#megatron and june darby

[sugwinni]

One Prime

[nebulaoftheprimes]

Zoomies

Ok, so imagine that Pax was raised out in the Wilds and he was raised by sparkeaters. I have this scene in my head where sparkling Pax is just running from one end of the den to the other and his adopted parents and some of his older siblings are either watching him (making sure he does not injure himself) or continuing to go about daily life (this happens often and there's still work to do). Some of the younger pups are tumbling after him because Big Brother looks like he's having fun and they want to have fun too.

Once he's older and can go outside the den, he runs around the large clearing the pack lives in. Some other pups join him, because

a) it looks like fun

b) they're bored

c) it's good stamina training so the parents approve.

The parents also encourage them to go and run for a few hours because it gets the pups out of the den, it's something productive, and they can get a nice nap in while they run around.

After Orion gets caught by Trion or somebot, he still has the crippling urge to just run. This scared the living Pits out of the archives at first because first of all, WHERE DID THIS FERAL DEMON COME FROM!?!?! Oh, Head Archivist Trion adopted him? Why!?

Secondly, they had thought a big, wild mechanimal had gotten into the Hall because Pax still had his claws which left long thin groves carved into the polished floors. He was also quiet as frag and could easily sneak up on unsuspecting archivists, interns, or innocent readers.

Once Megatronus got comfortable with the fact the yes, Orion genuinely wanted to help his cause even though he came from the high caste, and no, he wasn't going to sabotage it and he really thought Megatronus had the right idea, he would ask Orion to teach him how to move about just as quietly as him. Now I'm not saying Megatronus wasn't quiet already, because he was. It's just that he large even by cybertronain standards and the fact he was taught by civilized macha. Not someone whose survival depended on silent steps, he wasn't trained by somebot who walk freely amoung sparkeaters with no fear. But seriously, Orion could walk on gravel and not make a sound.

Megatronus and the other gladiators wouldn't care that he grew up with any cybertronian's nightmare (second to only Unicron) as family. He ate living creatures for fuel? Yeah, big deal, any miner had to drink engeron from the lines of their dead fellow in the event of a cave-in. He has claws and fangs, and his armor's sharp and pointed? Welcome to Kaon folks. He could easily blend into the shadows and scare someone? Boo-hoo, pay better attention to your surroundings. He liked to climb walls and hang out on the ceiling? Slightly less normal, but at least it was him and not a feral insecticon looking for a meal. If Orion wasn't working, sleeping, or hanging with his (very few) Iaconian friends, you could bet your bottom dollar he was either talking to Megatronus, Soundwave, Barricade, Breakdown, Starscream, talking to some combination of them, planning the next rally, editing Megatronus' poems, speeches, or any of his writing, he was in Kaon.

Because Kaon was much more accepting than Iacon. He didn't have to shrink on himself, making himself as small and unnoticeable as he possibly could in public, while trying not to spook patrons with his armor and claws. He didn't have to talk less to keep his fangs from being seen as often or have to tuck his servos away for fear of someone complaining he might break a datapad or something fragile. In Kaon, people just accepted he was from the Wilds and continued about their day. In Kaon, Orion could catch an electro-dove midflight with his bare denta (something he wouldn't even dream about doing in Iacon), and bots observe, nod in appreciation of a successful hunt, and continue on as Orion would scarf down the bird in two bites. He understands the importance of fresh food, not wasting it like his fellow upper castemates, good for him. The gladiators knew when Orion got his now dubbed 'zoomies' because if you didn't move out of the way, prepare to be a springboard for Orion to bounce off of. He was small, but when that mech built up momentum, he was a fragging force of nature.

As Optimus Prime, he still had the urge to run, to be free. He just put a stopper on his base instincts, shoved them way down, and went on leading. Much to Ratchet's annoyance. The medic had met with Orion through a meeting of the trainees of important political figures, the younglings who were learning under the guidance of their seniors. No one had wanted to talk to him at that meeting, or any of the following meetings so he just sat in a corner and listened. Ratchet keeps noticing that the understudy of Head Archivist Alpha Trion keeps being ignored, walks over to him, and sticks his servo out, saying. "Hey, I'm Ratchet. I'm training to be the OMC of Iacon. Who are you?"

During the beginning of the war, Ratchet made him go out into the crystal spires for a few days, because he was getting jittery, and a jittery Prime isn't idle in a war. One of the more, memorable, times was when he was caught by some Decepticons (Megs was with them too)

Decepticons: *doing recon in the Old Forest [a really old spire forest the Iacon council had nominated as a planetary treasure. Bots would come from all over to stand under its towering crystal trees]*

one vehicon: *raises his servo, stopping the others*

Megs: *over comms* /what is it?/

vehicon: /somethings coming, and fast. We should hide, it might be an Autobot or two/

Decepticons: *hides along the outer edges of the clearing, they breathe a sigh of relief as a zap-deer comes running out of the crystal tree line*

vehicon: that's odd, I could've sworn there were two-

Optimus-fragging-Prime: *also comes barrelling out of tree line; pounces on deer from behind. He manages to clamp his much bigger and sharper jaw around its throat and rips its neck in half. Then processed to gobble it down in a couple minutes*

one vehicon: *stumbles back, and steps on twig*

Op: *freezes and snaps his gaze up; growling. Stops as Megs slowly steps out hands out and open*

Megs: hello old friend

Op: *slowly creeps up to him; sniffs his servo before snorting a turns away, leaving the cleaning*

To be fair, he gets a massive scowling from Ratchet when he goes back to the war front. He shuts down his higher processing power when Ratch kicks him out of society for a few days, so that's why he came up to Megs and didn't shoot.

On Earth, the kids find out, and they (Miko) love the idea of Optimus running up and down the halls when no one's at base. They could also set up a race on an abandoned road for him. Once Op's secret is out, the children, plus Agent Flower and Mrs. Darby, convince everyone to a race. It's simply they will race each other and Optimus until they don't feel like it anymore. Optimus is the last to get tired, so for the next few hours, everyone's just watching Op run back and forth, wearing the biggest smile anyone had seen him with since the start of the war.

[witchofthesouls]

Hey, guys, new random fic idea:

The TFP crew (Autobots, Decepticons, and the respective human allies) get swept up in a gameshow that runs like Game Changer or Fear Factor, where there's no escape but to play. Teams are randomized and the rest get shunted into the "audience" with access to appropriate sleeping quarters, meals, and hygiene basics.

No one is prepared to see how competitive June Darby can get. (Jack knows. His parents met in theater in high school.) And no one expected her to match the dramatics of Megatron. Their match-ups consistently score the highest among the unknown audience.

[wyrm-with-a-why]

The tfp I love fat bitches club with Soundwave about megatron, knockout about breakdown, wheeljack about ratchet and a shy June Darby about Fowler

[lovinglonerhybrid]

I’m mashing tfp and mtmte/LL again.

There’s a town not to far from jasper that all the locals never mention. It has a bar and a library and a little clinic on the main rode through town but the people who live here are strange. The librarian has sad eyes and tho he is welcoming to strangers you can tell he never fully opens up. The clinic has 2 doctors but there are always 3 people there at a time there are whispers of the third person being an ex hit-man possibly hiding from the government. The men at the the tech repair store never have any customers and are often seen tinkering with strange machines through the windows. Every cripple of months June Darby will pack some bags and take her son Jack out to the strange town for a few days. People who have seen them in the town say there never far from two others who look remarkably similar to June. One day Miko and raf decide to sneer Akon and they come face to face with jacks “grandfather” a large man who where’s sunglasses and a face mask around strangers according to Jack. They also meet a blue haired woman with an eyepatch and two remarkably different girlfriends.

Anyway it’s late I’m gonna head to bed let me know if you want more from this. Good night

[dragonskulls]

ok but what if instead of being a bobots they were a kitty cats 🤯

ok so um. yeah. basically tfp warrior cats au of an au (im changing events too here fuck canon; as well as some characterizations). i'll designing the other characters too and maybe give bits of the story im giving it. giggles. Also i haven't read warriors in years i only got to half of the second arc lmao

but anyways this is still on early construction but what i have is that there was this massive as shit colony of cats living in a huge ass territory and idk there was something like the inequality in canon (i haven't read the Aligned books so im making this up on the fly) and yadda yadda war happens tons of cats leave even more die and the territories get ravaged, probably there was a wildfire that was the final nail on the coffin for the old territories (cybertron). The main story would take place in a run down abandoned city where resources are very scarce (which would be earth, also humans sorta disappear here lol) where the brightsparks (autobots) are hiding from the shatterclaws (decepticons) while looking for ways to restore the old territories as well as a stronger connection with Goldenspark (primus) and instead of tech maybe its like,,, starclan magic or something lmao. the humans are mini rats here and are in danger from the shatterclaws just like, killing them or something idk (also also the humans here are NOT up to scale they'd be a bit smaller compared to the drawings here). so some quick stuff:

-shriekingsky is starscream (i wouldve kept the original name but it wouldve ended up being Starstar) who's the traitorous deputy of the shatteredclaws

-shatteredstar is megatron. no one likes him. he made a pact with the devil (unicron for whom i have yet to come up with a name) in an attempt to use the dead souls in the dark forest as pawns for his faction or something and also to get the nine lives (but evil and fucked up)

-crimsonstrike is knockout. medic of the shatteredclaws and while being on their side isn't particularly loyal to shatteredstar. he and shriekingsky were the equivalent of highschool mean girls as apprentices bc i thought that would be funny

-brokenstone is breakdown. originally part of the brightsparks, but something something happened that made him not really trust them anymore, that plus probably crimsonstrike accidentally helping him out caused him to switch sides

-owlglare is ratchet. goofy ass eyebrows. really REALLY wants to restore the old territories, which causes some slight conflict with the others who also want to protect the city (bc of the mice as well as other rogue cats i dont know yet)

-sparkstar is optimus. god damn i struggled so bad with his design. you know him.

-bumblepaw is bumblebee i couldnt bring myself to change his name. he's a baby sparkstar found in the trash. like in canon he wants to get his warrior name back home so hes keeping the apprentice one for now

-the rats the humans. most of the population dont know about the cats and if they did they'd probably panic a whole lot. these had me looking up rat color morphs

[jkomaliondog]

Transformers all saying a lot of things.

#transformerprime #transformerrescuebots

#transformerrid2015

Starscream: Today, I'm going to teach you how to face your fears. Now the first step to facing your fears is-

Megatron kicks down door

Starscream:aaAAA-

Optimus: Don’t

Sam: Don’t

Optimus: Do

Sam: Do

Optimus: A

Sam: A

Optimus: Genocide Run

Sam: Genocide Run

Optimus: Don't do a Genocide run

Sam: Let's kill everyone that cares for me

Sam: Wanna see an impression of my uncle cliffjumper?

Jack: Sure.

Sam straight up dies

Jack: HaHa...c o m e d y.

Blades: Hello, Dani! Here is a nice hot cup of coffee!

Dani: it's cold

Blades: a nice cup of coffee!

Dani: it tastes terrible!

Blades: A cup of coffee!

Dani: is this even coffee?

Blades: A cup

Chase: "I... cant do anything. IM IN A FUCKING WHEELCHAIR...I HAVE HEPITlTUS see. I cant patrol with chief Charlie. Tell

them rule and laws, and cant read the manuals. My whole life is MISERY MISERY ITS POINTLESS POINTLESS.

But on the bright side at least i have this wheelchair....and the wheels fell off."

Bulkhead: "I'm a brave boy."

RAF show up with a scraplet "Hey

Bulkhead look I just found"

Bulkhead: "Not a brave enough boy for this!" Runs the hell away

Jack: we're gonna die!

Miko: Oh, Jack, think positive!

Jack: .

Jack: I'm positive we're gonna die!

Sam: Screams of someone who is ripping out his own soul

ratchet: HEY QUIET DOWN IN THERE!

Optimus prime: Say no to drugs!

Megatron: Say YES to drugs!

Ratchet: It doesn't matter weither you say no yes to drugs, because if you're talking to drugs then that means you're on drugs!

Cody Burns: here take the manual

Chase "Eats the manual"

Cody burns: uhh

Chase: I have learned everything!

Cody Burns: Hmm, I wonder what Sam is doing right now.

Meanwhile, In Junkyard Sam after ripping out his heart: OH MY F*CKING GOD IT HURTS SO MUCH

Sam: violently screams as he rips his soul out

Bumblebee in the other side in the junkyard: "yeah this is fine"

Steeljaw: Do you have a face?

Soundwave: Yes? Of course I do.

Steejaw: well, Where are they?

Soundwave: In the basement.

Ratchet: Ok, you have 5 apples, someone takes 3, how many do you have?

Bumblebee: 2

Optimus prime: 5

Ratchet: ...ok Optimus, you have 5 apples and someone takes 3 apples BY FORCE, how many do you have?

Optimus: (pulls out axe) 5 and a corpse of a head.

June Darby: Sam, we're gonna need to have a heart-to-heart with you right now

Sam: Rips out his soul.

June Darby:.. and you DON'T have to take everything so literally

Boulder: Hey Blades, nice rock

Blades: thanks, the human gave it to me

Mean Human: I THREW IT AT YOU

Blades: Aren't they the sweetest

[sakumon16]

For Disney fans:

What if, before the whole “I accidentally froze my sister and became a shut-in” incident in Frozen, Elsa & Anna got caught up in a Ground Bridge malfunction?

As per usual, I don’t own any of this. All credit (rightfully) goes to the creators.

[pluage-docters-go-brrrrrr]

Red, Orange, Red-orange, What is it? - Librarymyboi - Transformers - All Media Types [Archive of Our Own]

Y'all this is based off of @macadam 's post about ratchet being red or orange. I wrote Crack about it. Hope y'all like it.

[maiselyormaiforshort]

In your secret frenemies au what are megatrons and optimus's relationships with their respective leaders like? And how does starscream factor in? Is he trying to become leader or are he and megatron fighting over the sic post cause I find that mental image hilarious 😂

Say no more shawty, warning:big yapping sesh

Optimus N CrimSonJaeger:Optimus respects Crimson Alot,also I forgot to mention that in this au Optimus doesn't become a prime because I said so, neither does Crimson, Crimson also deeply respects Optimus(mostly because he's an archivist and has more wisdom), Crimson sometimes gets anxious around Optimus because Optimus has no clue their leader is a teenager,long story short they are work friends

Megatron and Microzus: They're relationship is like the 2 uncles fresh outta jail, important note:Microzus is still wreckless in this au except she has to act more mature, Megatron respects her due to them both thinking violence is the best option,they have a closer relationship than Optimus and Crimson,they playfight sometimes or joke around,Megatron sees that they both have alot in common,Microzus is just happy that someone has the same perspective of her

StarScream N Microzus:they have a one sided rivalry, StarScream is always trying to overthrow Microzus,She doesn't notice at all and assumes he's goofing around(he punched her but since she's like REALLYYYY big she didn't noticed and jokingly hitted him with her elbow,her elbow has spikes,yeouch) also megatron and starscream still hate eachother in this au because Megatron highly respects his leader and would bash anyone in her way,by anyone I mean StarScream

Important notes:Op and meg still have their divorce D:,Dune(June) and Growler(A. Fowler) are on the autobots,The jasper trio have a cybertronion equivalent of a telephone which they use to contact eachother,one time megs asked who Micro was calling with she said it was a spy,she didn't let Megs ask anymore questions because she said "their identity is too precious"(shawty locked in), humans don't really play a big part in this au,I'm not even sure if i want the events to happen on earth or on a semi broken cybertron

[transingthoseformers]

//scuttles in here Hello, have the dose of Clerk!Megs nonsense on earth with humans

In general I feel like Megs would be spilt on the humans/interacting with them. Like he is interested and kind of eager (again, he ain't like canon megs who would probably squish a human under his pedal/foot lol), but also wary and cautious because humans are very fragile. Also i think if you exposed Clerk!Megs to our/human history, the man would have a stroke so hfjkdsf.

But as for like named character that come to mind, BUCKLE BECAUSE THIS IS GONNA BE LONG!

Jack He kind of sees himself in Jack. A young teen struggling with very little, having to work to make ends meet to help his mom out, he can understand that. Megs would def would put what he is working for a break just to listen Jack ramble or listen to the kid vent while he worked on his own stuff. He allowed Jack to study in his corner of the base/where every the team is staying since it's the quietest spot next to OP. Megs has probably, unknowingly, taught Jack the tunes of a few old mining songs since I can see him humming them absent-mindly while working. Jack is probably the reason Megs probably wishes he chose a car or something similar as an alt mode because he wouldn't mind picking Jack up from school, but he will settle with sometimes carrying Jack around on his shoulder or hand when he is merely exploring Nevada's deserts or walking around the base.

Miko Even if Megs is an ambivert, I don't think anyone can match Miko's extrovert energy X_X. Megs gets overwhelmed so easily by Miko. I also think they would not get along. Like...At all? Megs probably gets annoyed Miko doesn't take her studies seriously. Like on the verge of snapping datapads levels of annoyed. Is this because of his own history? Yes. yes it is. He does not understand wasting the chance to learn and grow, in favor of video games and loud music. I feel like it's also like mutual for awhile on Miko's end too. Megatron looks so cool, what do you mean he's a giant book nerd? She probably mistook him for like a harden gladiator (hah), only for Ratchet to go "...no, he's a clerk". I feel like it would take awhile for them to even like click, maybe something happens like Megs gets hurt trying to keep Miko safe (he's annoyed by her, but he doesn't like want her dead), and Miko tries to like make it up to him by showing him some Japanese poems since she knows he likes poetry.

Raf Silent panic because Raf is so small. But like seriousness, Megs adores Raf and loves the fact the kid likes to learn. He has probably mentioned Raf to the team on Cybertron a few times when on call with Orion, to the point now Shockwave and the other science guys to gain an interest. Megs probably sits on the sidelines, doing work, while Raf talks with Shockwave (mainly) and the others on Cybertron, learning from them and jolting notes down. Sometimes Megs has to intervene and remind them not to overwhelm Raf with stuff. Would def remember and remind Optimus to bring Raf snow if forever reason that had to go to the artic.

As for all three of them together, yeah Megs adores them tbh. He is willing to help them out and sometimes humors them with flights around the desert in his alt mode. Megatron would def be the supervisor on the Cybertron science projects ratchet sort of takes over. Silent screaming when Ratchet enters more main scientist realm and Shockwave encouraging it. Would also help on any English or History projects the kids have, but is smart enough to NOT try and turn the projects into mini weapons and stick to EARTH things.

Agent Fowler (and tbh the US Gov in gen) Their relationship is strictly business. Megatron archives usually any interact they have for historical purposes. I feel like he is very neutral leaning to disliking them, but still completely neutral. If this was like in Earthspark though with this version of Megs, alarm bells would be ringing and he would be screaming at Optimus when it came to Ghost and the government in that.

Silas Kill on sight fhsdjf. Megs is more passive, but Silas awakens all urges to kill in him. Idk how Silas would work in this AU tbh, but maybe he does still end up kidnapping Breakdown and Bumblebee and stealing things from them (BD's eye and Bee's T-Cog), and Megatron is the first one to be willing to kill him. Is this related to trauma from being a low caste miner and how he was treated like a tool/object that can be broken down for parts? Maybe :).

June (Jack's Mom) You know that scene where June asks about where Optimus is and goes "Oh, i even wore heels~". Yeah that, but now include Clerk!Megs. Megatron, of course, respects June and her profession! But ma'am, why are you flirting with him, you are confusing him to no end.

I don't have words beyond "yes please"

[robby-bobby-tommy]

I couldn't left Cliffjumper behind. He suffered enough. And him and Arcee were very funny, wish we'd see them more.

Super decepticon practice dump.

And humans. Not fond of how adults came out.

1/2

[gelu-the-babosa-multiversal]

Live PRIME reaction after Megatron is shrunk by one of Shockwave's experiments. Luckey for team Prime, June offered her services to take care of the now human-size warlord.

Jack is screaming in the background with an axe in his hands...

[witchofthesouls]

Is it weird that I think June Darby and Megatron can be great bitch-at-brunch friends or petty nemeses?

[wyrm-with-a-why]

June and Megatron become friends and June invites her to the Single Mom Club where a bunch of moms drink and bitch about their bad ex’s or annoying kids or both.

(I need to write this one of these days)

Jack having a fucking crisis when the lord of decepticons brings his mom home passed out drunk

Literally that’s so funny😭

[comicarc]

𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐢𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 (𝐈𝐈)

previous ◆ next

Eva just wanted to escape Jasper after she graduated high school, but recent circumstances have made it seem like an impossible endeavor. She's seen things she shouldn't have, heard things that should never be said, and felt things she should never feel. Maybe she'll make it out on top, or drown from the hauntings of her past. or An inside look into every character of TFP, their grief, struggle, past and present, through the eyes of my OC (with a little romance). *TW for abuse, psychological and physical trauma, kidnapping & death*

wc: 4592

𝙸𝚗𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚗𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝, 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚖𝚜 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚏𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝

●・○・●・○・●

The elevator doors had parted revealing the most beautiful night sky that Eva had ever witnessed. The Moon, though bigger and brighter than usual, paled in comparison to its neighbors. The sky seemed almost white with the abundance of stars and galaxies that covered the void of space. Crickets chirped, tumbleweeds rustled, and the wind whistled. She was engulfed in a soft melody, feeling as though she were in a painting. This was the peace after the storm.

She moved to sit at the edge of the faux mesa as Optimus eased to sit beside her. He offered her a place in his hand to which she obliged by climbing on. In the softly illuminated area, Eva could barely make out his face, yet the many scratches and indents that adorned it remained quite noticeable.

As Optimus moved her closer to his face, he began, “Are you certain that you are alright?”

“I am.”

“Well then, let us begin with how you came to be there.”

“One of his soldiers, or Decepticons, kidnapped me a few days ago. I’m not sure what his intentions were.”

“The day you met Arcee was the day that the Decepticons had labeled you a target by association. It was an inexcusable foresight on my part to not have ensured your safety as I had done with our other human companions…If I may, what transpired during your predicament?”

To tell or not to tell, that was the question. Eva hesitated, preparing her response to be vague but not so much so as to raise suspicion, though, his delicacy regarding the matter did appeal to her. “I remained in their medical unit the entire time, in the company of Megatron. I rationed what little food and water I had, and I slept most days to conserve my energy. It was not eventful, just silent.”

“I am glad that you did not have to endure any more than this. You must have observed Megatron frequently. How was he?” His tone seemed longing, for his voice softened as he asked his question.

“Barely alive, but alive nonetheless. He had a gaping hole in the center of his chest, but I believe that Knockout, I think, repaired him.” His face was no longer knit in worry but rather eased into relief. It was clear to Eva that Optimus was true to his tale and that he still held affection for his former ‘brother’.

The two sat perched on the ledge until Eva had fallen asleep in his palm. Then, he opted to drive her home himself, no groundbridges necessary. While he was parked outside her house, he let her sleep in his backseat the entire night, for he was too concerned for her diminished health.

●・○・●・○・●

“Raf, what happened?”

Eva was met with Raf’s worried voice on the other end of the phone as he explained, “Bumblebee never picked me up for school and his comm link is off again. Any idea where he is?”

“Hmm, why not ask Ratchet for a ground bridge?” As soon as the words left her mouth, Eva panicked. She hadn’t been introduced to the bot, only knowing as much as the stories of the Covenant had led her to believe.

“I’m sorry, could you repeat that? I couldn’t hear you.” Thank god.

“I’ll come and pick you up since Optimus and I are still on the way.”

“Great!” With that, the call ended, but Eva’s fears still remained prevalent for Optimus had still heard her.

Thus, he began to question, “Have you acquainted with Ratchet already.” There was a hint of disappointment in his voice but Eva’s paranoia had prevented her from noticing it.

After a moment of silence, she began, “I heard his name and saw him in passing, so I just assumed…”

“Ah…That reminds me, you must stay at the base after your school day has finished as you are safest in our care.”

Eva pondered on the statement, considering whether she would have to invent some lie to inform Silas about her new situation. Then the memory of her in the canal and on the Nemesis led her to decide that Optimus was in fact right. After this contemplation, she nodded her head and looked out the passenger window at the rows of houses beside.

She went about her day as she had normally: she met her friends before class, ate lunch with Jack, and proceeded to do her homework on the bleachers during her free period as she watched the football players practice. The only exception was that at the start of every class, she had to provide a reason for her absence. She concocted a story that some relative of hers had died abruptly and stuck with it for the duration of the day. After the final bell rang, Eva met with Raf and Optimus to head back to base and investigate Bumblebee���s worrying state.

●・○・●・○・●

“Bumblebee is complaining of intermittent visions. Waking nightmares if you will. The experience he endured seems to be having a temporary effect on his psyche. This induced power down should force Bumblebee’s mind to rest and recover,” Ratchet diagnosed.

As Ratchet finished, the monitor at the center of the room displayed a live feed of Agent Fowler, whom Raf had told her to be the liaison of the Autobots. The bots headed towards the screen, as Eva trailed behind Optimus’ foot, curious and cautious of this new person. He informed them about a Decepticon mining operation taking place in the Arctic among other things. When the call ended, Optimus announced that the team would be heading out after he did his routine patrol around the base.

Afterward, Eva roamed the base for the umpteenth time, trying to familiarize herself with the place, she found Arcee standing in the middle of the hall. Her head was tilted and her metal eyebrows furrowed as she stared at a broken steel horn in her palm.

“Hey, you ok?” Eva began, trying to ignite a conversation.

“That obvious?” Arcee replied with a faint chuckle.

“What’s in your hand?”

“A piece of…my past.” Arcee turned her gaze toward Eva. Her head hung low and she seemed tired.

There was no need for her to press on something that seemed to be hurting Arcee, but Eva still had questions that needed answering. “About that evening, when the cons jumped me and Jack. Why didn’t you come back?”

“I came to this planet with a partner.” Arcee paused for a moment, choosing her words carefully. She kneeled down and stretched her palm to give the piece of the horn to Eva before continuing. “And now, I’ll leave this planet without him. I still can’t wrap my head around that idea. When I met you and Jack, I was grieving. I guess the only way I was able to hold myself together was by having tunnel vision. Solving the problems in front of me and forgetting about the rest.”

Eva moved her hands to hold onto Arcee’s fingers, leaving the horn to rest on her palm as she reassured, “I know how you feel. That feeling of when everything doesn’t seem to matter anymore. What does matter though, is you did what you could, right?”

Arcee smiled as she answered, “You’re pretty strong for a human. Smart too.”

With a chuckle, Eva let go of Arcee’s finger. Together they headed down the hall to the ground bridge. After seeing the remaining bots off as they headed to the Arctic, Eva turned her attention towards Raf.

He seemed to be grieving as well. Not for the death of a sentient life, but rather the death of a soul. There was so much uncertainty with Bee’s condition. No one knew if we would ever get him back. The cortical psychic patch was a notably notorious device, but due to it being a relatively new technology, there was very little information noted about it in the Covenant.

Unlike Arcee, Raf seemed to remain optimistic, speaking his head off to the powered-down bot. Eva sat down beside the boy, listening to him ramble on about his newest project for the Memorial High Science Fair.

After a while, Ratchet made his way over to the two humans and informed, “Rafael, I’m afraid Bumblebee can’t hear you in power-down mode. It’s getting late, why don’t I bridge you and Eva home to your families?”

Rafael responded, “Because I told Bee I’d stay. He’s family too.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re not even the same species.”

“That’s being related. It’s not the same thing. I’ll show you.” Raf pulled out his blue flip phone and displayed an image of his parents and siblings posing for a Christmas photo shoot. “This is my family.”

“Hmm, yes very nice,” Ratchet mumbled.

Raf corrected, “Very large. Sometimes I can shout and no one hears me. But Bumblebee always listens and I can understand him. I’m not sure why, but I do.”

A smile spread across Ratchet’s normally stoic face. He, along with Raf, then turned their heads towards me.

Ratchet questioned, “And why do you want to stay?”

Eva thought for a moment before answering, “You all saved me. That makes you the only family I’ve got left.”

●・○・●・○・●

Ratchet left to repair one of his instruments leaving Eva and Raf to play a racing game on his computer. Just as Raf was about to beat her, Bee powered back up and began to walk away from the two toward the controls. Alarmed, Eva and Raf ran after the bot as he calibrated the ground bridge. Ratchet came running from behind, as the three watched Bumblebee walk into the ground bridge. Eva, Raf, and Ratchet analyzed the location that Bee had inputted into the system.

Ratchet had a look of worry as he explained, “These are the coordinates of our previous battle with Megatron’s undead.”

Eva chimed, “Maybe we should call Optimus.”

“Optimus is busy preventing a polar ice cap from melting. We need to handle this on our own.”

Ratchet opened the ground bridge again, allowing Bee to re-enter the base with dark Energon in hand. The aura emanating from it along with the stench of death invading the clean air made Eva feel nauseated. It felt as if pure evil had touched her leaving the hairs on the back of her neck standing. The blood of Unicron. To her left, Raf and Ratchet seemed to be physically fine, just shocked at the sight. Why was this only happening to her?

Bumblebee made his way forward, shoving Ratchet out his way as he re-calibrated the ground bridge and set them for new coordinates. He turned his attention towards Raf, grabbed him and set him down on one of the large embedded fans on the other side of the room. Eva hid behind a couch, trying to stay as quiet as possible.

When she heard his footsteps receding, Eva rushed down the platform steps as quietly as she could and ran after him through the groundbridge. After everything that had transpired in the last few days, she had come to appreciate these new beings. She couldn’t leave him be. The family that she had longed to have since she was ten was here. He was family.

Her mind went blank when she was met with the presence of Megatron’s still body once again. Eva tried to pound on Bee’s foot with her fists to prevent him from reaching Megatron. Yet, Bumblebee marched forward ignoring her incessant and futile attempts, and stabbed the Decepticon leader with the shard.

His eyes immediately opened revealing blood red irises with white pupils. His eyebrows were knit together in a menacing expression as his mouth curled into a smile revealing razor-sharp jagged teeth. As Raf and Ratchet entered the room, Megatron stood looming over them. A few Decepticon soldiers hurried inside as well and stopped in their tracks as they saw their leader standing healthy.

“Decepticons, you’re rightful lord and master has returned!” Looking beside him at his soldiers, Megatron commanded, “Finish these pests. I have my own extermination to perform.”

As he walks through the automatic doors, he looked curiously at Eva. They locked eyes for what seemed like hours, the momentary silence between them speaking volumes louder than any words could express. Eva felt as though he was giving her recognition, almost like a silent thanks for her accompaniment all those days ago. She shook her head, trying to physically restrain herself from deluding herself further.

●・○・●・○・●

“Death is mercy.”

The archivist looked beside him, looking into the solemn eyes of one whom he considered a brother. His optics were drawn to the large dents and scratches that littered the steel-gray metal exterior. Some wounds looked to be recent as traces of dried Energon trailed from them. Others looked to have been scars inflicted from the bot’s time in the mines; rock and metal simultaneously scraping and confining him all hours of the day as he slaved away.

The former slave, remained quiet as he observed the archivist’s interest. He was never one to elaborate, always keeping mum unless absolutely necessary. He knew his words had weight and he refused to crush others with them unless of course, they were the reason for his existence. The archivist was most definitely not one of them, an oppressor. He was a brother. One that he hoped to share his vision of the future with.

“Why?”

The former slave was piqued by the young archivist’s lust for knowledge, or rather, for the truth. Looking away from the innocent optics of the young bot, the former slave turned his head towards the horizon, formulating his response. He watched as the sun dipped, bringing forth an unwanted twilight to blanket the sky. He hated the darkness as it reminded him of his time underground.

“Only then would I be free.”

The archivist looked at the bot beside him puzzled. Freedom, as defined by his beloved archives, was the power to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance. Sitting on the ledge of one of the tallest skyscrapers in Iacon, the two were as free as can be. Free from the restraint of gravity, being able to observe the snoozing city from the clouds. Free from the burdens of responsibility, to be chained by the antics of politics or the routine of a conventional job. Free from slavery.

Basking in the presence of the setting sun, the two remained silent, enjoying a shared understanding. Some would observe them as a master mentoring his student, but really, their ordeal was one of two brothers. They were family and that would never change, or so they thought.

Soon they departed from the sacred ledge, as they had done at the start of every night. Retiring each to their cities, the former slave to his quarters in Kaon’s pits and the archivist to his quarters in the Hall of Records.

The next morning, every bot filed into the arena in Iacon for the ceremony of naming a new Prime. Orion wandered into the premises and observed the crowd to find his brother. Megatronus stood out like a sore thumb, his large bulky figure towered over those around him and his gray monotone exterior contrasted that of the colorful seekers he sat beside.

Noticing Orion below, Megatronus opted to stand and push his way through the mob that had gathered around him. His descent from the metallic steps sounded like music to Orion’s ears, who almost jumped up in elation. Finally, making it to his side, Megatronus put a hand on Orion’s shoulder sharing a look of anticipation with the younger bot.

Their leader and the current prime, Sentinel Prime, graced the eager audience with his presence as he appeared on the balcony of the arena with Alpha Trion at his side along with a few other High Council members.

He began with the routine speech that every Prime had bestowed for the last few centuries. Megatronus having seen such a commencement once before, had very little enthusiasm for such formalities. Orion on the other hand was bursting with glee and excitement as he was witnessing such a historic event for the first time in his life cycle. Megatronus looked down at him, smiling at the sight of Orion’s glee…

Eva snapped out of her trance as she awoke. These thoughts, these robots, this memory. It wasn’t hers. It seemed to be Megatron’s, but to Eva, that seemed absurd. There was no reason nor connection that would enable such a strange thing as sharing memories. Regardless, of how, Eva decided that she needed to tell someone about this before the situation got out of hand like it did with Bee. Yet it would have to wait a bit longer, she had to deal with school first.

The hours passed quickly and before she knew it, Eva had finished her school day. She sat on the bleachers much longer than she normally did as she waited for Optimus to get back from his outing. She could have gotten a ride from any of the other bots, but she wanted to spend more time with her new guardian.

Below her, in the field, she observed the players with a keen eye. Left with nothing to occupy herself with, she decided to study the game. The players on the varsity football team at Memorial High were no D1 athletes, but they were still quite high in the district rankings. Every player was relatively nice except for their star player–Vince. He wasn’t just a bully, he was an absolute terror to everyone that wasn’t in his little gang.

Though he often tortured Jack with his antics, he held no obvious animosity towards Eva. He only ever made fun of her out of association, never actually remarking anything specifically about her. Eva always brushed his comments aside whenever she heard him in the halls. At the bleachers though, that was a different story.

“Hey, pretty lady,” Vince whispered behind her, causing her to jolt forward.

Everyone at school knew the sibling-like bond that she and Jack had shared for years. Thus, Eva never understood why he was so nice to her when they were alone. She would’ve mistaken such actions as advances toward her long ago, but his constant torturing of Jack led her to believe otherwise.

“What do you want?” She replied sternly, trying to keep the interaction short.

“Haven’t seen Darby around the Drive-In lately and I miss his burgers. Mind telling me where he’s been?”

Ignoring his questioning altogether, Eva replied, “Shouldn’t you be down there practicing with the others.”

“And miss the rare opportunity to talk to my favorite girl?”

“Favorite girl my ass. I thought you were trying to get with Sierra.”

Amused he said, “Oh that…I just do that to piss off Darby.”

“Of course,” Eva replied, rolling her eyes.

“Hey, I’m not all that bad. How about you go out with me and I can show you just how good I can be.”

“Every day it’s something, isn’t it? Why can’t you leave me and Jack alone?”

“Darby’s a loser. You’ve gotta admit that. But you…you’re something else.”

“I know you’re baiting me, and unfortunately for you, I can see right through it. You’d be better off trying to bully someone else, cause I won’t take your shit anymore.” Eva threw the middle finger at him as she left the bleachers, bumping his shoulder on the way. Though she didn’t show it on her face, she was fuming.

Vince on the other hand, stared at her departing figure, entranced by the idea of constant rejection. He found thrill in a challenge and to him she was like no other. She was like a Christmas present wrapped in one, one that he planned to discard as soon as he ripped the packaging.

He could have chased after her but that seemed a little too desperate for him. Instead, he chose to go back to practice, smiling at the thought of his next plan to get her all to himself.

●・○・●・○・●

Optimus stood parked outside Eva’s house, waiting a while to make sure she was safe. Though he had met her only a few days ago, she seemed to be leaving quite an impact on his life. As was expected when it came to inter-species mingling, but the feeling of comfort that arose whenever she was near, resembled something that he hadn’t felt in cycles. It was undeniable that they were getting close.

He watched as a figure approached her door, clad in a trench coat and hat. He was tall for a human, his shoulders broad and his stature straight. His movements seemed calculated as with every step he took, his arms dangled at his side in a defensive position. The prime’s observations erupted worry, yet he eased as he watched Eva’s expression mirror one of recognition when she opened her front door.

Eva, on the other hand, felt insurmountable anger toward the man who stood in front of her. She knew her uncle was many things, but ignorant was not one of them. She knew that he tracked her whereabouts constantly, so why was it that the only time she was in danger, that he never came to save her?

“What the hell do you want?” She began, making her disdain apparent in her tone.

He mused, “Is that any way to greet your uncle?”

“Whatever happened to ‘keeping me safe’, huh? Did you fall off the face of the Earth or something?”

“What are you talking about? Of course, I want to keep you safe, I just wasn’t here the last few days.”

“That’s the best you got?”

“Eva, what happened to you?” His eyes reflected genuine regret and his interest in the recent scar on her palm made his frustration apparent. Taking hold of her palm, he interrogated, “What’s this?”

“That’s nothing.” Eva swiped her hand from his grasp and looked away. The memory of her kidnapping erupted in more melancholic emotions than she would have liked. She wanted to spill everything that had happened to her the past few days but realized that would only make his life more dangerous. She wanted to protect him, even if he couldn’t protect her. “Some jokers jumped me when I was near the edge of town. I was a little disoriented and couldn’t make it back home for a couple of days.”

He knew she was lying. She had no tell-tale sign of it, but it was an instinct that Silas had developed over the years. Instead of pressing into the situation further, he played along with her.

“Uh-huh. And did you get a good look at these guys?”

“No.”

“Well, if you remember anything, tell me immediately. I’ll make sure they won’t be messing with you ever again.”

“Mhm.”

“Listen…I’m heading out of town for a few days, maybe weeks. I won’t be able to use my phone since its pretty remote, but I’ll keep one of my employees watching over you. I promise you won’t go through anything like that ever again.”

“Just like that, you’re leaving again? How come you never stay?”

“Just business kid. When you join the workforce, you’ll understand.” He chuckles before he kisses Eva’s forehead and departs.

Left with an indifference that she had always felt after Silas’ visits, she slammed the door, packed her backpack, and called Optimus to meet her on the other side of the street. She knew Silas would be watching starting now, so she opted to sneak out from the backyard.

Sitting on the driver’s seat and closing the door, Eva took a long breath. Silas’ recent random check-in along with this sudden departure made it clear that there was something else going on. Regardless, he should have noticed that she went missing he should have done something to show that he cared. She didn’t want nor care about anything else, all she needed was a sign that she mattered to someone. These puzzling thoughts had translated into tears that built up in the corner of her eye, threatening to spill. It was the first time in years that she felt so pathetic, so useless, so unwanted.

Optimus, in an attempt to ease her tension, began to drive away from the neighborhood into the desert. She seemed to need some peace and quiet, and during his stay in Jasper thus far, the mech had found the perfect spot for such reverie.

They stopped at what seemed to be the center of the desert plain. Scattered cacti dotted the arid landscape and gave color to the dry, cracked earth. The breeze carried with it the faint scent of desert blooms and sun-baked earth. The silence had them in a comforting embrace, forming a sanctuary like none Eva had ever felt.

Eva got out of the truck as Optimus transformed out of his alt form. He sat with his knees bent and his arms behind him for support. Eva approached, and leaned against his foot, sitting with her hands in her lap.

Optimus began, “Would you like to talk about it?”

“What’s there to say? He always leaves and keeps his distance, but this…How could he not know what happened to me and how could he leave after knowing?” She sniffled, trying to prevent her tears from spilling again. Once she finally calmed, she whispered just loud enough for Optimus to hear, “Is he going to leave me like they did?”

Empathetic, he wanted to understand more about her situation, “And who is this man?”

“My uncle, Silas.”

Taken aback by the familiarity of the name Optimus felt reluctant to continue. Did she know what Silas did? Who he really was? Was her kidnapping all a ploy to infiltrate the team? But he brushed his doubts aside when he noticed the genuine pain on her face. Wanting to know more, he played coy. “Silas?”

Eva felt inclined to open up to Optimus. She needed someone to talk to and despite her apprehension, decided that letting him know her past wouldn’t hurt her in the long run. “My parents left me a few years ago and he’s acted like my occasional guardian ever since. I don’t know much about what he does, just that he’s ex-military and his new line of work requires him to travel a lot.”

“And do you know where he’s headed this time? What he’s up to?”

“Some remote island. Probably meeting with a business partner or something. I mean, it’s gotta be something or someone more important than me.”

Optimus understood that she had been left in the dark. Now the question was, would he break the news to her, or let her find out for herself? Either way, she’d have been betrayed, and knowing her lineage, he feared that she may very soon become a threat. As much as he had developed a liking for her, he had to put his team first. No matter what.

Eva leaned further into the mech and shot him a cheeky smile. “Thank you, for everything. It seems you’re the only family I’ve got with me now.”

“And Silas? He’s still alive.”

“But you’re here and he’s not.”

Her words erupted a disgusting guilt. He hated the fact that he had to doubt her, yet he had to remain cautious. It wasn’t the first time that someone close to him had betrayed him. Regardless, he shoved his thoughts into the back of his mind and relished the brief moment of time they had away from reality.