visor and carrying a datapad, and gave the nurse a nod as he stepped in. “Luster of Cybertron, I take it?” He asked, silver gaze taking in the form of the pathetic creature sitting on the examination table. Upon receiving a nod, he grinned and held out a hand. “Good to meet you! I’m Redactor, and I’ll be serving as your mnemosurgeon.” 

His greeting was not returned. Unperturbed, Redactor dismissed the nurse, though he didn’t bother to sit where she had. Raising his datapad, he stood by the door as it closed, reviewing whatever information was on it. 

“So tell me about yourself, Luster!”

His voice was annoyingly cheerful. From the looks of his shoulderpads, tires, and the gaudy paint job, Luster guessed he was a race car. There were even rear wings on his back, split for each arm. His Autobot insignia was proudly displayed on his helm. 

“What’s there to tell? Everything you need to know is on that datapad.”

Redactor shrugged. “Sure, but as your mnemosurgeon, I’d like to potentially learn a bit more about you before I go digging around in your memories. It’s never pleasant to have a stranger in your thinker, is it?” He tapped his helm and let out a light chuckle.

Luster arched an optical ridge. “What do you mean by that?”

“Do you know what mnemosurgery is?” Redactor tilted his helm slightly, and when Luster shook his own, continued. “Mnemosurgery is the process of entering another Cybertronian’s mind. We…it doesn’t have a great reputation, I’ll be entirely realistic with you.” 

Despite the seriousness of the topic, he let out an awkward laugh. 

“You see it has a bit of a…connection, with the concepts of shadowplay and…well, during the war, it was frequently used to pry secrets from the processors of soldiers.” 

“But! Time marches on.” He gave Luster a smile that was supposed to be reassuring and failed to do just that. “You have my promise, I am not here to control you or alter your memories—I’m here to help you regain them. I heard you’ve been having memory problems?”

“That’s…one way of saying it.” He sat up, his back strut cracking as he did so. “I can’t remember anything, which I’m sure that datapad has already told you. So how are you going to fix that?”

Redactor raised one hand, needles suddenly springing from his fingers. Luster’s optics widened. Beneath his drill, something stirred, preparing to spring out defensively. 

“Relax! The process is painless!” The needles retracted and Redactor waved his hand placatingly. “According to your file, your memories are damaged, but it’s likely that they still exist, buried deep within your processor. You just can’t access them. That’s where I come in!” 

He gave his horrifying servos a wiggle. “With these, I can delve into your processor and potentially guide you back into those areas you can’t access. Now…granted, it may take several tries, and the process is quite dangerous to me. But…well, I can’t just turn down someone in need.”

“In need?” He was in need, all right, in need of not having needles jammed into his processor. He’d had the thing literally poked and prodded before, but this? Another ‘bot, literally inside of his head, accessing his memories? 

“Yes. Whatever happened to you out there, it’s destroyed quite a bit of your processor, hasn’t it? Don’t you want to remember any of it?”

When he didn’t answer, Redactor leaned forward, pressing even further. “Don’t you want to remember Cybertron? Your ship? Whatever you found out there? Solace?”

Solace. 

Don’t you want to remember Solace?

Solace. 

He felt like the ground was dropping from beneath his feet, flipping his tank out of his intake. Coughing, Luster felt warm Energon spill into his mouth, dripping out from his dermas. Redactor cringed at the sight.

“Are you alright?” He asked worriedly, though his words fell on deafening audials. 

Solace. 

Solace. 

Who’s Solace?

“If you’re not feeling well, I’ll call the nurse, we can do this another day–”

“Don’t.” The words spilled out of him along with the pearls of Energon, his optics focusing on the silver of Redactor’s visor. “Solace. You can help me remember Solace?.” 

There was an edge to his voice, a desperation that made Redactor flinch. 

“I–yes, that’s the hope. I–have you eaten this morning? The nurse said there was an incident–”

“I’m fine. Tell me. What are you going to do?” He leaned forward, almost losing his balance on the table. “What do those needles do? Are you going through my helm?”

“Oh, heavens no. They, ah, enter through the back of your neck, where I’ll connect with–”

“Don’t care. You said it doesn’t hurt?” 

“No, absolutely not. Completely painless, I assure you. Um, are you sure you’re feeling alright, you seem…well, friend, you’ve done a bit of an about face, haven’t you?”

He balled a fist and wiped Energon from his dermas. “Haven’t the faintest clue what you’re talking about. How long is this going to take?”

“The mnemosurgery? Anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours. I try to keep sessions short–the longer I’m in your mind, the greater the danger to me.”

Just a few hours at max. He could hold out for that long. With how slowly his tank drained anyways, he wouldn’t be anywhere close to empty even by the end of the earth day. A few hours. That was all. 

Solace. He had to find out what happened to Solace. This would let him find out what had happened to Solace. 

What happened to Solace?

“Alright. Poke me. Stab me. Whatever you’ve got to do. Let’s do this.”

Redactor winced. “It’s…good to see that you’re so…cooperative! Al-alright, please lie down.”

He did as instructed. Redactor loomed over him, needles poking out of his servos as he moved to his helm. 

“Now, please try to relax. Disable your optics if need be. The more stressed you are, the more difficult it can become for me to enter, and…”

Redactor was going on and on about the process. Luster did not care. He was too busy attempting to close every notification currently crowding his hub. 

Seek alternate fuel source.Seek alternate fuel source.Seek alternate fuel source.Seek alternate fuel source.Seek alternate fuel source.Seek alternate fuel source.Seek alternate fuel source.Seek alternate fuel source.Seek alternate fuel source.SEEK ALTERNATE FUEL SOURCE.SEEK ALTERNATE FUEL SOURCE.SEEK ALTERNATE FUEL SOURCE.SEEK ALTERNATE FUEL SOURCE.SEEK ALTERNATE FUEL SOURCE.SEEK ALTERNATE FUEL SOURCE.SEEK ALTERNATE FUEL SOURCE.SEEK ALTERNATE FUEL SOURCE.

A few hours. Just a few hours. That was all he had to hold on for. 

He could do this. 

[blueberrywhale123]

Guess what I watched?!

This was sooooooooo amazing! A beautiful story and a wonderful cinematic experience honestly! Not to sound like a movie reviewer 😅 I just want to gush.

I was totally not interested the first few times the trailer popped up on my ad feed on youtube but the first time I sat down to actually look at the trailer I was hit with the colors and the designs and suddenly I was six-years-old sitting with my dad while he showed me and my four-year-old brother our first piece of transformers media. It was an old cartoon with the bots on cybertron and I never really got something like that again with the other movies or shows that came out aside from the ones one find after digging.

So I instantly decided that even just for nostalgia's sake I would go see it and I was dragging my siblings with me. Even if the movie was a horrible cash grab that turned the characters into unrecognizable slapstick jokesters I would watch it because I wanted to be six-years-old again.

But!!!

LO AND BEHOLD this was incredible! Right from the start when they showed and talked about Primus being the planet I felt hope rising in my chest (MY EXPECTATIONS WERE ON THE FLOOR OKAY) And it just KEPT GETTING BETTER!

Ik from the trailers it seems so silly and stupid but it's NOT! This movie (imo) knows exactly when to be funny and when to be serious. It is for kids - don't expect anything super grown-up - but don't expect something that's aimed for a three-year-old.

Orion Pax (Optimus) and D-16 (Megatron) were the beating heart of this film in my opinion. I was gut wretched watching their friendship deteriorate and seeing Megatron slowly be born. I told my brother as we sat in that theater (which was 98% empty btw😭) that I really thought that the creative team really seemed to love Megatron because there was so much care put into his character and his change wasn't mocked or incomprehensible - I understood him the whole time even as I hated watching the downfall.

And ORION! He was amazing! I loved watching him go from a cocky selfish little guy to this inspiring leader. Even before the main conflict pushes him into the forefront as a leader you can see these hints of that quick-thinking and desire to protect those around him. The aspects of a leader are there - they just needed the right circumstances to pull them out.

There were so many of my babies in it too! It was nice to hear Bumblebee talk!!!! And he was precious! Elita was nice even tho I will admit that I'm not super deep into Transformers so I wasn't truly familiar with her. But I just about jumped out of my seat seeing Starscream, Soundwave, and Shockwave on screen talking and just being soooooo cool! They could just stand there and I would have been in heaven (not really that would have been a disservice to them but besides the point!)

ARCEE WAS THERE!!! I WAS SO HAPPY!!! Me and my brothers were scouring for Ironhide and Rachet and we were grinning like idiots when we saw Jazz oh my gosh! I'm pretty sure that we saw Cliffjumper too!

And Ariachnid was sooooooo scary my gosh I was so happy!

This just felt like a film that truly cared and loved and RESPECTED the source material!

Anyways I'm writing this because I think people need to watch it. It's good even if you don't know a thing about transformers too! My little sister came with and loved the movie even though she's probably seen 1/4 of a transformers movie. I know I'm no bigshot poster so it's not gonna reach a lot of people but if any little bit counts then ...

[melishade]

Voce fazer uma cena da linha do tempo da elita-one onde ela e o megatron tem uma conversa surpreendentemente civilizada tipo ela ouve os um pouco dos maneirismos do megatron em aop e tipo ela decide conversar pra ver se o velho D-16 ainda residia nele e entende que ele quer corrigir seus erros. Não tem perdão mas eles se compreende um ao outro

Translation: You do a scene from elita-one's timeline where she and Megatron have a surprisingly civil conversation like she hears some of Megatron's mannerisms in aop and like she decides to talk to see if the old D-16 still resides there. and understands that he wants to correct his mistakes. There is no forgiveness but they understand each other

Previous episode of the Beloved Timeline

Oh if only it were that easy.

So instead of Arcee blowing up at Megatron for her inability to accept that Megatron was changing, it's Elita that blows up at him instead. Elita has always had a strong hatred for Megatron and it's very apparent every single time that Megatron is in the room. What would push Megatron and Elita to have that type of blowup argument could be attributed to many things, and it could actually lead to a real fight to the death. Megatron could very easily say the wrong thing to piss her off or Megatron would just get sick and tired of her hostility. The fighting would start and Megatron would make a low blow jab, saying that she's only doing this because of her affections for Optimus, and Elita gets really mad because how dare Megatron reduce her own opinions to how she feels about Optimus! Because the truth of the matter is:

"I trusted you!" Elita shouted at Megatron, taking the former warlord back, "I. Trusted. You! To do the right thing! I saw the corruption of Cybertron first hand! I saw how cruel and vindictive the council had become along with the other nobles, and you were clearly a product of their neglect! I thought you were inspiring! I thought you had the ability to lead Cybertron into the future! What a fool I was!"

Elita poked at his chest. "But instead you shot Halogen." She poked him harder. "You declared war!" She straight up shoved him, "You killed my friends and comrades and innocent people! Chromia! Nightslinger! Halfglitch! Flux! Wrangle! Comet! Thunderpoint! All of these Bots have been hurt or have died because of your war! You put us all through hell and killed our planet!"

Elita pointed at herself. "And yes! I had to help hold Optimus together during that time! Because he still cared about you! Because he still loved you! Because he slowly had to watch his own brother descend into madness thinking it was his fault when it never was! You were the one that always pushed too far! Oh high and mighty pathetic Megatron! I wished you had died in the mines along with your fellow miners so we never had to deal with the monster you had become!'

And that last part triggers the hell out of Megatron and forces him to really go on the offensive, which Elita gladly responds to. But during the scuffle of the rest of the Autobots trying to break up the fight, Optimus ends up getting hurt. By who, neither combatant can tell based on the scuffle of the fight, but Wheeljack has to give Optimus medical attention and Hanji has to scold Elita instead for her brazen actions instead of Arcee. Meanwhile, Megatron has to go through breakdown in the Monster chapter with the attack on the Marleyan compound but it's a lot more intense. Either way, both Elita and Megatron are feeling super fucked up over what happened, and Levi can't even enjoy it! He knows how serious this is!

It would take a lot more for them to make up due to their history and Megatron's past war crimes. A simple talk was never going to fix it.

[in1-nutshell]

Hello! I am SOO sorry that I have been cramping you with asks, so feel as free as you can be to push this one alll the way back, or deny it, I am not desperate at all. I just want to type this before I forget this. So after the Megatron with a daughter who was his opposite post, I, too, am in love with this opposite personality daughter series. Like just all of our favourite men as fathers of daughters with individual personalities of themselves but also more or less all resonated their fathers one way or another, or someone they knew! I LOVE IT! And I realized how this formed a perfect trilogy now.

So I am real curious. What if the three daughters exist in the same universe? And, may or may not interact? (would we need individual names for them all? Or Buddy 1 and 2 and 3 like Spider-Man: No Way Home and no one questions it?)

Hello!

I've actually been thinking about continuing the 'daughter with different personality' thing. Maybe in the future you'll see more!

Originally the plan was to have all the Buddy's to be in the same universe, but I ended up scrapping the idea and decided to create separate universes for each one (unless the plot tells me otherwise :))

When I saw the Spiderman part my mind went to this.

(Who knows for the future)

Hope you enjoy!

Optimus Prime, Ratchet, and Megatron's daughters meeting each other for the first time.

SFW, Platonic, Familial, groundbridge and relic shenanigans, Cybertronain reader

TFP

In TFP Rats universe.

Buddy was just minding her own business cleaning and wiping down her father’s tools.

It’s a nice day on base.

There was low Decepticon activity for the past few days, the children were playing their games, Bulkhead and Smokescreen were trying to get Bumblebee and Arcee to play Lob with them, Ultra Magnus and Optimus were reviewing plans for something, and her father, Ratchet, was with Wheeljack looking at a new relic they found in the Artic.

“It’s not another scraplet trap, right?”--Raf

“Nope! Completely checked it with the scanner. We should be good now.”--Buddy

“We ‘should’ be good?”--Bulkhead

“There is always a percentage of things blowing up, I’m not counting that out.”--Buddy

Without warning, the relic whirled to life jumping and shaking onto the floor.

Everyone jumped and backed away from the whirling sound it made. Bright light came out of it as the shaking intensified. The noise was loud enough to get everyone to come to the main room.

The machine scanned the closest bot, Buddy, and opened a portal, shooting out tons of air.

The children nearly flew back, but thanks to Ultra Magnus and Optimus, they were caught before they flew off the ledge.

“Hey Ratchet! What’s it doing?!”--Bulkhead

“Oh, it’s putting on a rock concert. OBVIOUSLY, I DON’T KNOW!”--Ratchet

Machine whirls louder.

“Buddy! Hide behind the med slab!”--Wheeljack

Buddy already behind the slab, clutching onto dear life.

“With all due respect, WHAT DO YOU THINK I’M DOING?!”--Buddy

Meanwhile in megs dimension

Buddy calmly walking down the halls of the Nemesis with some data pads.

“Hmm… wonder why they need so many data pads…”--Buddy

Sudden portal pops up on the wall next to them.

“What in the—”--Buddy

Portal starts sucking her in.

“AHHH—”--Buddy

Portal sucks Buddy in leaving the discarded data pads sprawled in the middle of the hallway.

In op dimension

Buddy is resting her arm on the handrail while talking with Miko.

“How’s the playlist going?”--Miko

“Haven’t been working too much on it. Patrol has been up my tailpipe lately. Do you have any more recommendations?”--Buddy

“Yeah! How about—”—Miko

A sudden portal opens.

“Umm, I don’t remember Ratchet opening up a groundbridge.”--Miko

Buddy grabbing a grenade from her subspace.

“That’s because he hasn’t!”--Buddy

Buddy chucks a grenade at the portal.

BAM!

Nothing happens to the portal.

“What!”—Miko and Buddy

The portal starts sucking them in.

Buddy grabs Miko as she starts to get dragged in, pounds a hole in the ledge and places her in there.

“Buddy? Buddy what are you—”--Miko

Buddy groans as she tries to keep her footing but gets sucked in and the portal closes.

“BUDDY!”--Miko

In Rats dimension

Two figures pop out of the portal and slam into Ratchet’s daughter.

The portal closes.

The two figures groaned.

Op Buddy sits up rubbing her helm.

Meg Buddy sliding off the med slab and onto the floor on her back.

“Urgh… my aching helm…”—Megs Buddy

Rat Buddy gently massaging her helm before looking at the two strangers.

“Who are you?”—Rat Buddy

Op Buddy looks at the others.

“Who are you?!”—Op Buddy

Meg Buddy looking at all the Autobots in the area.

“WHERE AM I?!”—Meg Buddy

Optimus carefully approaches the younglings.

Megs Buddy quickly moves back while the other two just stare widely.

“Buddy—”--Optimus

“Yes?”—All Buddy’s

All Buddy’s turn around and point at each other.

“Your name is Buddy! I’m Buddy!”—All Buddy’s

Meg Buddy standing up pacing a bit.

“Maybe this is some alternate universe…I always thought something like this was possible from what he said… It’s the only logical explanation for this…”—Megs Buddy

“That seems to check out. Which explains why Dad hasn’t started giving me the ‘speech’ again.”—Op Buddy

“Dad?”--Kids

“… Oh, this is going to be fun.”—Op Buddy

“This is not going to be fun…”—Meg Buddy

Everyone is confused.

Come to find the relic would scan someone and find ‘alternatives’ of them. It could mean alternative of the bot or by their names.

To avoid confusion the Buddy’s are labeled.

Op’s Buddy would be known as Buddy 1.

Rats Buddy would be known as Buddy 2.

Megs Buddy would be known as Buddy 3.

“How come she’s Buddy 1? Why not our Buddy? She was hear before you guys showed up.”--Miko

“Cause I’m older and cooler.”—Buddy 1

“Yeah right.”--Miko

“Don’t believe me Miko? Watch this.”—Buddy 1

Buddy 1 transforms into a monster truck.

“I take it back! That’s so cool! Can I ride you!?”--Miko

“Of course!”—Buddy 1

“Miko no!”--Bulkhead

“Miko yes!”--Miko

“Then why is our Buddy number two?”--Raf

“Because I’m the second oldest. Three is the youngest one here.”—Buddy 2

“Guess it makes sense. You she is kind a smaller than you two.”--Jack

“Hey! I’m a minicon! Of course, I’m smaller than everyone here!”—Buddy 3

“You’re a minicon?”--Arcee

Buddy 3 shrinks back a bit at Arcee’s gaze nodding.

Buddy 1 made the Team guess who her father was, bets were on the table and ready to be thrown. Buddy 1 managed to get Buddy 3 to get in on the guessing part. Buddy 3 guaranteed that no one would guess her creator.

A part of her didn’t want them to know either.

“All right we are ready.”--Miko

“Wow so soon?”—Buddy 3

“Too soon if you asked me.”—Buddy 1

“We’ve narrowed down three bots for each. If we win, 1 needs to take me out dune bashing in her alt mode.”--Miko

“Miko!”--Bulkhead

“I can stand by that.”—Buddy 1

“And if you don’t guess right?”—Buddy 2

“You’ll have to tell us.”--Miko

“…”—Buddy 3

“Lets get started!”--Miko

“Okay these ones are for Buddy 1.”--Smokescreen

“Got it, lets hear them.”—Buddy 1

“First one… Wheeljack!”--Miko

Buddy 1 laughing at the response.

“HAHAHAHA, Sorry, its just, just that Jackie here is more like my Uncle. Definitely not my dad.”—Buddy 1

“All righty then… Bulkhead!”--Miko

Buddy starts laughing at that one too.

“Nope! Bulks also like my Uncle!”—Buddy 1

“The last one… Smokescreen!”—Miko

Buddy is now on the floor laughing her tanks and near crying.

“…I’ll take that as a no then…”--Raf

Buddy finally stops laughing.

“You lose.”—Buddy 1

“Got that. Now spill it! Who’s your Dad?!”--Miko

Buddy stands up rather stoically.

“One shall stand, one shall fall.”—Buddy 1

Everyone stares at Optimus, who looks equally as surprised.

“Your—your Boss Bots kid!? How!?”--Miko

“A question everyone has been asking since we met.”—Buddy 1

Miko turns to Buddy 3.

She hoped that they would have forgotten her, but alas here she was.

“Your turn!”--Miko

Buddy 3 nervously sits next to Prime and Ratchet

“First one… Arcee!”--Miko

Buddy 3 looking terrified.

“NO! I mean no.”--Buddy 3

“How about… Ultra Magnus!”--Miko

Buddy shakes her helm while looking at Magnus.

“Sorry try again.”—Buddy 3

“Okay… Optimus!”--Miko

Buddy 1 looks at Buddy 3.

“Are we siblings!?”—Buddy 1

“I mean aren’t we all in a way?”—Buddy 3

“Buddy.”--Ratchet

“Sorry, the answer is no.”—Buddy 3

“Dang it!”--Miko

“Then who is your Dad?”--Raf

“…Megatron…”—Buddy 3

“…”—Everyone

“HOW!”--Jack

Buddy shrinks back at the sudden movements.

Buddy 1 and Buddy 2 immediately stand by Buddy 3

“Hold it now. Just because 3 dad is Bucket head, no offense.”—Buddy 1

“None taken.”—Buddy 3

“Doesn’t mean she’s bad. Right?”—Buddy 2

“No, no I’m not.”—Buddy 3

“Really and how can you prove it?”--Arcee

“Arcee—”—Buddy 2

“Well think about this. If I was truly bad, why haven’t I hurt you.”—Buddy 3

“Because your short?”--Smokescreen

“… Okay that one’s asking for it… but beside the point, I could have easily hurt the kids, yet I haven’t. I could have attacked or given any other hint that I had malicious intentions. But I haven’t, have I?”—Buddy 3

Pause

“I stand by 3.”—Buddy 1

“And I stand with 1 and 3.”—Buddy 2

“I will stand by her as well.”--Optimus

“Prime!”—Most of the team

“Prime?”—Buddy 3

“She is our guest and so is 1. We must treat them with the respect they deserve.”--Optimus

“…Thank you Prime.”—Buddy 3

After the confrontation a little more research is done on the machine.

Thanks to Buddy 3’s expert decoding skills, she was able to read the full effects of the machine as well as how to reverse it.

The good news was that the effects were reversable.

The bad news was that the machine needed time to recuperate before usage again.

The Buddy’s decided to kill time by hanging out with each other and the team in the meantime.

Aka shenanigan time.

1 tries to start a conversation with her alternate family especially with Prime.

She is curious to see if there are any differences between her father and her alternative father.

“You always did have a thing for the Halls, didn’t you?”—Buddy 1

“The Halls of Iacon was where I worked.”--Optimus

“You mean, where Orion worked.”—Buddy 1

“…Yes.”--Optimus

“Sorry, but I see Orion and Optimus as two separate bots sometimes.”—Buddy 1

“It is understandable.”--Optimus

3 tended to stay with 2 for the most part.

2 was a soft soul and was quiet for the most part.

2 did entertain 3 with the occasional story here and there.

Buddy 2 and 3 talking to each other near the med bay.

“What do you think they’re talking about?”--Smokescreen

“Beep boop bep bop boop. (Probably about medical stuff.)”--Bumblebee

“Yeah, probably.”--Smokescreen

“So, then Arcee raised her blasters at the wannabe Cybertronians and started blasting.”—Buddy 2

Buddy 3 listening intently.

1 likes to place 2 and 3 on her shoulders.

1 being the tallest and bulkiest of the Buddy’s could support the weight, not that they did weigh anything to her.

The other two Buddy’s liked feeling tall.

“Hey! Hey! Look at this!”—Buddy 1

Buddy 1 supporting Buddy 2 on her shoulders while Buddy 3 was on top.

“We are Buddy Supreme!”—Buddy 2

Buddy 1 has a bright smile on her face.

Buddy 2 has a wobbly smile trying not to laugh while carrying 3.

Buddy 3 is just staring in amazement.

“So, this is what it’s like to be tall… this is nice.”—Buddy 3

Soon it was time for them to leave.

3 really doesn’t want to leave her new friends behind.

She certainly doesn’t want to go back to the dark halls of the Nemesis.

But this pleasant experience was soon to be the spark to ignite the flame for peace between the two fractions again.

She was going to do everything she could to end this war with peace.

Whether Megatron liked it or not.

“It was lovely seeing you all and knowing there are alternative versions of myself out there. I hope we meet again on much pleasanter terms in the future.”—Buddy 3

“Same goes to you 3!”—Buddy 1 and 2

Buddy 3 walks through the portal.

A flash of purple shines before returning to its natural color.

“It’s your turn kid—”--Wheeljack

“SEE YA!”—Buddy 1

Buddy 1 back flips into the portal before a flash of blue shines.

The portal turns off and all is still.

“…Well, wasn’t that an eventful Wednesday afternoon?”—Buddy

In megs universe

Buddy bounces off the wall of the Nemesis.

Literally.

“For once I’d wish for a smooth landing…”--Buddy

“Buddy.”--Soundwave

Buddy looks up to see Soundwave.

Buddy waves.

“Hey Soundwave.”--Buddy

Soundwave starts walking forward.

“Sorry about the data pads—”--Buddy

Soundwave is in front of Buddy.

“I swear I meant to go straight to the room when—”--Buddy

Soundwave gets down on his knees and pulls Buddy in a tight hug.

Buddy freezes for a moment before hugging back.

None say anything, just holding onto each other in one of the empty halls of the Nemesis.

In op universe

Buddy gets thrown at Bumblebee and Smokescreen.

“OW!”--Buddy

“BEEP! (BUDDY!)”--Bumblebee

“BUDDY!”--Smokescreen

Both bots hugging Buddy’s sides tightly.

“We heard from Miko that you go sucked into some groundbridge or something!”--Smokescreen

Buddy patting both bots helms.

Bumblebee digs his helm further in Buddy’s neck cables whirling in concern and relief.

“Boy, do I have a story to tell you guys. But let’s wait till everyone gets here, I can’t wait to see Doc bot’s reaction to his daughter.”--Buddy

“HIS WHAT!?”—Smokescreen and Bumblebee

“MY WHAT!”--Ratchet

[anony-man]

Sneaking Suspicions

Word Count: 629

Relationship: Megatron/Soundwave

Rating and Warnings: T; mentions of belly kink/belly stuffing

In the weeks following his return to the Nemesis, something had changed. As Megatron stood overlooking the barren earth below them through the haze of dewy clouds as they soared through the skies, he was far too aware of the lingering sensation of someone watching him very, very closely.

Even he had to admit that his relationship with Soundwave had passed the line of professional a very long time ago, but Megatron still clung to the notion that maybe, just maybe, they could keep things simple between them. Despite these hopes—which, of course, Megatron knew would never come to fruition—Soundwave still pursued him.

In other words, the communications officer was quite literally fattening Megatron up, and Megatron couldn’t find it in him to put a stop to the action.

Maybe it was because he’d grown used to patrolling the halls at night, only to find Soundwave’s door cracked ajar. Maybe he liked practicing the air of a brooding leader who wanted to know everything about everything when it came to his subordinates. Maybe, just maybe, he didn’t want to put an end to the influx of sweet organic treats he would find laid out across the berth when entering Soundwave’s private quarters.

If Megatron were being honest with himself, he really liked the way Soundwave had taken to fattening him up like some royal bot. It put a new meaning to their shared past in the pits, and it made Megatron feel good, like he was truly accomplishing something in his role as the Decepticon leader.

Well, there was that, but Megatron also loved the way Soundwave’s tentacles would wrap around his prone, bulging middle, thin digits pushing more and more sickeningly sweet pastries and confections past his soaked lips as the long, slim tentacles circled his frame and squeezed. It was addicting in the most revolting sense, but Megatron couldn’t quite find it in himself to be truly disgusted by the experience.

He’d returned to his waiting army weakened and malnourished, and while Knock Out—the medic who Starscream had apparently picked up from Primus knows where—had tended to his needs as best as he knew how, the dwindling energon rations just weren’t going to cut it. From then on, Soundwave had seemed to have taken matters into his own servos, whether Megatron wanted him to or not.

The first few nights had been rather jarring, what with his third-in-command forcing earthen foods down his throat, but the soothing brush of tentacles against his slim middle (not to mention the attention given to his modesty panels, as if promising Megatron the gift of a good time if he were to obey) was more than enough to have him lapping at Soundwave’s digits in a desperate attempt to get more of whatever delicious recourses he’d managed to gather.

Transforming had become nearly impossible, and the swell of his mesh between strained plating grew more and more obvious by the day, but Megatron wasn’t about to put an end to the nightly sessions—not when he could feel Soundwave’s gaze boring into him from across the room, watching his every move as he subconsciously brushed steady servos over his bulging middle.

It was probably unhealthy, and it was unmistakably unbecoming of a mech in his position of power, but Megatron wasn’t going to stop. He couldn’t bear to lose the way it felt when Soundwave was crouched overtop of him, energy field emanating an overwhelming sense of passion and desire as he forced more and more treats into Megatron’s awaiting mouth.

No one else had to know, Megatron decided. He turned his attention back to the window, a small, pleasant smile stretching across his face. No one had to know; it could be their own little secret.

[darkstarofchaos]

For the ask thingy... I have a feeling I might know some of the answer to this, but here's a two-fer. Take your pick (or answer both if you're in the mood): - OpStar -OpFire

OpStar: Don't ship it.

Why don’t you ship it?

Well, for starters, there's Optimus laughing at the idea of Megatron doing horrible things to Starscream. Bit off-putting, that.

More generally, Optimus has a... morality thing. Specifically, his own view on morality, which he pushes onto anyone in his vicinity. Which, y'know. Starscream is a villain, you kinda have to redeem him if the ship is actually going to work, right? Or file off his rough edges and make him Secretly A Good Person Actually, or a generally good person/helpless victim who just needs to See The Light.

Two problems with this: first, I prefer corruption arcs. Let Starscream bring people to the Dark Side, darn it. And second, Optimus does not practice what he preaches. One might even call him a hypocrite. Case in point, mind control is Evil when the Bad Guys do it, but he was perfectly happy to try controlling the Constructicons - and through them, Devastator - in The Core. And if mind control is an acceptable approach to turning people to your side, what does that mean for the ex-Decepticon you're looking to bed? I wouldn't trust any canon Optimus to treat Starscream with legitimate kindness, save for Armada Optimus. Because he actually did that. And maybe EarthSpark, but we only have a couple lines of dialogue to go on so far, so I'll reserve judgement there.

(Note of clarification, most of my Optimus Problems apply to G1 versions of the character. I actually kind of like other Optimii. Still don't ship him with Starscream, though).

As for Starscream, he's not going to do a 180 and suddenly be a loyal and obedient follower just because he gets some praise once in a while (if he does, that's incredibly unhealthy and he shouldn't be in a relationship with someone who could very easily take advantage of him). Starscream has opinions and ideas. And when he sees someone doing something stupid, he's going to call them on it. But Optimus does what Optimus thinks best, and if Starscream thinks differently, they are going to fight. And Optimus isn't going to listen to him, because he doesn't listen. Doubly so if Starscream's opinion can be construed as immoral.

Tl;dr: they would be horrible together.

2. What would have made you like it?

I think TFP is the only place where they would have had a chance with me, so... Maybe if Optimus had tried to reach out to Starscream after Arcee chased him off? But the irony is, if Optimus was the kind of person who could be trusted with Starscream's well-being, he would also recognize that his status as a powerful authority figure makes him someone Starscream shouldn't be in a relationship with. So it still wouldn't work.

3. Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?

It's fun when they argue. Which has nothing to do with them as a pairing, I just enjoy when their dynamic is ruthlessly antagonistic.

-

OpFire (just gonna lump Jetfire in with Skyfire): Don't ship it.

Why don’t you ship it?

I ship Skyfire with one (1) person. Irrationally uncomfortable seeing him with someone else. OTP in the purest sense of the term.

Optimus is not that one person.

2. What would have made you like it?

Might need to rewire my brain, tbh. First, I'd need to be comfortable shipping Skyfire with someone else. Second, I would need to like Optimus enough to ship him with anyone. Third, they would need to have enough in common that I could ship them specifically.

Impossible task, I would say.

3. Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?

I had a roommate a few years ago who really liked anime, so I decided Armada would be a good way to introduce them to Transformers. They came away with a few ships, including Optimus/Jetfire. And they decided the ship name was Flying Fish, because of how the pair's combined form looks.

So that's a fun little story.