Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Beginning notes:
I know that gender doesn’t mean much for transformers, but it’s easier for me to do self in with said character being female cause I am female. It’s just the way my brain works. Please don’t judge and just enjoy the story.

~~~~~~~~~~

~~~ MC’s POV~~~

I was just laying down to reread my favorite comics when suddenly I felt dizzy. The world started to blur and turn to shapes. Then just as I closed my eyes to make it stop before I barfed, I heard a sound piercing through the storm.

“Op-. -ma. Opti-. Optima. Optima!”

That jolts me into opening my eyes. Only to have to look down and see the concerned face of TFP Ratchet. In really realistic 3D?

“Are you alright Optima? You zoned out for a few minutes and would not respond to my attempts to get your attention.” Ratchet asked as he reached for my arm. And to my shock, I felt it when he touched me.

I jumped back in surprise and hit something else. I look back and see a rock wall and to the left I see a very familiar ground bridge.

“Optima!” I look up again at Ratchet who now has a very confused and worried look on his face. He approached me again, more slowly this time, and takes out a tool from his subspace.

“Optima, follow this light with your optic.” He said as he shined a light in my eye.

“W-wait. What?” I asked grabbing his arm to get the light out of my eye. It’s then that I notice that for a giant alien robot, Ratchet looks pretty small to me. Even his wrist fit in my hand. My black metal hand?

I try to back up from Ratchet again to look down at the rest of my body. And instead of seeing my clothes I see metal! I need a mirror! Where was a mirror in the TFP base?! Wait they never showed any of the bots having a Cybertronian sized mirror. The monitors! The screens!

I rush past Ratchet to the monitors and look at the reflection in the screen. Instead of seeing my black hair, blue eyes, and Caucasian skin, I see very familiar blue helmet, glowing blue optics, and metallic face. I see Optima Prime staring back at me. MOVING with me. I try to pinch my cheek out of reflex and surprisingly find that even though it’s made of metal, my metallic hand is able to gather it and pinch it, painfully hard. “Ouch!” After I quickly let go i see in the reflection the living metal of a metallic alien body reshaping itself like how human skin would.

“Optima!” Ratchet yelled from right behind me. Startling me again. “What is with you? You’re acting like you’ve never seen your own face! I think I might need to scan your brain module. Hop up.” But just as Ratchet pointed to the makeshift medical berth, 2 very familiar faces walk in.

“CLIFFJUMPER?!” I yell as he and Arcee come in.

My shout clearly shocked all the occupants of the room as everyone freezes for a second. “Uh. Yeah. That’s the name don’t wear it out.” Cliff says awkwardly clearly not sure what that was about.

“You-you-you’re.” I can’t finish the rest as I look at a very alive Cliffjumper.

“Uh me and Cee are heading out right now to go patrolling.” He says, probably thinking am trying to ask what he and Arcee are doing. But the word ‘patrol’ sends me into a panic. He died when he and Arcee split up on patrol. Is he going to die? Is this the patrol he dies on?! No!

“NO! No, you can’t go on patrol!” I yell but then I wonder if Arcee will end up dying if Cliff isn’t there. “Neither of you can go out on patrol! In fact, effectively immediately, no one can leave this base until I say so! Where’s Bumblebee and Bulkhead?”

“Uh. They are out on patrol already.” Ratchet says while looking at me like I’ve grown 2 heads. I can’t worry about that though.

“Bridge them back!”

“What? But-“

“Bridge them back right now, Ratchet! That’s an order!” I yell again. Staring at him hoping he’ll understand how grave and serious I am about this. It takes a minute but apparently I must have Optima’s dead serious face because Ratchet caves and goes over to the ground bridge controls. In just a few minutes Bee and Bulkhead are in the base safe and sound.

“All right. We’re all here. Now can you please explain to us-“ Ratchet starts but I don’t let him finish.

“Alright. Now as I was saying earlier. No one is allowed to leave the base for anything! I don’t care what it is! Everyone stay here until I say otherwise! Now if you’ll excuse me. I need to uh go to my room. By myself. Please don’t disturb me. I need to think. Alone.” I say all this as I back up to one of the halls.

It’s only once I’ve turned down that hall that I realize, I have absolutely no idea where Optima’s room is. Once I turn a corner further out of everyone’s sight, I try to meditate and access Optima’s memories like I’ve read people doing in Isekai comics. I do get some of her memories, her much earlier memories back before the war when she was Andromeda Pax, but I’m not getting anything recent! This is very bad.

I walked down the aisles and peek into every room I find hoping to find something that indicates that one of these rooms is Optima’s. With no luck. I eventually do find a large empty room. I recognize it from the Synthetic Energon episode. I think it’s a room they use for training. But right now this room will serve my purpose for now. Walking inside I try to lock all the doors. Once I secure the room, I immediately begin pacing. It’s how I can think best as a human and apparently it’s the same now.

Did I just get isekaied into TFP?

Okay calm down and look at the facts. I am in a Cybertronian body, but not just any Cybertronian, I am in Optima Prime’s, the leader of the Autobots, body. Judging my how I and the other Autobots look and how the base looks I am in the Transformers Prime continuity. And judging from Cliffjumper’s presence this is before the TFP series started.

The question is, how did I get here?

I try to remember everything I know about isekai. Usually when the mc is isekaied into someone else’s body, it’s because the mc has died. There’s been a few exceptions but not many. But for the life of me I can’t remember dying. I was wide awake, healthy, I didn’t overwork or over exhausted myself, I was in my room not an accident. The only times people just find themselves in another world without dying are usually in their own bodies. So really my whole situation is just one contradiction after another.

I’ll have to try to figure how I got here later. A much more immediate question I should answer is, what am I going to do now? In most isekais there is a common element, there is no way back. At least no safe way, and I am not so desperate to get back that I would sell my soul or any such nonsense. So it would be best and safest to proceed like I am going to be here indefinitely.

If I’m going to stay, then there’s 1 thing I definitely don’t want to do, I don’t want to fight a war! I’m one of those humans who is very sensitive to visual blood and gore. I couldn’t even watch the more gory tv shows and movies because the sight would make me nauseous! Even the more gory images in the comics still haunt me sometimes. My knowledge of the Transformers movies is all from reading about them not actually watching them! If I go out into a battle and see people dying and bleeding out and getting limbs cut off I won’t need to worry about pretending to be Optima, I’ll most likely be too busy throwing up! If I don’t out right faint!

I could probably desensitize myself to that, with a lot of time, and work, and if I put my heart in it. But that that’s just it, I don’t have my heart in it. As entertaining as action and battle are in cartoons, in real life, I never was interested in real battle warfare. So I’m not interested in continuing this war. I’d much rather end peacefully.

And actually I’m more on the Decepticon’s side. I was originally an Autobot like everyone else as a kid. But after reading IDW, my favorite comic I was rereading, I became completely sympathetic to the Decepticon’s. And according to Andromeda’s memories, their situation is identical in this universe as in IDW. The constructed cold racism, the Functionism, the slavery, the complete disregard for life, the caste system, the abuse of the higher caste and rich on the lower and poor, even The Institute existed here! And let’s not forget the nightmare of the Functionist Universe. I don’t want to be associated with fighting to protect that!

And even if I did use my knowledge of the future to end the war, my troubles would not end there! In every continuity where the war ended, so much happened after the war. Quintessans, betrayal of former allies, the Galactic Council turning against Cybertron, Neutrals turning against the armies, usurpers trying to take down the victors while they are weak, and of course, there is the hassle of rebuilding an entire planet! I can’t handle all that by myself!

And as much as I know the Autobots would be infinitely loyal to me and do their best to support me, I’m not interested in a leadership position. I can’t handle that responsibility. I don’t have the charisma to inspire an army or mass population. I don’t even have courage to do public speaking without notes or some support in my ear. Not to mention there’s the power imbalance between me and the other Autobots.

The Autobots almost worship Optima Prime like a god! I blame the past Primes like Sentinel for that mindset. If I were to win the war and defeat the Decepticons with future knowledge like some prophet, that worship would only get worse, and any bad decisions I make afterwards would go unquestioned.

I need an ally who would be an equal who is not afraid or reluctant to fight me, or better yet a superior with all the right characteristics of a leader but who would hear me as I advise them with my future knowledge. And the only person in this universe I can think of who could possibly meet that requirement, is Megatron.

But would Megatron be open for an alliance? I begin meditating on everything I knew about TFP Megatron. And find out I don’t know that much. In TFP, all we see is Megatron after he has become a Dark Energon junkie. But if Cliff is here and I can intervene before Megatron starts taking Dark Energon, I’d get a different Megatron from what was portrayed in the series. I started delving into Andromeda’s memories of Megatronus, and actually like what I see. He was a lot like the Megatron and D-16 from the IDW comics. I don’t even try to consider his actions during war. All leaders make hard choices during wartime, I do not believe that even Optima is an exception no matter what the Autobots might say. What matters here is what choices would Megatron make during peace times?

And I rather like what I remember. All the Megatrons in every continuity where there was a post war he lived in made very good choices. Well, all the Megatrons that were not irreversibly corrupted by some dark power. Once TFP Megatron was cleansed from Unicron and the dark energon influence he went into exile to not further harm people, Earthspark Megatron even worked to build the peace, and IDW Megatron eventually worked to promote better rules and legislation in the new Cybertron before going on the Lost Light and even trying to fix the Functionist Universe.

Yes, getting Megatron as an ally in peace is the best choice. But even without the Dark Energon corrupting him this will not be easy. Megatron and Optima have bad blood. Millions of years of bad blood. Even if I approach him about peace and building the future together and crushing any problems ahead of time there’s no way to know if he will even agree to it. He could just as easily deny it for no other reason than the bad blood.

But is it worth it? Is it worth it to possibly get killed in order to propose a possible peace that most will undoubtedly oppose and even fight?

Yes. Yes it is. I am a Cybertronian now. And even though I don’t want the responsibility, I can’t deny that because i am in Optima’s body, I am partially responsible for the future of the entire race. If things progress as they are, that future is going to be extinction sooner or later.

A world where the race not only survives but thrives. A world where all the characters I know and love are able to live and have a life. Yes, that reward is worth any risk.

I just need to make peace with Megatron at whatever cost. The Autobots are not going to like this.

~~~~~~~~~~

End notes:

I am completely opened and welcomed to comments. If I feel inspired with any I might even be able to finish this fic. I’m usually pretty bad with adding filler scenes in between major events and scenes.

Or if you just enjoyed the story, pretty please leave a comment and feedback. Would really appreciate it to hear if people are enjoying my style of story telling. Thank you!

Chapter Text

Beginning notes:

“Italics is used for transmitted dialogue. Be it over comms or bonds.”

~~~~~~~~~~

~~~Megatron’s POV~~~

“Decepticons! I have returned.”

It felt good to be back with my army. But it will feel even better once my plans are completed. I am so close to eradicating the Autobots I can taste it.

“Of the energon deposited we have located while you were away Lord Megatron, this one is by far the most significant.”Starscream drones on, but I can hardly pay attention. He needs to see that whatever privilege filled life he has lived these past 3 years is over. “The drones have men mining without pause during your absence and have amassed quite a stockpile. You there fetch me a sample!”

“Starscream! Now that I have returned, I will issue the commands.”

“I understand Lord Megatron. Then as your humble servant, shall I ready the space bridge, to -“ before Starscream can finish the sound of static is heard and we both turn to see Soundwave.

"Attention Soundwave. This is Optima Prime.”

“Soundwave! What is the meaning of your interupting us with Optima Prime’s voice?!” Starscream yells. He never did like getting interrupted. But I too share his sentiment for once. What could be so important that Soundwave would interrupt us instead of waiting for later to reveal some message from Prime? In the past whenever Prime has sent ultimatums or other nonsense messages about peace or ending the war, Soundwave would receive them then delete them. I had gotten sick of hearing them after the 25th time on Cybertron.

“I trust you are receiving and recording this message. And that you will be able to deliver it to Lord Megatron as soon as he returns, without Starscream’s meddling.”

Starscream lets out of sputter of indignant at hearing that. And though I also found it amusing that Prime would call out Starscream’s regular interference in my authority, there was something else about the message that already caught me off guard. Prime addressed me as ‘Lord Megatron.’ She has never called me that. In the beginning she would call me ‘Megatronus.’ An obvious play at our past. Then later she addressed me as ‘Megatron.’ Clearly not seeing me as the supreme Lord of the Decepticons and rightful leader. What had changed now for her to address me as such?

“Please inform Lord Megatron that I wish to personally surrender to him, and wish to meet up, just the two of us, to discuss the terms of my surrender.”

“WHAT?! Has Prime lost her senses?! What makes her assume we would fall for such a blatant trap?! Meet ‘alone’ at a place of her choosing so her Autobots in hiding can attack you my Liege.” Starscream interjected his opinion. But I was growing more curious. It would be too obvious if that were Prime’s plan.

“To prove that I am serious about the surrender and that this is not a trap, I will leave it up to Lord Megatron to decide where and when we will meet. Though I sincerely hope it is sooner rather than later, as I wish to end the war as quickly as possible.”

Well that squashed Starscream’s theory that this is a trap. But it did not answer what Prime is playing at.

“You will be able to deliver his reply to me on this same frequency. Optima Prime, signing off."

That whole message is just full of surprises. Now I can see why Soundwave would save this message and show it to me. Addressing me as Lord repeatedly, offering a surrender instead of a truce or peace talks, giving me all the power of the meeting and not even trying to make it appear that we would have equal footing. It was almost like Optima Prime was already submitting herself to my mercy. And the mere image of that gave quite a thrill. I can get back to the Dark Energon later now that I have it in storage. This is a once in a lifetime time opportunity.

“Soundwave, send Prime a message. Tell her that I will mercifully accept her complete surrender. And that I will meet her at these coordinate in 3 minutes.” I send Soundwave the coordinates. It is a clearing that is only a 1 minute flight from here. I can get there early and have 2 minutes to prepare to ambush her. If she thinks I will just accept her surrender she is sorely mistaken.

“Master! You cannot seriously be considering-!” I do not let Starscream finish. I have to hurry if I am to get there first.

“Silence Starscream! You and Soundwave return to the Nemesis! No one is to follow me! I will handle Optima Prime myself.” I quickly transform and fly to the rendezvous location, trusting Soundwave to make sure Starscream obeys.

However, as I fly closer, I see the bright red of Optima Prime’s armor before I even get to the clearing. Did she bridge herself here immediately after receiving my message? A quick scan shows that there is no other life around, so she didn’t bring her Autobots.

But still I didn’t get where I am today by underestimating my enemies. Transforming back to root mode I slowly and stealthily make may way to Optima Prime. I’ll observe her for a few minutes. See how she reacts when I am ‘late’ to our meeting, and maybe get a clue as to what she is planning.

As soon as I have her in my sights again, I hear alarm bells going off in my processor. This is wrong. Optima Prime is wrong!

Instead of quietly standing still and stoically waiting for my arrival, she is pacing and muttering under her breath. And she is alternately between making wild and crazy gestures with her hands, ringing them together in front of her, and even nibbling on the tips of them! She is even allowing her antennas to move and wiggle around in nervousness!

I had actually forgotten they could move since Optima kept them disconnected to her neural net. A safety promotion in case they are ever broken off in battle. Which I had tried to take advantage of in the past but failed because they were disconnected. Furthermore, she is clearly not paying attention to her surroundings to be on guard for my arrival. Even when she was Andromeda Pax, she was not THIS transparent with her thoughts and emotions. And since becoming Optima Prime she has NEVER let herself be this helpless and vulnerable. This is NOT Optima Prime!

Could this really be a trap? Could the Autobots have somehow found a way to make a body double of their leader to distract me? Or is this someone who has replaced Optima Prime? Another sweep of the area again reveals no signs of an ambush. And a closer inspection of her armor reveals scars and marks from our previous battles. How could a fake be this accurate in replicating her body?

Whatever the case, I will get to the bottom of this. I look for any signs of an ambush again, then I briefly consider calling my ship for backup. There’s no telling what this impostor is capable of. But I want to figure this mystery out myself. Call it pride. Call it obsession. But whatever is going on that Optima Prime is involved with, I want to find out the answer by myself. Even if I have to tear this imposter limb from limb.

~~~~~~~~~~

End notes:

I am completely opened and welcomed to comments. If I feel inspired with any I might even be able to finish this fic. I’m usually pretty bad with adding filler scenes in between major events and scenes.

Or if you just enjoyed the story, pretty please leave a comment and feedback. Would really appreciate it to hear if people are enjoying my style of story telling. Thank you!

Chapter Text

~~~MC’s POV~~~

Immediately after Megatron’s message came in, I personally programmed in the coordinates in the ground bridge (it had taken me a while to work out how the bridge worked without making Ratchet suspicious), and ordered the others again to not follow or intervene no matter what again. Then I ran through and made sure no one followed.

I was 3 minutes early but I needed to psych myself up for this without the Autobots breathing down my neck. This is actually the first breather I’ve had since I isekaied here a week ago. Because of my order for everyone to stay in the base, everyone has been closely watching me as I made my plans and delivered the message. I don’t regret saving everyone by giving that order but I have felt completely suffocated.

I spent that first day making my plans and then sending Soundwave my message. The future hinged on Megatron getting that message ASAP. The Autobots did not react well after my message was sent. In their defense though it did seem like a hasty 180 degree plan.

“Optima what were you thinking?!” Arcee yelled first, but that was only because she recovered from her shock faster than the others after they heard my message I sent.

“You can’t surrender to Megatron! What about the Autobot cause? What about all the lives lost?! What about Cybertron?! Are you just going to let him get away with it all?!” Arcee accused in rage

“It’s because of the lives lost and Cybertron that I’m doing this! If we keep going as we are, how many more lives are we going to lose? And for what? What even is the Autobot cause anymore? Protecting sentient life? We can do it without fighting. Defeating the Decepticons? Why do we even need to defeat them on the first place?”

“They destroyed Cybertron!!” Ratchet bellowed.

“They are not the only one! Are you saying we didn’t use explosives? Or destroy cities the Decepticons occupied? The humans have a saying ‘it takes two to tango.’ That’s what this war, that’s what this destruction has truly been about. One side does something violent and destructive, and the other side reacts in kind. This whole war has just been one big back-and-forth circle while claiming that is it for some nobler cause. There is no right or wrong in war. There is no innocent or guilty. There’s just the survivors or the dead. They’ve killed mechs we’ve loved and cared about yes, but they can say the exact same of us! And I for one have had enough of Cybertronians dying for no good reason. This cycle will never stop until someone takes the necessary steps to put a stop to it.”

“But why does it have to be you? You’re the Prime! And Megatron is the one who started this war! Why not have him do it?!” Arcee argues back.

“It’s because I’m the Prime that I have to be the one to do it! My predecessors were the one who built the corruption that sparked the revolution! Not Megatron and the Decepticons! They were just the natural cause and effect of a corrupt and abusive system that killed them and theirs before a war even started. If the Primes of the past had just submitted to the legitimate complains of their own people there would have been no war at all. Technically I’m going to do what is right by taking responsibility for my predecessors’s wrongs!”

“Then why now?! Of all times to do this? Why now?!” Ratchet yells now.

“I don’t know!” That gets me to stop yelling as shame fills me. It also results in the others going quiet as well. “I don’t know why I didn’t just surrender to Megatron as soon as the Councel was destroyed. It would have been a good time too. Megatron was the leader and spokesmen of the group that had won and just wanted to make themselves heard. Logically that made him leader after the tyrants were defeated. I can’t remember why I continued fighting, but whatever my reason at the time, it clearly did not come to pass.”

No one can say anything to this as the truth comes out. “I don’t remember what the Autobot cause was. I don’t remember why we keep kept desperately fighting. All I know now is that we are dying now. All of us are dying. Even if by some miracle 1 or 2 of us did become the last Cybertronians standing what good would it do. You can’t rebuild a planet with just a few mechs, and how long would it take before those few also died? With all the enemies we’ve made by alienating ourselves from the Galactic Counsel and all the planets who have been casualties of our war, how long before they find out that only a few are left and finish the job themselves out of revenge for what our kind has done to them?”

I watch all of their faces carefully. Clearly none of them thought about what would happen after the war even if we did ‘win.’ It truly was a lost cause.

“That’s why I am going to do whatever it takes to build a peaceful end to the war. With so few of us left the only hope we have for avoiding all out extinction is together.”

“Megatron won’t accept it. He’ll kill you.” Arcee said, not a hint of doubt in her voice.

“I was willing to die for a pointless war. I am willing to die for potential peace.” This statement ended the argument. But not the harassing.

The rest of my week was spent with the Autobots constantly harassing me. Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and Cliffjumper were much quieter about their protests than Ratchet and Arcee but they did put in their 2 cents. First it was about the surrender, then it was about how I opened myself to a death trap, then as I noted down all the things I wanted to discuss with Megatron it became every little detail! I tried to keep my notes hidden from them, but they would not leave me alone! And they opposed everything! Then when they learned that I planned to step down as Prime and put Megatron in charge, they lost it again.

“You can’t be serious! Megatron?! Leader?! You are the leader of Cybertron! You were the one chosen by the Matrix!” Ratchet yelled.

“What good is a leader who will not take every avenue, every sacrifice for her people when they are suffering? I don’t know why the Matrix chose me or why it didn’t ditch me long ago. But I’m not just doing this as a means of self punishment or even for Megatron. I’m doing it for the future. In the past, tyrannical mechs were able to trick and abuse the Primacy’s absolute power too easily.

“If this peace is going to work and the Cybertron race is going to survive, it is critical to make sure what happened before never happens again. Removing the Prime’s power and establishing a system where a competent and worthy mech is chosen through trials and tests is just one of the ways we can do that. And there are also many ways we can make sure that mech never has too much power. I’ve been researching the different government systems here on Earth and I think I have some ideas that we can adapt.”

“Where did this come from Prime.” Ratchet asked. “Why the sudden change in heart about, everything.”

As I looked at him I knew I couldn’t tell the Autobots the truth. They would accuse me of replacing their precious Prime and sabotaging their war efforts. And technically I really was rocking the boat for them. Not the most subtle changes I could be making to this world but I didn’t have much time and was desperate. And maybe we were at the stage where drastic actions were the only way to bring change.

“I’ve been thinking long and hard about hard about this. I just didn’t tell any of you.”

“You mean you didn’t trust any of us.” Ratchet looked hurt, and I couldn’t blame him after how that sounded.

“Look how you all have reacted so far. It’s been days and you are all still more comfortable with the idea of doing what we’ve been doing for millions of years even though it’s destroying us.” Ratchet can’t argue against this.

The base is only so big compared to us. It is not hard to hear what everyone is thinking even when they think they are being secretive about it.

But this has only made me more determined than ever to do whatever it takes. The Autobots obviously are not. And I know the Decepticons won’t. Everyone has gotten stuck in what they feel is familiar and comfortable. I can only hope Megatron will be a bit more open minded to my surrender and the ensuing talk.

~~~~~~~~~~

End notes:

I am completely opened and welcomed to comments. If I feel inspired with any I might even be able to finish this fic. I’m usually pretty bad with adding filler scenes in between major events and scenes.

Or if you just enjoyed the story, pretty please leave a comment and feedback. Would really appreciate it to hear if people are enjoying my style of story telling. Thank you!

Chapter Text

~~~MC’s POV~~~

He’s late. It’s been 5 minutes after Megatron sent the message and he’s still not here. It’s usually not like him to be tardy. Is this a power play? An ‘I can arrive whenever I want but you can’t’ kind of thing?

But I’m not too panicked. Even if this is a trap I hold no regrets. I even left a will in my room back at the base (I eventually did find it). It states that if I die I don’t want anyone getting revenge for me. I want them to continue my last wish and try to negotiate peace and an end of the war. They can even use me as a martyr as proof of how sincere we are about wanting peace and being willing to die for it instead of fight. They are probably not going to be happy when they read it but I hope they still follow my will.

CRASH!!!

“AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!”

Something big and heavy suddenly crashes into me and rolls us to the ground!

Before I know it my head is thrown to the ground, my arms are crossed and pinned behind my back, and something pointy and very heavy is pressing on the small of my back very painfully keeping me from moving. Then a very familiar sword is stuck in the ground right in front of my face.

“Who are you?” Megatron asks from on top of me.

Scrap scrap scrap! I am sooo BUSTED! I’ve been with the Autobots for a whole week and they’re never suspended I wasn’t Optima. But here Megatron is instantly knowing I’m not her!

“Answer me!” He yells in my ear pushing me even more into the ground. “Who are you and where is the real Optima Prime? And depending on your answer I might not carve out your spark.”

I can’t do this! I’ve barely been making up excuses and half truths and avoiding answering questions with the Autobots. I know that the military trains their soldiers how to handle interrogations (something about name, rank, and serial number) but I was a civilian. I don’t do that. I can’t even outright lie, just give half truths! There’s no way I can do anything but spill the whole truth to Megatron with him interrogating me! I can’t even remember what I was planning to say to him before he pounced on me! Looks like I’ll just have to hope for the best now.

“I don’t know what happened to Optima! No! I swear I don’t know! I just woke up and I was in her body! I don’t know how it happened or why or how to reverse it!

“This is called isekai where I come from and no one knows how to reverse it! In fact,  it’s considered fiction! I’m just a human! I’m not a Cybertronian or a soldier or leader or anything! Just a normal human civilian! From an alternate universe where the Cybertronians are fiction! The average human where I’m from is not equipped to deal with this kind of thing actually happening to them!

“That’s why I called you to arrange a surrender! I don’t want to fight you! I just want to peacefully build a new life in this universe since I’ll likely be stuck in it for the rest of my life!

“And besides I don’t even get why this war is still being fought in the first place! Even the Autobots can’t give me a good answer! And they’re been bugging me all week since I got here! I mean seriously?!

“How hard is it to admit when a government is wrong and the revolutionaries are on to something?! Does immortality come at the expense of humility?! Cause that seems to be the case with immortals in the other comics I’ve read!

“And even if you were wrong about some things how hard is it to be diplomatic and discuss compromises?! So you wanted to tear down the upper caste buildings! Did no one consider proposing a compromise?! Like just stripping them of the luxury and converting them to homes for the homeless lower caste?! Bonus! Can you imagine the expression of the corrupt higher castes once they found out how their high and mighty houses they spent so much of their dirty money on were being used? And their luxuries could have been spent rebuilding and bringing about changes to improve Cybertron for the lower caste like building hospitals and schools for the lower caste and paying them for new jobs! It’s not like it could have even completely been considered stealing since they got that money through crooked means! It would have more been like returning what they had stolen to the people who made that money.

“And even if you still turned down some of the compromises did no one think yielding in some aspects so they could be heard for other compromises would be a good trade?! Are the humans the only ones who know how diplomacy works?! I wasn’t even a political science major and even I know that just from reading fictional novels and comics! You Cybertronians are supposed to be a long lived and advanced race! What do you do with all your free time? And another thing-“

~~~~~~~~~~

End notes:

I am completely opened and welcomed to comments. If I feel inspired with any I might even be able to finish this fic. I’m usually pretty bad with adding filler scenes in between major events and scenes.

Or if you just enjoyed the story, pretty please leave a comment and feedback. Would really appreciate it to hear if people are enjoying my style of story telling. Thank you!

Chapter Text

Beginning notes:

In my mind, there are 2 ways Cybertronians can blush depending on the emotion connected to it. Embarrassed causes their face plates to heat up so they light up like heating coils. Arousal on the other hand, causes their face plates to turn blue because of the rush of energon all over their body for the coming rigorous physical activity. And yes it is possible to combine both.

~~~~~~~~~~

~~~Megatron’s POV~~~

Today - has just been filled with surprises. And I can feel my processor straining to make sense of all this. ‘Isekai’? A human from another universe where we exist in fiction? Accidentally replacing Optima Prime’s spark?

In my struggle to comprehend this I end up letting this ‘human’? go and just sit there watching her and listening to what she is ranting about. She doesn’t even try to run once she is let go, or get up. She just keeps laying there, ranting, and flinging her now free arms around.

The isekai and just accidentally replacing Optima Prime still boggles my mind. But there is something very interesting that I have gotten from her rants. This ‘human’ is on my side. She is in support of my revolution and in the Autobot’s surrender. That part of the message wasn’t a lie.

But not only that, she actually has some good ideas. I never thought of just stripping the towers and converting them. It’s actually a good idea and I wish someone had proposed it during the start of my revolution. And yes the looks on the corrupt high castes mechs faces would have been glorious.

But this brings a new conundrum. What am I to do with her?

“Stop.” I command while putting my fingers to her mouth. This finally silences her. I can see her go from startled to confused to embarrassed. It looks like she got so caught up in her rant, she forgot I was here. Though the embarrassed face on Optima Prime’s face is definitely amusing. I never thought I’d see the day Optima’s face would heat up to a warm glow and her antennas would twitch in uneasiness.

“Alright. I believe you are not in Prime’s body of your own accord. You are far too nervous about all this to have done this with a solid plan. However, why should I let you live?” Just because she does not want to interfere with me and has good ideas doesn’t mean she is an ally and not a potential threat. “I could kill you now and make sure Optima never returns. Crush the Autobot’s hope and light by snuffing their leader for good.” Her optics open to their widest setting in alarm. She slowly backs up with her head down but her optics locked on me as I prowl closer to her and raise my servo to her throat. Yet she doesn’t run. She just turns onto her back and scrunches up her legs while raising her servos to the sides of her helm where her antennas are folded back on her helm. Making her look even smaller and more vulnerable and submissive.

“I have knowledge of the future!” She says in a hurry. While looking for all the world like she is trying to tell me with her body language ‘I am completely helpless and at your mercy! But please don’t kill me!’ “I watched and read all about this universe and how it pans out in the future! You of all people should know that knowledge is power. Imagine what you could do with an advisor who has knowledge of future threats!”

That does sound very handy and tempting. But I am no a shallow fool who cannot see the long distance ramifications.

“However, you are making drastically different decisions from the true Optima Prime you witnessed and read about. Therefore the outcome of the future will be drastically differently from what you know. What good is a prophetic advisor who knows of a circumvented future?” I am now looming over her with my servo resting on her neck. It would be very easy to slice her throat with my claws. However, despite the danger, she has a very interesting reaction. She blushes! Her face takes on a blue tone from the energon in her veins rushing to her face! And I can feel from her neck cables her spark beat escalating! Very surprising.

“I-I don’t just know about the original future here.” She stutters in a small submissive voice. “ I also know what happened in other universes whenever a truce was established. I can reveal them all to you and help you plan for any eventuality that may come from after peace. And there’s plenty of information about past events that affected the future that I can reveal to you. That will definitely still be relevant and of great help to you.”

I stare at her, thinking deeply about what she has said. So it’s not so much that she has knowledge of the future, but that she has knowledge of many highly probable futures. That could come in handy. But she could still be trying to deceive me.

“Prove it.” I demand. She’ll likely say something obscure and in the distant future.

“You’ve found Dark Energon and are planning on experimenting with it to see if it really can bring the dead back to life. And then you’ll see if you can then control those undead zombies into an army so you will not have to sacrifice your living soldiers anymore.” She quickly says all this without a shred of uncertainty and I am left speechless.

I have not even told my own officers of this yet! And she just recited it like it was common knowledge! Wait! Is this why she has surrendered? Do I succeed and she is here to butter me up for a lighter sentence then she would get once I succeeded? “Tell me oh fortune teller, do I succeed?” I glare at her intensely searching for any signs of deception or half truths.

“Well. That’s a little complicated. EEP!” I seize her neck and apply pressure to her delicate neck cables. “Uncomplicated it.” I command her.

“Unicron is real and alive and he corrupts any Cybertronians who bond with his Dark Energon blood! But the only way to control the zombies is to bond your spark with Dark Energon! So since you don’t know about Unicron being alive and controlling dark energon, you do just that! And then Unicron manipulates you to help him try to destroy the universe and Cybertron multiple times!” She answers very fast again. Almost as fast as that one infamously fast Autobot called Blurr. But I am having a very hard time believing her.

“You lie. Unicron is a myth.” And I would never endanger Cybertron and the universe like that. To let myself be controlled by the destroyer, the unmaker.

“I can tell you where Unicron is! Though I can’t guarantee the safety of the trip. You’ll essentially be bridging into a general place blindly. And even if you did make it there’s Unicron’s antibodies to deal with. But I guess we will need to do that eventually to prevent his return. We actually might need to do that sooner rather than later when he’s still weak.” It looks like she’s forgotten me again and is just focusing on her thoughts about the future.

I am again flabbergasted. Unicron is real and is destined to return? And this human in Prime’s body is the only one who knows where and probably how to defeat him?!

“You will come with me. You will give the coordinates to Soundwave so he can investigate. And you will submit to Knockout carefully examining you.” I brace myself for her to resist my demand.

“Okay! That sounds reasonable. And I was kind of hoping on telling Soundwave everything anyway. I’ll need his help with preventing some of the future problems and I trust him to keep the secret. But what will we tell Knockout if he finds something strange about me? Like a different spark signature or brainwaves? I actually haven’t even let Ratchet examine me because I was too worried about what he could find.” I’m distracted at her easy acceptance for a second. Then I register her question.

“If he finds something suspicious I will simply threaten him to silence. It would be for the sake of the Decepticons anyway so he will not refuse if he knows what’s good for him.” I answered confidently.

“Uh. Okay. Can you please let me up? Please? So we can, you know, go?” She almost squeaks out her questions as she blushes again.

I know I am still looming over her with my servo over her neck. But she still looks like Optima, and I find myself subconsciously expecting her to act like her. Optima would just push me off herself. Probably with a reprimand for my invading her space or something. But not this femme.

She is still lying there completely submissive to me. Waiting for me to make the next move. Perhaps it’s because she has Prime’s face, but I cannot express the power and thrill it brings me. Even better than any thrill I’ve had with my own army submitting to me or when Starscream would cower under me. I will have to be careful not to let this become an addiction that could cloud my judgement of her. But that doesn’t mean I can’t have some fun with her.

“I don’t know. I rather like the way you look from this angle.” She whimpers. She actually whimpers as she tries to curl in on herself more and cover her face with her servos. But her blue and warm blush is prominent enough to see through her digits. I’m actually reluctant to end this. Surely proving her claims can wait a few more minutes. There are a few other things I want to question her about.

“Why surrender?" I ask suddenly, distracting her from her blush. "If you just wanted peace and a team up to handle those future problems, you could have commed me about a peace talk, but instead you chose to surrender.” It’s something I have been wondering ever since I heard her messaged.

“Because, it’s what you want. You want the power of a leader. It’s the best way to ensure your voice is heard and not just steamrolled over by someone more powerful or with louder support. Furthermore, I’m not interested in being a leader at all. I don’t have the qualifications to even like being a leader much less be good at it. I had a hard enough time just this week trying to get the Autobots to listen to me and not try to go against my plans! If I asked for a peace talks and they worked, we would just be on equal footing and would become co leaders. I’d much rather be a subordinate to a competent leader who will still hear me." She answers carefully but honestly.

I am so surprised by her answer that I do get up from looming over her. I need to sit and think. But even with me now sitting next to her and not pining her down, she just adjusts herself to laying on her front next to me. Still keeping her helm low and submissive to me as she waits for my response.

I have mixed feelings about what she just said. I am glad that this femme seems to have no desire at all to be a leader. In fact, she seems completely adverse to it. However, I feel incredibly exposed with how accurate she sees my true motives.

I did fear other counselors overpowering me if I accepted any position below Prime. The other counselors had worked together to get where they are for years, stepped on so many innocent mechs together. They would not have accepted the words of a young counselor looking to reduce their power, or worse, end it entirely. I would have been beaten into a shadow under their thumb or even assassinated. Only as a Prime could I actually have the power to have the changes I wanted acted upon.

I had thought Andromeda understood that when she got me the audience with the Councel. But she didn’t and drew to the conclusion that I was a power hungry controlling tyrant. In the end only my amica endura, Soundwave, had understood that. And now this femme.

“What are you willing to give up for the surrender? It’s not technically a surrender if all you are going to be doing now is working with me.” If this is another half bakes one sided offer like past messages I am going to punch her.

"The Primacy. I’ll step down as Prime and even take on a new name as your subordinate. I’ll then help you move into power as the new leader of the Cybertronian race." This femme just keeps surprising me. I can’t decide if I hate it or like it.

"You will give me the Matrix and appoint me the Prime?" I am surprised with how far she is willing to take this. But my surprise quickly dies when she gets a nervous sheepish look on her face.

"Well actually, I was planning to give you the Matrix as a gift of surrender. But then when I tried to take it out it wouldn’t come out. Don’t look at me like that! I’m telling you the truth!" She had quickly ducked down and raised her servos again in submission. "I even went to Ratchet to see if he could surgically remove it! Pretty sure my eardrums almost got blown out. But he did scan it to see if there was any way to remove it without endangering my life. He said that the Matrix has completely merged with my chest, and that there is no way to remove it without my death!"

"Then pray tell how you intend to make me leader of Cybertron?" I cannot wait to hear this excuse.

"By demoting the Prime, and establishing a new government system with a new leader. The corrupt mechs have used the absolute power given to Primes to do horrible things, and even if you don’t abuse it that will not guarantee that the next Prime after you will not be like the last ones and history will repeat itself after you are gone. The humans have several governments that don’t rely on divine intervention and ensure that absolute power is not in the hands of a few people to abuse. I was thinking of adapting the best those governments into a new one for us. Not into a Prime. Someone who will use their power and recourses to put the governing and prosperity of their people above all else like noblesse oblige, someone who will protect their people and serve them, a High Lord Protector." She finished looking at me as though watching for my reaction. But not looking for anger and a potential beating like Starscream. Just trying to see what I thought of her ideas.

And I admit. Her idea had merit. I had gotten so obsessed with the Primacy, I never even thought of establishing a new government. Cybertron has had the Primacy since its founding, the idea of the Primacy not being in command felt completely alien. But maybe that was the brilliance of it. Something new, something that hopefully will not be as easily corrupted, something outside the box. Maybe humans are not as useless as I thought if they are this creative and resourceful. High Lord Protector Megatron. Hmm. Not a bad ring to it.

I reach over and grab her chin. Tilting her helm up so we are face to face. I then lower my helm so the space between us amounts to only a few Earth inches. “Tell me, what is your name. No. Not the name of whose body you reside in. What is your name you had as a human. I want to know what to call you when you are no longer a Prime by my side.” Because I do intend to keep this femme now. Even if it turns out that she does not have knowledge of the future, I now see that her intelligence and insights alone will be invaluable with the development of the Decepticon empire in the coming era.

The femme gulps while a warm and blue blush covers her face again. "A-Aurora. My name is Aurora Siri." She answers obediently to my command. "Aurora. Like the dawn or a mystical light in the darkness. Yes. Yes I think that name suits you very well." I have to restrain myself from laughing in her face as her faceplate becomes impossibly warm and blue. I cannot remember anyone reacting to my every move like she has. Even just little things like that is creating such a novel reaction. If nothing else, it will be very entertaining to watch her reactions from now on.

With a chuckle I slowly get off her. She waits until I am on my feet before she gets up too and stands next to me quietly waiting for my next move. Starscream should take notes.

“Soundwave open a ground bridge at my coordinates.” Only a second after I comm him a ground bridge opens in front of me.

“Oh wait! I almost forgot. I let the Autobots monitor my vitals so they would know I’m still alive. I’d better tell them I’m leaving here before they see my signal disappear and think the worst.” She quickly comms the Autobots before I can stop her. “Hi Ratchet. Lord Megatron seems really interested in the surrender and we’re going to the Nemesis to finalize some things so don’t panic when my signal disappears. Bye.” “WAIT!-”

However she does not wait and quickly runs up to me and grabs my servo. Dragging me along as she runs through my bridge. I follow her out of confusion for her sudden urgency and her cooperation with me and my demands. “We need to hurry! Ratchet will open a bridge at the last coordinates and you do not want to see what happens when 2 bridges are opened close to each other!” I don’t know what she’s talking about but I make a note to ask her later.

“You know I can kill you even easier now. Why follow me by yourself?” Do all humans have 0 self preservation?

“There’s a saying humans have. No risk, no reward. I don’t know about you or the Decepticons or even the Autobots. But I personally believe that an end of this war and peace are worth any risk at any cost. I will not fight a war I see as pointless. If peace is not possible with me alive I won’t fight you. If nothing else I have said, I hope you believe this.” She shows no signs of lying. Just complete seriousness and stoicism. Even when we are running down the ground bridge corridor, she looks most like Optima Prime now, but the reason she does removes any familiar hostile feelings I might have felt at seeing that face.

I don’t know what to think of that revelation.

~~~~~~~~~~

End notes:

I am completely opened and welcomed to comments. If I feel inspired with any I might even be able to finish this fic. I’m usually pretty bad with adding filler scenes in between major events and scenes.

Or if you just enjoyed the story, pretty please leave a comment and feedback. Would really appreciate it to hear if people are enjoying my style of story telling. Thank you!

Chapter Text

Beginning notes:

“Italics is used for transmitted dialogue. Be it over comms or bonds.”

In my head. Soundwave has 3 means of communication. Over comms and bonds like everyone and using his mechanical "Soundwave: superior" voice. He mostly uses the 3rd one for everyone but the other 2 are reserved for people he trusts.

~~~~~~~~~~

~~~Megatron’s POV~~~

As soon as we exit the bridge the Decepticon army is on the other side and reacts accordingly to seeing Optima Prime. They all raise their weapons. But Aurora just raises her servos in surrender, not trying to resist at all. She really is without a doubt not Optima Prime. No battle reflexes at all. She walks into my own ship alone and doesn’t try to defend herself even at gun point!

“Stand down!” I quickly commanded.

“My Lord Megatron, why is she here?!” Starscream screeched in panic.

“We are here to further discuss her surrender. Now leave us. Soundwave, comm Knockout and have him meet us at the medibay. And follow us. You will be needed for what we are to talk about.” I start walking and Soundwave falls into step slightly behind and to my right. And surprisingly, Aurora falls into step on my left slightly behind me like Soundwave.

We make our way to the medibay without further interruptions. As soon as we are in the privacy of the medibay Aurora turns to Soundwave. “Hello Soundwave. It is an honor to meet you. I’m Aurora. Please do not hesitate to read my mind. I do not want there to be any secrets, suspicions, or misunderstandings while we face future trials.” She then leans down a little to look at where Laserbeak rests. “It is an honor to meet you too Laserbeak. I hope we can get along.”

That got me by surprise. No one knows about Soundwave’s outlier power except me and his cassettes. And no one has ever addressed Laserbeak when they talked to Soundwave. I can feel Soundwave’s own shock and confusion through our amica bond.

As he looks to me for guidance on how to handle this surprising behavior I decide we might as well tell him about Aurora while we wait for Knockout. He is probably racing the humans on Earth and will take a while to answer his comm, much less return to the Nemesis .

However, I do not want to leave Aurora unsupervised in a ship full of mechs who will shoot on sight while I try to explain everything she has told me about ‘Isekai’ to Soundwave.

“Soundwave, deploy Laserbeak.” Soundwave only hesitates in confusion for a second before doing as I say. “Laserbeak, keep Optima company and guard her. She is here as my guest, not as an enemy. Aurora, please wait here with Laserbeak while I talk with Soundwave over there.”

“Okay.” Aurora answers easily before she turns her attentions to Laserbeak with a smile. “Hello Laserbeak! It’s really nice to meet you face to face now.”

I pull Soundwave to the opposite side of the medibay for the private conversation. Soundwave looks calm and collected on the outside. But over our amica bond, I hear Soundwave’s confusion, panic, and outrage.

“What is going on? Why is she here? I thought you were going to finally kill Optima Prime! And why did you call her ‘Aurora?’ Why is she calling herself ‘Aurora?!’”

“Soundwave, calm down. There has been - unforeseen complications.” I was a skilled writer and that is truly the best description I can come up with for the craziness Aurora told me.

“Explain. Now!”

~~~One explanation later~~~

Poor Soundwave has just been standing there in shock for a few minutes now. I can feel through our amica bond the confusion and shock rolling off him in waves. But I can also feel his processor working in overdrive, calculating all this information and likely coming up with conclusions about this that I haven’t thought of yet.

“And you truly believe she is on our side? That she can be trusted and of use to the Decepticons?”

I can always count on Soundwave to be the reasonable one. To take whatever is thrown at him and focus on what is most important instead of letting his emotions blind him.

“Yes. Yes I do. She has shown that she is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for the surrender and ensuring peace.” And to my surprise, I am completely honest about that.

Even though she has Optima’s face and body, I do trust Aurora. Which is unusual. It usually takes much longer for someone to get my trust, and some never do. How did this human get it in under 1 day?

“Very well. I will follow your lead. But I will also be keeping a close optic on her to make sure she does not betray us. And I will be scanning her mind as soon as Knockout is done with her. I trust you, my amica, but she will have to work very hard to earn my trust even if she thinks she is telling the truth. I will not let her endanger you.”

“Appreciated Soundwave.” We turn back to Aurora and Laserbeak, only for us both to freeze in shock at what we see.

Laserbeak is perched on Aurora’s arm, in her true falcon beastformer form! And trying to comfort Aurora as she is crying?

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry you lost so many! I’m sorry I can’t do anything to bring them back or save them!" Aurora says to Laserbeak as she hugs her like she is not the one crying. I never thought I’d see the day Optima Prime would cry. Why is it getting more and more difficult to see Optima in her?

"I am so relieved to hear that some of them are still alive!” Aurora says to Laserbeak once her crying has calmed down to only a few tears.

“Squawk.” Laserbeak says in solemn agreement.

“I hope they get here safely and quickly once the peace is settled. I’d understand if they don’t want to see me though. I can try to stay hidden from them.”

“Scree!” Laserbeak screeched in protest, apparently not liking that plan.

“I appreciate the encouragement but I think we should leave it to them to decide when they get here.” Aurora answers as she brushes her other servo over Laserbeak’s metallic wings.

“Squah!” Laserbeak pouts in indignation pecking Aurora’s servo.

“Hahaha. Okay okay. I get it. I’ll leave your siblings to you.” Even though she was just crying a minute ago and just got pecked Aurora still just looks absolutely delighted to be talking with Laserbeak. And neither one of them take note of Soundwave and I.

It has been so long since even I have seen Laserbeak’s true form. Soundwave’s minicons had gone MIA for several months back on Cybertron, only 6 out of the original 14 had returned and just barely. The Autobots apparently thought the minicons were an easier target than Soundwave, and that they could use them to get intelligence about the Decepticons since they were close with his communications specialist and intelligence officer.

After that devastating capture, Soundwave decided to distance himself from the survivors so they would not be a target. Ravage took responsibility for his younger siblings and they were transferred to another Decepticon base. But Laserbeak insisted on staying. They eventually came up with a ploy to protect her. She would scan a drone and pretend to be a mindless drone who only did what her remote controller wanted. This way she could stay close but the Autobots would have no reason to capture, interrogate, and torture a tool. I have not seen her true form since then. Even in private they kept up the rouse for fear of a spy finding out.

The fact that after all this time Laserbeak would transform for Aurora and even have a conversation with her! About her siblings! To reveal that she is not a drone!

Neither Soundwave nor I know what to make of this. But Knockout will likely be here any minute so we need to break up their conversation. “Ahem.” I clear my throat to get their attention. “As much as I hate to break up your important conversation. Knockout will likely be here soon.”

That gets Laserbeak’s attention as she flies to Soundwave and transforms into her drone form.

Once she is safely docked, Soundwave tells me, “She says Aurora feels different from Optima Prime. That she feels safe and genuine about wanting peace.”

That is surprising. Laserbeak has always been one of the more sensitive of her siblings. So we usually listen to her when she gets a certain feeling about someone.

Knockout finally decided to join us at that time.

“My liege, welcome back to Earth.” Knockout bowed, but I could see that he was looking at Aurora in surprise and suspicion.

“Skip the pleasantries Knockout. I want you to do a full in depth examination of her.” I pull Aurora closer to me and gently push her towards the medibirth.

“Anything in particular to look for?” Knockout asked not wanting to test me.

“Brainwaves and spark signature. Anything to indicate that she might be a fake or under someone’s control. This is just a final security measure to ensure that the surrender is real and from the real Prime.” I had come up with that excuse before we came to the Nemesis . I want to tell as few as possible about Aurora being isekaied and not the real Prime.

The following minutes are tense as Knockout does his job. But it looks like Aurora is the most nervous out of all of us. She is fidgeting and unable to stay still. “Optima Prime! Hold still!” Knockout snaps, clearly at the end of his patience.

“Sorry Knockout.” Aurora apologizes with her antennas down in shame. But everyone else is shocked at Optima Prime apologizing to a Decepticon.

Eventually Knockout resumes his examination. It takes several Earth hours to complete such an in depth examination.

“As far as I can tell she is the real deal. Nothing amiss about her spark, her brainwaves seem in normal, I even checked for shadow play and nada. Fortunately we had quite a few scans of her health saved in the database from the few times she was our prisoner. Uh” Knockout trailed off awkwardly as he realized how that might sound to Optima. Fortunately for him she wasn’t actually Optima, so Aurora had no such problems.

“Thank you Knockout. You may continue with your day.” Knockout looked all too happy at this dismissal and speed walked out of the medibay."Soundwave."

Soundwave immediately knew what I am asking for and stepped up to Aurora. Aurora did not move or protest at all as Soundwave shot a burst of psychic energy at her, reading her mind. It usually only takes a second, but this time Soundwave takes almost a minute to read her mind. When he steps back it is with a stumble in his step. "Soundwave?"

"She was meditating on her knowledge of the future. It is all very disconcerting and I had difficulty understanding all of it without context . But she is telling the truth. At least in her perspective." S oundwave answers trying to sound factual but I can feel how what he has seen has rocked him.

Once Soundwave is able to stand again I turn to Aurora. “Let us relocate to a more secure location.”

Vehicons once again found us traversing the corridors with me in front and Soundwave and Aurora behind me. I took us to my office trusting Soundwave’s security in it to shield us from any prying optics and audios.

As soon as we entered and I made sure the doors were locked so we may commune openly.

"Thank you." Aurora suddenly says as she almost collapses into one of my sofas in relief. "I’ve been scared stiff about what would be discovered in a medical exam. I don’t know how there is no physical evidence. But that is a load of anxiety off my back. So from the depth of my heart thank you for arranging that examination."

“Do not thank me. This is all merely part of your tests to prove what you have claimed to me and that you are not being controlled like I told Knockout." I said all this nonchalantly but judging from the smile on her faceplate she didn’t entire believe me. I honestly don’t entirely believe me either honestly. Her being controlled would not have affected me or our future plans too much. However there is something that did. "And speaking of which, about the proof of your prophecy. Where is Unicron?”

“He is in the center of the Earth.” She said simply. But it was not that simple to Soundwave and I! Earth? This Earth? The one we are currently flying over? I honestly did not know what to say to that, and it looked like neither did Soundwave. But Aurora apparently took our silence as permission to further explain.

“In the future, that prophecy from the Covenant of Primus comes true. The one that saids, ‘When the 47 spheres align, a perpetual conflict will culminate upon a world forged from chaos. And the weak shall perish in the shadow of a rising darkness.’ The official theory is that after Unicron was defeated and he was cast out of Cybertron, his large body created a gravity pull for other smaller rocks and minerals. Over time those rocks reacted to his energies and life eventually spawned from him creating Earth with him in the center. Which is what the prophecy means in ‘a world forged from chaos.’ The ‘47 spheres’ is 47 planets that will align all the way from Cybertron to Earth. The gravity pull from that alignment will strengthen Unicron enough for him to transform, freeing himself from the rocks of Earth’s sediments so he can continue his old goal to destroy the universe, while destroying Earth in the process.”

By now Soundwave and I have gotten our senses back together enough to act. Soundwave started setting the coordinates of the ground bridge to the core of the Earth and deployed Laserbeak to carefully investigated.

“Be careful in there Laserbeak.” Aurora got up and walked up to her in clear worry. “The abundance of dark energon in his body weakens even large mechs. And his antibodies are about your size, fly, and shoot dark energon blasts. But the real danger is that they swarm their targets.”

Laserbeak nodded her head in understanding. After Soundwave opened the portal for her, she carefully flew in. But she had not been in it for long before she came racing out with some creatures matching Aurora’s description hot on her tail.

Soundwave and I quickly started slicing the antibodies as they poured out of the portal. Aurora had grabbed Laserbeak and was shielding her behind the sofa. “Soundwave! Quick! Close the bridge before even more come through!” Soundwave did not hesitate and quickly closed the bridge. But it took several minutes for me and Soundwave to adequately cut apart the creatures who made it through until they stopped twitching.

We were shocked at what happened and could only stand around for a minute while we caught our breath. But eventually we started cleaning up the antibodies. Aurora then piped up and warned, “The dark Energon is able to animate tools, machines, and severed limbs and turn them into Unicron’s little demons. Let’s not risk it bringing his own antibodies back to life and ambushing us.”

For the time being we placed the antibodies into a reinforced freezing container. We will be smelting these things later, and I will be destroying the Dark Energon I have already acquired. I’m starting to see how I could have tried to destroy Cybertron and the universe if I had really bonded with that stuff. I may owe Aurora my life for stopping me from merging with it.

After the antibodies were secured, Laserbeak downloaded the video recording she got. We all crowd around my desk monitor to watch the video. It showed a dark twisting chamber with walls pulsing with purple veins. Dark Energon. Then a swarm of those creatures came at Laserbeak. She had tried to shoot them but there were too many and she beat a hasty retreat. That’s when the feed cut off.

So there really is a ginormous alive being in the Earth’s core, powered by Dark Energon. If it is not Unicron then who else?

“So.” Aurora’s voice cut through the stunned heavy silence. “Did I pass my test? Will you accept my surrender and accept me becoming your advisor?”

~~~~~~~~~~

End notes:

Apologies for the brief and anticlimactic fight scene. I’m not too good with action fight scenes.

Just for visual reference. I’m basing Soundwave’s cassettes after SoundBlaster’s line up. They just are in the color schemes of the normal universe instead of the SG one. Can you guess which 6 are alive? Here’s a link. https://www.deviantart.com/soundbluster/art/SG-Soundwave-and-Friends-Reference-Sheet-864049582

Update: I forgot about Soundwave’s telepathic ability. So I rewrote this chapter a bit incorporating it into the story.😅

I am completely opened and welcomed to comments. If I feel inspired with any I might even be able to finish this fic. I’m usually pretty bad with adding filler scenes in between major events and scenes.

Or if you just enjoyed the story, pretty please leave a comment and feedback. Would really appreciate it to hear if people are enjoying my style of story telling. Thank you!

Chapter Text

Beginning notes:

“Italics is used for transmitted dialogue. Be it over comms, bonds, or telepathy.”

In my head. Soundwave has 3 means of communication. Over comms and bonds like everyone and using his mechanical "Soundwave: superior" voice. He mostly uses the 3rd one for everyone but the other 2 are reserved for people he trusts. However, he can also hear other’s thoughts, but that is just one-way, he cannot telepathically send thoughts.

~~~~~~~~~~

~~~Soundwave POV~~~

My amica and Aurora have been at this for several hours nonstop now. They work surprisingly well together. Lord Megatron is as ruthless and effective as ever. Showing no fear or hesitation in making plans to counter every potential threat Aurora mentions that could happen in the future.

If Aurora were the Prime, she would have surely shot down everyone of my amica’s plans. But Aurora is proving more and more that she is not Optima Prime. She listens to Lord Megatron’s plans, she considers, sometimes she even writes what he says in her own datapad she had pulled out which she had been using to make notes of the future, and edits her own plans she had been working on.

When she does not like one of Lord Megatron’s plans, she will not just make some moral objection or excuse, she will give very logical reasons for why his plan has flaws or problems in it. Then she will offer her own suggestions that would counter said flaws. Suggestions that are quite devious and clever in my and Lord Megatron’s opinion, while also adhering to a certain moral code. Not once does her plans directly endanger innocents or involve exploiting lives, yet they play to our purposes surprisingly well.

I feel like I am watching 2 different forces of nature. Not clashing against each other like Lord Megatron and Optima Prime did, but balancing each other out and dancing together into 1 united forces stronger together than apart with a single goal. And I find myself looking forward to seeing what this new stronger force will accomplish.

But I cannot let myself get swept up in their combined charm and energy. Aurora may have passed the test to be accepted into our fold, but that does not clear her of suspicion. As Starscream has repeatedly proved, it is those closest that are the biggest threat of backstabbing.

She has knowledge of the future. She knows different versions of my amica through different universes. If knowledge is power, she could be the biggest threat my amica has ever faced. And just because she is on our side now does not mean she will be forever. Cybertronians are a long lived species. She could just be using Lord Megatron to deal with these disasters and enemies. Then she could betray him. She could use her knowledge to make herself some kind of prophetess, and Lord Megatron as some monster holding her under his thumb.

Fortunately, what Aurora does not know from her ‘continuities’ is that once I perform a complete telepathic scan on someone, I leave a back door in their minds. That way I can easily see into their thoughts even when they through up their barriers again after the scan. This would not be the first time a very clever threat had managed to trick me even in a mental encounter. But even the strongest mind cannot keep their thoughts in check 24/7. They always slip up and I always catch them with my back door.

But Aurora is proving to be difficult in more ways than one to my past experiences. Could it be a result of her being from another universe? Her mind is completely opened. I felt no barriers surfacing after the scan. Furthermore, her mind is very chaotic. Switching from one thought to another. One moment she would be thinking about 1 continuity, then another, then she would be focusing on Lord Megatron’s plans, then other movies or shows she had watched or read about. It was all very different to keep up even after my millennia of experience.

Which only made her more suspicious. This could be a trick to shield her real plans from me. If so it is very effective and I will have to adapt a way to combat it, quickly.

Knock knock knock!

“Lord Megatron? Sir? I have brought some energon for you?” The voice of one of the Workers calls from outside.

“Enter!” Lord Megatron permits.

A familiar vehicon enters with 3 cubes of gelled energon. It is one of the ones who likes to cook and will often cook Energon treats for the higher officers. He gives Lord Megatron his energon first, then me, then hesitates in front of Aurora.

“Hello. My name is Aurora now. What is your name?” Aurora initiates the conversation with a smile. I can hear that she is hoping to calm the vehicon down. Apparently not much was revealed about them in her continuities, but many theorized that they were more than just drones, and she seems eager to find out if it’s true. However, her attempt to calm him down does not work.

“Uh uh uuuh.” Is all he can get out.

“You don’t need to be nervous around me. Soon we will both be working for the same boss.” Aurora tries again while looking to Lord Megatron for backup. As the Vehicon looks bewildered to him for confirmation.

“It is true.” Lord Megatron answers. “Aurora will be working under me from now on. We are still figuring out what her job will be. But I will soon announce it to the whole ship as well as broadcast it to any other Cybertronians in the universe soon.”

The Vehicon did seem reassured by this news, but still suspicious. I can hear him remembering what happened every other time the workers, be they Vehicon Eradicon or Miner, was near the Autobots and tried to get close with them. But it is those memories that give him a burst of determination and a plan of action. Turning to Aurora he answers. “Hello Aurora. My designation is ST3V3. But I’ve gone by Steve for a few Earth years.”Steve braises for another Autobot negative response.

“Hello Steve! It’s very nice to meet you! And thank you for the energon. It was so thoughtful of you to bring it!” I can hear Steve’s processer stalling at Aurora’s response. But I can also hear Aurora’s excitement on the inside. Apparently Steve was a fan favorite of the Decepticon workers. And she was no exception. “I did not know energon came in this color or this density. Did you make it here?” Aurora asks as she investigates the energon that is too solid to drink.

“Uh y-yes? Uh yes. We make it here. It is gelled energon. Although we can only make a little because of rationing.” Steve explains.

“Gelled energon is a real thing?!” Aurora asked excitedly, before quickly sticking her servo into it and putting some in her mouth. She gets a very interesting look on her face as she starts chewing it. I can hear her compare it to Earth jello but thicker and not as sweet. “Oh! This is good! And it tastes so different from the liquid energon!”

“We can make it in various flavors if we have the ingredients.” Steve explains in pride.

“You can cook energon treats? Can you teach me? Please please?” Aurora asks pleadingly, actually putting her hands in front of her.

Poor Steve actually crashed at this. And would have fallen on the floor if Aurora had not shot up to catch him. I cannot blame him. After what the Vehicon have suffered with under the Autobots, to suddenly have their leader begging him for something as mundane as cooking classes is outside anyone logic circuits not in the know.

“Was it something I said?” Aurora asks in bewilderment and alarm at Steve’s state.

Lord Megatron will not know what she already knows and does not, so I decide to answer her question. But I still do not trust her so I use me voice instead of a comm. “Negative. Autobots: abused Workers in the past when displayed sentient behavior. Steve: shocked no abuse came when gave his name. Steve: crashed when Optima Prime treated him like equal.”

“Wait! The Autobots have mistreated them when they didn’t act like drones? Why? I always wondered why they called them ‘drones?’ But to mistreat them instead of even consider that they are sentient?” Aurora asks in rage on the Workers’ offense.

“Observations: Autobots initially reluctant to fight and kill so many. Solution: Council hired Mnmosurgon:Trepan and Psychologist:Froid to fabricate evidence stating that Workers are drones and not Cold Constructeds. Result: Autobots perceive all acts of sentience as lie to be punished.” I explain.

“WHAT?!?! Trepan and Froid?!?! Those psychotic hacks?!?! And the Autobots actually believed them?!” Her angry outburst started both me and Megatron.

“I take it you are familiar with them?” Megatron asks.

“From the IDW universe. They and their insanity were directly or indirectly responsible for so many problems! Wait! Trepan didn’t… Uh he didn’t…” She kept looking at Megatron in worry and fear. I looked into her mind and saw that in the other universe, Trepan has tried to shadowplay Megatron! He had not completely succeeded, but he had damaged his mind enough that Megatron had not been able to write like he used to. I feel my own rage rise at the injustice of this other version of my amica. Only the knowledge that my amica did not suffer this fate keeps my anger from spilling out.

“Negative: Mnmosurgon:Trepan attempted to shadowplay Lord Megatron in gladiator pits. Result: Soundwave stopped Mnmosurgon:Trepan and almost killed him. Interference: Pit masters saved Mnmosurgon:Trepan.” I am now even more regretful that I didn’t manage to kill him that day.

“Sigh. That’s good. Well it’s not good that psycho twink wasn’t killed that day. But it is good that you are safe Megatron and he didn’t manage to do anything.” Aurora visibly sagged in relief. She then turned her attention back to Steve and arranged him to lay down on the couch with her lap being used as a pillow for him. “So those 2 told everyone that these mechs are drones and the Council backed them. So now all the Autobots believe that they are drones and punish them when they try to prove them and their precious Council wrong.” The distain in her voice is palpable even without my telepathy.

“But I do wonder. Why do they all look the same? And where do they come from?” Aurora asked just out of plain curiosity as she pet Steve’s helm.

“There is a cold construction facility in my ship. And an Allspark shard to give them their sparks. And because of our limited resources and time, we cannot currently take the effort to make every cold construction outwardly unique. However once they mature enough to make their own decisions and put in enough work. They can get upgrades. And of course they can choose their own names whenever they want.” Megatron explained.

“Wait! You make them even now? How old are they? And you send them into battles when they are just born?!” Aurora questioned getting more angry and worried with each one.

“Of course not! The the new sparks are taught labor jobs first. Like cleaning, maintenance, and mining. Safe jobs for them to do while they figure themselves out. Then when they become young sparks they can choose to stay in one of those occupations for upgrade into a Vehicon or Eradicon and train to become a warrior. I know that is still very young. But unfortunately with the dwindling population even they see the need to choose to become warriors to help protect their friends and their lives. None of them wish for the Autobots to win the war and build a world where they are just drones in the optics of everyone.” Megatron finished explaining.

I could see Aurora actually trying to imagine herself in that kind of situation and then come to the conclusion that she would have likely had the same thoughts and tried to help too even at that age.

That is another thing I had noticed about Aurora. She actually put in the effect to empathize with others. When she read about us in her world she would try to see and feel things from our perspective before judging us. It was something that even Andromeda did not do. She sympathizes with us lower caste but she did not empathize. Which was probably one of the reasons she was not willing to go as far as we were to free us from the Council.

“I’ll talk to the Autobots. I won’t let them treat these new and young sparks like that anymore just because their old bosses said to. If you could tell me anything else about them, it might prove helpful.” Aurora asked as I hear her mind thinking about Steve asleep on her lap.

"I won’t let those psychos hurt you or your brothers and sisters anymore, Steve. And if they are not dead yet I will personally make sure Megs puts wanted posters out for them ‘dead or alive.’ I hope you will see that I am not someone to fear eventually. Beside, I really want you and your friends to teach me how to cook with energon!

“After all, I’ll need to have something to occupy my time once Megatron is the accepted leader and I no longer need to play interference between Megatron and the Autobots. Maybe I can make a living by opening a café on Cybertron? Yeah! America has Japanese themed cafes and Americanizes Chinese fast food and they do pretty good business. An Earth style Café on Cybertron might do pretty well. I might even start a chain. And with Steve’s classes and my first hand knowledge and experience of making and eating Earth food, I could Cybertronianize Earth food!" Wait. What?! She’s not planning to stay in politics?!

This is completely outside of the realm of possibilities. With her background and abilities, not even including her prophetic knowledge, she could gain great power in the political scene. Even under Lord Megatron. But she’s not planing on staying. I can hear her spiraling and getting exited about her new future plans. It it real and genuine. She is only planing to stay while she is needed. Then she will leave for a mundane life in obscurity!

I have never met someone so unambitious! I start delving into her mind again to try to understand this. And I come back with a very civilian human answer. She still sees life not as a tool to gain things for herself, but as a time to live. To find things she enjoys. To do things to help and serve others even in the smallest sense like cooking! She does not have any grand ambitions to die wealthy or in power. Just live now, planing for the future with others.

Perhaps, I can trust her not to backstab my amica in the future.

~~~~~~~~~~

End notes:

I am completely opened and welcomed to comments. If I feel inspired with any I might even be able to finish this fic. I’m usually pretty bad with adding filler scenes in between major events and scenes.

Or if you just enjoyed the story, pretty please leave a comment, kudo, and bookmark. Would really appreciate it to hear if people are enjoying my style of story telling. Thank you!

Chapter Text

~~~Aurora POV~~~

Soundwave has to comm a few other Vehicons to carry Steve to Knockout.

"I hope Steve will be alright. And that he will still be open to teaching me Cybertronian cooking." I say as soon as they have left.

"Why would you want to learn how to cook? You will have plenty of others who can do it for you." Megatron asks.

"If there’s anything humans have learned in times of peace. It’s that people need hobbies to occupy themselves outside of their jobs. And I liked cooking and baking when I was human. Shouldn’t be too difficult to adapt it to Cybertronian cuisine. Maybe you should also start looking into a hobby Megatron." I explain. I remember reading about how veteran soldiers can struggle adapting to peace after war times. I’m sure it will be the same with Cybertronians. Hobbies can really help.

"I do not think so." Megatron curtly answers and drops the subject.

"However, this does bring to memory something I need to talk with you about. I know Decepticons will be quite shocked with my personality change, but they never knew Optima personally so any other quirks about me they might not look into too far, but the Autobots are a different story. It’s a miracle they didn’t figure out I am a fake much earlier in the week. But when we start puting most of our plans into motion, I doubt I’ll be so lucky on my own.

“So, I might need yours help to keep my secret from the Autobots. Not once in history has the surrendering side of a war taken it gracefully. Especially when the surrender is decided on by only a few. And just 1 is about as few as it can get. Especially since that 1 is an unknown human replacing their Prime.” This is an important part of my plans for the future. I might be able to reveal the truth to them later, much much later. But they will never accept it right now.

Megatron has a contemplative look on his face. “Hmm. Yes I can easily see the Autobots reacting very badly, possibly even rebelling against you and restarting the war in memory of their ‘missing’ Prime. You can count on me and Soundwave to help in every way we can. Since you are a terrible liar Aurora, you should leave the bold faced lying to us. We can say Soundwave or I am responsible for some of your plans or predictions. Soundwave can even fabricate some documents to provide ‘proofs.’”

I can’t help but let out a breath of relief and slide down Megatron’s couch. “Thank you. You have no idea how relieved I am to have your help with this. I was worried I might need to tell people that I am prophetic just to get some to cooperate.”

Megatron chuckles like he thinks my response is humorous. “It would not technically be a lie. What would be so bad about that?”

“What’s so bad is that I do not want to be JESUS!!! ” I sit up and shout. “People have started religions from less than prophecies that actually come true! And they have crucified the ones they worshipped for less than them proving they are less than what they want! I have no desire to be worshipped or crucified if I don’t do what my ‘worshippers’ expect me to do! Really the whole seeing into the future thing is like a double edged sword! On one side if you do nothing bad tings happen! But on the other if you tell people then 1 of 2 things can happen. Either they do something to change events and what you prophecy never comes to pass and you are called a fraud, or they do nothing and the bad things happen and they blame the messenger like it is their fault it happens! I’m honestly still surprised you are willing to work with me. But really I couldn’t ask for a better partner in crime."

"‘Partner in crime’?" Megatron asked.

"Well yeah. We are essentially covering up the disappearance of Optima Prime. Even if technically it is her soul that has disappeared and not her body." I explain. Megatron gets a contemplative look on and I can practically see him analyzing my logic from multiple angles. A grin slowly spreads on his face. I hope it means he also likes this new partnership.

"Very well, we can be ‘partners in crime.’ Then as your partner there is something that needs to be rectified if this facade is to succeed. Your speech." Megatron sure doesn’t beat around the brush.

"My speech?" I ask not really understanding.

"Just in the few hours I have known you, you have frequently used human terms instead of Cybertronian. ‘Hands’ instead of ‘servos,’ ‘hours’ instead of ‘joor,’ ‘mile’ instead of ‘hic,’ ‘soul’ instead of ‘spark,’ and do you even know how to speak Cybertronian? If you continue to speak like a human our ‘crime’ will be found out very quickly. Soundwave can give you a chart translating your human terms to ours, and he can download a packet with Cybertronize, but you will need to practice it. We can start now." Megatron elaborates. And as I think back he is right. I have been using human terms. Have I been using Earth terms. Did the Autobots notice?

"Alright. That is a good idea. And I’d appreciate some help practicing switching to using Cybertronian terms." I am immensely grateful for their help. But that gratitude did not stay long. Not even an hour later.

"We’ll need to find a way to discreetly call all the other Cyber-."

BZZZZ!!!!

"Yipe! What was that?" I jumped up at that sudden loud sound.

"You said ‘call’ instead of ‘comm.’ Soundwave and I thought that you could use some further assistance with changing your speech pattern. So whenever you use a human term instead of a Cybertronian, Sounwave will play that buzzer sound." Megatron looks very proud of himself as he explains this stupid and immature idea of his.

"Is that really necessary? You almost gave me a heart attack!" BZZZZ!!!! "Ah!"

"The term is spark attack, my dear." Megatron now looks even more proud of himself. It just continued on from that.

"On the other hand." BZZZZ!!!!

"We’ll need to watch our foot steps-" BZZZZ!!!!

"It should be a few miles-." BZZZZ!!!!

This is getting really old really fast. So I shout, "You know this could cost you your stoic strong silent type image, Soundwave!"

BZZZZ!!!!

Then to troll me even more, Soundwave put an emoji on his screen. 😁

~~~~~~~~~~

End notes:

I am completely opened and welcomed to comments. If I feel inspired with any I might even be able to finish this fic. I’m usually pretty bad with adding filler scenes in between major events and scenes.

Or if you just enjoyed the story, pretty please leave a comment, kudo, and bookmark. Would really appreciate it to hear if people are enjoying my style of story telling. Thank you!

Chapter Text

~~~Aurora’s POV~~~

Aside from the Steve incident and the buzzer, we were really productive with my fortune telling and our combined planning.

Fortunately I had found that I have perfect memory of every Transformers continuity I had ever seen or read about. It was like having every version of the Transformers wikis and fandoms in my brain. I can just pull it up like a search engine in my mind.  I’m not sure how this happened. Maybe it’s that special power that isekais sometimes get? It might also explain why I don’t have Optima’s memories. Maybe they were replaced by my human memories that I need of the Transformers continuities. But whatever the reason I was able to use it to give very detailed and accurate explanations about the different continuity futures.

The only bumps we encountered in the prophesying/planing were when Soundwave and I needed to work together to restrain Megatron. Several times he had not liked what I told him someone would to Cybertronians in the future, and he had wanted to storm out and kill them right away.

Fortunately, Soundwave and my combined strength kept him her long enough to listen to the rest of my prophesies. Before long though, Megatron’s desk had been broken beyond use and Soundwave had needed to comm some vehicons to replace it before we could even get to the planning stage of our meeting. The fact that they had spear desks for him just laying around in storage says something.

We quickly got into a rhythm though and even completed the plans for countering all the future problems I knew of. We even started work on writing down rules for the New Cybertronian Civilization.

"I’m sorry but, how did I become the secretary here?!" I just noticed that most of the datapads of our plans and laws were around me. Megatron had a few on his desk but they were just the recent ones he was reviewing, and Soundwave was just holding 1 and had no others around him.

“You are the one with all the knowledge of the future. And you even brought notes.” Megatron answered like it was obvious.

“I made those notes to help outline the future to you since only Soundwave can see my thoughts! And speaking of which, isn’t Soundwave your secretary?! Isn’t ’communications specialist’ and ‘intelligence officer’ just fancy terms for the jobs a secretary does?!” I glare at Soundwave while accusing him of pushing his job onto me in my head. I don’t know the limits of this Soundwave’s telepathic abilities but I hope he can hear me. But if he can he is deliberately ignoring my complaints and insults.

"I thought you said you wanted to be my subordinate. Isn’t a secretary a subordinate who keeps track of important information I need to know, manages my schedule, gets me into contact with important people, and stays by my side at all times? Which you have already volunteered to do for most of the plans you came up with." Megatron has a stupid smug grin on his face. And as much as I hate to admit it, he is right! He then stands up and walks over to me. What is the jerk planing now?

He takes my chin in his hand again and pulls me to look straight at him like in the forest. "Do not worry, my dear. I promise to take very good care of my fortune telling secretary." He somehow simultaneously rolls and purrs his promise, and I can feel my heart (er spark) spinning out of control and my face blushing again! I hastily raise the datapad in my hands up to try to separate our faces.

"F-fine whatever. Just make sure people like Starscream can’t ignore me when I am trying to warn them about something." Megatron has the nerve to laugh at my reaction before sitting back down at his desk.

I know I am probably pouting. But I can’t help it! I am so annoyed at Megatron right now. And the jerk is even laughing at me even harder now.

I’m still mad at him for all the teasing in the forest. I had a hero’s crush on him ever since I read IDW. I barely survived him being dominating and seductive before! I hoped that was just gonna be a one time thing to unbalance me until he judged that I was a trustworthy ally. Apparently it was not. I need to get a hold of this stupid crush! I cannot be blushing every time he is just being his charismatic dominating self! Especially since Megatron will never reciprocate those kinds of feeling for a squishy human in his arch nemesis’s body. Talk about a mood killer. That kind of stuff only happens in fan fiction.

But just because I have a crush on him. Doesn’t mean I can’t get back at him for teasing me and annoying me. "Um Aurora?" Megatron looks weary now. I know I wear my heart on my face and can’t control my expressions like Optima could, but that’s okay with me. Unlike with Starscream’s conspiracies, Megatron won’t have a leg to stand on to escape the payback I have planned.

"Alright. Then as your secretary. I say it’s time you have a makeover before you make your debut!" Megatron’s face is priceless! I can practically see the ‘!?’ over his head! I quickly make an image still (it’s the Cybertronian version of a picture in their memory banks). I’m so going to save that.

"Wh-what!? Aurora what are you-?" Megatron tries to ask. But I’m not going to let him try to weasel his way out of this.

"As the leader of the New Cybertron Civilization, it is important for your image to represent your people as a whole. First impressions are key to building diplomatic relations. And right now, your first impression is ‘I am a big deadly warlord who is going to eat you.’" I walk up to him to loom over him at his desk. Even if this is payback, it is also serious.

"Of course that is what my image says! It is to strike fear in the hearts of my enemies!" Megatron looks so proud of this fact. I am hoping my current face is relaying to him ‘that’s the whole problem idiot,’ but judging from the still proud look on his face he is not getting the message. Time to burst his bubble.

"That may fly in war times, but we are entering an era of peace remember? In times of peace, it is far more important for leaders to display strength, authority, and respect to their new allies. Fear and ‘I’m going to eat you’ will have the opposite effect. Soundwave, please call Knockout and tell him we need his cosmetic genius for a makeover." "Soundwave! Don’t you dare!" Megatron tries to resend my order but Soundwave actually uses his tentacles to surprise Megatron and restrain him.

Over a wide range comm, Megatron and I hear, "Apologies, my Lord. But she is right. And from what I’ve seen in her plans, stubbornly clinging to your current look will only hinder your goals."

"This is MUTINY!!" Megatron tries to escape but I help Soundwave by grabbing his wrists and helping him drag Megatron to Knockout to get his makeover. Fortunately, I still have Optima’s strength.

"Don’t worry. I won’t let Knockout take too much away from you so you won’t still look like you. He’ll just fix up a few things to make you look a little less cannibal and a little more regal. And besides, I was hoping to ask Knockout to change a few things about myself too so I look less like a regal Prime." Megatron still protested all the way to the medibay. He even threatened Knockout to try to get him to not change anything. But Soundwave and I outvoted him and Knockout wisely chose to listen to us.

~~~Time skip~~~

We have made really good progress. The plans are laid out, most of the laws are written down, Soundwave has started on a few of our plans already, and the makeover went very well in my opinion. Although Megatron is still sulking.

Unfortunately, it is time to return to the Autobots, though I’m sure they are going to be worried sick and furious at me. I had completely lost track of time and we ended up working for over 72 hours straight!

I guess when you don’t need to sleep as much as you did as a human, it’s harder to keep track of the passage of time. I already sent them a brief message telling them that I am safe and we have wrapped up the negotiations for now so I am going to be back soon, and that I am bringing Megatron so we can continue talking about the new rules with the Autobots present. I put my comm on mute after that so they couldn’t harass me even before I return.

"Let’s get this over with." Megatron says as he enters the ground bridge hub. I look over and, yep he’s still sulking, but I do like the finished product.

His armor is still gray but it’s more silver gray than gun metal gray, and Knockout polished it to a nice shine and had a lot of fun doing it too. His poison purple decals are gone. We had given him the choice of either recoloring them royal purple or crimson red. He had chosen royal purple and we had even added more decals on his abdomen, arms, and legs. His spikes on his pauldrons and legs are still present, we just smoothed them down a little to look less like he could kill with them and make them look more elegantly curved.

His face looks quite a bit different though. He still has his sharp cheekbones but most of the scars around his eyes and lips are gone thanks to Knockout, except for 1 on his eyes and 1 on the opposite side of his lips, giving him a rugged asymmetrical look. But the lack of so many scars makes him look younger. Another change to his face is that his row of fangs are now gone. But he had insisted on keeping them so much that we compromised on a vampiric look. He still has 4 sharp fangs but the rest of his teeth were flat now.

The biggest change is his cannon. His cannon is not visible on his arm, but that is because it is stored in his arm now, like in Transformers One. However we had needed to also remove his large sword to make room. The sword was given a handle and is now stored in his subspace. But Megatron had insisted on having melee weapons that could not be knocked out of his hands so Knockout put retractable dagger sized blades in both of his wrists that would not interfere with his cannon’s storage.

“I really don’t know what you’re still sulking about. You don’t look that different. I think Knockout changed more of me than he did you.” “I am not sulking.” Megatron tried to defend but he totally is.

I ignore his poor attempt at masculinity and walk over to another screen to see my, again, new reflection. Knockout had removed a layer of the armor on my pauldrons and arm guards, making them more slim and less muscular. Unfortunately, he could not take any of my chest armor away because of the Matrix stuck inside of me. But thankfully he could remove some of my ped armor to make them lighter. So now I am not stomping everywhere and making minor quakes. I also asked him to make my colors brighter. So now the imperial red is more like a raspberry red and the cobalt blue is an azure blue. I also asked Knockout to remove my weapons. I’ll never forget the face he made, but I really cannot handle gore so the weapons were really useless on me.

And finally the eyes. I knew Optima was far sighted from episode 5, but I didn’t know that she can only read the large screens without a problem because of it. When I was constantly making notes on the  smaller datapads during my first week here it strained my eyes and I had to constantly stop to rest them. Knockout offered to replace my eyes but warned me that they didn’t have any spare blue ones. Which actually worked better for me. I have yellow optics now with white irises. A much more neutral color.

I suddenly noticed in the reflection that Megatron was staring at me behind me. “Is something wrong?” I turned around and asked him. “Nothing.” Was his only answer. I decided it wasn’t important and just left it at that.

Once Soundwave showed up he keyed in the bridge to outside the Autobot’s base and Megatron and I went through. Soundwave would be joining us later. As soon as we exited the ground bridge, we were met with a fuming Ratchet, already armed with a wrench. Oh well, I knew that even if we did get peace, the Autobots would still not be happy simply because it came at the cost of surrender. But maybe I can placate Ratchet a bit by appealing to his medic nature. "Ratchet -."

" Don’t start with me Prime! " Ratchet bellowed right in my face, looking like he was about the explode. I was so surprised I raised my hands and backed up running into Megatron. "I couldn’t care less about the peace or surrender! You went there expecting to DIE !!! We found your will in your room!"

"Oh. You found that after all?" I honestly had forgotten about that.

"You made a will?" Megatron said from behind and above me. I could just hear him judging me.

"Well I wasn’t completely 100% sure you wouldn’t kill me and I wanted the peace to still happen even if I wasn’t around to see it." I tried to defend myself. Apparently it wasn’t enough for Ratchet because he suddenly grabbed one of my antennas and started pulling me to the base. "Ouch! OUCH!! Ratchet!!!"

"You are coming with me right now and I am doing a full scan on your brain module!" Ratchet is clearly not going to take ‘no’ for an answer. At least Knockout already confirmed that Ratchet won’t actually find anything suspicious. Looks like we’ll have to push pause on our plans though.

~~~~~~~~~~

End notes:

I am completely opened and welcomed to comments. If I feel inspired with any I might even be able to finish this fic. I’m usually pretty bad with adding filler scenes in between major events and scenes.

Or if you just enjoyed the story, pretty please leave a comment, kudo, and bookmark. Would really appreciate it to hear if people are enjoying my style of story telling. Thank you!

Chapter Text

~~~Ratchet’s POV~~~

Nothing. There is nothing! Absolutely nothing wrong according to my scanners! That can’t be right! Maybe there’s something wrong with the scanners still? Even thought I inspected them inside and out 3 times now?

"Ratchet?" "Epepep! I’m not done with you yet Prime!" There’s gotta be something else I missed?

"But you’ve been at this for 12 hours now." I ignore Optima’s complaint. This is for her own health and the sake of the Autobots! "Also, I’m pretty sure Megatron is getting tired of sitting there at gun point. And it’s Aurora now. I’m not a Prime anymore."

This is exactly why this examination is so urgent!!! Optima Prime has been acting weird for over a week now. Talking about peace through surrendering and meeting up with her arch nemesis!

I honestly didn’t think Megatron would go along with it! Even when Optima went to meet him I thought they would immediately get into a fight, she’s toss him around a bit, call for back up, and it’d be back to business like always! But noooooooo, there was no call for backup! I didn’t panic at first because their battles had lasted for hours in the past.

However, this time, after less than an hour, there was a call of ‘Hi Ratchet. Lord Megatron seems really interested in the surrender and we’re going to the Nemesis to finalize some things so don’t panic when my signal disappears. Bye’! By the time we got there the ground bridge had already closed!

Then there was radio silence for 3 days! 3 DAYS!!! And then to make it worse, Bumblebee found a will in Prime’s room talking about if she does get killed by Megatron we have to make nice to him in her name!! If I were a human I would have pulled all my hair out! Then she calls babbling about how ‘good’ everything is going and how ‘nice’ Megatron and Soundwave have been and how she is bringing that slagger to our base!!!

Once she and Megatron materialized out of the portal, I almost had a spark attack!!! What had that slagger done to her?! Her armor was gone! And she had yellow optics!! Yellow Optics!!! I’d recognize that hack Knockout’s work anywhere! And the first scans just showed it was even worse than I thought! Her weapons are gone!!!!! And as if to add insult to injury, she then told us to call her ‘Aurora’ and that she is not a Prime anymore!!!!!

This is clearly that fragger’s doing! He’s up to something! If there’s nothing wrong with Prime physically, then Megatron must have done something else! I glare over to where Megatron was just casually sitting like he owned the place and does not have 4 pairs of guns pointed at him! Maybe a cordial psychic patch would reveal something? As loath as I am to use a Decepticon scientist’s invention I am at my wits end!!

"Whatever is the matter Doctor? Are your scans showing no sign of shadow play, abuse, or other evidence that I am manipulating or coercing her? My. However did I accomplish that?" I made a vow to save lives. But right now I am sorely tempted to resend that.

"Lord Megatron! Stop teasing Ratchet!" Optima starts unplugging all the cables I had been using to scan her. I wanted to tell her to leave those in but I can admit that they will be useless just left in. They do not reveal anything of use!

"No promises, my dear Aurora. Although, I do admit teasing your former subordinates is not quite as amusing as teasing you." I do not like what Megatron is insinuating! And I really do not like that look he is giving Optima!! And I reeeeally so not like that Optima is blushing , full warm and blue blushing all over her face!!! Did Megatron-?! No! He wouldn’t! But it would explain.

"Optima! You are coming with me!" I grab her and lead her to down the hall away from that fragger. Oh please Primus don’t let it be so. "What? Ratchet, where are we going?" I ignore her question until we get to another room and I lock the door.

"Be honest. How does your spark and valve feel?" I look her dead in the optics (the new yellow optics) praying she will be completely honest with me. She does start warming up. Her embarrassed blush heating up her whole face.

"W-WHAT!?!? RATCHET!!! Why would you ask that?!" She jumps up practically screeching at me. I need her to confide in me.

"You and Megatron may be relatively closer in size than probably anyone else here on Earth, but there is enough of a size difference for a mech Megatron’s size to do terrible harm to you if he is not gentle. And Megatron is not known for being gentle. I know you said you were willing to go to any means to achieve peace but this is too far! Do you really think we would ever want peace at the cost of your body!? Now lay down! I need to closely examine your valve for any damage." I try to push her onto some crates so I can examine her.

"MEGATRON AND I DID NOT INTERFACE! HE DID NOT MEAN THAT KIND OF TEASING! HE REALLY JUST AGREED TO THE PEACE AND SURRENDER AT THE COST OF ME GIVING UP THE PRIMEHOOD AND AGREEING TO HELP HIM BE THE NEW SUPREMELY LEADER! THERE WAS NOTHING ELSE!!!" But Megatron is not that generous. And besides.

"You were gone for 3 day! 3 days!!! Don’t tell me you did nothing all that time!" Megatron would not have done nothing all that time with his arch nemesis under his own roof.

"We talked and planned for the future! And made laws for the New Cybertron Civilization! It takes a lot more than just 1 day to do that! And speaking of which, can we please stop this so we can go over said new rules?! Megatron already went over it with his Decepticons and they approved of them and signed the declaration saying they will join the New Cybertron Civilization, but I need you and the others too as well!" Laws approved by Megatron and his Decepticons. I dread what they could be, and I fear how he could have tricked Optima to agree to them as well.

"We can go back after I finish examining you!" I will not budge on this.

"NOOOO!"

~~~Time skip~~~

We eventually did return to the others. I was still not satisfied though. Optima’s seals are still intact and her spark doesn’t show signs of a transfer of energy. I will admit that, if nothing else, Knockout is competent with cosmetic work but he would not have been able to restore a seal or erase all signs of a spark merge.

That does not mean that he did not still sexually harassed her into compliance. I feared this might happen early in the war. When Optima was trying to appeal to her old friend and brother, when she used to send messages begging for peace after every battle. I thought she was safe from this after her 100th message when she stopped sending messages. More fool me for letting my guard down. Megatron must have taken advantage of her desperation for peace! Acted like he agrees with her, then seduced her until she was compromised enough to agree to his every demands in her surrender. That devious Unicron spawn!

"What happened to you?" Megatron asked in a faux show of concern to Optima.

" Nothing! Can we please move on to discuss the new laws now!? And can you 4 please put your guns down!? Megatron is here as a guest!" Optima asked this with her entire upper body and face hot red.

Crates are brought in for everyone to sit on and datapads given to everyone so they can see what the discussion is about. It takes a while for everyone to get into a seated position they like. Oh, Megatron doesn’t move at all, the scrap head. But Optima wants to sit next to him and I will not allow it! I may not have protected her these last 3 days but I can now that she’s back. She will not be sitting near him just for him to reach over and grope her! They claim they need to be within arms reach to pass datapads back and forth but I will not fall for his deception! Eventually we have to compromise with me sitting between them and everyone else finishing a circle. I have my wrench out and Bulkhead is on Megatron’s other side. Arcee wanted to be there to shoot or slice him if he gets out of line, but she eventually consented because Bulkhead would be better fit to physically restrain him.

"Sigh. Here’s the laws we have down so far. You all need to carefully read over them. They are subject to change later, but if you approve so far and agree to them then you can sign the declaration at the end, marking you as a citizen of the New Cybertron Civilizarion (or NCC as we have shortened it in writing). Furthermore, as a citizen you will have the power to voice changes you may want to the laws. However those changes are subject to investigation and can be removed if it is discovered that the suggested changes will needlessly endanger other lives.” Optima says all this as she sends a data packet to everyone’s datapads. "However, the most important item to note is that Megatron and I have agreed to an amnesty of all crimes committed that contributed to the founding or fighting of the War."

"What?!" All of us jumped up and shouted at the same time.

"Optima you cannot agree with this! Just forgiving this slagger and his whole army for what they have done?! Letting them get away with it?!" Arcee is the one who spoke but everyone else is nodding their helms in agreement so vigorously that I may need to check their neck cables later.

"And what about everything you all have done? Will you graciously face judgement for that?" Megatron says but it sounds more like a subtle threat.

"We did not destroy the planet, Bucket head!" Bulkhead answers.

"No, you only blew up numerous Energon refineries, mines, buildings, and whole city blocks with your Wreckers. And you, little two wheeler, were responsible for several assassinations, both successful and unsuccessful. And let’s not forget your Doctor’s quaint little trick to plant bombs in my soldiers, killing them and the soldiers they tried to return to." Megatron said all this clearly getting madder. But I was not going to let him rile me up.

"Those were drones! Not soldiers!" Everyone in the Autobot army knew that Vehicons, Eradicons, and the miners were just cheap worker drones Megatron made because not many people would follow him.

" Wrong! They were young constructed colds who were just doing jobs assigned to them while they learned of their place in the world! All constructed colds come to life ignorant like sparklings but able to work like adults. Because of that the newest ones are given menial labor jobs and then they can choose other jobs to try as they grow. They may even choose their own names and different paint colors later. But because you Autobots are so quick to write them off as ‘drones,’ many do not make it to adulthood! Will you accept judgment for the many deaths of young sparks!?" Megatron bellows.

"You lying-!" "Ratchet!" Optima yells at me in a tone I have never heard before. Before getting a sad regretful look on her face. "He is telling the truth. I met several Vehicons, Eradicons, and miners while on the Nemesis . Most acted like over eager younglings, a couple even acted like sparklings, only the few with names acted like they could be adults. None of them acted like drones. They all had emotions, and when I asked them questions they took the time to try to formulate and answer.

"The intel the Council gave us was wrong and instead of cross checking their words, we wronged many blindly and stubbornly trusting it for millennia! That is why we settled on an amnesty. It is not forgiving and forgetting past wrongs it is ‘an official pardon for people who have been convicted of political offenses.’ Remember what I mentioned before about guilty and innocent not existing in war? This is what I ment. If we all were judged for crimes committed during the war we would all get the execution sentence and there really would be no Cybertronian left in the universe." Optima went silent for a moment, like she was mourning for the dead on both sides. I on the other hand was having a crisis.

The Vehicons, Eradicons, and miners are not drones? They were never drones? They are young constructed colds? I tried searching back in my memories to then Counsel declared it. It was when the Elite Guard was still around, and the Autobots were just getting started. The Counsel had sent a scout from the Elite Guard to Kaon to scout out their forces. The scout came back with word of the army of Vehicons and Eradicons.

Optima had been reluctant at a head on assault because so many Cybertronians of the Decepticon’s side would lost but then the Counsel had gotten intel that the Vehicons and Eradicons were not real Cybertronians, just drones Megatron had mass produced to add to his numbers because so few real Cybertronians were joining him. The Counsel even had a Mnemosurgeon and psychologist they vouched for study the brainwaves and videoed behavior of the Vehicons and Eradicons that the scout had gotten.

I can’t remember the name of the scout but the Mnemosurgeon was a renowned one named Trepan, and the psychologist was one I knew from my early medical school days named Froid. After that Optima never concerned herself with Vehicons and Eradicons casualties. Was that part of a plot? To write off Vehicons and Eradicons as drones so none of us would be concerned for them. When I think of all the Vehicons and Eradicons I did surgery on without even considering any pain receptors, or all the ones I planted bombs into. I just thought of them as drones! Have, I been breaking my vow as a medic all this time? Have I been harming sparklings and young sparks? I vaguely heard Optima start talking again but I was only half listening now.

"An amnesty is the best option. If you look in the rules, we have made an exception though. If an accuser tries to push for an accused to be punished for wrongs the accused has done to the accuser leading up to and during the War, then we can offer the accuser the option to bring the accused to a trial and judgment, but only if the accuser themselves also accepts a trial and judgement for the wrongs they have done to others during that time frame. However, the accused and accuser both have to be part of the NCC, and only the Cybertronians who agree to the laws and try to follow them can join the civilization we are establishing." Aurora finishes off explaining this but I am still in shock at what she and Megatron are telling me about the ‘drones.’

"In translation to those who do not understand politics" Megatron says this with such an air of superiority that I am tempted to hit him with my wrench. "If you want to take me down. You will have to go down with me. And before any of you Autobots try that suicidal approach, know we have added laws about suicide and attempted suicide that prevent it. The laws basically state that anyone who tries to commit an action that they know will lead to their death is labeled a suicide risk. And suicide risks are not permitted to make decisions that will affect their life and the lives of others on their own. They will be restricted and given mental health support until their therapist clears them. And currently all therapists on Earth are in the Decepticons."

"What Megatron means is that going against the amnesty is futile and breaking the laws of the NCC. If you do not like the laws we will not force you to follow them. However, you cannot be a citizen of the NCC if you do not sign and at least try to follow them. Meaning you will have to leave." "What?!" Bulkhead yelled first that time.

"Optima! You would abandon us for him?!" Arcee had such a look of betrayal.

"No Arcee! I want peace and prosperity for Cybertron and her people. But peace does not come free. It comes at the cost of self sacrifice and humility so we can compromise! That is why I proposed this surrender. That is why I have put down any grudge I have against Megatron, and he has done the same for me. If you all are going to force me to choose between Cybertron and the few of you and your pride just because you are not willing to make the same sacrifices I am, I’m going to have to choose Cybertron! The only reason Megatron is on this side is because he just so happens to also values Cybertron more than his pride! But the big question here is, what about you?! And the name is Aurora!" Optima finished her rant and we could not argue. We had no proof and Optima had declared all past experiences null and void. And, honestly after learning about the Vehicons and Eradicons, I am not sure we even have a leg to stand on.

A scribbling sound was heard and I looked up to see Bumblebee signing his name. "Beep ba beeeep" (I’ll follow your lead anywhere Prime). I looked down on my datapad too and signed. "Ratchet!" Arcee yelled. "I need to stay with Optima." I need to keep an eye on her and chaperone her so Megatron doesn’t put his grubby servos all over her. And I’ll see for myself if Vehicons and Eradicons are sentient or not.

"CLIFF!!" Looking up I see Cliffjumper finishing off his signature. "Cee, I know you’re still hurt from Tailgate and everyone else you’ve lost. But I don’t want to dwell on that and keep loosing mechs." Cliffjumper gets down on 1 knee in front of her and takes her servo. "I want to build a future with you where we can start adding mechs and femmes to our life." We all waited for Arcee’s reaction. She looked so conflicted but eventually she begrudgingly signed her name. Bulkhead did too, but not without saying "Just keep Breakdown from provoking me first and I’m good."

"I’ve thought of that." Megatron answered. "Knowing there will be high tempers and everyone will have a hard time not fighting, I’ve added a law permitting highly regulated duals. There will be no killing or permanent in them and a medic and referee must be on standby. The other rules are on-."

And so we continued going over the rules of the NCC. I zoned out for the stuff about the legal fighting. I could not help remembering my old free clinic. I used to accept all mechs of all classes. I didn’t believe that frame type or construction type diminished the importance of sparks. Yet I believed the report of Vehicons and Eradicons being drones, being lesser. I didn’t question it. How did I come to this?

~~~~~~~~~~

End notes:

I am completely opened and welcomed to comments. If I feel inspired with any I might even be able to finish this fic. I’m usually pretty bad with adding filler scenes in between major events and scenes.

Or if you just enjoyed the story, pretty please leave a comment and feedback. Would really appreciate it to hear if people are enjoying my style of story telling. Thank you!

Chapter Text

~~~Fowler POV~~~

The Autobots have been really quiet lately. It’s been 2 weeks since the last report of a driverless car, traffic accident involving a vehicle matching the description of 1 of the Bot’s vehicle forms, or any other weirdness that usually leads to 1 of the Bots.

I can’t remember the last time I went to their base just for a routine check in and not to bring some complaint to them. At least, I hope it’s just a routine check in. But then again, how routine can it technically be with giant metal aliens involved?

The plateau that hides the old silo is still there. So they didn’t get found out and the base blown up. Could they all be sick and bedridden? Can giant robots even get sick?

As the elevator carries me down, i decide to just ask them. If it’s nothing harmful, I’ll ask them to keep it up. If not, I’ll just wish them the best. As the doors open I solidify that plan in my mind.

“Hellooo~. Anyone ho-. SWEET LADY LIBERTY’S SANDALS WHO ARE YOU!?!?!? ” Any plans I had went pop out of existence at the sight of the mech in front of me.

He was GINORMOUS!!! He was even taller than Prime! And even bulkier than Bulkhead!! My old army rangers training kicked into overdrive immediately! (Which is weird cause even when I first met Prime she didn’t cause this strong of a fear reaction!) I first noted any weapons I had. Unfortunately I only have a handgun. And the best I could hope a handgun doing to one of these aliens is crack an optic if I aimed well. I didn’t bring anything else expecting this to be a routine check in on some allies. More fool me for not preparing for the worst. Fortunately I’m still in front of the elevator so I could try to make a run for it, but this guy is so big he’d probably be able to grab the elevator and keep it from moving if I tried running. So running and fighting are not options. Perhaps hiding would work. I do know the base in and out due to my times dropping by to check on the Bots.

With a plan formed, I turn my attention to analyzing the potential threat. Large, strong, near indestructible, likely has armaments hidden in his arms like the Bots. And he has red optics. So Decepticon. There’s a Decepticon in the Autobot’s base! Did they get found out by their enemies and invaded after all? I’ll worry about finding the Autobots later, right now I need to deal with this big guy. I try to mentally run through the Decepticon lineup that the Autobots had given us, hoping to identify which one this guy is. Big, gray, spikes all over his body, a bit of purple on him.

He almost matches their most recent description of Megatron. Except they said Megatron had sharp teeth all over his mouth, this mech only has four, like a vampire look. And there are supposed to be lots of scars all over his face from past battles he’s kept instead of getting repaired, but this guy only has 1 on his left eye and 1 on the opposite side of his mouth. And they said Megatron always has his gigantic arm canon on and ready to blast you, this guy doesn’t have any cannon on his arm.

Goliath here eventually leans (more like looms) down a little to get a closer look at me, I back up a little getting ready to run. “So this is the Autobot’s little human … companion.” As soon as this new mech finishes talking, I know I do not like him. He sounds like he has a ginormous superiority complex. And I don’t know why, but I do not like how he just described me as their ‘companion.’ It felt like an insult, but I don’t know why it would be.

“Agent Fowler, hello.” A familiar voice says to the right of the alien behemoth. Optima! So Optima is here at least. So maybe I am not in mortal peril after all.

Looking to the right, I jump a second time. “Who in the name of George Washington are you?!” “Agent Fowler, I know I had some upgrades but I do not look that different.” This femme spoke in Optima’s voice. But she does look really different! And I’m not just talking about her physical appearance!! True the big yellow optics are a shock! And so is the color change! Gone are the patriotic red and blue! Now she looks like someone took those cherry and vanilla tootsie roll wrappers and painted her to match! But it’s how she’s acting that is the biggest shocker!!

When she said she didn’t look that different, she did it while rolling her optics! Rolling her OPTICS!! I have never seen Optima role her optics! I didn’t even think she was the type to!! And that’s not the only weird thing about her optics! I don’t know if it’s just the different color or because these optics do not have gears in them like her last ones did, but they looked bigger and brighter! And were as before she always had a stoic guarded look in her optics, never revealing her emotions. Now it was like I could see all her emotions in her optics alone! She looked worried but also curious, waiting for my reaction.

Also the way she is talking! She tone is usually the same as her optics, reserved and professional. Never revealing any strong emotions that could indicate biases or preferences. Her speech and expression was always the type that I thought any negotiator would love to master. But now she is showing emotions in her tone of voice just as much as her eyes! She sounded genuinely happy to see me! And upset when I didn’t immediately recognize her!

Even the way she is currently standing while waiting for my response. Instead of a proud parade rest befitting a commander, she was standing with her legs close together like a civilian and her shoulders were relaxed instead of straight out!

And her head! Usually she held it straight up with pride, while somehow never looking condescending too. Even when she down looked at me it never felt like she was looking down like I was beneath her in importance, just in a physical sense. Now though it was slightly tilted down in a way that looked humbled! And her antennas were twitching about but occasionally stopped slightly leaning towards me, like they were ears listening! I didn’t even know Prime’s antennas could move and weren’t just part of her helmet!

“Who-wh-what happened here?!” Was the only thing I could get out after too many shocks in a row. Fortunately, someone other than Goliath and Not-Quite-Optima spoke up.

“Agent Fowler.” Ratchet stepped out from behind Not-Quite-Optima. “There has been some … major changes of development.”

“That is obviously an understatement, Red Cross! No political speak! Someone just tell me what happened, what’s going on around here, and who are these 2?!” Now that it doesn’t seem like I’m going to get squashed by a Con, I’m is getting really ticked off about the radio silence!

~~~1 explanation later~~~

“So, let me see if I got this straight. Optima Prime here, who is going by just Aurora now, surrendered to the Decepticons to end the war. And Megatron here accepted it and is now here to present the new truce rules?” Well that explained Optima Prime’s new humbled, less dignified ruler behavior. She is now a defeated ruler under the victor’s thumb!

“That is a very simplified summary Agent Fowler.” Ratchet answered, but this is not simple at all.

I may have gotten a B average in my history classes, but I did learn that post war can be just as much of a minefield as an active war zone minefield. There’s the bitterness of the loosing side, the destruction, accountabilities for said destruction, and there’s the treatment of the loosing side by the winners.

What would it look like if this became like WW1 and 2? If the Autobots are treated like Germany was after WW1? Would an even more destructive war start up again like WW2?  This war destroyed a whole planet and heavily damaged others. What could be more destructive than that? And then the most concerning thing, what about the loosing side’s allies? What’s going to happen to us?

“If you like Agent Fowler, as our allies we can supply you with a copy of the NCC (New Cybertron Civilization) rules and keep you updated on any other changes to them.” Op-Aurora offered. Gotta remember her new title. If Earth is going to survive the Decepticons, we had best not do anything to potentially antagonize them. At least until they show themselves to be a threat.

“That would be most appropriated, Aurora.” I noticed in my peripheral that the Autobots all get a sour look on their faces when I said her new name. Sorry guys, but I gotta think of my planet and people here. “But may I ask, what’s going to happen to Earth?” I direct this question to Megatron.

Megatron got a very scary grin on his face. Not a good sign. “That all depends on you and your superiors. You can work with us and things will go very well for you. Or, you could work against us and suffer the consequences.” Called it. Not good.

“Lord Megatron. Please don’t needlessly intimidate Agent Fowler.” Aurora stepped up. Thank goodness. I thought Megatron was going to pick me up and threaten to squash me if I didn’t give him an answer right away.

“Agent Fowler, please do not be alarmed. Lord Megatron is not speaking of enslaving Earth. You see, we are developing plans to repair Cybertron. Our fastest plans will however depend on Earth’s aid in providing recourses. At least until we set up our own mining colonies on other planets. Lord Megatron is willing to make exchanges for the recourses we need from Earth as long as Earth is willing to cooperate as well.” This is not much better!

Take Earth’s resources? Take how much and for how long? She said just until they get their own mining colonies but this wouldn’t be the first deal where politicians said it was only temporary but turned out to be permanent. And what does she mean “exchanges” and what about if we are not willing?

“And if we are not willing to give our precious resources to aliens who will just take them off world and may never repay us?” I have to ask. I need to know what the worst case scenario is.

“Pft. If you are so short sighted, we will simply leave and immediately get started on our mining colonies.” Megatron’s tone made it seem like he thought he was talking to a child. But it can’t be that simple! The conqueror? The world destroyer? Just up and leave if we don’t play nice with him?!

“Leave and point your war ship’s blasters at us?” If he is going to be vague I need to be blunt to get the information out of him!

“Why would I waist the energon on you? No, leave and leave you to whatever fate the Quintessans decide for you.” This guy is deliberately trying to drive me crazy with the vague answers.

“What?! What are Quintesentials?! And what do they have to do with this?!” I am starting to see why someone would want to start a war with him. Thank goodness Aurora seems to be willing to translate deliberate-vague-jerk!

“Agent Fowler. I regret to inform you that, another alien race will likely target Earth sooner or later. And this race is far more ruthless than even the Decepticons. They are called the Quintessans. They believe all life but their own is inferior and only deserve to be used as resources for their own empire or slaves for their amusement and easy. So they regularly expand their Empire whenever they use up 1 of their conquered planets resources.” Aurora moved to the monitor and pulled up what looked like a giant star map from Star Wars. Then highlighted a section of it in one color and a dot in another.

“This is the Quintessan’s territory, and this dot is where Earth is. As you can see, Earth is extremely close to their borders. It would only be a matter of time before they decide to expand their borders in the direction of Earth.” If this is true, this is really bad. These Quint-whatevers sounded like the Roman Empire back when it was conquering all of its neighbors and shipping the inferior barbarians to the Colosseum. “One of the things Megatron is willing to exchange with for resources is protection of Earth and her people from other invaders.” Wait what?!

“Hold it! You are saying that we would need to trust that the Decepticons will protect us from these Quinte-somethings and in gratitude for that protection we are supposed to give him our resources just so we won’t have to surrender our resources to these Quints?! How is that any better?! And how do I know that these Quints even exist and are not some scare tactic to make us obey while painting him as a savior?!” It’s only after I said that that I realized how much it might anger the giant metal alien next to me. This is why I went into the army and not politics.

“Agent Fowler, if not Lord Megatron, then please believe me about your planet’s proximity to Quintessan space. And we were not planning on exchanging resources for protection. The protection would just be an extra benefit for the trade agreements. Any and all resources will be exchanged fairly. Though we will need to decide on what will be exchanged. Think of it like Earth becoming a protectorate of the NCC. Which also means that once we do establish other mining colonies, Earth will also be privileged to make transactions for the resources of those colonies. Which means Earth will not be losing anything in the long run, merely investing in the development of the NCC while getting additional protection from other invaders.” It sounded good from how Aurora described it. I’m still not sure if I can trust Megatron to protect us though and I’m not sure I will be able to trust the Autobots now with them surrendered to the Decepticons.

“And how can I trust this deal? How can I trust you won’t still try to enslave us later or abandon us if we do get invaded? In fact, if earth really is as close to these Quints as you say, why bother sticking around at all? Why not just pillage what you need and then hightail it out of Dodge before these Quints show up? Why should I not go back to my bosses and tell them that the Decepticons are going to invade Earth and we need to get our tanks ready?” I’m making a dare and a gamble asking this. But if this is it, I might as well be the one to go to prove it.

Megatron lowered his head down so he is glaring over me again. "To answer your first two questions, you do not know. Like any new trust, it can only be proven by trusting us. And to answer your next two, there are several reasons. 1. We save on labor by taking advantage of your present human labor. That way my own labor forces can focus on other things like construction. 2. As Aurora said, this is faster since we won’t need to divert labor, and I would like to rebuild Cybertron ASAP. And 3. My new secretary begged me to give you this chance.”

“Secretary?!?!” Several of the Bots yell simultaneously.

“BEGGED?!?!?!” Ratchet bellowed, overpowering the others. “YIPE!” “What does he mean ‘begged’!?!?!?” I look over at that and see that Ratchet has grabbed Aurora and was shaking her.

“I swear Ratchet, it’s not what you’re thinking right now!!!!” Aurora’s antennas were folded back and her face was hot red. I had no idea what that was about but I had something much more important to worry about.

“And as for your last question. Before you react to your mistrust with hostility, you should really ask yourself, is it worth it? You have been given a blessing that every underdeveloped inhabited planet has wished for but very few have ever gotten. Expanding into the intergalactic community with the aid of aliens who do not wish to subjugate you into their much older and more advanced empire.

"I’m being nice by extending this offer. But if you want to see the end of my generosity, please, send your army, threaten my people. I will meet you head on as any battle able ruler would to protect my people. Then we will happily pack up and leave you to your desperate futile race to catch up to millions of years old empires before they come knocking down your doors themselves." I almost peed my pants after his threat.

But he is right. We are helpless in this deal. No matter what we choose it could end really well or really bad for us. It’s 50/50! I’m not sure now what I am supposed to tell my superiors.

“What exactly will we be exchanging for our resources and how much resources are we talking about?” At least I can try to get more intel about this

“Here is an outline of our current estimate of how much we’ll need starting off. However we have already broadcasted a message to any remaining Cybertronians, so hopefully they will be joining us soon. Which means we will be requiring more.” Megatron projected a list on the monitor. Most of the listed items are science jargon that I have no idea what it is or how to get it. However, the numbers for how much they want is alarming, and they are expecting to need more!?!?

“America will go broke, trying to provide all these!!!! Even if you paid us double the market price for all of these it would not help us!!! We need resources too, not just money!!! And even if we did agreed to supply all this, it would take years to acquire all of it!!!” We might enter a Great Depression of resources if we agreed to this!

“Who said I was only going to do exchanges with only America? Or exclusively with your planet’s governments? There are plenty of other countries on Earth with access to resources and many wealthy corporations who would be happy to pay in resources for our technological knowledge.” Megatron answered once again, sounding like he was talking to a child.

“You are going to give your technology to our enemies ?!?!” If Russia got their Energon blasters…

“Agent Fowler please calm down. We will not be selling our weapons to any humans. The technology we sell will be limited to tech that predominantly has commercial use. Such as our Holo screens and data drives, not tech that can directly harm people” Aurora explains after she has gotten out of Ratchet’s grip.

“And besides, it is not like we need your permission for this. We will be doing this with or without it, and I am sure there are plenty on your planet who will be more than happy to participate.” Megatron adds.

“What?! Then why are you telling me all this?!” I yell.

“Because Aurora begged me to give you a head-start before we make the big announcement to the rest of your planet. Considerate it repayment for hosting the Autobots. You will have 3 additional days to gather your resources ahead of the other countries and companies.” I feel like my head is spinning. First we were talking about what would happen to America with the Deceptacon’s winning, and now he is talking about going behind America and making deals with all the countries of the world. But he is right no one would dare not take advantage of this opportunity to get alien tech just because America wants to have it all.

“We need more than just 3 days to discuss this with my superiors and gather resources! Give us 1 month to prepare!” I try to bargain.

“2 days.” He counters.

“You’re supposed to raise the number not lower it!!!” I yell. But the smug look on this scrap head’s face just tells me that he does not care and will not budge.

“Fine, 3 days. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go find a way to explain this to all my superiors.” I turn to the elevator, when a ground bridge opens up in the middle of the room. And out steps a mech that sends shivers down my spine.

“Soundwave!” Aurora shouts out in happiness as she runs to this creepy mech. “Did you find it?”

Instead of answering, ‘Soundwave’ uses some kind of tentacle to drag something out from the still opened ground bridge. As it exits the portal, I see that it is a freaking gigantic metal hammer. Aurora reaches for it but Megatron quickly snatches it up and proudly hefts it over his shoulder, waving his finger in front of her like he’s scolding a child. “Ah ah ah Aurora. Remember our deal. Soundwave, did you find the other weapon?”

Soundwave just nods and the ground bridge closes for one second before reopening. Soundwave walks through and Megatron motions his free hand to it like he were some gentleman. “Ladies first.” Aurora doesn’t even question before she’s walking through and Megatron follows.

“Hey you’re not going anywhere with her without us!” Ratchet yells before running after them. The rest of the Autobots soon follow. I follow because I wanna know what this talk about a weapon is about.

The ground bridge sickness hits as soon as I step through. But I have to quickly shake it off as I run to catch up to the others. Fortunately we didn’t go far before the Bots stopped in front of a mountain side.

“What (gasp) is (gasp) everyone (gasp) looking at?” I gasped leaning against Ratchet.

“The Star Saber.” Ratchet whispered.

A saber’s a type of sword right? There is something stuck in the rocks. I guess it kind of looks like a big weird sword handle.

Aurora steps up to the sword and grasps it. And to my shock, it starts glowing and some kind of light particles look like they are swimming around it! Aurora slowly pulls and pulls and pulls the biggest sword I have ever seen out of the mountain!!! Once it’s fully freed, it looks even taller than Aurora and its glow has gotten stronger! I can feel its power from here!! I will never see Lightsabers the same way again!

Suddenly I hear transformations. Looking up, I see Arcee, Bulkhead, and Cliffjumper have pulled out their weapons. Wait! Do they believe Aurora is now going to use this Star Saber to cut down Megatron and restart the war? Looking over at Metatron and Sandwave, they do look outnumbered and now outgunned.

However, Aurora then adjusts her grip on the Star Saber so that she is holding it sideways and walks up to Megatron. Then, like a knight making a vow of loyalty to a king, Aurora kneels down and presents the sword to Megatron! " Optima!!! ” All the Autobots yell in betrayal.

Megatron takes the glowing sword from Aurora‘s hands, inspecting it like a prize. Then he suddenly swings the sword in the direction of the trees behind us. To my horror, the arc of light made in the trail of the swipe, continues to exist and continues out like a tidal wave at the trees! The arc continues for several miles before dissipating. The carnage it leaves in its wake has reduced all the trees in the far back to wood chips and all the trees closest to us have been vaporized!!! If that arc was shot at a human army …

"A deal is a deal. Never let your Autobots say that I do not know how to make fair trades." Megatron then brings the hammer down front of Aurora. Aurora takes the handle in both hands and bows. "Thank you, Lord Megatron."

"Pack up any and all Cybertronian technology from your base. You will be moving to my ship tomorrow." With those final words, Megatron and Soundwave walk into a ground bridge that suddenly opens for them.

As soon as the portal closes, the Autobots swarm Aurora. "Optima, why?" "With that power you could have finished Buckethead right there and then!" "How could you just give it to him?!" " QUIET!!!" Aurora yells and everyone goes quiet to hear what she has to say. "First of all, Soundwave is the one who decoded the coordinates of these relics not me. Because of that I struck a deal with Megatron. I would retrieve the Star Saber and give it to him, because only the one with the Matrix could free it from the mountain. And in return, he would give me this and allow me and only me to have any say on how it will be used.

"I know you are all still wrapping your mind around the truce. But Star Saber or not I did not surrender because I did not believe we could win. I surrendered because I wanted to end the death and destruction. Which is all the Star Sabre can do. I do not need it for the coming peace. However, this I do need." Aurora finished by lifting the hammer up for everyone to see.

"What is it?" Bulkhead asked the question on everyone’s mind.

"The Forge of Solus Prime. A supernatural tool that allows a true chosen prime to create anything as long as they have the proper resources and enough energy in the Forge." Aurora answered. That sounded like every Minecrafter’s dream come true.

"You could make any weapon with it. What are you going to make first?" Ratchet asked. But it sounded to me like Aurora was right about them not fully wrapping their heads around the peace. Who said she was going to make a weapon with it? It looked like she was already pretty chummy with Megatron.

Aurora turned to Bumblebee with a smile. "Bumblebee, would you like your voice back?"

~~~~~~~~~~

End Notes:

I’m basing the star map off of the official one from the TFA continuity. Here’s a link if anyone wants to check it out.

https://maswartz. /post/167460805497/a-map-of-the-transformers-universe-from-the/amp

I am completely opened and welcomed to comments. If I feel inspired with any I might even be able to finish this fic. I’m usually pretty bad with adding filler scenes in between major events and scenes.

Or if you just enjoyed the story, pretty please leave a comment and feedback. Would really appreciate it to hear if people are enjoying my style of story telling. Thank you!

Chapter Text

Beginning notes:

“Italics is used for transmitted dialogue. Be it over comms, bonds, or telepathy.”

In my head. Soundwave has 3 means of communication. Over comms and bonds like everyone and using his mechanical "Soundwave: superior" voice. He mostly uses the 3rd one for everyone but the other 2 are reserved for people he trusts. However, he can also hear other’s thoughts, but that is just one-way, he cannot telepathically send thoughts.

~~~~~~~~~~

~~~Aurora POV~~~

~~~~~After the Autobots have moved into the Nemesis ~~~~~

“Ratchet! Please just focus on Bumblebee’s surgery! You don’t have to keep following me!” I try to speed walk down the halls of the Nemesis to get a break from this. I don’t know how much more of this I can take!

“How can you tell me to focus on anything else after you tell me that you’re going to be meeting with Megatron and Soundwave repeatedly for the next two days?!” Ratchet asks as he continues to follow me.

“I told you that so you would not panic wondering where I am when I’m with them. And we are just going to be preparing for the big announcement in two days. There’s a lot to do, figuring out what we’re going to say, recording the announcement, getting the invitations ready, calculating the galactic value of Earth resources. We won’t have time to do anything else while we’re in our meetings. Besides, it’s not like I’m going to be alone with Megatron. Soundwave will be there.” I’m getting really tired of this argument.

“That’s even worse!!! I don’t trust Soundwave to chaperone you! In fact, it’s more likely he’ll help Megatron and use those tentacles - mmf“ “ STOP!!!” I quickly cover Ratchet’s mouth before he can finish that sentence!

“We are in the middle of a public hallway!!!” I feel my face heating up so much I’m surprised I don’t hear anything sizzling! How can Ratchet even say that in public?! I don’t even what to look around to see if anyone’s heard. Ignorance is bliss.

“Just let me be in there so that I can properly chaperone you!” Ratchet pleads.

“I can’t Ratchet! This meeting is too secret and involves sensitive data. And does not require a medical officer, just Megatron because he’s the leader, Soundwave because he can hack anything, and me because I’m his Earth expert. Just focus on taking care of Bumblebee and making sure that the voice box I made for him works properly. And comm me once you have confirmation. That’s the best thing you can do for me.” Pleeeeease just drop it before I die from embarrassment.

“Ah! Fine, but as soon as you come out of that meeting, I’m doing another full examination of you!” Ratchet threatens.

“That’s really not necessary!!!!” Please don’t put me through that again!

“This is not up for debate!” I really wanna refuse Ratchet, but I am right in front of Megatron’s office door and I need to go.

“Fine! Whatever! Just take care of Bumblebee and comm me with the results, and stop talking about this out in the open!!! ” I close the door on Ratchet’s face not wanting to hear a response. Then slide down the wall in relief at finally getting rid of him.

“Pft! Ahahahahaha!” That laugh has me looking up in annoyance at Megatron’s stupid gleeful face. I noticed the Star Saber hung up behind him. Didn’t take him long to display his new trophy.

“Stop laughing!!! It’s not that funny and it’s partly your fault anyway! If you hadn’t kept teasing me the whole time we were in the old base, Ratchet wouldn’t have gotten that idea!” I am so tempted to just tell Ratchet that Megatron would never do that because I am just a human in his arch nemesis’s body!

“Well, you did suggest that I get a hobby now that the war is over. Something about needing a hobby to entertain myself outside of work. Messing with the Autobots sounds like a very entertaining new hobby to me.” Megatron is clearly not repented at all at what he’s done to my life.

“You want a hobby? Try knitting!” I need to figure out some new scheme to pay him back for this and the buzzer. Clearly the makeover alone didn’t teach him. Now I’m starting to wonder if this is how Megatron and Starscream’s rivalry started.

“As much as I enjoy our little back and forth, how did your plan go? Do you think that human got the message?” Megatron quickly, went from teasing mode to business mode.

I could feel an evil grin spreading on my face as I reclined down in his sofa, but I saw no reason to try hiding it from these two. “Oh he got the message alright. Did you see the look on Fowler’s face after you shot the Star Saber? He was white as a sheet! He didn’t utter a single word to us as he trudged back to his bosses like a zombie. Once word gets out of your earlier threat and that little display of power, I’d be impressed by the stupidity of any government that still tries to hunt us down and experiment on us. Speaking of which, Soundwave, how did the hacking of all those satellites go?”

Over a wide range comm I hear Soundwave’s voice answer, “Government satellites all successfully hacked and directed to the mountain when Lord Megatron shot the Star Saber. Already several governments have met and started speculating about what that destructive ‘tidal wave of light’ was. If America does not come forth and explain to the rest of the nations before the broadcast. It is not likely they will be able to keep it a secret for very long afterwards.”

“I must say, my dear, you are quite diabolical. Going behind your old government‘s back to ally with their rivals and enemies, having me threaten them while giving me the full power of the Star Saber, and all while inserting yourself as my passivist peacekeeping human loving humble subordinate. If I didn’t know you better I’d say this was a brilliant scheme to paint you as a victim to get everybody’s sympathy.” Megatron looked like he found the whole thing very amusing. And the fact that I am no longer blushing every time he calls me ‘my dear’ and am even getting used to it, is quite concerning.

“It’s called the ‘good cop, bad cop’ strategy.” The hope is that Earth will be more agreeable to work with the NCC if they think there is someone on their side who has influence over the leader. While being more reluctant to pull an ‘Age of Extinction’ on us with the Megatron’s threat.

“However, are you really okay doing this to your former species?” Megatron asked this with a judging glare at me.

“Yes, I never approved with what the humans did to the Cybertronians in all the other continuities where they betray them. Just because we were the same species does not mean I have to agree with their stupid leadership. And besides, I’m not their same species anymore. If I don’t wanna get hunted down or exploited by them, this is necessary.” I answer with complete certainty, hoping that Megatron can see how honest I am.

Megatron scrutinizes me for a minute before scuffing. “Oh, here’s this back.” He reaches into his subspace and pulls out the glowing, fully charged Key to Vector Sigma and tosses it to me. I catch it and look at it for only a second before making a decision. “Nah. You keep it. Since I’m not the true Prime with all the knowledge and memories of the past Primes, I don’t need it. Besides, you might need it for more glowy shows of strength.” I toss the Key right back to him.

“Hm, I’m still rather surprised your theory worked.” He says as he inspects the Key.

“So am I. I mean, I figured that having the fully charged key might give you some special Prime related privileges since it did for a human, but even after we tested to see if the Star Saber would turn on for you, I was still scared to death that you would not be able to actually shoot with it.” But I am very glad that I will not be needing to use the Star Saber in any big battles.

“Speaking of your theories, how goes your theory about the Forge? And are you sure I cannot talk you into doing more with that Forge than just healing mechs?” Megatron asks, and I see Soundwave perk up.

“Second question first. Yes, I’m afraid you cannot talk me out of my plans for the Forge. In the shows there was only enough energy left in the Forge for a few large scale constructions. And only Solus Prime knew how to recharge it. With other’s consent, I plan to use this to heal those wronged by the Institute by reversing their empurata and those crippled by the War like Bee by repairing them. If there’s anything left afterwards, we can save it to repair the Omega Lock incase it ever does still get destroyed like in the series.” Megatron sighs as he lowers his head with a contemplative look on his face. Hopefully that means he’s submitting to my reasoning. So I continue.

“And fist question second. Ratchet and Knockout (despite Ratchet’s grumblings) did many different scans on the new voice box. They both said there’s a 98% chance that Bumblebee’s biology will accept it. But we will know with 100% certainty after Bumblebee wakes up from his operation.

“After that, I could use the Forge on you and Shockwave, Soundwave, to undo your empurata if you want. Speaking of which how is Shockwave doing?” It was quite a shock for him to suddenly: get called in by Megatron when he thought no one knew he was alive, be ordered to move to Earth immediately, and then get all that info and requests dumped on him.

“He is doing fine. He said it will be a while before he finishes Project Predacon. But he ceased his experimentations on the minicons like I ordered. Even if he didn’t understand why. The minions are currently either being repaired or are in recovery. He was very eager to begin work on the shadowplay cure. At least, once Soundwave told him that ‘new studies’ have shown that those who have suffered extensive shadowplay like him gradually lose their brain function. Fortunately, he did not look too closely at the falsified data. Although even with Ratchet’s and Knockout’s help there is no telling when they will come up with a cure.

“Especially with the other invention requests for Shockwave. Speaking of which, are these Holoforms really necessary? I can understand wanting them for subterfuge but I still do not understand wanting them for what you have planned.” Megatron finishes reporting about all the progress made so far on our plans.

I am really relieved that Shockwave’s fate is already in the process of being altered and pray that he will find a shadowplay cure soon. I am not confident that the Forge would be able to cure their minds like it can their bodies.

“Don’t worry Megatron this is all psychology. Leave it to your Earth PR expert here.” And though the Holoforms will definitely be helpful in preventing backstabbing later, I’m also starting to wonder if I can use them for some payback.

“You’ve got that look on your face again. But I will let it slide since we have more important things to do before the announcement.” Megatron says. Not that I was going to tell him anything about my plot even if he asked.

“Agreed. Soundwave, how goes collecting all the relics I asked you to get? It is best if we collect all of them before the announcement that reveals us to all of Earth.” Especially the relics that are near humans.

“Relic collection 80% completed. Breakdown and the Vehicons will be able to find remaining 20% before the announcement. Shockwave is even working on the synthetic Energon formula as we speak. Being able to see the exact coordinates of 90% of them truly sped up the hunt.” Soundwave commed in awe.

But I felt rather embarrassed. It’s not like it was because of my personal work that we had all those exact coordinates. It’s because of my special memory powers that I got after isekaing here. Getting praised for a cheat ability made me feel like a fraud. Even if we all found it very handy when we were scheming to combat future threats.

“Good.” Megatron spoke up. “With that well underway, here’s what I have written down for the announcement so far.”

~~~~~~~~~~

End notes:

I am completely opened and welcomed to comments. If I feel inspired with any I might even be able to finish this fic. I’m usually pretty bad with adding filler scenes in between major events and scenes.

Or if you just enjoyed the story, pretty please leave a comment and feedback. Would really appreciate it to hear if people are enjoying my style of story telling. Thank you!

Chapter Text

~~~Bumblebee POV~~~

"Now, this time, say ‘The Purple Polyhexian.’" Ratchet ask my to recite what felt like the hundredth glossia twister!

"Sigh. ‘The purple Polyhexian pickup parked parallel pulling the plethora of platforms pilled with pipes for plumbing the pampered occupant’s posh penthouse parlor.’" I answer dutifully. "Ratchet~. How much longer are you going to have me do this? My voice box feels fine, but my glossia feels numb!" I’ve had thousands of dreams where I miraculously got my voice back after Megatron took it. And not 1 of them involved me saying every glossia twister ever written on Cybertron!

"I’m just checking every system, coding, energon flow, and individual joint shift. This is the first time in known history that such a delicate biological component was made using scrap metal from a mech’s armor. I want to make sure there are no signs of complications or flaws." Ratchet counters.

"Come on Grandpa Grump. Give the kid a break. He should be celebrating a successful operation not stuck going through this torture." Knockout sasses Ratchet from the other side of the primary Medibay in the Nemesis . As much as I know Knockout probably just said that to annoy Ratchet, I completely agree with him and can’t help nodding along with his suggestion! I want out of here and to never to hear another glossia twister again in my life, much less have to say one!

"Hmf! I wouldn’t expect a flashy nurse to know all the different symptoms to watch out for or all the examinations such a delicate procedures entails.” Ratchet countered.

“Ha! Well I wouldn’t expect an outdated old wrench to know how the modern scans have made most of those examinations redundant and unnecessary.” Knockout countered right back.

And they have completely forgotten about me in favor of insulting each other and arguing about medical procedures. This was happening before I went under for the surgery and Bulkhead told me that it continued while I was under. And now it is still going on. I wonder if this will be the norm from now on. Maybe Pri- I mean Aurora should ask Megatron to get Ratchet his own medibay?

“Uh. Excuse me.” I look over while the 2 doctors are still arguing and see a Vehicon at the door. Aurora said that most are young sparks or sparklings. I can’t help but wonder if it’s true. I’ve felt like the only youngling for so long. “Uh. Knockout? Sir? Breakdown told me to deliver these parts to you. And-“

“You! Sit on that berth! I need to do a few scans on you!” Ratchet suddenly barked at the Vehicon.

“What?” Knockout and the Vehicon asked simultaneously.

“Why do you want him on the examination berth? I’ve already given all of them their routine examinations.” Knockout said.

“Because I want to see if what Prime said is right.” Ratchet explained, clearly wondering the same thing I was. “Besides I can’t trust your examinations.” “HEY!!!”

And there they go again. It’s a wonder they can do any medical procedures while they are arguing like that.

The Vehicon slinks to said medical berth and meekly lets Ratchet do his thing. But he is shaking the whole time. Can’t really blame him. If I had been awake while Ratchet was working on me while arguing at the same time, I would be worried out of my processor too.

Once Ratchet finishes what he wants and goes over to a monitor to review his findings, and Knockout follows to continue arguing, I get up to have my own talk with the Vehicon.

“Uh. Hi?” I wanna kick myself for how lame that was.

“… Oh. Oh! You-you mean ‘hi’ me? Uuuh. Hi?” Well at least I’m not the only one who’s not sure about this. But Aurora was right. They don’t act like how drones act. No drone I’ve ever seen could act bashful and embarrassed.

“So. Uh. How old are you?” That’s a normal question, right?

“Um. I’ll be 16 vorns in a few years.” That answer shocked me so much I almost I almost trip on nothing while just standing there!

“ 16 vorns?!?! Are you kidding me?!?!” He’s younger than me by 2 vorns !!!

“I swear I’m almost 16 vorns! You can ask Knockout! When he’s not arguing with Ratchet. But really I wouldn’t lie about my age! Why would I even need to?” The Vehicon asks in a panic. I didn’t mean to make him panic! I don’t even know why he is! Does he not like yelling?

“Alright alright. I believe. I wasn’t saying you were lying. I was just surprised that you were younger than me. I never really thought about you drones- ah I mean you Vehicons being younger than me!” Oh scrap this is hard! And I can’t believe I just called him a drone to his face plate! "Scrap! Sorry sorry! That just came out! It’s a force of habit. Not that it was right to think of you as drones in the first place. I’m trying to stop it. And doing badly apparently. Uh. Is there any way you could pretend this conversation never happened?" I wonder if there’s a small dark closet in this ship I can hide in.

"Uh. It’s okay. I mean. It’s not okay! We’re not drones! But I mean. Thank you for apologizing. And I’m sorry I reacted badly. I thought you would hit me because you thought I was lying, and I’m not doing too well with this either." The Vehicon slouched in his seat, but I probably didn’t look much better myself. I believe the humans have an expression for how we both probably look. ‘Kicked puppy dog.’ But now I really don’t know how to save this disaster of a conversation attempt.

Apparently I don’t need to though. "Uh is Aurora the type to be mad or hold a grudge against you if you crash while she is talking to you?" The Vehicon asks. I have no idea where that question came from.

“Uh. No. She’s more the type who would pick up and carry someone if she saw them crash.” The numerous times she carried Prowl came to mind as I answered. I really hope he and Jazz are alive and answer Aurora and Megatron’s call to come here. I miss them. “But I hope you don’t mind me asking. Why do you ask?”

The Vehicon hung his helm and as I leaned down to try to see his faceplate, I saw a heated blush all over! This definitely proves that they are not drones! Drones can’t get this level of embarrassed!

“B-because … I may have. Uh crashed when The Pri- I mean Aurora asked me to teach her how to cook different Energon treats?” He stumbled through his answer.

“Wait! ‘Treats?’ You know how to cook energon into different treats? Like the humans can with their food?” I had heard of the high caste enjoying different Energon mixes, but this is the first time I heard of energon in a treat form.

“Well. Yes. When we have a lot of extra energon after filling our storage rooms, Lord Megatron lets us use the surplus for experimenting with recipes as long as we share what we make and don’t just hog them.” That actually sounds really nice of him.

I never would have paged Megatron as being the type to let his workers play with energon. But then again I never paged the Decepticon workers as being sentient, or Megatron as accepting anything less than total death or enslavement of all Autobots. In the Autobots, we never processed more energon than we needed and could store. Getting extra to use for anything fun was considered a waste. But this didn’t feel like a waste if everyone got to enjoy it. It felt, really considerate. Maybe, old Buckethead isn’t all bad. But I’m still not in a hurry to see him after I just got my voice box back.

Just then the doors opened and Aurora stepped through. “Hello Bumblebee. Ratchet commed me to let you me know you had a successful surgery. How do you feel?” I wanted to jump up and salute her and thank her for the voice box. But I have to remember that she is not a Prime anymore, as part of the negotiations.

“I feel fine! 100%! I can’t thank you enough for the voice box!” It feels a little odd talking informally to her now. But if this surrender and peace is going to last, I guess I’ll have to get used to it. She’s not my supreme commander anymore.

“That is a huge relief, and you are welcome.” Aurora then turns to the Vehicon. “Hello Steve. It’s good to see you again and how are you feeling? No lingering helmaches or dizziness?”

So the Vehicon’s name is Steve? I really should have asked that first! I need to stop treating them like drones!

“Uh. No. Miss Aurora er Madam Aurora er Secretary Aurora? Uh.” Looks like Steve is also unsure about how to treat her now.

“Just Aurora is fine. As I mentioned before, we are now going to be working under the same boss there’s no need for such formalities among coworkers. And besides, if you start teaching me your cooking, you’ll technically be my teacher and mentor.” Aurora actually giggles at this joke! I can’t remember the last time I saw Optima laugh! Is not being in command helping her relax or unburdening her?

“By the way, it looks like I came right on time to see the two of you getting along.” Aurora changes the topic. But I ’m not sure I would call the two of us verbally stumbling around each other ‘getting along.’ “It’s great that you finally have other mechs your own age you can hang out with Bumblebee. Are you too planning on doing anything fun together later?”

That brought us up short. We hadn’t really talked about any like that. And I’m not so sure they wanna hang out with me after I’ve been fighting them and their friends for so long. Scrap! I’ve been fighting mechs younger than me! I really need to find that closet to wallow in.

Fortunately, Steve was the one to pick up the conversation while I was internally wallowing “We uh don’t really do much - for fun that is. Aside from the cooking and talking when we’re not working.”

“Don’t any of you play any games?” Aurora asked.

“None of the lower castes really had the time to play games. Or the credits to buy the hologames the high or middle castes had. Then when we scavenged the Towers after attacks, the games were usually too damaged to be functional and they were just used for spare parts.” The low caste never got to play games? Even during the war I got to play a few games that the Autobots managed to save.

“You don’t need fancy hologames to play.” Aurora elaborated. “Earth has quite a few games that their young play without using holograms. They just use cheap easy to make stuff that I’m sure we could make with the scrap metal on board. I read about one game in particular than I thought would be fun, harmless, and also be a way to practice tactics. They call it ‘Capture the Flag.’ It’s a lot like a raid, where two sides have something the other side wants to steal, and both sides try to get the item they want while avoiding capture and bringing that item back to their homebase. You would be able to find all the rules in more detail on the humans Internet.”

That did sound like a fun game, but would the Workers wanna play it with me? It sounds like a game that requires quite a few players.

“No one is playing anything until I am done with my scans and examinations on all the Workers!” Ratchet suddenly yells. How he heard our conversation while arguing with Knockout, I have no idea.

“The Workers are all fine and functional! You don’t need to scan every last one of them!!” Knockout yelled back at Ratchet.

“Fine nothing! This one is missing several firewalls and requires supplements! Clearly I have to examine every last 1 of them!” Ratchet then turns his gaze to poor Steve who squeaks in fright. “You! Comm all your friends, and tell them they need to get to the medibay for a full examination and any who do not, will get hunted down and dragged here!!”

“Ye-yes sir. Medic sir. Doctor medic sir.” Poor Steve squeaks out.

“Ratchet. Please do not traumatize the sparklings and young sparks.” Aurora requests but I am afraid it’s a little too late for that. “And before you go medic crazy on all the Workers, could I ask for yours and Knockout’s input on a medical related theory of mine?”

Aurora goes over to talk with the 2 scary doctors, distracting them from me and Steve. “My friends are not going to like this. Some may even try to hide in the hollows of the ship.” Steve says in fear. As much as I hate to be the bearer of bad news I have to warn him.

“Unfortunately, Ratchet never bluffs. If he says he’ll hunt down your friends and drag them here he will. And he’s surprisingly good at it! I gave up trying to hide from him after the 50th time he found me.” I warn and Steve now looks like someone who’s accepted his fate in an execution sentence. So he does a mass comm to all the other Workers.

After that it gets awkward again. But there is something I should make clear. “You uh you and your friends don’t have to play that ‘Capture the Flag’ game with me just because Aurora suggested it. Especially if you don’t want to.” I feel like crying as I say it. It sounds like it would be so much fun and it will not feel good watching them have fun playing it without me. But after what I’ve done to sparks my own age and younger in the past, I’ll completely understand if they don’t want me around.

“I’ll uh talk with my friends. You’re not that bad when you aren’t punching us. Uh I mean you seem like you could be okay to hang out with. What I mean is. I personally wouldn’t mind getting to know you more? Now that there’s no fighting? Did that sound better?” Steve fumbles through that. But I get what he means. This is new and uncomfortable territory for all of us young sparks. But I don’t think it could be bad territory.

“If you and your friends are okay with it. Yeah. I’d love to get to know all of you better.” I answer with a smile, and I think Steve is smiling too. This surrender, may not be as bad as we originally thought after all.

~~~Epilogue for this chapter~~~

Only about a third of the Workers answered Steve’s message and willingly (but reluctantly) went to Ratchet. The rest still tried to hide, and Ratchet hunted down every last one of them just like he promised.

And so was written a new chapter in the horror tales of ‘The Doctor of Doom.’

~~~~~~~~~~

End notes:

I am completely opened and welcomed to comments. If I feel inspired with any I might even be able to finish this fic. I’m usually pretty bad with adding filler scenes in between major events and scenes.

Or if you just enjoyed the story, pretty please leave a comment, kudo, and bookmark. Would really appreciate it to hear if people are enjoying my style of story telling. Thank you!

Chapter Text

~~~Megatron POV~~~

“Aurora’s theory is sound. However, the probability of success is still only 98%.“ Ratchet finishes after analyzing the numbers and readout.

“Well I think it has a 100% chance of success after how well it worked with Bumblebee.” Knockout interjected his opinion.

“Aurora was just making 1 small component. And said component was outside of the living body before surgery. The reformatting the whole living body using the body’s CNA as a foundation, is a completely different matter!” Ratchet argued back.

“How is this any different from the usual body reformatting? Answer: none! Aside from a mystical hammer being used instead of the usual surgery! And whole body reformats have been 100% successful in the past!” Knockout argues back. I need to put a stop to this before it escalates, again.

“Ahem!” I say loudly to be heard over their arguing. “If both of you are done, I believe the more important question is, are you 2 satisfied enough with the results to proceed?” I direct this question to Shockwave and Soundwave who have been standing quietly to the side of the medibay as the medics worked, or argued.

“Yes, it is the logical course of action. Utilizing 2 servos will double productivity in finding a cure for Shadowplay as well as my many other inventions.” Shockwave answers immediately. But to my surprise, Soundwave hesitates.

We wait for a click for Soundwave to answer. Aurora is the one to break the silence. “If you have any reservations Soundwave, feel free to postpone this. Or call it off entirely. It is your body. And I am not going to loose the Forge, so it’s not like there’s a time limit you need to make a decision.”

Soundwave remains in silent thought for a few nano-clicks before saying something I never thought he would. “Query: is it possible to return some of my body to its previous state?”

“What?” Everyone asks at the same time.

“What do you mean Soundwave?Which parts do you mean?” Aurora asks.

“Revelation: Empurata not chosen. Original purpose: to weaken Soundwave so easier to kill in the Pits and prevent verbal communication of ideals. Results: adapted new body into strength. Post-Empurata body: stealthier, easily underestimated, more intimidating, less transparent with emotions. Results: espionage missions 99.9% successful. Request: keep body, but restore voice and face, while keeping the visor to hide face at will.” Soundwave explained to everyone present.

I do understand what Soundwave is saying. At first, the shock or his new body had been painful and terrifying. We both had thought he would be killed quickly in the Gladitorial Pits. But Soundwave had proven much more adaptable than either of us had assumed. He learned to fight cleverly and take advantage of his opponents underestimating him because of his lean frail looking body. And he quickly found he could sneak around much easier. It was rather poetic for Soundwave to turn his pariah body into a great weapon against the mechs who did that to him.

“I think that’s very honorable of you to want to keep the body you have gotten and adapted to so well Soundwave. But I’m not sure if I can just repair some of your body and not the whole thing. What do you 2 think?” Aurora directs her question to Ratchet and Knockout.

“You are using his CNA as a blueprint to reformat him to his original body. Once you start there’s no telling how his body will react when part of it will essentially be spliced onto another body it was not designed for.” Ratchet pondered aloud for us to hear.

“I hate to admit it. But I agree with, 1st gear, here. The Empurata surgeon’s specifically made Empurata to be permanent, so no other medics could easily fix them. The added parts are spliced on so that the new parts will be keyed in to the new body. Which is why the only ‘cure’ to Empurata before was a whole body reformat, which is also why most mechs couldn’t use the cure because of how costly and difficult a full body reformat is since it requires specific adaptation and tuning to the brain module and spark. I have heard of mechs who tried to just get their face or hands fixed without their whole bodies to save on the costs of a whole reformat. The results were not pretty. Their bodies rejected the new parts no matter how similar to their old parts they were. I’m afraid trying to mix and match here will have the same results.” Knockout explained further.

Soundwave looked dejected, but I had to side with the medics. I much rather have my amica healthy than risk him like that. Even if it is for his own wish.

Aurora looked quite sad too that she would not be able to give Soundwave the body he wanted. But then she got a thoughtful look on her faceplate. And then a struggling, serious, pondering look. Soundwave once equated this look to a human term. Brain storming. It matched Aurora’s expression perfectly. She truly looked like she was trying to materialize a storm with her mind while she was pondering her thoughts. Everyone else seemed to think so too since they all looked reluctant to disturb her concentration. Even when she started pacing and mumbling, no one stopped her.

After several clicks of this, she did stop and turn to us, more specifically she turned to Soundwave and asked, “What if I gave you the ability to transform back and forth between your Empurata body and your original body?” I needed a moment to review what she said. Then I needed another moment to try to understand what she had said.

“A-Aurora! Did you hear yourself just now?” Ratchet asked in shock. Apparently I’m not the only one struggling to understand her.

“What like. Instead of a vehicular altmode, Soundwave would have both his original and Empurata rootmodes?” Knockout asked struggling for clarity.

“No. I mean he would be able to shapeshift into either rootmodes and whichever rootmode he is in will reflect in his altmode. I heard of a Cybertronian being able to do this before. Although I’m not sure of the biology behind it. I’m guessing it must have something to do with his t-cog? There have been Cybertronians who had 6 different modes. A Cybertronian who has 2 rootmodes and altmodes stemming from them shouldn’t be much more difficult than that. They would essentially just have 4 modes? No wait that wouldn’t be quite right since the altmodes would depend on their rootmodes and not be independent modes. So would it be more like two 1.5modes? Er 3 modes? No, wait, that maths not right.” And Aurora is now trailing off.

I’ve noticed it before during our planning sessions. She would get an idea or theory then analyze it from different angles until she got a solution. But while analyzing it from those different angles her mind would then trail off down more angles until she found herself of a whole other subject. It’s actually kind of cute. And it has proven to bear some fruit on some occasions. Like when we first met, and now it seems.

“Aurora! Enough with the math! You are essentially proposing to alter Soundwave’s t-cogs to have 2 whole and completely different rootmodes, altmodes included!?!?” Ratchet interjected, steering this conversation back on track.

“Yes, that sounds like as good of an explanation as any.” Aurora answered simply like she hadn’t just glitched these 2 medics’s biological understanding.

“And you say you have met a mech who could actually this?!” Ratchet continued.

“Weeeell, I didn’t actually meet him. Just heard tales of him. I highly doubt he still exists in this universe.” Oh. So she is talking about a mech from one of the other universes she read about. The logic of those universes might not be applicable to ours though. However…

“Do you truly think you could do it? Do you truly think it would work?” I direct these 2 questions to Aurora before turning to Soundwave. “And would you want to try it if she can?”

“The problem with Soundwave’s request is that the rootmode will not accept the individual alterations. But if he could transform his rootmode whenever he wants to use said alternatives, then the problem would be averted all together. Transform into his Empurata form whenever he wants to be stealthy, transform into his original form whenever he wants to speak or use brute force. Etc.” Aurora explains simply again. Are all humans this flexible minded? Or is it just her?

“Aurora this idea is madness!” Ratchet yelled. “It goes against every study of the t-cog in Cybertronian medical history.”

“It does sound interesting and the scientist in me wants to study it to see if it could be possible.” Knockout said, earning a glare and threatening wrench wave from Ratchet. “But the medic in me says it is way too much of an unfounded theory to actually try. If that mech you mentioned were here and we could study him that would make it possible but since he is likely dead-”

“Soundwave: wishes to try.” Soundwave interrupts.

“WHAT?!?!” The 2 medics yell in sink.

“Soundwave this could end really badly!” Knockout objected.

“This is not like a reformatting at all! It is completely permanently changing your biology and how it works!” Ratchet adds to try to disuse Soundwave.

“Alternative: if worse happens, Aurora can use the Forge to proceed with original plan.” Soundwave counters.

“But that is just it! She might not be able to! Changing your t-cog to that extent may involve changing your CNA! If it does come to that she would not be able to proceed with her original plan!” Knockout elaborated. This is sounding more dangerous by the moment.

“I also volunteer for this experiment.” Shockwave offered, surprising all of us.

“Shockwave! Not you too! I thought you would have seen the illogicality of this idea!” Ratchet yelled in disbelief.

“Correction. Being able to utilize the strengths of both forms is logical. My current body is the logical choice for battle, but my original body is the logical choice for lab work. Efficiency in both fields will not be hindered in this scenario. Therefore to maximize efficiency, this is the logical course of action.” Shockwave stated bluntly like always.

“Soundwave: still wishes to try as well.” I am sorely tempted to grab my amica and shake some sense into him.

“Aurora! You talk some sense into them! It’s your fault they got this idea in their helms!” Ratchet orders Aurora.

“Shockwave Soundwave, I was just theorizing! Throwing out ideas! I don’t want you to do this if it’s so dangerous! We can just proceed with the original plan while examining this new one. Then if it looks truly plausible we can try it another time.” Aurora tries to compromise.

“Without a test subject, it is not possible to examine this. I volunteer to be the test subject.” Shockwave counters.

We try for almost a joor to disuade them. But both were very set on this new plan. Shockwave even threatened to try to achieve this new root shapeshifting ability by experiment on himself without the Forge if we didn’t proceed with this new plan! Eventually we had to concede to Shockwave’s plan to have him be the test subject.

“You’ll immediately say something if you start feeling any pain. No matter how small! And we reserve to right to stop it ourselves if Ratchet or Knockout see something suspicious on the scans!” Aurora repeats for the 3rd time. I think she maybe more nervous about this than Ratchet and Knockout are.

“We are in agreement. Please proceed with the experiment.” Shockwave said actually sounding a little impatient. Which usually means he is getting very impatient on the inside.

Aurora still looked very nervous and unsure. But she still proceeded to take up the Forge of Solus Prime. The Forge immediately obeyed her command and came to life. It’s mystical energies dancing around it and then her. As though waiting for the command of its wielder. Aurora stepped up to Shockwave, who reached out his servo to touch the end of the hammer head.

As soon as his digits touched the Forge, its energies surged up his arm and encompassed the rest of him. Despite the danger and uncertainty, there is only one word I can use to describe the sight before me.  Beautiful.

Aurora holding the Forge of Solus Prime with absolute concentration. Her faceplate a picture of somber humility. Knowing the power she wields and burdened with its responsibility. The Forge aglow with ancient power that can only be described as magic. But it is not the picture she poses that makes the scene before me beautiful. It is what she is doing in it.

Shockwave is standing completely still, engulfed in the Forge’s power. Before my optics I see all traces of his Empurata slowly disappearing. His cannon reformatting into a servo, his blocky helm reshaped into the more spherical shape of a Cybertronian, his single bulb of an optic disappeared to be replaced with 2 normal blue optics. A healing and restoration believed impossible, made possible. And taken a step further.

The energies suddenly concentrate where his t-cog is. Dancing and condensing. Ratchet and Knockout watched the monitors even more closely now. Both looked like they were ready to jump at the slightest sign up trouble. But without any warning, the energy suddenly explodes!

The shockwave pushes Ratchet, Knockout, Soundwave, and I back a few steps and blinds us of Aurora and Shockwave! I panicked fearing what has become of them! But before any of us can do anything the light dies down and Aurora and Shockwave, in his original form, just stand there like nothing out of the ordinary happened!

“Did-did it work?” Knockout asked the question on everyone’s minds.

“Scans show no signs of damage. Pain receptors are not flaring. How do you feel Shockwave?” Ratchet answered.

Shockwave flexed his limbs. Either checking to see if everything was working properly, or doing his best to see his old body again without the aid of a mirror. I had never seen his old body in person, only through holovids. He was considered a very attractive mech with a jet altmode. But unlike with Starscream, his wings were smaller and on his arms as well as his back. He now had 2 normal servos. He also seemed a little shorter than his post Empurata form. His coloring was also much brighter. Predominantly white with blue and green highlights. But his 2 blue normal optics drew me in most of all.

And then he transformed! But not into an altmode. He transformed into the Shockwave I had become familiar with. All tall bulk and blocky. Dark purple. With a cannon for 1 hand. And his single bulb used as an optic.

“All systems are functioning at optimal capacity. In both forms. No pain detected.” Shockwave finally answered.

“I guess that means, it worked!” Aurora said in visible relief.

“Conclusion: success. Proceed: my turn.” Soundwave suddenly said. I had been so tense with Shockwave’s procedure I had forgotten that if it worked on Shockwave, Soundwave would be next!

“Epepep! Not until we do a much more thorough diagnosis on Shockwave. Make absolutely sure nothing looks wrong or faulty.” Ratchet cut in.

For the next several joors, Ratchet and Knockout both performed every diagnostic they could think of on Shockwave. He put up with it mostly, but he probably did it more to sate his own curiosity about his new condition.

“So the Shadowplay is still there? It wasn’t fixed at all? Not even a little?” Aurora asked after they did a thorough analysis of Shockwave’s processor.

“It’s still there. Shadowplay is more programming than hardware so just a body reformat would not do anything to fix that. However, theoretically, the Forge should have programming capabilities for the high tech inventions that Solus made. However, programming a weapon by scratch and reprogramming a mech’s processor are 2 very different things. To do that safely with a mech’s processor would require a high level of mnemosurgeon knowledge.” Knockout explained.

“And finding a trustworthy mnemosurgeon will be like finding a harmless black hole.” I finish for Knockout. After that near incident with Trepan, I did not trust a single mnemosurgeon. What mech in their right mind would want to mess with another’s processors? What good would come of it? It was only useful for brainwashing!

“That is not an issue. I am 80% sure I can program a Shadowplay cure myself. And with the added advantage of 2 servos, I am confident I will be able to accomplish it twice as fast.” Shockwave concluded, sounding less disappointed about the outcome than Aurora.

Even though Aurora herself doubted that the Forge would be able to easily cure Shadowplay. It is obvious that she still hoped it would. Her antennas were dropped so low that looked like they might fall off. Her whole body sagged like she was suddenly burdened by a huge weight. And her lip plates had an actual pout on them! The image should not be making me want to pet her helm!

“Disappointing: Shadowplay cure still unfound. Alternative: procedure: completely harmless and effective. Conclusion: experiment: not complete failure. Request: proceed with operation on me.” Soundwave actually sounded impatient now, even with his Empurataed voice box.

And proceed we did. It had the same effect as last time. An explosion happened as Aurora was altering Soundwave’s t-cog. But afterwards Soundwave was also able to transform between rootmodes and have a different altmode for each.

It has been so long since I saw  Soundwave’s original body. I had forgotten that he was almost as tall as me! With almost as much bulk too! But he was more angular with a special carrier chest for his cassettes. His color is a shade lighter and bluer with red highlights mixed in and white as a base color. I can tell he has his old alt mode even without seeing it. His smooth wings are gone, replaced by heavy duty tires on his arms and legs for an armored wheeled vehicle. And his sonic cannon is back where it belongs on his right shoulder.

While Soundwave is refamiliarizing himself with his old body, Ratchet turned to Aurora. “Aurora. Did you just make a new breed of Cybertronian?” Ratchet asks but it is clearly ment to be sarcastic. Since he keeps staring at Soundwave and Shockwave as they exercise their new transformation abilities.

Poor Aurora looked like she didn’t know how to answer that. She looked to me for aid, but honestly this is between her and Ratchet since it was her idea. “I- wouldn’t call just 2 mechs a whole ‘breed’?” But it sounded like even she wasn’t to sure about that herself.

Ratchet clearly isn’t buying it himself. “And what about if they have sparklings and their sparklings inherit this ability? What would you call it then?!”

“Honestly Ratchet. This isn’t the craziest thing you’ve seen me do.” Looks like Aurora has switched tactics from denial to mitigating the fallout.

“No, it’s just the 2nd craziest! Which is concerning in and of itself!!” I only half pay attention to Ratchet’s rant after that. My priority is with Soundwave.

“Soundwave.” I call to pull his attention away from his inspection. “Are you happy with this?” That is more important than any ‘new breed’ concerns Ratchet has. If Soundwave is not happy with this I will immediately talk to Aurora about proceeding with the original plan or even returning Soundwave to his Empurata state.

Soundwave ponders my question for a few clicks. Staring at his original body as he flexes his old blunt digits. Then he turns to me and retracts his face mask and visor. Staring at me with his painfully familiar red optics and a small smile on his face. Then in his old voice he answers.

“Yes. I am quite happy with this.”

~~~~~~~~~

End Notes:

Honestly! I was planning to just restore both Soundwave and Shockwave to their original pre-empurata bodies. But then this idea struck me out of nowhere and I just rolled with it and changed my whole plans for this chapter. Hope everyone likes the new Shockwave and Soundwave 3.0.

Not sure what Shockwave’s alt mode would be in his old body.

But I’m picturing Soundwave looking like his Transformers Robots in Disguise body or his Cyberverse body with the alt mode he had in those too, an armored SUV. And his original voice sounding like Cyberverse Soundwave’s.

I am completely opened and welcomed to comments. If I feel inspired with any I might even be able to finish this fic. I’m usually pretty bad with adding filler scenes in between major events and scenes.

Or if you just enjoyed the story, pretty please leave a comment, kudo, and bookmark. Would really appreciate it to hear if people are enjoying my style of story telling. Thank you!

Chapter Text

Beginning notes:

Since this chapter is going to be 3rd person POV unless otherwise stated I am going to make this ‘zzzzzzzzzz’ signify a screen change.

~~~~~~~~~~

~~~3rd person POV~~~

While the adults are away making Cybertronian biological history, the young sparks will play.

Bumblebee and every Vehicon and Eradication on the Nemesis have gathered in a large storage hanger to go over their plans.

Bumble bee speaks up to get everyone’s attention. “Alright listen up everyone. I heard Aurora and Ratchet talking and know that the 2 of them, Megatron, Soundwave, and Shockwave will be in the medibay for quite a few hours doing some kind of experiment. This is the perfect time to sneak in some fun!”

That got a round of applause and eager cheers from everyone. Bee then pulled Steve and an Eradicon Steve introduced him to, named Michal, up to the center of the room with him.

“Aurora suggested we have some fun since there’s peace right now. So we are going to play a game she recommended! I’ll leave it to Steve and Michal here to explain the rules since they did most of the research.” Bee stepped aside letting Steve and Michal have the floor.

Michal took 1 step forward to begin. “The Earth game Capture the Flag, highly resembles a raid with two factions. So we’re going to make 2 pretend factions the Blue Faction and the Pink Faction. We even got some temporary paint from Knockout to color coordinate the factions! And Steve here has made up two cubes of blue and pink Energen candies to be used in place of the flag to make it seem like a real raid!”

Michal stepped back so Steve could pull out 2 cubes filled with crystalline Energon candies color coded for their factions. Everyone cheered even louder and now really wanted to win! The cooks usually prioritize the higher ups when they distribute what little Energon goodies they made. So this would be the first time some of them could try them.

Steve stepped back to allow Michal to finish explaining the game. “Now onto the rules. We are keeping the game restricted to the lower parts of the Port, Starboard, and Stern of the ship. Let’s a void going to the Bow or upper levels of the ship where most of the higher ranks are. The lower level Starboard side will be the Blue faction’s territory, the upper level Port will be the Pink faction’s. Everywhere else is neutral territory. Each faction will be responsible to establish a base of operations where the Energon candies will be hidden and protected, and a cell where any captured enemy faction will be put.

“The goal is to get the enemy, faction’s Energon Candy and get it to your base without losing your Energen candy in the opposing faction’s territory. When you are on the opposite faction’s territory or neutral territory, you run the risk of being subdued and taken to their cell. The Earthlings use tag, paint balls, and water balloons to signify when they are captured. We will be using these bags of solvent. This way, no one gets hurt and if we miss who we’re throwing them at, the ship doesn’t get dirty or damaged. In fact we can use the solvent to clean the ship afterwards, so the higher ups can’t get too mad at us for goofing around. Hopefully.

“Anyway, it’ll also be up to the teams to replenish their bags of solvent. Once you are hit, you have to willingly go to the opposing side cell. And the only way to get out is if a free member of your faction can pull you out without someone from the opposing faction hitting you again. How we all get prisoners or raid the Energon candy and get it back to our base will be up to each faction and any tactics they decide. Any questions?”

“What if everyone in a faction is hit and put in the opposite faction’s cell?” 1 Vehicon asked.

“Then I guess that’s another way to win the game.” Michal answered.

“How are we going to decide who’s on which faction or who the leader will be?” An Eradicon asked.

“Second question first. Bee and I will be the leaders since we’ve done the research into the game. First question second. We’ll be using another Earth trick. We draw bolts!” Michal picked up a box that had been to the side. “Each bolt in here is colored pink or blue. We cover our optics, reach into the box, pick out a bolt, and whichever color that bolt is, that’s your faction. Any more questions… No? Alright then! Everyone come forward and pick a bolt! Then get your temporary paint on and meet up with your faction leader in your territory to start planning! The game will start in 1 hour!”

Everyone stood in line and took out a bolt. Then they quickly splashed their faction color on them in their best imitation of war paints. Then moved to their faction’s territory.

zzzzzzzzzz

In the Blue Faction’s territory.

“We need to find a room that we can defend easily. Do any of you know a room far away from the pink territory without any windows or vents?” Bee asked the Vehicons and Eardicons on his team.

“My room is on the far Starboard side, and it doesn’t have any windows. It does have vents though but they are really small. I doubt a mech could squeeze through them.” The Vehicon named Rose answered.

“Great! We’ll use that as our base and post guards around it. We’ll set up the solvent bag refill station at the closest solvent tap too so we don’t run out of amo there. And the cells will be at the opposite starboard side. That way there’s noo risk of a cell break and attack on the base.” Bee outlined. “We need to divide our faction in half. Half will divide into teams to guard the base, cells, and replenish the solvent bags. The other half will come with me to raid the pink cube. Any questions? … Alright let’s get that energon candy!”

“Yay!!!” Everyone on the blue team cheer as they move into formation.

zzzzzzzzzz

In the Pink Faction’s territory.

Michal is coming up with a very different plan. “We’ll make 1 of the rooms in the living quarters corridor our base and another room a few doors down our cell. And put only enough guards in the corridor to guard the cell. That way they will assume the team guarding the cell are only guarding the cell and not our base too! They can’t take our energon candy if they can’t find it. We’ll also have to put the solvent replenishing station on another level. It will make it harder to replenish ammunition but keep the other faction guessing where the energon candy is. Plus this frees up more of us for the raid team!”

“Yeah!” Everyone in the pink faction cheers at the thought of winning and getting the candy.

zzzzzzzzzz

After the hour was up. There was no going back.

The Blue Faction raid team moved through some corridors. Checking each hall for the enemy faction before crossing it. “We need to find their base first. Anyone have any ideas where it could be?” Bee asked his faction.

“There are a few high secure rooms on this side of the ship that the higher ups use. Maybe it’s in one of those rooms?” A Vehicon named Mark answered.

“Sounds like a good place to start looking. Lead the way Mark.” The Blue raid team followed Mark to the rooms. Continuing to check halls and watch each other’s backs for any ambush.

zzzzzzzzzz

The Pink raid team found Blue’s home base very quickly thanks to all the guards around it. But they were still cautious.

“Could it be a fake base? They are practically broadcasting where the Energon candy is like this.” Rose asked Michal.

“Maybe. Let’s look for their solvent bag station and cell. We’ll see how they’ve mapped out their territory and how many members each have and how many might try to invade our territory.” Michal suggested as he and his team scouted out the Blue Faction’s territory.

zzzzzzzzzz

Back with the Blue Faction. They were having some trouble finding the Pink Faction’s base. “This ship is huge! And we’ve only found their solvent station and cell! Where is their base!?” Bee was at his wits end.

“Too bad we can’t just ask them where their base is. But they’d never tell us.” Steve said absent mindedly. But what Steve thought was an absent minded question, Bee saw as inspiration.

“Wait! What if they didn’t know they were telling us?” A new plan was forming for the Blue Faction.

zzzzzzzzzz

Meanwhile, the Pink Faction’s solvent station team was board. “This bites! What are we just supposed to fill up these bags of solvent? How did we get the boring job?” An Eradicon named Butch complained for the dozen time since getting assigned this task, which was really annoying the rest of his team.

“Come on Butch. We need to be ready to hand out solvent bags when the action starts!” A Vehicon named Sam tried to argue. But Butch is the type to not be dissuaded when he starts complaining.

“I mean if I was on the team to get the energon candy, I bet I would have found it by now and gotten it. After all, the Blue Faction’s leader is Bumblebee. How good could he be at planning raids? He was a scout! Not a team leader. And another thing-!” “HEY!!!” Butch was cut off by someone shouting.

“What are you doing with our bags?!” Everyone looked over to see a cable and claw grabbing their bags and lifting them up into a ventilation shaft overhead. And in the vent was a Vehicon of the Blue faction they recognized as Mark!

Mark audibly gulped before answering “What? This? Oh uh well uuuuh … NOTHING!” He then dropped the cable and claw and started speed crawling through the vent.

“After him! He’s still got a good chunk of our bags! You 3 stay here and guard the bags we have left!” Part of the Pink solvent team transformed to follow the vent from the corridors, while another part got on each other’s shoulders to climb into the vents.

Mark tried to crawl faster but the transformed Pink team cut him off. He was boxed in both in front and behind. The Pink team armed themselves with bags to throw at him!

“Honest guys! I’m just following orders!” Mark tried to plea.

“Tell it to the bags!” As one, the Pink team threw bags of solvent at Mark from both sides. Dousing him completely!

“Aaah I’ve been hit! Captain I’ve been hit! Send help!” The now drenched Vehicon yelled in his comms.

“Bumblebee can’t help you now! You’re coming with us to the cell! Try to steal our bags will you? Hey! Where are our bags?! You took much more than these ones in your servo!” Sam grilled.

“I’ll never talk! Bee! Steve! Guys! Save me!” Mark kept yelling in distress.

“Oh you’ll talk alright!” Mark was dragged away by the Pink Solvent team while screaming screaming, “Avenge me!!!”

zzzzzzzzzz

But a few corridors down Bee and the rest of his team were listening in on the whole thing. “You really think Mark will be able to trick them into giving away the location of their base?” Bee asks in concern.

“Oh yeah! Mark’s a bit of a clown. But that’s part of what makes mechs underestimate him!” Steve answers confidently. Now they all just had to wait for Mark to comm them the location of the Energon Candy.

zzzzzzzzzz

With the Pink Faction’s raid team. Michal just got a very distressing comm from his Solvent team. “What?! They stole our bags?!”

“Yes. Sorry Michal. We are questioning Mark and have searched his subspace. But we could only find a few. I have no idea what he did with the others. But we are now down to half of our solvent bag stock.” Sam reported.

“Scrap this isn’t good. But why go after the bags? Are they trying to weaken us? Don’t tell me they found our base and are preparing to attack while we are low on ammunition. Zip! Take a few of our raid team back to the base! If they are preparing for an attack, we need to fortify our base. Sam, keep looking for the bags and send some extra to the base so they can arm themselves.” Michal cut off his comm to Sam and turned to the rest of his raid team. “The rest of us need to move fast to get the Blue cube and get it back to our territory.”

zzzzzzzzzz

Unfortunately for the Pink Faction, Sam had opened his comm so his team could audibly hear their new orders as they came in. They were in such a panic over this raid on them, that they had completely forgotten that they had kept Mark with them to interrogate him about the whereabouts of their bags, instead of sending him to their cell. And Mark commed Bee the news.

“Great job Mark! Just sit tight incase you hear them trying to change up any plans. Okay. Here’s our plan. We split up. Team 1 will follow that solvent team to their base and get the cube. Team 2 has to intercept the reinforcements before they get back to their base. While clearing the corridors for us to make a mad dash back to our base once we get the cube.” Bee quickly called out his orders and his team moved into action!

zzzzzzzzzz

Both teams attacked at around the same time.

The Pink raid team took advantage of their higher raid team numbers, by using an attack and retreat tactic. They quickly incapacitated the guards at the Blue base with only a few of their own getting hit. Then they quickly found the Blue cube and made a mad dash for their own base.

zzzzzzzzzz

The Blue raid team 1 followed the Pink Solvent team as they carried the extra bags of solvent and Mark to the guards at the cells? They were confused until Mark opened his comm for them to hear the conversation.

"Here’s the extra solvent bags, Tipp. Have you seen any of the Blue Faction?" Sam asked.

"Thanks. And no, and we’ve been keeping a very close optic on the door to our base. Ever since Michal commed us about the probable attack." Tipp answers as she quickly takes the bags.

zzzzzzzzzz

Around the corner, the Blue Raid team 1 hear everything. "What?! Their base is within optic sight of their cell?!” Bee whisper shouted in surprise.

"No wonder we couldn’t find it. We were looking for a different guard team like ours." Steve whispered his answer.

"Whatever, we now know it is somewhere in this corridor. Once the Pink Solvent team leaves, we go in hard and incapacitate those few guards. We can even free Mark, then we each pick a room and find the Pink Cube." Bee ordered his new strategy to his team.

As soon as the Pink Solvent team were out of audio range, the Blue Raid Team 1 attacked! The Pink Faction guards made good use of the extra solvent bags, but they were outnumbered without their reinforcements! The Pink guard team were soaked and taken out of the game! But Mark was freed from his cell.

"Ha! I told you my team would avenge me!" Mark gloated.

"Mark, gloat later help us find the cube now!" Bee shouted as he ran to a room to look for the Pink Cube.

They found it quickly, but before they could celebrate, Bee got another comm from Clark, the Eradicon captain of Blue Raid team 2. "Bee! We successfully intercepted the Pink reinforcements. But now the rest of the Pink raid team is here and they have our Cube!!! We need backup!!!"

"Scrap! Okay. We need to split up again. Who’s the fastest here?" Bee asked.

"That would be me, Bolt, fastest Eradicon here." Bolt said with pride.

"Are you just as fast flying through these corridors?" Bee questioned Bolt.

"Pft! Like any flyer worth his wings?" Bolt answered.

"Great! Here! Take the Pink cube back to our base! The rest of us need to back up Clark and get our own cube back!" Bolt took the cube and transformed, flying off to their own base by another corridor than the one the Pink team was reported in. And Bee took his team to give Clark reinforcement. But none of them noticed Sam watching them from around the corner.

He had managed to hear the commotion and had come back to see what was happening. He didn’t make it in time to help the guards. So he had chosen to hide to see what the Blue Faction’s next move would be.

"Michal, this is Sam. I have bad news."

zzzzzzzzzz

"What?! They got our Cube and now Bolt is trying to get it to their base? Which way did he go?" Michal was in a panic. Everything was spiraling into chaos!

"He turned down corridor 67 but I have no idea where he went after that!" Sam answered quickly.

"Scrap! Okay. You and your Solvent team make all the bags you can and join us! Zip! you’re the fastest Vehicon here! You take the Blue Cube and get it back to our base! The rest of us need to split up and find Bolt, cover Zip, and attack any Blue Faction’s you see! We need to keep them from stopping us!" Michal quickly ordered the best plan he could come up with in just a few seconds.

zzzzzzzzzz

"What did you say Clark?" Bee and his team 1 were still on their way to help team 2.

"I said the Pink team has split up everywhere! Some are still after us but quite a few have gone down other corridors! And Zip has taken our cube down 1 of them too!" Clark replied.

"They must be trying to confuse us! And it’s working! We need to split up too! Find Zip and our Cube! Take down any Pink Faction you see so they can’t go after Bolt! I’ll comm what’s left of our guards and Solvent team to come and help us!! Let’s move it mechs!!!" Bee yelled. And all the others yelled their understanding of the new chaotic order as everyone ran, drove, or flew in different directions.

"EVERY MECH FOR THEMSELVES!!!”

zzzzzzzzzz

“Gotta!”

"Aah! Hey! Are you color blind?! I’m wearing pink! I’m on your side!!”

"Oops! Sorry! Guess I’m just a little trigger happy. Uuuuh I guess this doesn’t count?"

"But this does!!!”

"HEY!!!" "AAAH! Not again!"

zzzzzzzzzz

"Aaah! Michal?! Why are you after me?! I don’t have your cube!”

"Because if I can hit you then that’s one less Blue faction for us to worry about! Now sold still so I can nail you Steve!!!”

"AAAAAAHHHH!!!!!”

zzzzzzzzzz

“AAAAHH!!! Hey I wasn’t even playing! I was hiding! I quit!!!”

“There’s no such thing as ‘quit,’ Rose! Everyone is my enemy!! Mwahahahahahahah!!!”

“Aaaahh Butch!!! You glitch!!! You’re getting us too!!!”

“RUUUUUUN!!!!! BUTCH HAS GONE WAR MAD!!!!!”

“Humans actually do this sort of craziness for fun?!”

zzzzzzzzzz

“Got the cube. Just need to make it down this corridor turn left and it’s a straight shot to my territory, then on to homebase. No signs of enemy presence. I’m gonna make it. I’m gonna make it! I’m gonna make it!!”

“I found Bolt! Pink faction converge on my position!!”

“I am not gonna make it!!! AAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!”

zzzzzzzzzz

In an intersecting corridor near by. Bulkhead and Breakdown pass by each other like they don’t even notice the other’s existence. But then Blukhead stops, pauses for a minute, and turns around trying to catch up to Breakdown. But just as he’s about to call out to get Breakdown’s attention, a high pitched scream and multiple engines reach his audios.

Looking down the adjacent corridor he was about to cross to get to Breakdown, Bulkhead sees multiple Vehicons, Eradicons, and a familiar yellow sports car racing straight towards him!

"aaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAHHHhhhhh!!!" The Vehicon in front just barely misses him as she zips by.

But all the others almost hit him as they try to maneuver around him! "Scuse me!" "Coming through!" "Once side!" "Out of the way!" "Low bridge!"

As Bulkhead sees Bee getting closer to him he tries to ask, "Bee?! What’s going-?"

"Sorry Bulk! No time to chat! Zip is getting away with our cube!!!” Bee says super fast as he zooms by.

Once the rest of the stampede finally passes him. Bulkhead looks up to where Breakdown was, only to find the hall now completely empty. He rushes to where he last saw him hoping to see him down one of the other adjacent corridors. But he’s not down any of them either. Dejected, Bulkhead can only goan and slump in disappointment at his missed chance.

zzzzzzzzzz

~~~A couple hours later~~~

~~~Arcee POV~~~

Never in a million years did I ever think I would see this sight. But then again a lot of things have been happening recently that I never thought would ever happen. But still I never thought I’d see the day Bumblebee would be passed out in a big pile of Vehicons and Eradicons! Almost cuddling some of them!

“Awwww! How cute! They tired themselves out!” Pri-Aurora suddenly said behind me, startling me!

“Aurora! When did you get here? And this isn’t cute! It’s dangerous! Bee shouldn’t let his guard down like this around the enemy!” I’m starting to feel like I’m the only one still remembering what the Decepticons have done to us! Even Ratchet has been codling the Decepticon Workers lately! And I honestly expected Bulkhead to get in a fight with someone, most likely Breakdown, by now! He hasn’t. And now this!

“Relax Arcee. I know you don’t trust the Decepticons. But if you keep looking for enemies you’ll only ever find enemies, or make them yourself. No one’s perfect or exactly like you or others you know you like. But instead of dwelling on differences you don’t like, try focusing on similarities you do. Like these Vehicons and Eradicons. They are young sparks like Bee. And like Bee, they like having fun and are willing to try new things with others. You like it when Bee is able to act his age without the fear of war, right?” Aurora made a good point.

I know I have always been hard on Bee to take things seriously, but that is because I couldn’t stand the idea of him getting hurt or worse! And it became even worse after Megatron stole his voice! But these Workers are not Megatron. They follow him, yes, but as they are snoring and twitching in their recharge like Bee tends to. It’s rather hard to hate them when they are acting like this.

After a few minutes, Aurora decided to add more. “Bee’s just having fun with sparks his own age. This is great for their development. You might want to be taking notes actually. If you and Cliff do have a sparkling they’ll be going through this adolescence stage too, and they’ll need friends.”

Bee does look happy. Last time I remember seeing him this happy, was when he and Hot Rod had tired themselves out after playing all day.

"Ngh" That groan gets both my and Aurora’s attention. We look to Bee and see him groggily rousing. "Aurora?" Bee asks without even opening his optics, or trying to dislodge the Vehicon currently draped over him sideways.

"Hello Bee. Did you and your new friends have fun?" Aurora whispers. "Who won?"

"Mhm, yeah loads of fun. Human games are crazy but fun. And we aaahh couldn’t tell who won. Zip and Bolt got to their bases around the same time. So we just all shared the candy. It was good. Yaaaaaahhh I promise we’ll clean up the solvent just as soon as we rest our optics." Bee was having a harder time not yawning, and he hasn’t opened his optics once.

"That’s okay Bee. You all rest. You’ve played really hard today. I’ll see about getting some help to clean up the solvent. And that was really great of you all to share the prize." Aurora had started petting Bee’s helm and slowly maneuvering him to lay down again. Her ministrations seemed to also be making him fall asleep quicker.

If these young sparks can make Bee this happy and relaxed, maybe they are not all bad. I still hate and don’t trust the higher rank Decepticons though. Especially Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave, and Shockwave.

~~~~~~~~~~

End notes:

Arcee is warming up. Slowly.

The action scenes took so long to write, and I’m still not sure if they are any good. Never done this before. So please forgive any mistakes or bad parts and if anyone has any tips. I would very much appreciate them so I can use them in future chapters. And I may even revise this one too if I fell inspired enough.

I am open for any suggestions of group games and activities the young sparks can do. I have a few in mind but always open for more.

Please consider this chapter, the new chapter 17, and the updated chapter 18 as my 4th of July presents to you readers!

I am completely opened and welcomed to comments. If I feel inspired with any I might even be able to finish this fic. I’m usually pretty bad with adding filler scenes in between major events and scenes.

Or if you just enjoyed the story, pretty please leave a comment, kudo, and bookmark. Would really appreciate it to hear if people are enjoying my style of story telling. Thank you!

Chapter Text

Beginning notes:

I cannot make a huge mass of OCs so I am taking characters from other series specifically Marvel to be used to fill the roles I need. I own none of them.

~~~~~~~~~~

~~~Tony’s POV~~~

Another Avengers meeting with Fury. Another waste of my time.

Fury rises with his usual dramatic ‘the world is about to end’ face. Or it could his number 2 resting face. "Pay attention. 5 hours ago the whole world received this transition!" Do we really need to see it again when we saw it 5 hours ago? Oh well. Good thing I bright my Starkpad so I can work while half listening to this.

The room goes dark in a classic movie night vibe. And a silver metal robot appears on the screen. He still gives me the creeps with the red eyes, pointy spikes on his shoulders, and vampire fangs.

"Attention humans of Earth. I am Megatron, High Lord Protector of the New Cybertron Civilization, from the planet Cybertron. No, this is not a prank nor is it an announcement of an invasion. So do not panic. Think of us more like interstellar traveling merchants, merely here to do business.

"Whether we stay and continue to conduct business will hinge on how hospitable you are and how profitable our business transactions are. If you do not want our business, all you have to do is ignore our attempts to do business and we will be on our way to the next inhabited planet. But if you want to build a peaceful mutually beneficial relationship with the intergalactic community, it is recommended that you show your ability to be diplomatic and friendly to alien races. Just as you would be expected to with visiting diplomats from other countries within your planet."

The robot sounded logical and reasonable. But the way he said that last half made it sound like a threat. Like he was politely and politically daring us to cross him and his people and see how fast he would strike us down. Which I could understand and kind of respect. Even if it did scare me since I was on the wrong end of that threat.

"Now to explain the logistics and finer details of our transactions we have planned, I will leave that to my secretary. Who has put in the most time studying your planet and adapting our business plans for your people." The robot then leaned forward and did something to switch the image to a different robot. A much brighter, friendlier, and … feminine looking one too.

"Hello. I am Aurora, Secretary to Lord Megatron. I hope to be an adequate liaison for the people of Earth and the New Cybertron Civilization, or the NCC if you wish to shorten it. Am sure you have many questions and I hope to answer them in the coming days. I believe communication and transparency is key for any successful relationship and hope to build a long lasting one with Earth. However, I believe the most important questions to answer right now, are the ones I’m sure you have about what this transition is and how it will work. Put simply, we will be selling our alien technology to you, in exchange for resources that we can either use ourselves or pawn off at intergalactic pawn shops for the intergalactic currency.

"However, you should be made aware of the fact that there are intergalactic trade restrictions that the Intergalactic Council has set up. Yes, there are Trade Barriers even among planets. However, these barriers are to prevent swindlers from trying to sell high tech but dangerous technology to sentient beings who are not developed enough to wisely and responsibly handle them safely. An example would be, preventing someone from selling an atomic bomb to a Caesar during the Roman Empire’s expansion. And yes stuff like that has happened on other planets and it has lead to planets being irreversibly damaged."

Honestly, I don’t know what is more annoying. The realization that there are laws like that even in space, or that con artists have done that to planets.

"Because of that, we will decide what we will sell. It will not be like your online markets where you will choose whatever you want and put in it your shopping cart. It will be a lot more like your auctions. A limited selection and supply available, and the ones who bid the highest amounts will get the items. And to prevent anyone from accidentally damaging any technology in a way that causes harm to them or others around them, not only will we be selling the technology, but also in depth manuals written in the major languages of Earth describing how to use it, the science behind it, the step by step process of how it was made, and a help-line where one of our people will be able to have a face-call with you and supervise you through a screen as you work."

Honestly, those manuals alone sounded really interesting and I would pay good money for each one of them.

"I know this is not a convenient as us selling in bulk fancy alien technology. However, in the long run, we are selling your planet’s technological evolution. Instead of harming and seizing full control of your economy by monopolizing the industries with alien tech you cannot reproduce with your Earth resources, we will essentially be selling you cheat sheets for you to adapt with your present resources. This way your companies will not go out of business and their employees left without a means of income. And as my High Lord Protector explained earlier, you are not obliged to take part in this. If this form of transactions is unappealing to you, please just refrain from taking part. We will not hold it against you and if not enough is bought and sold to make this profitable we will simply leave."

Hopefully they don’t leave before I get my hands on some of that SCIENCE!

"Now for those of you still interested and listening, there are some critical rules you must be awear of moving forward. After this transition ends, you will find a website at this online address essentially explaining in more detail everything we have said so far, the date of the first auction, other restrictions, and more; as well as the place you can bid for tickets. The tickets will also be limited and up for auction. However, unlike the tech, the tickets will be up for sale with the local currency and they will continue to be up for auction until 1 month before the date of the auction.

"There will also be 2 kinds of tickets, ones for buyers and their +1 and ones for reporters and their +1 (who will likely be their cameraman). We will not just be abducting defenseless people to who knows where. As I said before we hope to be transparent. So on the day of the auction we will allow reporters to report the event live and see with your own eyes our hospitality. We will even allow certain self defense weapons within the auction. The website will have further explains for what will be allowed."

At least they seem to be all about accountability. I can respect that. They are better than I was before Iron Man.

"Now about who gets the tickets. There are a few companies and organizations who have impressed us and we trust they will be very productive with what we sell. Those companies will be sent free tickets after this announcement. But there are also companies and organizations we will reserve the rights to deny selling tickets to. Even if you are one of the highest bidders, if our research shows evidence that you are a terrorist or criminal organization, or some other dangerous or untrustworthy organization, we will turn you down and the same goes for the tickets for the news outlets. Which brings me to the rule that tickets are non-transferable.

"Once someone has bought a ticket, they will need to rsvp and tell who their +1’s are. We will know who we sold the tickets to and we will inspect everyone who tries to use the tickets to enter the auction. If we find someone trying to use a ticket but our records say he or she is not the person who bought it or the registered +1, then we will take that person to the local authorities and tell them they need to check in on the true owners to see if they are alright."

I’ll give them this. They thought of their client’s safety. Hopefully this will dissuade anyone who would have murdered people in order to steal the tickets.

"As for the currency that will be used for the auction. There will be a chart on the website converting your different resources to intergalactic value. Any other questions, such as installments and how the guest will get to the auctions location, will be found on the website."

The screen goes dark and Fury takes the metaphysical stand again. "Many people recorded this message, and since then this video has been reposted all over the internet! The public opinion is divided with some believing it is real and legit, others fearing it is a new invasion strategy, and others still believing it is a hoax. However, I recently got new intel regarding these robots." Oooh new intel. Wonder what that is.

"This intel is from some of my old colleagues in the military. These robot aliens are real. In fact, until just recently they were even in an intergalactic war that had destroyed their home planet. 1 side, called the Autobots, had allied with the US government to defend Earth against the other side, called the Decepticons. However, recently, the Autobot’s leader had decided that she had had enough of the war and destruction and surrendered to the Decepticon leader to make peace." Fury said the last half with a sneer, but I honestly didn’t see a problem with it. So she had enough of seeing planets destroyed and lives lost and took drastic actions to stop it. What’s so bad about that? It sounds like what I did with shutting down my weapons devision. No regrets.

"What’s worse, is that the leader of the Decepticons acquired a weapon of mass destruction from the Autobot’s leader with this peace!" A new image appeared on the screen. "Three days ago all government and government affiliated satellites mysteriously got hacked and diverted to this position. As a result they all got his recording on film."

At first, all we saw was a forest next to a mountainside. Then a bright arc of light appeared and grew outwards like a tidal wave sweeping over the forest! Once the light dissipated the satellite cameras zoomed in and showed the forest decimated! Yikes! And when zoomed in on where the arc of light came from it showed a very blurry image of large brightly colored people. Or in this case as it turns out, robots.

"That light you saw? It was the Decepticon leader, Megatron trying his new toy. If he aimed that at a city the destruction would be enormous! The files in front of you are all the intel we have on these metal aliens. But we need more intel! Thor! As the resident alien, what do you know?"

Thor looked started to suddenly be put in the spot light. Then he looked embarrassed. Not an encouraging sign. "Well, Director Fury, you see, I never left the 9 Realms during my adventures. So I do not know of any aliens outside of it."

"Your people are supposed to live for hundreds of years. So your Asgard is supposedly thousands if not millions of years old. Are you telling me no one in your entire history of Asgard has ever met aliens like this?!"Fury was yelling at the end. Clearly disappointed at our resident ‘alien expert.’

Thor got a sad and ashamed look on his face, "It was Loki who knew about history and read ancient books. I always found them boring and did not think they would be important."

"No important? You did not think that information that could tell you about previous threats returning to threaten 1 or all of your 9 Realms was important?!  Realms that you claim you protect!?!?" Now Fury was bellowing at the end. And I kind of shared in his disappointment. I may be a Futurist, but even I saw the importance of not letting yourself be ignorant to past threats or dangers that might try to resurface.

"I always thought Loki would always be by my side and tell me if there was something I needed to know from those old books." Now Thor had a kicked puppy dog look.

But Fury was not affected by it. "And as soon as he turned on you, you didn’t think to try to rectify pushing off your duties to him by read up on what you would need to know on your own now?!"

Thor now looked indignant and tried to come up with an excuse to defend himself. "I thought we could just beat off any invaders!"

I piped in here, needing to say it before Fury said his paranoia. "However, these aliens do not look like invaders or people who would willingly bring harm to Earth. In fact, they are taking a lot of precautions for our sake alone, when they could have made things easier on them and just left us to our own careless and/or evil devices. And it sounds like they have no designs to change that unless we make the first aggressive move. In which case, we would be the cause of any invasion and any following destruction and death, not them."

"But we don’t know if what they claim about being friendly is true or not! It could be a ploy to make us drop our guard. So by the time they do directly threaten us it may be too late! This is where knowing prior experience would have been invaluable at preventing people from dying!!!" Fury directed the last sentence to Thor, who had slid down in his seat like he thought the table could hide his embarrassment or shield him from Fury’s rage and disappointment.

Ever the attempted peace maker, Steve spoke up then. "Thor can you not just look in your libraries now to try to find information on these aliens? We can keep an eye on them and try to hold down the fort here until you get back."

"It will take quite a bit of time. I was never as good at researching as Loki." Thor admitted.

"Then get going. Now! Now! Now! The sooner you start the sooner you will find something and get back! Take the files I gave you so you will have a reference!" Thor ran to the door with the files grasped in his arms. It was not long before we heard the now familiar boom of the Rainbow Bridge. "And until he returns we are not just going to ‘keep an eye on them,’ we are going to do intelligence gathering.

"If you look in the files about Aurora, formerly called Optima Prime, you will find that she has a reputation for having a soft spot for alien lifeforms. Even after her surrender she still shows that she has gone to extreme lengths to try to get the Decepticon leader to be nice to us. Being the middle man in negotiations to shield the humans, begging Megatron to give us mercies. We cannot trust her to be completely on our side since she did surrender to him, but she would be an easier target to help us with intelligence gathering. We just need to get close to her. We are currently monitoring any and all communications to see what the alien’s next move is, but until then we can plan on going to that auction and trying to meet Aurora there. Stark, you are the richest. I’m counting on you to get us at least 1 of those tickets."

"Uh, no can do Fury." Is he seriously asking me to spend my money on his spy mission that might get us in trouble with advanced aliens?

"Stark! I am not joking! It is paramount that you get us inside that auction for the good of Earth’s security!" Fury looked furious again.

"Honestly, I couldn’t get you a ticket even if I wanted to. Which I don’t. I have much more important things to do with my money right now." I couldn’t spare the cash right now.

"’More important.’ What could be more important than  this?! Don’t give me that excuse that you couldn’t even if you wanted to!!!" Looks like I’ll have to spell it out to them.

“What’s ’more important’ is spending that money to buy all the resources to barter with at the auction! And I can’t buy you a ticket because 1 of the rules on the website say 1 ticket/person.” I explain to them.

“You already have a ticket? But the auction for the tickets isn’t over yet! … You are one of the companies who got a free ticket.” Fury said in shock. Which is rather rude!

“Of course my company got a free ticket! It’s awesome. Is it really so hard to believe that my company would impress aliens! I was thinking of putting it on our website! ‘Stark Industries: the company that is so out of this world that even aliens are impressed!’ Unfortunately, Pepper and PR shot it down.” But I haven’t given up on it entirely.

"Stark! You need to take me or Coulson to be your +1!" That was a fast 180 from Fury’s rude shock. And a hard no!

"Absolutely not! Neither of you are pretty enough to be my +1!" I stick my nose up to emphasize this fact.

"This is serious Stark! We may have an invasion on our hands!" And there he goes again with his paranoia.

I am not budging on this and need to make it very clear to them apparently. "Emphasis on ‘may.’ We do not know if they really will invade and enslave us. And from what High Lord Protector Megatron said (and could they get a longer name) I think you need to take take a page or 2 out of that age old saying ‘you catch more flies with honey instead of vinegar.’ Honestly, you are too paranoid Fury. The statistics of every alien in the universe being out to eat us are extremely low. Besides I’m not even sure how robots would be able to eat us. Wouldn’t our organic matter get stuck in their joints?

“And besides even if I brought you as my +1 you would either try to spy and infiltrate them, dragging me down with you when you get caught; or try to buy the alien tech yourselves, which is not +1 behavior at all and might get us both kicked out. Besides, you’d have to take it up with Pepper who was very insistent that she be my +1 to make sure I didn’t go crazy buying every alien tech I see."

The rest of the meeting went by in a blurr. I was too busy buying and arranging the resources for the auction to pay much attention. Fury doing his usual ‘aliens are invading’ spiel, Steve doing his ‘we all need to work together and cooperate’ spiel, and the spy twins interjecting to support Fury whenever he needed to take a breath.

No matter what anyone said I was not going to bend backwards for them here. Aurora was right about what could happen to companies when they introduce alien tech into Earth’s economy. None of these guys have millions of employees relying on them to provide the best inventions to keep their jobs. If I fall behind other companies when they get alien tech it’s bye bye Stark Industries.

I will not let that happen. If these aliens turn out to be hostile I’ll help deal with that when it comes. Until then I am going to be a businessman and treat the aliens like I would any respectable business I want to build a good relationship with, for the sake of Stark Industries and SCIENCE!!!

~~Epilogue for this chapter~~

Fury and Coulson did go to Pepper to appeal to her to let 1 of them take her place as Tony’s +1.

She refused.

Then when they tried to force the issue, she had Happy throw them out of Stark Industries.

Fury had to dip into SHIELD’s funding to auction for a ticket.

~~~~~~~~~~

End notes:

I am completely opened and welcomed to comments. If I feel inspired with any I might even be able to finish this fic. I’m usually pretty bad with adding filler scenes in between major events and scenes.

Or if you just enjoyed the story, pretty please leave a comment and feedback. Would really appreciate it to hear if people are enjoying my style of story telling. Thank you!

Chapter Text

~~~Megatron POV~~~

"You look horrible." I say bluntly staring at Aurora. And she does. She is currently reclining on my couch looking over one of the many datapads we had made of our plans. But contrary to her attempted relaxed posture. Her bio lights are dimmer, the metal plating around her optics are looser like they are trying to weigh her optics shut against her will, her antennas are hanging down like they do not have the strength to stay up in attention, and her plating itself looks slightly duller.

"Has anyone ever told you that’s extremely rude to say to a woman?!" Aurora looks mad now. And if I were more of a gentlemech I would acknowledge that my words would have been delivered nicer, but I am not and I am not going to mince my words around her.

"You are not a woman anymore. You are a femme." Perhaps I need to talk to Soundwave about resuming the buzzer.

"Same difference! I refuse to believe some rules of etiquette with females are not universal." Aurora sticks her olfactory sensors up, trying to imitate a snooty high caste femme. It’s a little cute when she tries to dramatize things.

"That does not change the fact that you look horrible. When was the last time you recharged?" I will not let her acting distract me from my original plans in starting this conversation.

"Uhhhhhh. Let me think.” That is not an encouraging answer she gives me. “There was the 2 days building up before the announcement, the day before was moving day, you saw me the day were were briefing the Autobots on the new rules and the 3 days prior when we were planing, I’m pretty sure I recharged once in the Autobot since isekaing here. But I can’t remember if it was the night before you answered my message. So I’d say it’s been a little over a week since I last recharged.”

"What?! Cybertronians can go days without recharge! But even I do not go that long unless there is a long emergency! Even Soundwave does not work that long and he is the biggest workaholic I know! Aurora put that datapad down and go to your chambers to recharge!” How has she not crashed sooner? although this does explain why she looks so terrible.

"Who died and made you my mom?" Aurora asked sarcastically.

"’Carrier,’ Aurora. Or ‘Caer’ if you want to use it informally. Not ‘mom.’ And I am not acting like your Caer.  I am acting like a leader who’s subordinate is too dumb to know what recharge is." I really do not like how she is taking this so lightly and even showing me attitude instead of obeying my orders to recharge.

"Pft! Whatever you say, Megan."

"What did you call me?" I say very slowly and intimidatingly. I am still not familiar with all of earth‘s slang, but this one had better not mean what I think it does.

"NOTHING!! ” Aurora quickly answers instead, which probably means that it does mean what I think it does. But before I can start beating her on this blatant disrespect of her leader, she picks up where we left off. “And I can’t recharge yet. I have too much I need to do! I need to practice some more with the force field generator! And I have all these potential questions and answers I need to memorize before the interview we arranged with Everhart in 2 days! This is going to be my first time public speaking on camera! My best bet to not mess up is to prepare and memorize everything Everhart might ask and devise an outline of what I should answer!” She looks panicked and even more of a wreck now.

I decide to be lenient and give her some encouragement. After all, it would not do for my liaison to earth to panic on live Earth TV might start a bad misunderstanding. Besides, she has genuinely impressed me with her endeavors to prepare for this interview. Although there is no way that I will tell her that directly. “You have been practicing with that thing since before the announcement! You are now able to wield it better than anyone on the ship! And in ways I never would have imagined! And you know that Soundwave can just send you the answers via his outlier telepathy, right?”

“I sound more natural when I am working off an outline in my head instead of trying to listen, understand, and repeat what others are telling me. But that will be a handy fallback to have on hand. Remind me to talk to him about setting that up after he and Laserbeak get back from talking with the Weaponizer Minicons Shockwave was experimenting on.” Aurora explains and then plans absent mindedly.

Ah yes, the Weaponizer Minicons. I still do not think it was the wisest to let them choose what they want now that the experiments have ended. They would be extremely useful in the coming trials. But Aurora had given me such an earful about being accountable to my own rules. She admitted that were are plenty of instances where leaders had to bend and break their own laws for the greater good, which is why they made Black Ops Corps. But she also pointed out that if I am going to make shadowplay and any other form of mindcontrol such a capital crime, I cannot use it myself.

Especially in this situation with innocent minicons who pose no threat to anyone. She had even hit low, implying I would be a worse tyrant than the Council. Since the council technically did not break any of their rules in their oppression, they just went much farther and more extreme in enforcing their rules than any sane or decent mech would think of.

But I need to get the memory of Aurora beating me in verbal combat  out of my mind and focus on the conversation at servo. “I will, but do not change the subject.”

“Chill Megan.” She used that infernal name again. “I promise I’ll recharge after a few more joors of memorizing.”

She didn’t even last half a joor before she fell into recharge on my couch, and her datapad had fallen on her lap. She is even snoring, completely oblivious to the world around her. She didn’t even stir when I got up to move closer to her. I didn’t even need to try to be stealthy!

Even as I am looming over her she does not react to my EM field! Are all humans this vulnerable? Or is it just her? Does she really think that just because I have agreed to be her partner in this endeavor, that I could not still kill her? If fact, now that we have gone over so much of the possible futures and made so many plans and contingency plans, her usefulness is diminishing.

It would have been safer for her if she had kept most of her knowledge to herself. If she had slowly revealed the future events, instead of revealing them all at once to us. Knowledge is power, and because of that, it is also value. And just like with any commodity, the less there is, the more value it has. She would have been wise to keep her knowledge to herself. Now that Soundwave and I know, she is not nearly as invaluable and irreplaceable as she once was. On the other servo, the threat of her turning against me or turning back to Optima Prime, is still just as likely.

I could so easily offline her right now and remove the threat. Her helm is up and her sensitive throat cables are on full display. I wouldn’t even need my sword or my new daggers. Just my claws could slice her cables with how open and on display they are.

Or if I wanted to make it less obvious, a special poison I had concocted millennia ago would also work. It kills mechs slowly without leaving any evidence of how they died. The reason I had not used it sooner is because I could not get rid of the strong taste that it has, and it requires a large amount to be ingested in order to work. If I had tried to poison someone with it, they would have quickly noted the taste and stopped drinking it before they swallowed the required amount. One of my failed experiments, which is why I never recorded it in the Decepticon databases. But here, like this, I could easily pour it all down her opened lip plates. She would never notice it, and no one would be able to trace it to me.

…

“Huff.”

It is not worth the trouble that the Autobots would still make of it. That is the only reason I do not kill her when she is giving me such an opening. But now, what am I going to do with her?

I cannot keep her here. Especially if one of the older lower caste walk in. Soundwave would not be an issue. But Breakdown, Knockout, or potentially that Autobot Bulkhead; if one of them walked in this could be an issue. Or it could be very entertaining. The Autobots already believe I am making their former Prime interface with me for special favors. How would they react if they saw this?

Then again only Bulkhead would potentially know the cultural significance of this. The middle and upper caste always did try to make us lower caste seem like interface crazed brutes who would recharge next to anyone we interfaced with. But the truth was that that was far too dangerous for us lower castes. True, we had to interface with castes higher than us in order to earn their credits to survive. But we were very careful with who we slept with. The risk of our sleeping partner stealing from us, murdering us, or incapacitating us and selling us to an illegal smelting pool or body shop was far too high. The only time a low caste recharged around someone else, was when they had no where safer to recharge or were black out drunk. Because of that, soberly falling asleep while near someone had become a sign of absolute trust and had even been used as the Act of Devotion in many Conjunx Ritus by the lower caste.

I wonder if Aurora knows of this from her reading of the other continuities. Likely not. She knows quite a bit about our general history and potential futures, but she seems quite ignorant and unsure of our cultures. She likely has no idea what she is essentially telling me by falling asleep here in my office when it is just the two of us. And most of the Autobots will not either. So I can’t use this to mess with them.

But I cannot let her stay here. She will likely recharge for quite some time after going over a week without it. And recharging here on my couch will not do her body any favors when it comes time for the interview. Especially if it goes down like she thinks it will. If anyone had told me before all this madness that I, the feared supreme Lord of the Decepticons, would need to carry the Prime’s body to her berth, I would’ve thought them mad and slayed them on spot.

As I pick her up, I find she is surprisingly light without the extra bulk of her heavy duty armor and weight of her weapons. And she still does not wake up! I really should speak with her about her vulnerability. If this is just a her thing, then she needs to fix it. But if this is a result of her growing up in a society without war on her doorstep, then maybe I should see about making combat lessons a requirement for all citizens of the NCC to make sure no one in the next generation of Cybertronians become this vulnerable.

We pass a few Vehicons and Eradicons on my way to her chambers. They freeze and give us strange looks, but I don’t bother dignifying them with a response. Hopefully we will pass an Autobot or 2 just so I can see their reaction.

“AAAAAHHH! Lord Megatron!!" Starscream screams from a door he just opened. Not the mech I was hoping to observe a reaction from, but it might still prove somewhat entertaining. Plus I might as well get a report from the others I can see in the room.

"Hush Starscream!"

~~~~~~~~~~

End notes:

Happy 4th of July everyone!

I am completely opened and welcomed to comments. If I feel inspired with any I might even be able to finish this fic. I’m usually pretty bad with adding filler scenes in between major events and scenes.

Or if you just enjoyed the story, pretty please leave a comment, kudo, and bookmark. Would really appreciate it to hear if people are enjoying my style of story telling. Thank you!

Chapter Text

~~~Knockout POV~~~

Is it really too much to ask for some peace and quiet in times of peace? Apparently it is.

"And then she was all ‘get your own table Con!’ When technically the mess hall’s tables were originally ours in the first place!" Starscream has been coming into the lab to rant ever since Megatron came back from the private meeting with Prime, I mean Aurora. Need to get used to the name. Don’t want to accidentally slip and call her that in front of Lord Megatron after he made it clear what would happen if we did.

"And when I pointed out the obvious she poured Energon on me! You should have let me scrap that two wheeler, Skyquake!" And ever since the Autobots moved to the Nemesis ,

the labs became the unofficial safe haven when anyone wanted to avoid the Autobots. They never came in here, especially after they learned that Shockwave is on board. Which probably motivated Starscream to come here more often to rant since it ensured he had victims, I mean an audience. Right now the current ‘audience’ is me, Shockwave, Skyquake, Breakdown who is helping use move things around, and a few Vehicons hiding from Ratchet and his examinations.

"You know Megatron’s orders. Do not kill the Autobots unless they are directly trying to kill you." Skyquake answered simply in his normal booming voice. What I wouldn’t give to have a volume remote for this big seeker. Unfortunately, since Skyquake was on Starscream-sitting duty, wherever Starscream went, he followed.

"I don’t even know why you are still following Megatron like a blind puppy. Especially when he is so obviously compromised. Aaah!" CRASH! "Hey! Do not break anything in the lab!!! Do you have any idea how hard it is making ancient Synthetic Energon even with a formula?!" But my protests fell on deaf audios as Skyquake continued to threaten Starscream.

"Watch your tongue. Before I remove it for treasonous speech." Looking over, I saw Skyquake had Starscream by a wing, and Breakdown trying to separate them before this escalated. At least I can count on Breakdown to at least try to keep things under control in the lab filled with dangerous chemicals.

"Is it treason if it’s true?! Ever since Megatron flew off to meet Prime, he’s been different! Letting Prime into the ship and his office! Letting her change his age old appearance! Letting Autobots into the ship and ordering us not to kill them! Destroying the Spark Extractor, Tox-En, and scraplet nest! Giving the Forge to Prime! And now, he’s making nice to the humans!!!

"You 2 know what I’m talking about, right! He’s made you stop your inventions and invent useless stuff that the Prime wants, Shockwave! And he gave the Autobots full access to your medibay, Knockout, to repair that scout he damaged back on Cybertron! He even ordered you to help them!!!" Not like I did much help. Grandpa Grump wouldn’t let me do much else besides scans. Wouldn’t let me touch anything in my own medibay the whole time actually! I actually hoped that he would mess up the surgery just to throw it in his face that it could have been successful with my help. And then all he did was argue with me during the Empurata cure procedure!

"Meanwhile he’s treating us like a bunch of Earth dogs whose only job is to dig and fetch. Starscream, go to this canyon in the middle of nowhere and dig up Skyquake. Knockout, go beneath this city and stealthily dig up this. Breakdown, go to this mountain and dig up powerful tool so I can give it to Prime. Skyquake go dig up this dangerous energon so I can destroy it. Starscream, dig up this mountain to find something that we can’t even get! Breakdown, dig up this hole so I can destroy what’s in it. Skyquake to get lost in this Earth pyramid and require Knockout to save you and dig up this weird looking thing. Starscream, go to the arctic and freeze your wings off digging this up. I don’t see him ordering the Autobots to go fetch!!!" As much as I hated to admit it. It did feel like we were being errand boys.

"I’m telling you Skyquake! This all started when he ran off to meet Prime alone! Are you sure you didn’t see any signs of shadowplay when you were giving our Liege his makeover, Doctor?!?!"

"Haaah. Yes Starscream. For the hundredth time. I did not find any signs of shadowplay on Megatron. If you doubt me, how about asking the rising expert here." It still creeped me out whenever I look over at Shockwave, and saw a whole different mech! And the fact that I know he could transform his root mode any second makes it even weirder!!

Standing there at a console is a tall and handsome jet with bright colored wings and a really nice face. If I saw him on a street I’d jump him! "This argument is illogical and unimportant. It is logical that changes will need to be adapted after Autobots surrender. Priority 1 is not Autobots or questioning Lord Megatron, but finding a cure for Shadowplay." And then he has to open his mouth and remind me that he’s still the same old bland and boring on the inside.

"Oh yes. Your little problem that Soundwave brought  to your attention." Starscream practiced growled.

I couldn’t help but smile mockingly and ask, "Do I detect a note of bitterness?"

"How could I not be bitter?!" Starscream screams. "Three years I was in command!   THREE!!! And during that time Soundwave apparently decoded the location of numerous artifact, studied shadowplay, and got a message from Prime! And does he tell me, his acting commander? NO!!! He waits until Megatron is back and tells him! What if the Autobot’s had found those relics before Megatron returned?! 2 of them did need the touch of a Prime before they could work properly! PAH! But honestly I always suspected that Soundwave would put sucking up to Megatron first before the Decepticons. But Megatron betrayal is still the most surprising of all."

"Our master would never betray us!!!" Skyquake quickly roared.

Starscream had apparently become immune to it because he just rolled his optics before answering. "You are starting to sound like a broken record Skyquake. If it is not shadowplay that makes Lord Megatron suddenly become soft, then what? Don’t tell me you believe the Autobot’s poorly hidden theory that Megatron is using the Prime as his new interface toy?"

“It would be his right as the victor!” Figures Skyquake would defend even bad rumors about Megatron.

But, as the medic, I probably should speak up for this. "I can verify that that is not the case. The Prime would not be as mobile as she is now if it were. And I would have seen the signs when I checked her for shadowplay and did her makeover."

“So the Autobots are just being their normal paranoid selves about us evil no good Decepticons." Starscream answered in a board tone. But I did agree with him that the old Council’s propaganda scare tactics had gotten very old very early on. The fact that they are still spread even after their deaths is just ridiculous.

"That still doesn’t explain why Megatron suddenly changed after Prime surrendered!” Starscream continued, not willing to drop this topic.

I was only half paying attention at this point. “Pft. Unless he actually loves her without the fighting. After all they did know each other before the war.”

“…” We all froze as we suddenly realized what I said.

“Oh no. No! No no no!! I said something very stupid! Forget I said anything!! Actually, forget I’m even here!!!” If Lord Megatron hears of this I am scrap metal!!!

Starscream apparently did not have the same panic I am having because he gets a contemplative look on his face! “No. You may be onto something. Megatron did go on a rampage across Iacon and several other city states right after Andromeda Pax sided with the Council. Would a mech really do something like that if she were just his data clerk? And after that, has anyone seen Megatron take a lover into his bedchambers since the war started? He is still a mere mech after all. All those millennia of pent up frustration had to lead somewhere. And now he has spent several days already with the Prime in his chambers.”

“And Soundwave!” I try to defend hoping to squash this idea before it spreads and gets me in trouble!

“Soundwave is his amica! It is not unheard of for amicas to share lovers to spice things up." And as much as I hate to admit it. That is true. I even was part of that back during my pleasurebot days. "Besides think about it! Can we really be sure that Megatron spent 3 years in space? Doing what? He didn’t come back with anything to show that he’s been in space and all we have is Soundwave’s word and ‘coordinates’ which he can easily fabricate. What if he’s really been spending these last 3 years secretly rendezvousing, courting, and seducing the Prime? It would explain why she would ‘suddenly’ call for a surrender out of nowhere.

"Actually, can we even be sure they are not already secretly Conjunxed?! After all, there’s no rule stating that you have to perform the Conjunx Ritus in a specific order. It’s just been done in a general order out of tradition. But Prime’s surrender and Megatron’s mercy to the squishes and Autobots could qualify as their individual Acts of Devotion, the gift exchange of the Star Saber and Forge would qualify as their Acts of Preference, and they’ve definitely been alone enough times to do multiple Acts of Intimacy and Disclosure, with Soundwave being their witness! All they’re missing is the Conjunx Ceremony!!!"

I do not want to admit that Starscream has a point. If I had not been the one who accidentally started this, I would love taking part in this juicy gossip. But I am the one who accidentally started this, and it could get me killed if Lord Megatron hears that! So I need to try to end it here and now! "It was not a ‘gift exchange’! Megatron had the Forge, Prime wanted it. Prime could get the Star Saber, Megatron wanted it. It was a deal! An Exchange!! That is not gift giving!!!"

"What part of ‘Act of Preference ’ do you not understand?" I’m not going to be able to stop Starscream by myself!

I need backup! “Breakdown! Skyquake! Help me out here!”

But turning to the big mechs just shows me how scrapped I am. Breakdown’s frozen with a lost look on his faceplate like his world just got turned upside down. And Skyquake is curled up in a sitting fetal position mumbling to himself. “So if Lord Megatron conjunxes with the Prime? Does that mean the Prime will become the Lady Prime or Lady Consort? Would she carry my Lord’s heirs? They would very likely make strong heirs. But what if she breaks my Master’s spark again? But wouldn’t a sparkling mean she could not betray Lord Megatron without the sparkling getting caught in the crossfire?” Apparently he had forgotten the rest of us exist and that he is supposed to be on Starscream-sitting duty.

I’m ready to throw in the towel. “Oh great he’s broken. Now see what you’ve done Starscream.”

“Me? You’re the one who came up with that idea!” He tried to deflect onto me.

“Well I wouldn’t have if you hadn’t been so obsessed with psychoanalyzing Lord Megatron!” So really it’s his fault.

Starscream just throws his arms into the air and starts stomping to the door. "Fine! If you all are going to be in denial until solid proof is dropped in your lap, I’ll get you proof! You’ll see! You’ll all see that Megatron has gone soft in the helm over that Autobot!!! That the Decepticons deserve a strong incorruptible leader! Not some simpering mech happy to be put on a leash!! That I, Starscream am - AAAAAHHH! Lord Megatron!!"

"Hush Starscream!" Megatron’s voice comes from the opened door in a rather loud whisper. Please don’t tell me he’s been eavesdropping and head our whole conversation!

"Ap-apologies, Lord Megatron. Where- uh- where might I ask are you going? And with Op-Aurora like that?" That got everyone’s attention, even Shockwave. We all rushed to the door to see what Starscream was looking at. Only to get the 2nd biggest shock of our lives, after Megatron announcing his acceptance of Prime’s surrender and the ensuing negotiations. There in the corridor, is Lord Megatron holding the Prime in a Bridal Carry as she recharges in his arms with a peaceful and content, if not tired, look on her faceplate, which is currently cuddling into Lord Megatron’s chest!

"My Liege? Is Aurora alright?" I ask because of my duties as a medic. And in the hopes of earning some brownie point before any gossip starts spreading.

"She is fine Knockout. She has merely forgotten that Cybertronians require sleep and cannot stay awake every night for over a week no matter how much she may want to. So I am returning her to her room." Megatron sounded all business, but his faceplate had a teasing and almost, fond , smile on it! "By the way Shockwave. How goes the project Aurora requested of you?"

"It is nearly done, my Lord." Shockwave sounded all no nonsense again and like he himself was not just as surprised as the rest of us at what we are seeing. "It still requires more energon to maintain at long distances, but since we are almost done mastering the Synth-En formula, that will not be a problem. The human’s senses are more limited than ours. So it was relatively easy to replicate them. However, if it is to be adapted to more evolved species, it will require more adjustments."

"It sounds like it will still work for what she has planned. Great work Shockwave. I will inform Aurora when she wakes up." With those final words, Megatron continued down the halls. And we were left with the mental image of Megatron waiting on her berth to tell her. And after Starscream had just talked about them doing the Conjunx Ritus … could my absent minded comment have been true after all? No. It is too soon to know. Better play it safe when Megatron is involved. I am not as stupid as Starscream, thank you! Besides, Aurora was a middle caste. Recharging near someone does not have the same cultural significance as it does for lower caste.

"His chambers are in the direction he was walking from." Starscream whispered loud enough for all of us crowded together to hear.

"So is his office." I will not fall for his conspiracy theories.

"He said Prime has been awake every night for over a week. I believe the humans call it, the honeymoon phase." Starscream refused to yield on the issue.

I decided to just ignore him. If he wanted to stick his allfactor sensors into Lord Megatron’s business and get scrapped, that was his problem.

So I just went back into the lab to continue working. But it seems Breakdown has other ideas. I feel him walk up to me and to my surprise, wrap his arms around my middle and leans into me, nuzzling his faceplate into my audio. "I’m not saying if Starscream’s theory has merit or not. But if the war really is over, it would be nice to see some sparklings running around underped."

~~~~~~~~~~

End notes:

I am completely opened and welcomed to comments. If I feel inspired with any I might even be able to finish this fic. I’m usually pretty bad with adding filler scenes in between major events and scenes.

Or if you just enjoyed the story, pretty please leave a comment and feedback. Would really appreciate it to hear if people are enjoying my style of story telling. Thank you!

Chapter Text

~~~Christine Everhart POV~~~

"This is Christine Everhart of WHiH World News. I know we advertised a special mysterious interview 48 hours ago, and all of you in the audience have been very patient waiting to see who it will be. Well, wait no more! I am standing outside the WHiH World News Station waiting to meet the alien, Aurora, for her first interview with the people of Earth! Now I know you are wondering why I am waiting for her outside instead of in the studio, and the answer is, I don’t know.

“When Aurora contacted the station requesting to have an interview with me personally, one of her requests she was very insistent on was that we start outside before moving into the studio. Hopefully we will have the answer when she arrives. Which should be any second now actually, but I don’t see any flying saucers overhead.”

At that exact second, I heard a weird sound like something out of a sci-fi movie. Teal light suddenly appeared and expanded in thin air! It flowed and rippled like some kind of oddly colored large pond hanging vertical in the air! My cameraman and I were dumbfounded at this odd phenomenon. But before we could decide if we should get closer to inspect it or step away for our safety, a small raspberry red semi truck drove out! Once the semi truck drove past the strange pool, the pool started shrinking and then disappeared like it had never existed. But the still present semi truck proved that it had existed.

I honestly don’t know what to do next. But then I almost had a heart attack as another strange noise filled the air! Tsche-chu-chu-chu-tsche! I watch as the semi truck suddenly breaks apart into small pieces and each piece moves through the air like they are all puzzle pieces reconstructing and transforming themselves into something else. That something else, turns out to be Aurora! A very large Aurora!! I know the camera is supposed to adds 10 pounds but this is ridiculous!!! This is a complete contradictory of the rule!!! She looked big but not THAT BIG on camera!!! I actually fall on my rear both in fright and because of how high I have to look up!

Aurora looks down at me and for a moment, my mind flies to those invasion horror movies where the much bigger aliens step on the humans, squashing them. But Aurora just sweetly smiles down at me and kneels down on 1 knee, holding her hand out. It takes me an embarrassingly long minute to realize she is offering her hand to help me up.

I reach out carefully, almost like I thought her hand itself would open up with teeth and bite me. But when I finally touch it, I find to my shock that it is warm! True it’s hard like metal, but it isn’t cold like metal. And as I rub my thumb over it to feel the texture, I even find that the metal is not perfectly smooth. It has texture! Very fine texture. Like finger prints? But I can’t dwell on that, maybe I can ask her during the interview? Using her hand I pull myself up off of the ground.

Once I am on my feet, Aurora moves her hand to pick up my microphone that I had dropped. I’m about to tell her to not bother, fearing she might break it. But again to my shock she picks it up and holds it in front of me in tact! And when I put it back on, I find it’s still working!

“Sorry about the scare. But I hope now you understand why I asked to start the interview out here instead of in the studio, Miss Everhart.” Aurora says first.

I’m still flabbergasted at what just happened and struggle to answer. “Uh. Yes. Yes. I understand completely now. And thank you for not doing that inside and breaking the studio. And please call me Christine.”

“You are welcome Christine. But I’m sure that it would still be more comfortable for you inside the studio. So now that pleasantries with my real form are out of the way, how about we switch to something you will hopefully find more comfortable.” After saying that, she transforms back into a perfectly normal looking semi struck.

Then a young woman steps out of the rig! She’s about 6ft tall with Caucasian skin. Has a nice build. Slender but also pretty muscular like she worked out regularly, yet she also has very ample sized breasts. She wears blue denim pants and a red long sleeve top with a tight black front middle tie camisole. But those are the only normal things about her, because her eyes are glowing yellow! And her middle length wavy hair is cobalt blue!

“No need to look so shocked, Miss Everhart. This is still me. This is an energized holoform I am connecting my senses to. Think of it as a 3D avatar.” The human woman says in Aurora’s voice as she walks up to me!

I analyze this hologram head to toe with all my training from my Vanity Fair days, trying to see any other sign that this woman is not a normal woman. But even the clothes were perfectly realistic! “Aaah!” I scream and jump back as my hand touches perfectly normal feeling fabric!

“Now. How about we move inside?” Aurora starts casually strolling to the doors. “Wait! Don’t you need to stay near your hologram’s projector?” I ask looking at the truck I assume the projector is in. “This is not a holo gram Miss Everhart, it is a holo form . As long as the holoform has energy to maintain it. It does not need to be near its original projector.”

Then to show this fact. She opens the door and walks around it so she is out of sight of her true form. I follow and see that she really is still there! She gestures for me to take the lead. On autopilot, I lead her to the studio where we will continue the interview, but my mind is swimming with a dozen new questions for her along with the other dozen my manager and I had originally selected.

The entrance into the studio has the traditional fan fair. The hired audience stand up and applaud. We wave and smile at them. Then sit down in our respective seats.

My manager and I had made a list of the most important questions to ask Aurora within the time limit of the show. We even hired people to think up follow up questions they could project on the teleprompter. Looking up I see the first question we had decided on. But after this new revelation I don’t think anyone would mind if I add 1 or 2 more. At worst the show can be extended, I doubt anyone will mind since this is aliens we are talking about. “So, I have to ask, how real is this holoform?” I ask first.

Instead of answering verbally, Aurora picks up a glass of lemon water that we always keep on the side table to quench dry throats, and she drinks it! After taking a few sips she puts it down and says. “Hm not bad. But personally I’m not much of a sour fan. But the lemon does add a refreshing feel to the water.”

“You-you drank that! And you can actually taste it?! So does that mean?” I look down before I even realize what I’m doing. But I’m to embarrassed to ask what I want to.

Fortunately, Aurora can guess my question and answers it anyway. “Yes I can taste and feel and use all the other 5 senses that you people can. And no I do not have the same digestive system you do so I do not need to use the restroom. The food matter is converted to an energy our real bodies can use. So we can get a little extra energy from what we eat, while also savoring the same experiences you humans have when you eat your food. Please don’t ask me about the physics behind it. Even my people have a limit to what we can learn, and I’m afraid physics was never my strong suit.” She finishes with a laugh at her own expense, and the audience laughs with her. They are clearly professionals at this because I am still reeling at this new information and can’t start laughing until a few seconds in. I’ll ask my manager to give them a raise.

“Then can you tell me why you choose this look?” I ask.

“I didn’t. When I downloaded a bit of my processor into it, part of my subconscious was also added and it influenced how I would look. This is what my subconscious says I would look like if I were human. The hair and eyes are a side eff of me still being a Cybertronian on the inside. The clothes though are my choice.” And with that her clothes suddenly glow and change into a red evening gown with blue flowers and sequins, then revert back to the casual clothes she was wearing before.

"Wow! Wish I could do that with my clothes. I’d never have to worry about an accident or wardrobe change again." I joke, and everyone laughs. But now that the most important new questions about the holoform are done, it’s back to the questions my manager and I first decided on.

"Then Aurora, I hope you are not offended by this next question, but what are you made of? A metal similar to one on Earth? An alloy? Or a completely alien metal from some distant galaxy?" It was the biggest question the science community had been asking on the internet.

"We are made out of a living metal. And yes I know it is not exactly what you were looking for but that is the best way I can describe it. Like how diamonds and coal are made out of carbon but humans are made out of carbon too. So how would you classify the difference between your carbon and a diamond’s carbon, aside from calling your carbon alive?" She answers but I honestly have no idea how to respond to that.

I was expecting either a Latin name I could look up later, or a name in an alien tongue. I was not expecting to pull my own existence into question. But she isn’t wrong, we are made of carbon. So what is the difference between us and those rocks? Looking up at the teleprompter I see a follow up question added.

"So everything in you is made of this living metal? Even the wires, insulation, and shock absorbers?" I asked. This question is likely made by the robotics specialist we called in.

"I do not have any wires, insulation, and shock absorbers. I have veins for my energy to flow through. I have cells that move and reproduce like yours do. I have antibodies to protect me from sickness. Really aside from a few extra abilities like the transformation ability and the element we are made of, there is very little difference between us biologically." Aurora explains like she is teaching a biology class.

"Wait. Let me see if I got this right. You are not a robot. You are a whole other life form that is made of metal? But you look so much like a robot." I try to wrap my head around this new information.

"Yes! That is exactly it! We just so happen to resemble your current day robots. If we had come here a few centuries ago people would be saying we look like moving statues or heavily armored giants. No need to think too hard about it Christine. Just think of it like this. A Monkey Face Orchid is called that because it is a plant that looks like a money, but it is not actually a monkey. A lionfish is called that because it resembles a lion, but it is not actually a lion. The same logic applies to me and robots. Looks like a robot, but only on the surface. There’s more than meets the eye underneath." Aurora clarifies. And it looks like we will not be needing the robotics specialist anymore.

And it looks like my manager thinks so too because the next question that pops up is definitely not robot related. "Then would you mind telling us what you intend to do with our resources you will be receiving from the auction?"

"Well Christine, the full answer is rather loaded, but the simple answer is, they are for war relief." Aurora answers and I once again get lots of new questions. Apparently so do the supposed experts because the teleprompter is now filled with lots of new questions. And many of them keep being deleted or sound way too accusatory. So I instead go with my own instincts.

"War relief? That sounds like we should get the full loaded answer." I say simply. But inside I am also worried. Is this like Star Wars? Are we going to get a real live Empire raining down on us?

"Thank you for not visibly panicking Christine. To calm you and the audience there is no war right now. That is why we are focusing on relief. That is also why Lord Megatron is here instead of on our home planet. He is able to focus on what he believes is most important and delegate other duties to his trusted advisors.

"We had been in a war with a corrupt government system that is quite similar to your communism, but much more extreme. It placed value on people based off of our physical characteristics and wealth. They controlled information, murdered anyone they didn’t think was of use to them and their pockets, everyone in the society was their puppets to work for them, entertain them, or die. I won’t go too graphic because there are probably children listening.

“But as you can imagine when half the men, women, and children (or mechs, femmes, and sparklings in our terms) of an entire population is getting killed by slave labor or genocide; said half is going to rise up to protect themselves and their loved ones. And the few in the other half not okay with the exploitation and not falling for the propaganda of the ruling government were happy to help.

"Good news is, the war is over and we are now in the process of erasing the old abusive system and establishing new rules for the good of the people instead of the few. Bad new is, like all wars, no matter how righteous it starts out, there is destruction and death. And now our planet is in desperate need of repairs, but repairs do not come out of thin air.

“We need recourses to rebuild, and the way to get the processed resources is by factories. But the factories need mining in order to get the raw materials for the factories to process. And in order to get mines we need supplies to build them to make them safe. It’s a round about problem. So we are going to use the resources we get here to build the mines and factories. Then we can start rebuilding our planet into a better world both socially and physically." Aurora finishes and waits for my response.

"Why not just use the resources you get from us to rebuild your planet directly? It seems like it would be faster and less complicated." I ask.

"Because then there would not be enough resources for your people and your daily lives. We want our planet repaired but not at the expense of another. With our own mines and factories we will be able to be self sufficient in our war relief, not dependent on trade or debts or wars for resources. Especially  after we already lost far too many lives just to save ourselves from our murdering oppressors. Plus when we do have our own mines and factories we will be able to repay any debt we incur with our own resources. Not only freeing us from debts but also encouraging a healthy and fair relationship with any planet we work with. I’m sure your politicians understand the dangers of a whole nation being under heavy debt." Aurora explains.

My time interviewing and reporting politicians has taught me a lot about political relations between countries. If the same or even similar rules apply between planets, then it sounds like this plan is not only beneficial to us but also them in the long run. I’m actually starting to believe that these aliens do come in peace. With this new comfort, I move on to less serious questions.

“So may I ask, do you have any plans for before the auction? According to the web site, it’s date is quite a ways off.” I ask.

“Actually yes. Lord Megatron has given me permission to reach out to the people of Earth and arrange for our people to take part in events and special occasions. Several of our people have what you humans would call ‘a need for speed.’ I was thinking of asking a few race officials if they can join their races. A little friendly human vs aliens competition. And I was also thinking of a little community service. We have a few mechs who are trained for similar emergencies as your emergency workers. I thought that the more hands the better in saving lives. And one of the best ways to soak up the local culture is by experiencing the local holidays. So we might go to some holidays and celebrations in our holoforms.” Aurora lists her plans and I already start planning how I can get in on those plans.

But then Aurora suddenly freezes and sits up straight looking over towards the doors we came through. I open my mouth to ask what she is looking at.

BOOM!!!!!

A huge explosion is heard from outside!

I shoot up, not sure if I’m going to run to the explosion or away like the audience currently is, but before I do either, Aurora grabs my hand. “Christine, would you like 2 world breaking news today?” She asks very calmly. And well, I didn’t get where I am turning down offers like that. So I nod my head and let Aurora lead me out the doors we came in through, after I signal a few cameramen to follow us. Looking back, I see some of the audience also following us out of curiosity.

“Miss Everhart, did you know humans only consciously use 5% of their brain. The rest is used for unconscious functions of the body. However, our Cybertronian brains (or processors as we call them) work differently. We can consciously choose to use different percentages of our brains depending on what we wish to do. Of course the trade off is that we have to diverge processor power from our subconscious functions. But one side effect of this ability is that we are able to multitask very well. I can pay attention to my holoform avatar and pay attention to my surroundings in my true body and even control it.” As she finishes this explanation, she opens the doors to the outside and reveals a war zone!

Her real body had transformed and is currently standing, holding some kind of device that looks to be making a force field around the whole studio! And outside the force field are other giant robots like her in various sizes and colors! And they are all fighting versions different looking tanks, armed helicopters, weaponized cars, and highly armed humans! Before I can ask what is going on, a jet dive bombs towards us and I see it drop a huge bomb right overhead! On instinct I scream and cover my head! But when I hear the explosion I don’t feel anything. Not even vibrations or shockwaves. I look up and see that the force field has completely held, shielding us.

Very calmly Aurora starts talking from her holoform. "My my my. Such a large attack with so many heavy duty weapons. No way they could have all been collected and all moved here very easily. Not without people noticing and panicking. At least not within the last half an hour it’s been since the surprise interview started. They would have needed, oh say 2 days to stealthily move such big machinery through a heavily populated city without anyone noticing. Thank goodness Lord Megatron is very protective of his people. I didn’t want to panic the humans by bringing so many Cybertronians here at once, but Lord Megatron would not let me go alone. So we compromised and I allowed guards to watch me in secret to protect me."

I felt terror chill down my spine. I hear what Aurora is saying loud and clear. This is clearly an attack by humans. An attack on her , while she appeared to be here alone to give her interview. And the only way it could have been pulled off is if the entire city had been in on it and worked together to swiftly move these tanks through the city, or if someone in the studio had snitched to someone about the true nature of the surprise interview as soon as Aurora contacted us and they had arranged all of this since then. High Lord Protector Megatron’s words from the announcement suddenly sprang to mind, and I wondered if I was going to get a front row seat to these aliens who came here in peace declaring war.

“Now now Christine. No need to look like you just witnessed a murder. We will only abandon Earth if the majority population or most of the governments become hostile to us. We will not deal harm to all of Earth merely because of the selfish, ambitions of a few. Like, for instance, organizations that have no remorse framing all of Earth into getting mixed up in a war with aliens, just so Earth will loose and they can jump in once the aliens leave to take over while everyone is broken and mourning or dead." As Aurora speaks she walks around me towards one of my cameramen. The one who had moved aside and been recording the battle outside. I thought she was going for a close up, but then I see my camera man throw the camera away and sprint to her real body, pulling some unknown device out of his pocket.

I don’t know what is going on now. But Aurora’s holoform disappears and her real body suddenly moves. A second smaller force field materializes in front of the not-camera man, who jump over it. Or he tries to jump over it. The small force field moves and wraps around him effectively restraining him mid air. As he struggles, Aurora leans down and pulls something that look like a humongous cylinder with a nozzle on it. Inside the cylinder there is a small amount of glowing blue liquid. Aurora suddenly presses the nozzle onto the man’s chest. As I see the glowing blue liquid disappear, I realize that device is a giant alien syringe. The man convulses for a second like he’s been shocked, then he goes still and drops the device he had in his hand. The small force field that had restrained him suddenly drops him and surrounds the device. Which then explodes into a bright crackling electric field. That man had tried to put that on Aurora’s real body!?

"Is-is he dead?" Is the first thing I say.

"No, he isn’t dead. I just injected a substance into him that quickly sized his muscles before knocking him out." Aurora answers as she sets him down and then she pulls out a metal stick. Then at the push of a button a glowing knife looking thing appears at the end and she brings it down on the unconscious man’s left arm.

"What are you doing?!" I shriek, wondering if it is an alien practice to cut off the arm of the person who attacks you. Like how some countries still cut off the hands of thieves.

"Don’t worry I can hear that it’s not a real arm. And he’ll thank me later for getting rid of it." Aurora says and continues to cut through the arm. After she does, I can see the inside of the arm and can confirm that she is right! The arm has metal and electric sparks in it! Who is this man? And how did he get in my studio crew?!

Aurora then stands up straight and her holoform appears beside the man and kneels down. I walk up to her to with my (hopefully real) other cameraman behind me to see what she is doing. When we get to her she has her hand in her attacker’s mouth for some reason. "Ah ha!" She declares before putting her foot on his chest and suddenly pulling! "Got it!" She cries in triumph, holding up a … tooth? She turns to us and asks "Can one of you please send someone to get a plastic zip lock bag? I don’t want to leave this poison filled tooth just anywhere."

"Poison?!" I yell. I hear someone running away. Hopefully to get the requested zip lock bag. "What-what is going on around here?" I feel like my brain is about to blue screen with everything that’s just happened.

"Remember what I said earlier about those selfish, ambitious organizations? Well say hello to one of them." She rummages through his pockets and pulls out some kind of device with a screen. She hands me the device and I see some kind of creepy red symbol. It has some kind of mutant skull with tentacles coming out of it.

"I feel like I’ve seen this symbol before." I remark. Not able to put my figure on where I’ve seen it.

"Well, if you paid attention in your twentieth century history classes, I’m not surprised you would remember it." Aurora said coming up to us. "I’ll give you a hint. Does the term, ‘Hail HYDRA’ ring any bells?”

~~~~~~~~~~

End notes:

I have some ideas of fluff scenes based on this fic but don’t contribute to the plot. Should I make a side fic that is a collection of these fluff scenes? Or I could try to go back and add them as bonus scenes? Or whatever #.5 chapters? I’m not sure which would be easiest to keep track of and keep the main story in order.

I am completely opened and welcomed to comments. If I feel inspired with any I might even be able to finish this fic. I’m usually pretty bad with adding filler scenes in between major events and scenes.

Or if you just enjoyed the story, pretty please leave a comment, kudo, and bookmark. Would really appreciate it to hear if people are enjoying my style of story telling. Thank you!

Chapter Text

Beginning notes:

~italic words between this mark refers to scenes and/or conversations being remembered~

~~~~~~~~~~

~~~Megatron’s POV~~~

I really hate this plan. Well, okay, I actually like the plan in general, but I hate that I have to not be there during it! Instead of being there to squash those impertinent organics and showing them their place, I have to be stuck in my office as Soundwave projects the broadcast on my holovid!

Not that Aurora didn’t have good arguments for my staying here. She had very good arguments, which I actually hate even more. ~“The general human population’s first impression of the High Lord Protector cannot be you squashing humans while laughing maniacally. ‘What is wrong with that?’ you ask. You do remember we need to make the humans believe there is a chance for them to con better deals out of us so they don’t immediately try to turn on us right? And they won’t believe that if they think our leader is rabid.” “This will show you don’t need to be there in person to protect one of your own. It’s another form of power play.”~ I couldn’t argue with the first and I usually like power plays, but I prefer more servos on power plays!

Still, even I am not sure I would have been able to stop myself from compromising our plan in my excitement to crush those humans. The only thing stopping me from giving up on all humans because of this, is Aurora informing me that these organizations are like the Functionist Council in their early days. Trying to grow their influence to become global. And the majority population will be grateful to us for exposing them and cutting off their progress before they can become like they were in Cybertron’s Guilded Age (Aurora’s new term for the Golden Age that I really like and took).

On the holo screen, Aurora is using the force field generator to incapacitate the human who tried to plant that device on her. It still amazes me that she is able to project more than 1 shield at a time, and that she is able to manipulate the shape of the shield so finely. I can still remember her reaction when she actually tried it in the training room. ~”I’m Green Lantern! Oh my goodness!! I’m freaking Green Lantern!!!” She then proceeded to make even smaller and more intricate shapes until she could not anymore.~ I still don’t know what a green lantern has to do with any of this. But it was then I learned that I should try to stop being shocked whenever she does something unexpected. It will likely be better for my spark in the long run.

Knock knock knock!

Who dares to disturb me when I am busy?!

“Megatron! I know you’re in there.” Ratchet’s voice calls from the other side of my door. I am very tempted to activate the soundproofing and just ignore him. “Don’t activate the soundproofing! I need to talk with you about Aurora while she’s not here! Open up!”

Well now I can’t ignore him. If he has found out that Aurora is not Optima Prime, then it is my duty as her partner in crime to try to cover it up, by whatever means necessary. After all, things will progress more smoothly if everyone continues to believe she is the former Prime and not someone else entirely.

“Very well. Come in!” I call out. And Ratchet lets himself in. He soon freezes though and adopts a mad expression. It takes a click for me to realize why, but I soon note that his optics are aimed at my mantle.

Ah. Aurora and Soundwave have been the only mechs in my office since this whole thing started, and they do not react when they see the Star Saber on my mantle. After all, to them, who are in the know, it wouldn’t mean much aside from another element in our carefully constructed image we are weaving. But to 1 of the Autobots who is not in the know. It is probably still a desecration for someone who is not their precious Prime to have and be able to wield such a powerful and sacred weapon.

“Whatever is the matter Doctor? Isn’t there something you wanted to talk about?” I ask while badly feigning ignorance at his enraged pause. I hope he does say something about my trophy.

“Cough. Yes. I do need to say something about Aurora. And preferably with just you, and no one else.” Ratchet looks over at Soundwave clearly conveying his meaning. Well it looks like I won’t get that reaction to the Star Saber I was hoping for. But then again, Ratchet is one of the more self disciplined of the Autobots here. Maybe if it had been the 2 wheeler… But back to the topic. If I want to learn if he has become suspicious. It looks like I will have to dismiss Soundwave. Not like the Medic is much of a threat.

“Very well, Doctor. Soundwave, you may leave us. But continue to monitor the broadcast and let me know immediately if those humans try anything surprising.” Soundwave obediently leaves without protest and soon it is just me and the Autobots’ medic.

“Well. Spit it out Doctor. I haven’t got all day.” If Ratchet was just going to stand there awkwardly, I could have kept Soundwave here and continued to monitor the broadcast.

“First, I wanted to … thank you … for what you have done for the young sparks.” This may be even better than if he had reacted to the Star Saber. Ratchet looked like he was in physical pain when he said that.

“Well, when the high caste are telling you middle caste that sparklings are drones. Someone has to step up. But you said you wanted to talk about Aurora. So as amusing as this attempted distraction is, get on with it.” I order. As much as I am enjoying Ratchet’s pain, I cannot forget that I need to see if he is getting suspicious of Aurora.

“Fine!" How Ratchet can go from looking in pain to sounding furious so quickly i do not know. "I admit that I was wrong about you violating Aurora to manipulate her! And even after examining her after every time you are alone with her for an extended time, I can see you still haven’t! But that does mean you still won’t interface with her eventually! And all the gossip I am hearing around the ship is only reinforcing this! I will keep an optic on her and the first sign of abuse will be the end of you! I do not need to kill you to make the rest of your life a living hell! Just a few well placed surgical procedures will be enough! And do not think that Knockout would be able to fix what I do!!”

Ah. He’s trying to give me the smelter talk. How cute. How shall I rub it in? “Why yes Ratchet you caught me. I have been planing on how I shall interface with your former leader. After all, surely making her my concubine will be an excellent demonstration of the unity that we hope both Autobots and Decepticons will embrace despite our pasts. And my plans have been progressing much smoother than I initially thought too. As I’m sure you have heard if you have been listening to the gossip. Aurora has proven very receptive to my charms. Why, if she were to submit to just a few more of my ‘suggestions’ she may even be adequate enough to consider for my lover. The thought of my old rival submitting to me in the berth is very appealing.” I have to use all my self control to not grimace at that last dig. I could never think of Andromeda or Optima Prime like that!

But the enraged expression on Ratchet’s face is very much worth it. Now maybe the Autobots will think I’m trying to seduce and manipulate their former leader for political and sadistic reasons. I should probably be more concerned about how Aurora will react when she hears about this new rumor going around. But honestly her expression is the one I am most looking forward to seeing.

“You - that - why I oughta! Aurora deserves better than scum like you! If you don’t actually love her then leave her alone! She’s sacrificed enough for this surrender and peace! Can’t you just let her to live the rest of her life in peace?!?!" Ratchet looked like he may actually try to kill me now.

"Why whatever is the matter Doctor? Wouldn’t a position as my lover be a good thing for her? She would be protected from any lingering resentment she may have encountered with less forgiving Decepticons and sore loser Autobots. And she would have a ped in on any political moves I make with my advisors. Furthermore, using my charms will not cause her physical pain or abuse." With each word I say I can see Ratchet getting more and more wound up. He wants to argue but sees the truth of my words.

"Just be gentle with her, and take it slow!! She at least deserves a first time without pain! And there is still a notable size difference between you two!" Whatever comeback I had on my glossa died as I register what Ratchet said.

"What? ‘First time’? You are lying. You must be!" There is no way she is still a …

"Aurora is a virgin. You didn’t know that?" Ratchet asked giving me a judgmental look. But I am too busy trying to wrap my helmet around this new information to bother disciplining him for this disrespect.

I knew Andromeda was a virgin. She was too much of a workaholic to court anyone, and too much of a blushing virgin to take lovers even though she would have had the credits to be able to as a high middle caste. But for Optima Prime, the highest ranked femme on Cybertron since Solus Prime, the single highest ranked at that, with that waist and aft and chest. Despite the fact that the mere thought of interfacing with her makes me feel ill, even I can objectively admit that she was a very attractive femme both in influence and physical appearance! For Optima to have gone millions of years without interfacing once!? Do the Autobots not have functional optics? Or spikes? And even if she did not choose to take one of her subordinates as a lover or courted, you are telling me  that the Councilers and high caste mechs did not try to use her to raise their own ranks before I ordered the strike on their towers?

Wait! She is not Optima Prime. So as shocking as this news is, it’s not like I can just ask her why or how this is. She is Aurora now. So even if her body is a virgin, she may not be a virgin on the inside. She could have interfaced with humans before she isekaied here. Right? Wait! How old was she before she isekaied? She was a human. Which means she could not have even been alive for 100 years. She is not even old enough to be a youngling!!! So, every time I teased her… have I been sexually harassing a sparkling?!?!

"Really? All that and the revelation that Aurora is a virgin glitches you into silence?" Ratchet now has a very unimpressed borderline disappointed expression on. But I am too busy haven’t a crisis to give him more than half my processor power. Besides, he does not know what is really causing me to glitch!

“Fine whatever. I said what I came here to say. I need to go before Aurora gets back. Enjoy your glitching.” I can hear the door open and close as Ratchet leaves. But I am too busy trying to rationalize this!

Aurora does not act like a sparkling even though she has been alive for only as long as a sparkling has. Organics do age differently from Cybertronians. But they also have less experience than us because of that! And since Aurora is from a boring alternate Earth where there are no known aliens, she would have experienced even less than the ones here!

“Megatron!” And there is Aurora now. Looking all overjoyed and not like she is the source of my crisis. “Did you see the broadcast? It went even better than I thought! HYDRA totally bought the bait and showed up! They even brought Bucky! And get this, MECH is actually a branch of HYDRA in this universe! And Silas was there! He tried to slip away in a helicopter but Breakdown managed to shoot him down with that missile launcher on his shoulder! Which is so ironic and you should totally reward him for it later. So now we got HYDRA agents, MECH agents, and Silas in your cells waiting for you to interrogate!

“And don’t worry about any human governments demanding them back. I already talked with them and got them to let us have them first since this can be classified as an attack against visiting dignitaries. They just ask that we also interrogate them about a few questions that they have and will send us, share anything we find out about their organizations and operations, and return any terrorists who survive so they can have a turn at interrogating them too.”

I hear her, but I also am still stuck on my revelation. “Aurora, how old are you?” I decide to bite the blast and just ask her.

“That … is not the response I was expecting for crippling 2 of our biggest threats on Earth at once. But I was in my early 30s.” She answered in confusion. But I can only bang my helm against my desk.

Early 30s?!?! “Oh Primus you are a sparkling!!! I have been working with a sparkling!!! I have been teasing a sparkling!!!” I have been sexually harassing a sparkling!!!

“Okay. I have no idea what brought this on and as much as I would like the teasing to stop, I gotta clarify.” Aurora said very seriously. “I am not a sparkling!!! Humans mentally, sexually, hormonally, and emotionally mature much faster than Cybertronians. True I may have only been alive long enough to be a sparkling in your species. But in every other way that matters I am just as mature minded and able to make rational and complex decisions as Optima Prime was!”

I guess that makes sense. Judging by years and experiences she would not be an adult, but mental and emotional development is important for adults too. And she seems to have plenty of those developments, judging from our times planning together.

“‘Sexually mature’? Does that mean you have had a lover or courted?” I ask next.

“What?!?! Seriously where are these questions coming from?!” Aurora’s face plate is heated up in embarrassment. But I will not be deterred. After a click of a staring contest, Aurora heats up even more but seems to submit since she covers her face plate with her servo.

“Haaaaaa. If you absolutely must know. I was a nerd in school and an introvert afterwards. I didn’t have any family because they had died when I was in college. I focused on work after college and did not interact with anyone outside of work. So no I never had a ‘lover,’ much less a ‘courted.’ That’s how I had so much time to read about the Transformers continuities.” Aurora’s face plate now looks so hot she could melt metal with it.

That, is good to hear, which is actually pretty surprising. When Ratchet told me that Optima was a virgin I felt immense shock that she had not used her rank to choose a lover or courted, or others had not used interfacing for her rank. But that was it, shock, no other emotion.

But with Aurora, when I find out the same thing about her, I feel surprise, yes; but for some reason, I also feel relief? And excitement? No that can’t be right. Why would I feel any of those things about this? She is just my partner in crime, an ally in my final revolution against the old Functionist system. Yes, I tease her but it is just for entertainment. Seeing so many reactions in the Prime’s former body is amusing.

But as I look at her, it is getting harder and harder to see the Prime, and not just Aurora. "Are you going to explain why you asked those questions now?" Aurora looks annoyed and impatient and still embarrassed as she asks that. All emotions I have never seen on Optima’s face plate. And it is truly amusing to see that on Aurora’s, er Prime’s!

"Let’s get back to your debriefing of the broadcast." I say answer her.

"Are you just going to ignore my question?!?!”

~~~~~~~~~~

End notes:

I am completely opened and welcomed to comments. If I feel inspired with any I might even be able to finish this fic. I’m usually pretty bad with adding filler scenes in between major events and scenes.

Or if you just enjoyed the story, pretty please leave a comment, kudo, and bookmark. Would really appreciate it to hear if people are enjoying my style of story telling. Thank you!

Chapter Text

~~~Bumblebee POV~~~

I’ve been looking down on the Earth from the top deck for a while now. But I can’t bring myself to move. My mind is too busy and confused for my body to move. I can’t believe the humans had attacked us!

Sure we are not working for them like we once were but for any of them to attack us! I thought we were friends! Does Fowler know of this? Aurora says he doesn’t and that this is a terrorist organization on Earth. But still for so many humans to attack us when we just want to help them? Even now, from what I’ve heard about Aurora’s and Megatron’s plans, we will be helping them. Just not with every request they make. Is that really enough for them to turn on us?

But honestly what happened after was just as shocking! Aurora gave all the humans we captured to Megatron! She willingly gave them to him just because he asked! No talk about all life being important or deserving of another chance or giving them to the other human authorities! Just straight to Megatron and then she walked away like it didn’t matter what he did to them!

I know she’s been acting different lately, but aside from the suicidal surrender and Will, it hasn’t been a bad difference! But now this is so contradictory to her usual behavior and what she has preached all this time!

“Penny for your thoughts?” I startle, suddenly hearing Aurora’s voice behind me. But she already has a firm hold on my arm to keep me from falling.

Once the startle of her sudden presence and scare of almost falling wears off I finally register that she asked me a question. “What?” I ask, not sure if I heard that right.

“It’s a human expression. It means that I am willing to hear whatever thoughts are troubling you if you are willing to share them.” Aurora just sits down next to me.

“Honestly! I’m not even sure what I’m more confused about!” My mind is spinning trying to put my confused thoughts into words. “I just-I guess was so sure that Megatron’s prediction about the humans attacking would be wrong! I mean, we worked to protect them for years! And even now! You are working so hard to work with Megatron and protect them from any abuse or exploitation! Why would they attack you? I thought we were friends, or at least allies!”

“And you! You just accepted that part of his plan even before they actually attacked! You didn’t even try to talk to them or tell us to be gentle with them. You ordered us not to underestimate them, to prioritize our lives and not hesitate if we think we are in danger! You used to say that freedom is the right of all sentient beings and that there is always hope and that we need to temper our strength and be gentle! What happened to that!?” By the end I sound hysterical in confusion and desperate for the universe to make sense again.

“Oh Bumblebee.” Aurora then did something she had never done before, she hugged me! She pulled me toward her, wrapped her arms around me, and maneuvered my helm so the crock of her neck and she hugged me!!! I did not know what to do about this!!!

True, I’ve always seen Optima as a role model. A mentor. My hero! I wanted to make her proud! But she had always had an aloof aura around her. Not a prideful one like she thought she was better than us. More like a burdened one. Like she had to be distant from us. Like she couldn’t relax and just be one of us. Ratchet had often said Primes don’t party and her refusing any invites from Jazz when he asked supported that. This closer, more emotional, hugging Aurora who encouraged me to play games and not just focus on mission?! I really didn’t know what to think of her now.

“I’m sorry.” She suddenly said, which really caught me off guard! I don’t think I’ve ever hear her apologize! “I’m sorry you had to see that side of humanity. I’m sorry I’ve been confusing you and making things more complicated for you. I don’t know what I can say to make it better.” And that’s another thing! Optima was always to sure of herself. So confident! You always felt like everything would be alright because she was sure everything would be alright!

But this Aurora. She is honest and open with us, even when she’s vulnerable. Even before she met with Megatron about the surrender, I noticed how she confided in us her doubts and complains about the war. True she mourned the war and all the losses, but she never showed doubts about it before then.

I don’t know how long she just hugged me. And I have no idea what I am supposed to do! But evidently my body does. My arms, which had been at my side this whole time, started raising up and moving around Aurora’s body. I blame the absurdity of the moment for my processor not computing what I was doing right away.

I had started hugging Aurora back!!!

I am hugging the Prime! Well, former Prime but that was besides the point! I had never done this before! Optima Prime was my leader! It wasn’t appropriate to hug her! Even if there had been a time when I had wanted to.

I had been adopted by the whole Autobot army after I was found in a destroyed village. They all were my adopted creators and older siblings. But once I grew up enough to understand what a sire and caer are, I started seeing Optima as the closest thing to a Caer I had. But I never acted on those feelings or inner thoughts. I was ashamed to have imprinted on my leader without asking her first. And she never showed me any more favor than she did any other sparklings or younglings in the base. So I never told anyone about this one-sided parental imprint, and most definitely never hugged her! Just like she had never initiated a hug! Just patted my shoulder or helm when I did well, that was good enough!

But, this actually felt even better. Aurora is really warm. And being wrapped in her arms actually felt safe. Like she was a shield against the troubles of the world so they couldn’t reach me. And I never noticed this before, but she actually smelled really nice. Like warmed up energon and Spring Earth flowers. It made me think of a calm soothing day in a flower field on Earth. Oh! And now she’s rubbing my back with her servos! That feels even better.

“Have you calmed down now?” Aurora suddenly asked. And I realized that I have, so I just nod. “Good, then how about we address your questions slowly and one at a time? They might not seem as daunting if we dissect them a little. And they don’t have to be in a specific order, or all done now. Just whatever and whenever you are comfortable with.” That did make sense. And I already know what the most important question to me was.

“Why did you change?” I ask. My voice just sounding hollow now in my confusion. “You preached so much about mercy, and using minimal force, and how there is always hope for everyone. Why is that different now?”

Aurora adjusts us so she still has 1 arm messaging my back, but she and I can now look each other in the optic as we talk. I actually miss being fully wrapped in her arms in a hug.

“I didn’t completely change Bee. I still believe that the greatest battle one is the battle not fought. I believe that mercy can bring about redemption better than anything else. And I do still have hope for a better future for everyone. I just made my worldview more complex and conditional.

“As great as a battle not fought is, I need to acknowledge that there are enemies who will fight to the death to hurt the people I love, and the only way I can protect those people is by fighting back even harder. I still believe in mercy bringing redemption, but I need to acknowledge that there are wicked people who would abuse that mercy for evil, and the only way to prevent mercy from falling into the hands of abusers is to temper it and make it partially conditional on visible signs of redemption. And I have so much hope for the future, but I need to acknowledge that good things don’t come from hope and wishes, they require hard work and sacrifice and compromise.

“I love you and the others. I love all Cybertronians and want to see them happy and thriving. This war was supposed to do that somehow. But it’s not, it’s doing the exact opposite. The human, Albert Einstein, had a saying, ‘the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.’ The way I have been living has not brought the results I wanted for everyone. So I decided to change that for everyone’s sake. True I could’ve just tried changing my actions, but changing actions without changing your beliefs is hypocrisy and shallow and not real change. And all Cybertronians needed real change.” After Aurora finished explaining, I could only stare at her.

Her explanation made sense, and I can see that it is bearing fruit. I was shocked at her change, but is this really a bad change? As I look at her faceplate, with a small happy smile I had never seen before the change and the bright yellow optics that looked like they actually showed her love for me and everyone and feel her arm stil partially wrapped around me, I come to my decision. No, this is not a bad change. That decision is only reinforced as I subconsciously lean closer to her, almost initiating a hug myself, and receive a hug from her.
~~~~~~~~~

End Notes:

This and the next chapter were original going to be 1 chapter. But the dialogue and mommy/son touchy feelings moment got too long so I made it 2 chapters.

I am completely opened and welcomed to comments. If I feel inspired with any I might even be able to finish this fic. I’m usually pretty bad with adding filler scenes in between major events and scenes.

Or if you just enjoyed the story, pretty please leave a comment, kudo, and bookmark. Would really appreciate it to hear if people are enjoying my style of story telling. Thank you!

Chapter Text

Beginning notes:

“Italics is used for transmitted dialogue. Be it over comms, bonds, or telepathy.”

~~~~~~~~~~

~~~Still Bumblebee POV~~~

“I still don’t understand how all those humans could attack you.” After a few clicks of hugging I decide to finally ask the other problem that had been on my mind. “We’ve been helping them for years. We’re still helping them with the intergalactic community. Why would they attack you when we just wanna help?”

“Heeeeee.” Aurora let out a sigh and looked disappointed herself at what happened. “I know you are looking for an easy answer that makes sense Bee. But the truth is that there is no easy answer to that. Sentient and sapient beings are all complex. It’s what set us apart from actual animals. But it’s also what makes us flawed and not all good or evil, no matter what species we are. Which is the major contributor to the complexity of the world.

“People can have good intentions and do bad things in the end. People can have bad intentions and accomplish good things along the way. People can appear to be villains but have good reasons for what they do. People can appear to be heroes but have very bad reasons for what they do.

“But don’t just look at it as a betrayal. Think of it as a learning experience and your world view expanding that you need to adapt to. Take the Decepticons for instance. You heard from the Autobots all your life that all Decepticons are liars and bad guys? But you took the chance to get to know the Workers, and now you seem to be really good friends with Steve and Michal and so many others.”

Aurora’s not wrong. Hot Rod and I had heard so many stories about how the Decepticons had rose up to tear down the Golden Age and put themselves on top as tyrants. We used to pretend we were fighting for the Autobots and that we would win the war together somehow. Then we would throw all the Decepticons into jail to never see the light of day again.

But lately I’ve been hearing things about the Golden Age that makes it seem more like a Guilded Age, as Aurora called it. A Guilded Age that I honestly am happy we do not have anymore. And even though we surrendered, Megatron has not executed us or slapped chains on us or any other horrible thing everybody said would happen if the Deceptacon won. So they can’t really be tyrants like everyone said they were.  Furthermore, now that I’ve met Steve and all the others, I’m rather ashamed of all those pretend games Hot Rod and I played.

“You did the right thing Bee.” Aurora said as she started rubbing my helm. “You learned that not all Decepticons are bad. That you shouldn’t just automatically consider what you hear as absolute truth, even when it is from the mouth plates of those you know and trust. And that you should take the time and effort to learn what else there is besides what meets the eye. Don’t be stagnant and prideful in your world view. But also be mindful and respectful of what’s right and wrong. You’ll learn as you go and have us to help you when you stumble.” I sure hope I can learn. It still all sounds so complicated!!!

“But how do I trust humans after they attacked you? How do I know what’s right or wrong if I don’t know what decision will hurt the people I love and which won’t?” The universe is sounding like a much more complicated and scary place than I ever thought.

“It’s important to be mindful of the bad in the universe. But it’s even more important to temper that mindfulness with the good in the universe. For now leave the big decisions to us. And don’t worry too much about the humans. There are still plenty of good ones. In fact, I am planning on a way to bring some of them into our fold.” Aurora tried to explain.

“You are? How?” I don’t know how she will find the good humans or recruit them.

“It’s still a work in progress, so I won’t tell you too much. But you can look forward to some good human friends when it does happen. Until then, how about focusing on some of the good fun the humans have made?” Aurora reaches into her subspace and pulls out a large tarp with a bunch of different colored circles on it, and a metal plate with similar colors and an arrow that spun around as she moved it. “This is called Twister. I hear it is a fun game for large groups of friends.”

~~~Time skip after Bee meets up with his friends~~~

“So Aurora gave me this new game for us.” I finish explaining where I got this new game to my new friends in our unofficial Young Spark Lounge.

It’s just the room where we started playing Capture the Cube and shared the candy afterwards. But it’s slowly become our room. Everyone’s slowly been adding things to make it nicer. Steve and his baking friends added a broken cube without a lid, where they put treats for anyone to share. And everyone has been bringing in crates for us to sit on more comfortably.

“You say it’s called ‘Twister?’ Pft! What a weird name.” Butch said as he lounged on one of the crates brought in.

“And from what you described of the rules, it sounds too easy to be fun.” Mark said in disappointment from another crate.

“That’s what I said! But she said it gets more fun as you play along. Then she said to be careful. Apparently, human young sparks have gotten tied into knots while playing this game because they were not careful.” I explain.

“Pfffftt Hahahahaha! Humans tying themselves into knots?! Over this simple game?! Oh how pathetic! This just proves that they are as weak as Lord Megatron and the others have always said!” Bolt said as he almost fell off his crate laughing.

“Yeah! No way that could happen to us! We are much stronger and more durable than they are!” Butch added.

“Now now guys. It’s not like the humans can help that they are made of weaker flesh and less limber joints. How about we give this game a shot? Then we could tell any humans we see how they have been playing their own games wrong.” Another Eradicon said. His name is Mitch. I met him after Capture the Cube game because he had been guarding a mine at the time. And I am now learning that he is the type to  eagerly take on any perceived challenge.

“I don’t know guys. Maybe we should still approach this carefully. I mean, Capture the Cube turned out to be a lot more insane than we thought.” Rose said in worry.

“Don’t be such a worry wort, Rose! We’ll be fine! But if you are too scared you can just watch while we have fun! So Bee how do we start this game again?” Mark said as he hopped over to me with several others. I’m not so sure about this challenge to 1 up the humans at their own game.

And apparently I’m not the only one as I see Michal, Sam, and several others opt out of it, claiming they will just observe the first round and take part in the second. But it does sound like it will still be a fun time with my new friends. And be able to get my mind off of what happened during the interview. So I eagerly step forward to take part in the first round and explain the rules.

“Okay. So first we lay this tarp out flat on the floor. Only 4 mechs can play per tarp but Aurora thought of that and made extras in case more than 4 wanted to go at a time. Then we assign someone to spin the arrow on this metal plate and tell us what the arrow points to. Since Rose doesn’t want to play she can do that. Then we just do what Rose says while not letting anything but our servos and peds touch the floor, or we are out. The last mech standing wins.” I review the rules for everyone.

“As I said. Simple. Hey Rose! How about setting a timer so we can see how fast we finish this game? Now then. Let’s go!” Mitch said as he also moved into place.

~~~Time skip several hours~~~

~~~Ratchet POV~~~

I’m just powering down after a relatively quiet day when, “Uh. Ratchet? Can you please come to my location? Please?” I hear Bee ask over my comm.

And I immediately go into medic mode. “Bee? Why? What is it? Are you alright?”

Bee quickly answers back, “I’m fine Ratchet really! This is not a medical emergency! Technically. I uh, could just use some help with something and I think a medic is the best mech for the job.” That does not explain anything! And now I am running out of worry of what unknown trouble the kid could have gotten himself into this time! “Oh and one more thing. Could you please not tell Aurora about this?” What? Why wouldn’t Bee want me to tell Aurora? What is going on?

As I open the doors to the room Bee is in, I get my answer. And a whole lot of questions! And maybe a glitch too!

“Ow. OW! Not so hard!”

“Hang on Bee! I think I’ve almost got you out!”

“Michal! Stop! You’re making it worse!”

“Ouch! Steve! You’re pulling my wheel too hard!”

“Sorry, Mitch!”

“Waaait. Mitch! You’re an Eradicon! You don’t have wheels!”

“What?! Then why do I feel it when Steve pulls that wheel?!?!”

“At least you can feel something. Currently feeling nothing down here!”

“I told all of you this was a bad idea!”

“We heard you the first time Rose!!!”

“What in the Allspark is going on around here!?!?” I am currently looking at a large metal mass of limbs and helms! With Bumblebee’s and several other Worker’s voices coming from inside it!

“Uhhhh hi Ratchet. Can you please untie us?” Bee asks from where I can see his helm.

“First tell me how this happened and I’ll see what I can do about fixing it.” I’ve had put up with a lot of scrap in my life. First at the Deadend and then in the Autobot base. Especially when Sideswipe and Sunstreaker joined the Bots. But I have NEVER seen something like this!!!

“Uuuuh well you see. Aurora gave us this new game based off of an Earth game. And, uuuh, well, uuuuuhh.” Bee’s face plate is heating up in embarrassment now.

“Come on. Spit it out! How does an Earth game cause this?!” I am starting to loose my patience.

“Weeeeeeeell Aurora warned us to be careful with it. Because this game has resulted in humans getting tied into knots when they’re not careful aaand-“ “No wait. Let me see if I can finish this story.” I interrupt Bee who looks like he might start melting metal if he gets any hotter.

“You and your other young spark friends, thought it would be a good idea to prove her warning wrong. So you decided to go all gung ho into the game, not caring at all as you got tied up in knots together.” I deliberately finish sounding as unimpressed as I can be.

“Uuuuh. That about sums it up?” Bee looks like he wants to hide his helm deeper into the knotted pile. In fact, all the other Workers not in the pile are currently trying to hide behind it like they think they can escape from my judgment of their stupidity.

This is such a brash stupid youngling mess they have gotten themselves into! If I wasn’t already convinced from all my scans that the Workers are young sparks, this would have proven it without a doubt!

“Haaaaaaaaaaaaah! Let’s get you all out of there. I can’t discipline you all when half of you are stuck in a knot!” As I reach into my subspace to get my tools, I can hear 1 of the Workers, I think his name is Mark, saying, “You know, suddenly being stuck in here doesn’t seem so bad.”

“Just for that remark I’ll pay special attention to you as I untie you.” I threaten waving 1 of my tools in his face plate.

“Noooooo!! Have mercy!!!”

~~~~~~~~~~

End notes:

I am open for any suggestions of group games and activities the young sparks can do. I have a few in mind but always open for more.

Word of warning, the next chapter requires some research so it might be a while before I can post it. But hopefully not more than a week.

I am completely opened and welcomed to comments. If I feel inspired with any I might even be able to finish this fic. I’m usually pretty bad with adding filler scenes in between major events and scenes.

Or if you just enjoyed the story, pretty please leave a comment, kudo, and bookmark. Would really appreciate it to hear if people are enjoying my style of story telling. Thank you!

Chapter Text

~~~Aurora’s POV~~~

After giving Bumblebee the Twister, I went to Megatron’s office to debrief him on the interview and a few other things I’ve put in motion.

"I managed to call the Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials while Ratchet was examining me after the interview. They were weary at first, not sure about giant metallic aliens in their Indianapolis 8hr race. I assured them that the Cybertronians taking part would be banned from transforming during the race unless they wanted to get disqualified, and they will be held accountable for all the other racing rules as the other drivers. So it will just be human racing skills vs alien racing skills. The fact that we would not accept the prize even if one of ours won really reassured them that it would just be friendly competition between species. Then they got really exited when I told them that they could advertise it and we would only take 10% of the profits of every ticket sold after the advertisement is launched. I’ve already seen their announcement online about the race and already people are rushing to buy the tickets. It will likely be one of their most packed race days ever."

"I also got an update about the Weaponizer Minicons from Soundwave. They believe us about the dangers of the Quintessans and like all the rules and rights we put in place for minicons in the NCC.  Their only extra condition for staying is that Shockwave is kept away from them until he finds a cure for shadowplay and the Shockwave who experimented on them is no more. But it seems like we have Laserbeak to really thank for their change of spark. She and Aerobolt seem to have really bonded over their experiences with Minicon discrimination and their trials protecting their brothers and sisters. I’m not sure Soundwave is too happy with his little girl getting a new avian mech friend but-"

“Let’s spar.”

Whatever I was about to say just flew out my head as I try to comprehend what Megatron just said. "I’m sorry, repeat that again, please. I think my ears are glitching." At least I’m praying they are. Or maybe my audios are damaged. But Ratchet didn’t find anything wrong during the exam, and I can’t think of what I could have done since then to damage them.

But Megatron just rolls his optics at me. "It’s ‘audios’ Aurora. Not ‘ears.’ And you didn’t mishear me. I said ‘let’s spar.’"

Yeah, that’s why I am sure I heard him wrong. "You want me, to spar with you? ME? The lowly human whose only combat experiences is a couple of Earth self defense classes? Against YOU? The Scourge of Kaon? The Champion of the Gladiatorial Pits? The Emperor of Destruction? The undefeated Gladiator turned Warlord? Uh, thanks but no thanks. This may not be my original body, but I kind of like where the limbs currently are, thank you!"

My perfectly logical argument is just met with another eye roll. "That is exactly why we should spar. Optima was a skilled warrior. What are you going to say if you get into a situation where you have to fight, and are a complete amateur at it? You got lucky when the humans attacked. You had the excuse of needing to use the force field generator to shield the humans so you never even partook in the battle. And incapacitating that little human with the metal arm does not count as a fight." He argued extremely rudely.

"Excuse you! He was the Winter Soldier! One of the deadliest assassins Earth has ever produced! I’d say I did more than good fighting him! And considering your history as a gladiator, I don’t think you are a reliable judge of what qualifies as a fight!" I try to argue, feeling very insulted at his diminishing my saving Bucky.

But once again Megatron counters my argument, "You had been practicing with the force field generator for days, anticipating needing to restrain a human on the inside. However, you cannot have the shield generator with you at all times. You said yourself that it broke in cannon. And you can’t anticipate every fight. Plus, your opponents will not always be small humans that are only a little stronger than the average human. Then what will you do? The least we can do is make sure you are not a total embarrassment in a fight. Then you can claim you are just rusty after focusing on the peace and not training."

I hate that he actually has a good point. But still- "Does it have to be you? Can’t I train with one of the Vehicons? Like Steve? Start out at the beginner level instead of skipping to the Boss Level?" I am not above begging right now.

"And when even Steve kicks your skid plates, what will be your excuse?" Ouch! And the fact that Megatron sounds 100% sure that I would get beaten even by Steve even in Optima’s bigger and stronger body feels like a personal attack, but one I can’t defend against. But that doesn’t mean I am going to yield that easily.

"Fine! But you gotta do something for me in return for this impending painful exercise. You have to go out with me down to Earth in your holoform." I say with pride of my brilliant idea … Only to realize how that sounds after it leaves my mouth!

"What?" Megatron asks in equal surprise at what I said.

" I DON’T MEAN IT LIKE THAT!!! I ment you have to use your holoform to go on a little outing with me on Earth! Just an outing! Enjoy some food, talk with people, do a little PR work, lay down some foundations for future stuff, that kind of thing!! It is not a date!!! " I try to backtrack and whip up an excuse as fast as I can!

However, dispute my excuse Megatron answers, "No. I’m okay rewarding you if you do well in the spar but think of something else to be your reward."

"You have to come with me down to Earth eventually! At least once!” I really do need him to.

“Why?” He asks. His optics daring me to come up with something that he will agree with.

“Several reasons." I start listing them off on my digits. "1. You need to become comfortable using your holoform. Otherwise, when you really need it, you’ll be the one acting like an amateur with your ignorance of it. 2. I really am planning to meet specific people during the outing, and it will go a lot smoother if you are there as the High Lord Protector. 3. It is not good PR if the High Lord Protector is never around his future allies unless he absolutely cannot get out of it. And 4. You need to get out more. We are not at war anymore so you cannot spend all your time on your warship working. ‘All work and not play wears down the body and mind.’"

However, despite my arguments, Megatron did not seem convinced and tried to countered my arguments while counting his digits like it did. Somehow making it seem very mockingly while he did it. "1. I can adapt to every weapon and mod I have gotten. The holoform will be no different. 2. If you need a guard I can arrange for Skyquake to guard you on your outing. 3. I will be there for all the other meetings and important events we have planned for me. That is enough PR with the humans. And 4. I have been working on the war for millions of years, and it has done the exact opposite of wear down my body and mind. Besides don’t outings on  Earth require local currency? Where do you plan to get that? The ticket auction is still quite a ways from being over, and until then we cannot access any of the currency up for bid."

He is so stubborn! Good thing I can be stubborn too. "1. The holoform is not the same thing as a weapon or mod! It is all new sensations in a different body that you have to control while controlling your own body! You need to practice with it before you are put in a dire situation with it. 2. I don’t need a guard, I need the leader of the CNN to represent us during the talks with those important people! 3. No, just being there for the meetings and events is not enough PR! Humans are social creatures. So they feel closer with people they can socialize with. You not socializing with them will only make them feel alienated to the CNN since you are our leader! 4. And for the hundredth time, war times and peace times are 2 completely different things! Being motivated to work constantly in a war where it’s life and death is completely different from working nonstop in peace where there are rarely immediately life and death situations. You need stuff to do off of work to engage your mind during those times. And don’t worry about the money. I wasn’t planning to have the outing until after the race, when we get our share of the tickets sold."

Megatron tries to stare me down, but I will not be persuaded otherwise. I pull out my last trump card for situations like this. I ask, “Why don’t we ask Soundwave if he thinks my plan is logical or not?”

Megatron growls at me and looks mad at me. That means I’ve practically won. Megatron knows that Soundwave will likely side with me over his own amica’s stubborn ego. He has been surprisingly helpful and cooperative with me when we’ve needed to make Megatron do something he hasn’t wanted to do but should. Which was surprising. In most cannons, Soundwave seems sensible but blindly loyal to Megatron. I’m starting to wonder if that was less Soundwave being a lap dog and more him choosing his battles knowing he would not be able to make Megatron do anything if he really resisted. But now that it’s 2v1, his ‘battles’ are more in his favor. So he can be as lovingly critical of Megatron’s pride as he wants.

He must see this too because he soon slumps down in his seat and groans "Fine. But only if you give it your all during the spar." He gets up and walks to the door.

I follow behind him as we make our way to the training room. Once we are there Megatron locks the door like he did when I was practicing with the force field generator. That way we can speak freely and the only way anyone can open it is with an override code only the officers use in an emergency

"Okay coach. So how do we sta aaaah!! " I just barely duck in time to avoid a punch to my helm!

"Simple, you stay alive." Megatron has a sadistic joyful predatory look on his face plate! Like a cat that’s cornered a mouse and decided to play with it!! I quickly run the opposite direction!

As I run, I yell out, "I thought this was supposed to be a training exercise! How is this training?!?! Or was this ‘training’ just an excuse for you to do aggression therapy on Optima Prime’s body?!?!" I almost get a swipe from his claws! And really regret not making Knockout file those down!

As Megatron tries to kick me he explains, "In the Pits, sparing was training. We learned by doing. Nothing motivates you more than your life on the line. And as you can see, it worked extremely well for me." He then tries to tackle me!

I transform, causing him to sail over me, and speed away to the other side of the training room yelling out along the way, " YOU ARE NOT NORMAL!!! And besides I thought the idea was to prevent people from asking questions about me getting easily beat up! What am I supposed to tell Ratchet or Knockout when they see me beat up from you?!"

That gets him to stop his advances for his next attack. He has an annoyed look on his face plate. Which I hope means he sees my point and will concede to it. The goan he lets out next is very comforting.

"Fine! I suppose I can sparkling you since you are obviously as terrible at this as you are at bold faced lying. Are all humans this bad at fighting?" I feel very insulted at that question on behalf of all humans.

"Gladiatorial fights are outlawed on Earth! Most civilians don’t need more than a few self defense tools and classes! It’s a testament of the average law enforcement for civilians." I defend. Megatron mumbles something in response to my defense, but I only hear part of it. Something about some sort of ‘mandatory class’?

"Whatever. Just try to attack me." Megatron doesn’t even get into a fighting stance. But that doesn’t fool me. I have no doubt that he could still block and attack me even in a casual stance.

I get into the stance I remember my self defense coach teaching me. "What is that?" I hear Megatron ask while he is chuckling at me.

"You told me to attack you so I’m getting ready to." I look down and see my body slightly turned at an angle to his, my feet shoulder width apart, my arms up and hands out to deflect or attack when I’m ready. It’s the right stance, so I really don’t know what his problem is.

"That stance is terrible for an attack! If you were going to block an attack that stance could work in some instances, but for throwing an attack there are so manny flaws and weaknesses!" Megatron’s tone sounds like I personally offended him with my stance.

"That’s kind of the point of self defense classes." I really hope this is not how the rest of the training is going to go.

“That explains so much." Megatron looks and sounds like the universe had just disappointed him. I was getting really tired of this training lesson. First it was all ‘let’s beat up Aurora,’ now it’s all ’let’s criticize the way she stands and breaths!’

Now I do not feel as bad trying to punch him. I twist my body to wind up my punch. Then twist it back like a yo-yo throwing my palm out with the momentum. I aim for his solar plexus, hoping it is just as sensitive a spot on a Cybertronian as it is on a human, plus on Megatron it is pretty close to face level for me so easy to reach.

Of course Megatron won’t even let me get 1 punch in. He catches my punch as easily as a human catches a ball and sneers, “What kind of punch is that?! Are you trying to attack me or slap me?”

“It’s called a palm punch! It’s how we’re taught how to properly throw a strong punch without risk of break my knuckles and fingers!” I try to pull my servo away, only to find Megatron’s grip on it is very strong.

“You are not made of fragile flesh and bone anymore. You are made of metal. So you are much more durable now.” While he’s lecturing me again he’s still holding my servo captive! And I never realized how much bigger Megatron’s servo is to Optima Prime’s! Even with my servo spread out for a palm punch, his servo still almost encompasses it!!

“You are made of metal too! And I’m pretty sure it’s much thicker metal than mine!” It will most definitely hurt trying to punch that with my knuckles!

"Aaaaah!!!”

I don’t really know what happened! One moment I’m trying to get my servo back so we can continue this training! The next I am on the floor and Megatron is … sitting on my waist and has my wrists pinned on either side of over my helm! I can feel my face plate heat up and hear my spark beat in my audios as it pushes energon through my body at super speed! This is very bad!

I’ve been able to keep my crush on Megatron mostly at bay after our first meeting! Fortunately, business talks and strategizing are a big mood dampener and a good distraction! But like this , with Megatron looming over me, his strength easily restraining me, his heavier body weighing on my body, and that darn signature smirk of his, my crush on him is sounding alarms in my brain making it impossible to ignore!!! It’s like we’re back in that forest all over again!!! And like then, I really need to get my mind out of those mature fanfictions I’ve read before my body reacts more than it already is!!!!

"Hmhmhm." Megatron’s laugh snaps me out of where my mind is trying not to go to focus on him. "Well, well, well. Looks like I have the former Prime at my mercy." I don’t think I’ve ever seen any version of Megatron look this smug and amused, and it’s at my expense!

"I knew you just asked for this spar for aggression therapy!" I accuse him again as I try to wriggle out from under him. Which only makes the points of contact between me and him even more noticeable! "Alright! Alright! I get it you are a better fighter than I could ever be with 10 life times! Can you please let me up know!?"

"Hmf. We really need to work on your combat abilities." Megatron adjusts his sitting to start standing up, and I strike!

I plant both feet as close to my aft as possible and buck my waist up! Megatron falls forward while he is off balance and has to let go of my wrists to plant his servos above my helm to avoid fall on his face. With my servos free I wrap them around his waist while wrapping 1 leg around his! Keeping him off balance with my leg, I roll to the side and take the still off balance Megatron with me! Once he is on his back I pounce!

"HA! Pinned ya!" I now have him pinned under me! With his servos pinned to the floor on either side of his helm! His surprised face is totally priceless!

"Hm. Not bad." Megatron says getting his usual smirk back on. "Optima would have never fake surrendered in the middle of a fight."

"I’m not Optima. And we have an expression on Earth. ‘Turnabout is fair play.’" I am quite pleased that he fell forward it.

"Indeed." Megatron said. But the way he said it made it sound like he ment more than 1 thing. "However, you still have a lot to learn. Like-" He suddenly shoots his helm towards me in a headbutt!

"AH!" I close my optics and brace for a killer headache! But nothing happens. When I open my optics I see that Megatron has stopped just an inch away from our helms connecting.

"Never assume that your opponent is down for the count. And a good bash to the face plate is a much easier way to get out of being pinned like that. Remember that for the next time I pin you ." The way he spoke sounded so … suggestive! But there is no way! He is either messing with me like he usually does, or my brain is still in the gutter.

Click! Swoosh!

"Lord Megatron! Knockout and Ratchet said they need you … to-" Breakdown has just opened the doors! (Likely using Knockout’s medic override codes). And he has caught us in the most compromising position ever!!

I am still sitting on Megatron’s waist! And Megatron is still leaning up so his face is still only an inch away from mine! From the angle Breakdown is at, it would look like he caught us in a very intimate and NC-17 rated moment!

…

"I’lltellthemyou’rebusy!" A now red instead of orange faced Breakdown blurts out as he retreats back out the door faster a mech his size should be able to run.

…

“PPFFFFFFFFFFT BWAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!” That Mega-jerk has actually rolled over out from under me and is laughing his aft off on the training room floor! While I am slowly offlining from motivation!

No doubt my face is just as red as Breakdown’s was and as hot as a volcano as I yell, “Stop laughing!!! It’s not funny!!! Breakdown is going to tell Knockout, and Knockout is the biggest gossip feeder on this ship!!!”

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!” And that does not deter him in the least apparently.

“I hope you literally laugh yourself to death so that I can deface your tomb with lots of embarrassing graffiti.” I say to his stupid laughing face plate.

“Haha! No-Ha-no you don’t. Because if I offline, then you will be stuck with all the duties and responsibilities of leadership for the NCC. Hahaha. And we both know that that is the last thing you want. Hehe” Megatron has that infuriating smug smirk on his face while he is still laughing!

And the fact that I know he’s right only makes it 10 times worse. I seriously wanna punch him in the face right now. Actually, we are in the training room and supposed to be training. So I could totally use this opportunity to punch him in the face and get away with it.

CLANG!!!

“What?!?!” I yell in shock. Megatron just caught my punch while he is still laughing!!!

“Hehe. Nice try Aurora. But I saw that coming a mile away. You really need to work on controlling your facial expressions.” And he still has that stupid smirk on his face!

“Seriously!?!?!?!”

~~~~~~~~~~

End notes:

I watched a lot of self defense YouTube videos for ideas to make this scene. But I am not a professional so any errors in it please let me know and I can change it.

Shout out if anyone has been to the Indianapolis 8hr race. I personally haven’t. I just chose that race cause it was the only one I could find online that is internationally famous, takes place in a large speedway, and occurs around the time of the year this would be in tfp cannon (not long after the start of the school year). If anyone has any information about being there it might be useful for that part of the story.

Chapter Text

~~~Wheekjack POV~~~

Some people would probably call me cowardly if they saw me right now, but I really needed this drive. Earth’s scenery wasn’t all bad, different but not bad. The dust can be a bit of an issue, and mud was a pain to get off me, and the few times I had to drive through snow and ice was a nightmare. But still, the plant was picturesque in an organic way. Yet it couldn’t completely distract me from what was on my processor.

When I first got that encrypted message telling me to come to Earth because the war was over, I thought it was a Decepticon trap!

But then the message warned me that both the Autobot leader and Deceptacon leader suspected enemies of the entire Cybertronian race targeting small Cybertronian groups and cautioned me to be very careful as I travel to Earth to rendezvous with everyone for my own safety.

I had to respond to the message after that. Just to investigate what is happening. Turned out what is happening is Optima Prime surrendering to Megatron! She had called an end to the war, and now they were working together to build a New Cybertron Civilization! She had even given up the Primacy and renamed herself! And Megatron agreed to her surrender and proposition of peace! I don’t know which is harder to believe! That Prime would surrender or that Megatron would peacefully accept it!

They claimed that Megatron had accepted because he had had a run in with Quintessans during a 3 year solo space voyage. And from that run in, had learned that the Quints were waiting for the Cybertronians to kill themselves in their war so they could swoop in and finish off any remaining survivors. That they had already been picking off mech from both factions who had struck out on their own or in very small groups. Which is why they had attacked Megatron expecting him to be an easy target alone just like all the others. Even I could admit that had been a stupid move of theirs.

After meeting and talking with Prime, now Aurora, and Megatron, I decided to stick around to see how Bulkhead and his team are doing with this, and to make sure it really wasn’t a trick. I had got a whole lot of different responses from the team.

Docbot was obsessing over the Decepticon Workers: the Miners, Vehicons, and Eradicons. Apparently, Aurora had discovered that they are not drones, but sparkling and younglings. I heard that, after Bumblebee had been repaired, Ratchet had obsessed with his own studies to see if it was true or not about the Workers. Then, when he found that it was true, he started obsessing over how the Council could have been mistaken all those millennia ago, and how nobody realized it sooner. All the while fussing over every single Worker like a new carrier fussing over every little thing about their first sparklings.

Bumblebee was still very weary about Megatron, Starscream, and the other higher-ups in the Decepticons. But apparently, after finding out that most of the Workers were his age or younger; he started spending most of his time around them, hanging out with them, sharing games with them, and generally being a group of kids hanging out with their peers. Aurora even encouraged this, suggesting and even building games for them that she had apparently read about on Earth. Which, I hear had lead to chaotic results.

Arcee was more accepting of the Workers, but still held onto old grudges and mistrust against the higher up Cons, convinced that this peace would not last. That this whole thing was just an elaborate trap or ploy. That the Deceptacon would do something to break it and drag us back into the war. Only this time we would not be able to fight back because of we now know that the majority of their army are young sparks!

But Cliffjumper was working hard to embrace the peace and get Arcee to accept it. Apparently he’s been following her around to make sure that she didn’t start any fights with the Cons. That is, when he is not trying to seduce her into berth. Apparently he is hoping they can spark a sparkling.

Bulkhead though was the biggest conundrum for me. Our conversation earlier still played in my memories.

When I confronted Bulkhead about this and asked what he thought, he answered, “I just don’t know anymore, Jackie. Back before the war, I was a labor, one of the lower caste. I saw firsthand what the Functionistic Council was doing to mechs like me. And to be completely honest with you, Jackie, I was one of the ones who had considered joining the Decepticons.”

That had felt like a lob ball right to the faceplate. “What?! You did?! How could you think that?! Why didn’t you say something about this earlier?!”

“Because I was afraid of what everyone would say. Most of the Autobots consisted of middle or high caste. There were very few low caste around their cities much less in them after Megatron declared his cities as a haven for oppressed lower caste. And the few of us there were worried what you would do to us if we said we had concerns or reservations about staying!“ Bulkehead actually looked frantic and even scared as he said this. To think Bull had been scared of us.

“But then the news spread about how Megatron was getting more violent and destructive. Destroying cities at random and slaughtering, innocent random mechs he would pull from the wreckage. We all started to believe the Council’s words about the Decepticon movement. We took it as proof that Megatron’s movement for equality was just a lie to cover up a coup to put himself on top as the new tyrant.

“And then the report that he was building drones to fill his army because he was not getting enough personnel. We took that report as a sign that others of our caste were starting to realize the truth and trying to get away from the Decepticons, so Megatron was loosing followers.

“But now I’m finding out that it was all lies! That the Autobots, who were supposedly founded by the Council to protect innocent life forms from tyranny and oppression, was founded on a lie about who the tyrants are!! The drones were never drones! They were young sparks!

“And those ‘random cities’ and mechs? I found out that those cities were actually hubs of the Council’s abuse and exploitation! Underground gladiator pits that were worse than any shown on the vid screens, smelting pits that would collect and smelt mechs alive off the record, and the Institutes! Oh and those ‘innocent random mechs’ were actually the staff of those hubs, willingly taking part and contributing to the abuse and oppression.

“I never wanted to be part of a war, but I especially never wanted to be part of the oppression that hurt me and others like me! I thought I could avoid the war until it boiled over. Then I joined the Autobots because I thought that I was helping fight a worse evil than I lived. But now I’m not sure what to do after it turns out that all of my past decisions were made based off of lies.”

I was trying to understand Bulkhead’s point of view. But it wasn’t easy. I was one of the few who could have been considered a high middle caste. I lived my life enjoying what I did and had the freedom to pursue anything I wanted.

I had started out by studying engineering and inventing. It turned out though that I had a knack for blowing things up while inventing. When mechs started complaining about my explosions, the Elite Guard scouted me and offered a place I could experiment on whatever I wanted to as long as I also experimented on explosions for them too. When the Elite Guard joined the Autobots I was just following orders and followed them, and before I knew it I had gone from being an inventor to a soldier.

Things like worrying about my caste and others in it or worrying about someone selfishly taking my freedom or my life, had been the last thing on my mind before the war. Then during the war, I just wanted to survive and keep doing what I liked. But now, it seems like the world is a lot more complicated than that. That even those closest to me had it a lot more complicated than that.

And I felt like a pretty bad friend for not seeing it or caring about it before. I called Bulkhead my brother. When we were in the wreckers I thought we were the closest of all of them. But now I find that Bulkhead had a whole other life that he kept from me. And as much as I wanted to be mad at him for keeping it a secret. Thinking back on how I was, I honestly couldn’t blame him. I’m not too sure how I would’ve reacted.

After about another hour of driving in no particular direction, my scanner suddenly pinged me about a fellow Wrecker nearby. I had forgotten that I still had that on out of habits. But if it senses another Wrecker that can only mean one bot, Bulkhead! Maybe I should try to find him. At least I should try to apologize to him for not being a better brother and just focusing on own life and not considering his life and problems.

But before I could find Bulkhead, my scanners also picked up a Decepticon signal. And my old instincts kicked in. Was the Decepticon here to ambush Bulkhead? Are they finally going to reveal their true colors and prove that this whole peace is another Deceptacon lie? With those questions and worries, I activated a temporary cloaking field around me and sped up to get to Bulkhead. That way I could surprise the Con and provide backup. But the signals had already met before I got there. I just hoped Bulkhead kept his guard up enough to not get stabbed in the back! But once I turned a corner and saw them, I slammed on my breaks.

There sitting on a cliff, watching the sun set, and not fighting, were Bulkhead and Breakdown!!! I had to mentally realign my thinking. We are not at war. The Deceptacon may not be the natural enemies we thought they were. Once I calmed down my initial panic I made a strategic decision that I never thought I would make in my life. In instead of going in explosives at the ready and swords swing, I crept up on them to listen in, just in case things turned violent.

Once I was close enough to hear what they were saying, I hunkered down behind a bush to listen.

“So … ” Bulkhead started then stopped.

“So … “ Breadown started then stopped.

“So … ” Bulkhead started again then stopped again. Have they been doing this the whole time before I got here?

“So, this is awkward. How long are we going to keep this up?” Breadown finally said.

“I don’t know. You commed me. Remember?” Bulkhead answered, which also answered my question of why they were here.

“Right. Right. So I guess I should start?” Breakdown asked.

“Yeah. But I’ve been wanting talk to ya about somethin. Just didn’t know how to start on the Nemesis .” Bulkhead confessed.

“Oh. Then we could start with that if you want?” Breakdown offered.

“No. No. You called us here for a reason. You start.” Bulkhead insisted. And I was very tempted to jump out and tell them to get on with it already! The second hand awkwardness was torture! And it just got worse as the silence hung in the air for a whole minute!

“Knockout and I are trying for a sparkling.” Breakdown suddenly said. I was not expecting that.

And apparently neither was Bulkhead. “You are? That’s great! It’s been so long since there’s been sparklings around and you used to love sparklings and younglings! You always had a soft spark for the sparklings and younglings that would come onto the construction sites. What was that one sparkling’s name that kept coming back and asking us all those math questions? Rock? Stone?”

"Boulder.” Breakdown corrected. “His name was Boulder. Whatever happened to him?"

Bulkhead got a thoughtful look on his face as he tried to remember. “He uh joined the Rescue Bots. And … last I heard there were no Rescue Bots left.”

“Oh.” Was all Breakdown said as he and Buckhead got a mournful look on their faceplates remembering another young spark lost to the war. But soon the mourning became awkward silence again.

“Look, I just commed you out here because I wanted to tell you about the sparkling we hopefully will create soon. I wanted someone on the Autobot’s side to know and watch their back incase … “ “you don’t think the peace will last?” Bulkhead picked up where Breakdown broke off.

But Breakdown quickly started up again trying to explain his reasoning. “I think Megatron and Aurora are honestly putting their all into making it last. But there is still a lot of tension between our factions and already a few fights have almost broken out. Not to mention that Starscream is convinced that Aurora is being a bad influence on Megatron and making him soft. And if he could ever find evidence to prove it and convince others, he’ll try to take the Decepticons from Megatron and restart the war. Which he might try sooner than later considering what I saw yesterday. I just wanna prepare for every eventuality for my sparkling.”

I don’t have any experience with sparklings, but even I have to admit, that’s some pretty good parenting preparing for that even before the sparkling is sparked.

“Ha. That’s funny. The current theory Ratchet’s got going is that Megatron is corrupting and seducing Aurora. Especially after that interview. Did you know that Aurora didn’t question it at all, when Megatron anticipated the humans doing something to turn on us? We were expecting her to take him aside to try to talk him into going easy on the humans, but that never happened! And before she left, she even reminded us to not underestimate the humans and put our own survival first ‘like Lord Megatron ordered’! Then afterwards, She handed the humans to Megatron to interrogate and use them as an example to others who would try what they did without a single protest! She was never this suspicious, conniving, or ruthless before!” Bulkhead explained.

“So are you all done with your theory that Megatron used sexual harassment to manipulate Aurora to surrender?” Breakdown asked.

“No. Now the theory is that she has developed Stockholm syndrome from the harassment and Megatron is corrupting her through that. Kind of ironic that both our factions are making conspiracy theories about our leaders.” Bulkhead explained, both of them chuckling at the end. But once again they developed into an awkward silence quickly.

“Why me?” Bulkhead suddenly asked. Apparently Breakdown was just as confused at the question as I am because he gives Bulk a confused look. “I mean, why tell me about your sparkling plans? Why entrust me with its safety if things go wrong with the peace? Don’t you have somebody in the Deceptacon you could ask?” Bulkhead asked.

“I don’t really feel comfortable asking Lord Megatron for this, and I don’t know Skyquake. I definitely cannot trust Starscream or Shockwave with this. Plus I remember that you had a soft spark for the sparklings and younglings too. I’m sure I could trust my sparkling’s safety with you at least.” Breakdown answered with an almost teasing tone.

But Bulkhead suddenly got a very dower look on his face. “ I’m not so sure about that. Especially with what I’ve been doing to sparklings and younglings recently.” I’ve honestly been trying to ignore the revelation that we’re been fighting and killing sparklings and younglings all this time.

“Hey, you didn’t know. The Council lied to you. They’d been lying to lots of people for millennia. They were good and knew how to trick you.” Breakdown tried to make Bulkhead feel better.

Bulkhead apparently was not having it "But you knew didn’t ya? You knew you couldn’t trust the Council. Is that why you left us and joined the Decepticons?“

Wait! Breakdown was one of Bulkhead’s low caste friends who also questioned the Council? And he actually left and joined the Decepticons?!

“That’s actually not why I joined the Decepticons. And I didn’t know they were not drones at the time.” Breakdown answered. “I met someone. A fiery little thing. Smart too. Felt he could be more than the valve the Functionists said he was. But he was small didn’t have any real training. Terrible in a fight. But that still didn’t stop him. I believe the humans call it ‘love at first sight.’ And the more I learned about him the more I fell. I then decided that I wanted to do something to make Cybertron good for him. To make the planet into a home that would welcome him and value him for the amazing mech I saw in him. So we both left for the Decepticons together.

“I didn’t learn about the Decepticon workers until later. I started spending more time with them. Talking with them. Saw how they reacted when their friends got blown up. And it just became obvious. Just gave me another reason to stay and fight harder. Someone had to look after them. I don’t regret all the mechs I killed defending them. But I am sorry I hurt you when those mechs turned out to be your friends.” Breakdown apologized. He actually apologized!

“I was hurt. And mad. And I hated you for so long because of it. But now that I know the truth. I’m happy that you fought so hard for them. I would have done the same thing in your place. And I think that, if my friends knew the truth, they would have thanked you too for protecting them. So apology accepted, but not necessary.” Bulkhead answered. And I never thought of it like that. But yeah. That made the pain of their loss hurt less. “Besides, I think most of my friends feel the same way. Have you seen how happy Bee has become with mechs his own age to play with?” Bulkhead said smiling now.

“I have. I also heard about what the Doctor of Doom has been doing to the Workers. I think half of them are more scared of him now than ever. And the other half are still scared of him, but they also like the new mother henning.“ Both Bulkhead and Breakdown started laughing at their teammates hijinks.

It looked like I didn’t have to worry about Bulk. I was just starting to crawl away from them before they realize I was eavesdropping.

“So, about my future sparkling? What do you say?” I head Breakdown ask just before I got out of hearing range. And I found myself halting just to hear Bulk’s answer.

“I’ll look after them. But now, I can’t promise I’ll be doing it as an Autobot if the peace doesn’t last.” Bulkhead answered. And that shocked me. If the war breaks out again, Bulkhead was planning on joining the Cons? He was planing to stay to protect Breakdown’s sparkling and the Workers?

I honestly couldn’t find a way to blame him. And I started wondering myself, if the war did start again, would I be able to go back to blowing up the Decepticon Workers? I instantly knew the answer to that. But that lead to another question. What am I supposed to do in this era of peace?

~~~~~~~~~~

End notes:

I am completely opened and welcomed to comments. If I feel inspired with any I might even be able to finish this fic. I’m usually pretty bad with adding filler scenes in between major events and scenes.

Or if you just enjoyed the story, pretty please leave a comment, kudo, and bookmark. Would really appreciate it to hear if people are enjoying my style of story telling. Thank you!

Chapter Text

Beginning notes:

“Italics is used for transmitted dialogue. Be it over comms, bonds, or telepathy.”

~~~~~~~~~~

~~~Hardshell POV~~~

The Prime is coming. We can hear her through the corridors. We have been here for a deca-cycle and she has not bothered us once. Why is she coming now?

Knock knock knock! “Hello? Insecticons? This is Aurora. I hope I am not bothering you in an important time, but I really need to speak with you, and this is the first time I have had a chance to since you got here.” The Prime speaks through the door.

She calls herself ‘Aurora’ now, but we are not fooled. She and her predecessors have hunted us down for as long as we can remember! She is not here on friendly terms. Throughout the hive mind we are in agreement.

“Threat!” “Send her away!” “Danger!” “Protect sparklings!”

As one of the few Insecticons here who has learned how to speak with glossa, I Hardshell, will have to be the one to send her away. I fly to the door and transform. “Go away!” I growl out with my glossa. She would be wise to head our warning before we loose our patience. Only Master Megatron’s orders to not attack her or her Autobots keep us from tearing them apart for what they have done to our hive!

“I’m sorry I’m bothering you. But if now is not a good time, could we please schedule a time later when we can talk?” The Prime persists. I will have to make her understand.

Opening the door, I tower over her in my root mode and roar, “GO AWAY!!! We do not what you or your kind anywhere near us again! You have do enough to our kind! If not for our loyalty to Master Megatron, we would be avenging our lost brethren with the death of the last Prime!”

She shrinks back at my roar. Good hopefully she will now know not to come near us. However instead of leaving she lowers her helm and antennas in submission, while keeping her optics locked to mine as she speaks.

“I’m sorry. I know my Autobots and I hurt you. We hunted you down as animals and pests to be exterminated. But that is why I am here. If we do nothing and keep things the way that are, then it will only be a matter of time before history repeats itself. You don’t want that to happen to anymore Insecticons, and believe it or not, neither do I. So to avoid the Insecticons being labeled as animals again, please help me learn and understand you. Just answer a few questions of mine so I can try to make changes to prevent the Insecticons from being discriminated and hunted down.”

“There is nothing you can do. The Primes have been treating us as animals for as long as we can remember. The best thing you can do for us is leave us in peace.” As I move to close the door, the Primes does the most unbelievable thing! She steps in between the door using her own body to keep it open!

“That’s not good enough for you! You and the other beastformers deserve your own rights and protection in the New Cybertron Civilization! You may have given up but I haven’t and if you don’t want to fight for your people in politics fine, I won’t force you! But I will fight your political battles if you won’t! I just need you or someone here to answer a few questions so I can get started!” The Primes is determined.  But I haven’t no desire to entertain her anymore.

“You will find that more difficult than you think. I am the most fluent in glossa speak here.” I answer to show her the fruitlessness of her determination.

“‘Glossa speak’? What does that mean?” The Primes asks instead of being discouraged. Of course she would be ignorant of her own speech. This will prove how impossible her pretty speech is.

“You are speaking it. Do you not even know your own speech? And you think to be able to help us in your ignorance.” I taunt.

“So if what I’m doing is ‘glossa speak,’ what other kinds of ‘speak’ are there?” She asks instead of being insulted. This is not right. The proud Prime, not reacting to getting insulted and mocked is absurd!

In my shock, I am unsure what to do besides answer her. “‘Hive speak.’ We Insecticons primarily speak with hive speak. We understand each other. We hear each other’s thoughts. We are never alone or separated. We never have misunderstandings or deceptions with the hive speak. Unlike with your inferior glossa speak.” I finish my explanation smugly. Looking down on her and her kind for needing to rely on such a limited speak.

And it seems my message has finally gotten through to her. The Primes is just standing there optics wide in clear shock. Probably has never been called inferior by a ‘lowly’ beastformer before.

“That’s incredible!” I am shocked again by the Prime’s response! And what she says next further surprises me. “So ‘hive speak’ is like a mass telepathic and empathetic link shared amount you Insecticons! And that’s the reason we never hear you and the other Insecticons talking! Because you’re using the hive speak! And the reason so few of you are able to speak like us is because our ‘glossa speak’ is not as effective or trustworthy as your hive speak. So most don’t bother to learn it! This answers so much! This is a dialect misunderstanding! But wait then what are all those hisses, clicks, and growls I hear?”

This is not the reaction I was expecting at all. And I can hear the rest of the hive sharing my sentiment. She is not mad or insulted, she is not even annoyed! She is happy and fascinated and exited about learning something about us! No one has ever reacted like this! Everyone who has found out about hive speak has called it inferior speak and an indication of how not Cybertronian we are, since few even among the beastformers can do it. But the Prime actually acknowledged its superiority and our desire to use it instead of her glossa speak!

While the hive is in shock and trying to make a decision on what to do next, we completely forget something very important. Our sparklings cannot access the hive speak completely. They can get vague signals from it but not enough to identify what we consider threats. Because of that we need to carefully watch them until they fully understand hive speak.

“Chitter?”

In our distraction, we were not watching them! And now one of our sparklings has decided that the Prime is curious enough to take a closer look! He has crawled out of his nest and has somehow made it to the Prime’s peds. All without us noticing! The hive is in a panic! The memories of what the Autobots and past Primes have done to our nests and sparklings flash through our minds.

“Why hello there.” The Prime kneels. Kneels!? Down to be more at optic level with our sparkling! No sword or gun! No sign of physical aggression at all! This has never happened before!

“Squeeek!” The sparkling lets out a happy sound as he approaches the Prime without fear. The rest of us dare not move with how close they are. Any attack on the Prime now will result in our sparkling getting hurt in the line of fire too.

“Awwww! Aren’t you cute!” The Prime held out her servo, not in a fist, but in an open servo with her palm up! The sparkling sniffed her servo and let out another string of exited chitters before his chitters were replaced with a new sound! “Purrrrrrrrrr~.” The whole hive could hear the sparkling’s happy purrs as he rubbed his face plate against any part of the Prime he could reach!

“Oh aren’t you a sweetheart?!” The Prime is not disgusted at all by our sparkling’s presence or show of affection! This has never happened before either!! “What’s his name? May I hug him? May I cuddle him?”

I don’t know how to respond to that. And neither do the rest of the hive. But the sparkling has his own ideas of what to do. He flaps his tiny wings as fast as he can, not yet old enough to fly on his own. But enough so that he can reach the Prime’s arms and initiate the hug she offered. Which she gives happily!

“Awwww! Aren’t you the sweetest cuddliest little bitty?!” The Prime is now standing with the Insecticons sparkling happily in her arms cuddling up to her like he’s trying to settle into her arms for a nap, purring all the while!

“Bob.”

“Hm? I’m sorry what was that?” The Prime asked having been distracted cuddling our sparkling.

“The sparkling’s name is Bob.” I hear myself answering.

“Bob. What a perfect name for the little guy.” The Prime continues to joyfully cuddle him as Bob starts to drift into recharge.

I can hear the hive in an uproar over what we have just witnessed. And while they are trying to understand what this means, I make an executive decision. “You said you had questions?”

Aurora looks at me for a nano-click, but then gets a small happy smile on her face plate. “Yes. Can I ask them now? Or would you rather I came back later?”

“Now is fine.” I move out of the door way and motion for her to come inside. The rest of the hive is still unsure about this decision, but something tells me that I have made the right decision for all of us.

~~~~~~~~~~

End notes:

Not one of my longer chapters but it was not easy trying to get into Hardshell’s pov. Hope I got it and hope you readers like it.

I am completely opened and welcomed to comments. If I feel inspired with any I might even be able to finish this fic. I’m usually pretty bad with adding filler scenes in between major events and scenes.

Or if you just enjoyed the story, pretty please leave a comment, kudo, and bookmark. Would really appreciate it to hear if people are enjoying my style of story telling. Thank you!

Chapter Text

~~~Dreadwing POV~~~

The planet called Earth is finally within view. I can feel my brother’s spark closer with ever nano-click. And according to the message, not only will I find my dear brother soon, I will also find my Lord and Master Megatron! Victorious in our noble conquest of the Autobots and the system that had oppressed us for millennia! It is like a dream come true! So much so that I almost want to scratch myself with my own claws to ensure that I am not recharging. However, no dream was ever this annoying!

“And then the biggest wave I ever seen threw me overboard like I were just a land lober! The serpant then got the bright idea to wrap around me and drag me further down! So far down, I could not even see the light of the sun!” The Autobot’s grating garbling voice is heard through my comm system as the vid screen shows him trying to act out his story as best he can in his cockpit.

I am pretty sure he has already told me this sea story at least a dozen times in the deca-cycle we have been flying our ships together!!! But I don’t dare turn off my comm or vid screen. Neither of us could trust the other not to blast us in the back while we are traveling to Earth. So we agreed to travel with our comms and vids open. That way we could at least listen and watch for any signs of treachery from the other. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

But now I am so tempted to blow up that annoying Autobot’s ship just to shut him up!!! I no longer even care about him being an Autobot! He could defect to the Decepticons for all I care now. I would still want to blow him up just so I would never have to hear his annoying glitch and boring sea stories!!! I have heard many voice box glitches while in the slums, since most low caste mechs cannot afford to pay a medical to fix them. But none of them have been as annoying as this one’s!!!

If not for Lord Megatron’s orders to not kill any Autobots and to cooperate as we make our way to Earth, I would have blown him up 100 light years ago!!! But I cannot! Lord Megatron was very clear in his message that there could not be anymore deaths of Cybertronians unless your own life was truly threatened. And I can understand his strategic thinking. With Quintessans after us, more mech power is important. But I am seriously wondering if I could use this Autobot as cannon fodder so I will never again have to hear his glitch or stories!

Just a few more clicks of this cruel and unusual torture. Then I will just need to avoid running into him in person, and I will never have to hear his glitch again!

“Decepticon and Autobot ships. This is the Nemesis . Identify yourselves.” A new voice comes through our comms. Finally! I am with my own people!

I answer the hale, “This is Decepticon Dreadwing.” “And Autobot Wrecker Seaspray,” the Autobot interjects. “We are here in response to the message sent out by Lord Megatron.” “And by Optima Prime,” Seaspray interjects again.

“Understood. There is a third ship on autopilot making its way to us from the opposite direction. I will direct you so you don’t crash into it.” With that the comm cuts off and a flight path is projected onto my vid screen. The Autobot and I follow the flight path and land just after the other automated ship touches down onto the deck.

As I disembark, my spark soars as I immediately see Lord Megatron and my brother here to welcome me.

“Nice planet! Lots of moisture in the air.” Seaspray’s annoying voice is the last thing I want to hear as I finally reunite with my master and brother.

“What is this place?” A new voice asks. Looking to the third ship, I see 4 young mechs coming out of it.

“All your questions will be answered in due time.” Lord Megatron answers as he steps forward. It is then that I notice more mechs than just my master and brother here to welcome us. Commander Starscream, Soundwave, an Insecticon, and 3 other Autobots.

But I don’t even note 2 of them because I am too busy staring in shock at who I think is Optima Prime! She is a femme and has a build sort of like Prime’s, but also very different! And she is standing slightly behind and the the side of Lord Megatron like she belongs there! And … are those 2 tiny Insecticons on her shoulders?!

As surprising as it is to see the Prime and her new look, I have to shake off the surprise quickly. There is something much more important I must do now that I am here. Striding up to Lord Megatron I kneel down on one knee and renew my vow, “Lord Megatron, I live to serve. And much congratulations on your victory, Master.”

“Yeah, speaking of which, what’s this about us surrendering and Quintessans?!” It figures that annoying sea logged glitch would not submit to the new ruler of Cybertron.

“Wait. ‘Victory?’ ‘Surrender?’ ‘Quintessans?!’ How long have we been in stasis?! What’s going on around here?!?!” One of the younger 4 mechs asks sounding a little panicked. Are they not combatants?

Lord Megatron turns to the Prime and speaks, “Aurora. I believe these Autobots need to be informed of a few recent events.” Aurora? Why did Lord Megatron call the Prime Aurora?!

But to my shock the Prime bows her helm and just acknowledges, “Yes, Lord Megatron.” As she passes by me, she inclines her helm to me and gives me a bright, happy smile! A smile! The Prime actually smiled at me like she is happy to see me! What is her game? But she doesn’t dwell on me long and walks over to the others with her 2 Autobots and tiny chittering Insecticons in tow. “Hello Seaspray, Rescue Bots. I am very happy to see you all alive and well.”

“Seaspray! You old barnacle butt! Welcome to Earth!” The other 2 Autobots rush to Seaspray and lift him off the deck in a group hug.

“Bulkhead! Wheeljack! Wasn’t expecting to see fellow Wreckers here!” The glitch warbles at these Autobots he apparently knows.

“Bulkhead?” The greenish young mech slowly steps forward, apparently also knowing one of the Autobots. “Is that really you?”

It takes a click for the Autobot Bullhead to recognize the young mech. And when he does, an even bigger smile appears on his face plate. “Boulder? Boulder!” He then runs over to lift this Boulder up off the deck and spin him around. “You’re alive! I thought that you were deactivated like all the other Rescue Bots! Wait til Breakdown sees you! He’s gonna to be so thrilled!!!”

“Wait! ‘Deactivated?!’ Why would we be deactivated?! We need to check in with Cybertron HQ!” The panicky one said.

“That will not be necessary or possible. Cybertron is heavily damaged from the war and currently uninhabitable. One of the many reasons I surrendered is so we could come together to rebuild our home planet. Another reason is for the very existence of our species. We have recently learned that our old enemies, the Quintessans, have been taking advantage of the war and discord to slowly finish us off. I know it will not be easy to set aside old grievances. And if it is truly impossible for any of you, we will not force you to stay. All I ask is for you to carefully consider this for the future of our race.” The Prime? explains.

Seaspray quickly answers, “I’m not too sure about this, but I’ll stay to keep an optic on these two.” He points to this old comrades as he says this and the other 2 Wreckers pull him into another group hug.

The young mechs look at each other for a few clicks, before the reddish one steps forward at attention and says, “Rescue Force Sigma 17 reporting for duty, Ma’am. Er well, I am not sure what kind of duty we can do but we are willing to help in whatever way we can. But if you don’t mind me asking, why do you have 2 tiny Insecticons on you?”

"Oh, right, introductions. Rescue Bots, Seaspray, meet Bob and Shelly! They are currently the youngest sparklings in the hive, and I’m sparksitting them today. Bob, Shelly, say ‘hi’ to the Rescue Bots and Seaspray." Prime? plucks the Insecticon sparklings from her shoulders and wraps her arms around their middles, holding them to her chest. Instead of protesting or struggling like I thought they would, the Insecticon sparklings actually go limp, like they actually like being held like that! But the biggest surprise comes when they opened their mandibles! Instead of incoherent screeches or growls everyone hears.

"H-hi-ieeeeeee~."

"Hiiiiiiiiah~."

"Good job Bob and Shelly! That was much better than last time! You 2 are learning so fast!" The Prime? starts cuddling them and tickling them and kissing?! them like some kind of proud carrier, all while the Insecticons are happily purring in her arms! I look to Lord Megatron for guidance for this madness I see. But Lord Megatron actually has a very pleased and proud smile on his face plate too! I then look to my brother and try to send all my confusion and desperation for clarity to him through our split spark bond. But he just sends back a weird mix of feelings: a slightly pleased feeling, concern, and resignation!

"Did those Insecticons just try to talk?!” Seaspray yells out the question all of us new arrivals are thinking.

"Yes." Megatron says still looking quite pleased. "Aurora has been working with the Insecticons to fix the dialect miscommunication. And has been making great progress, especially with the little ones. But now that we are in agreement to cooperate for now. Let us go about introducing our new arrivals to how things work now in the New Cybertron Civilization.”

Lord Megatron, Skyquake, and the other Decepticons started walking into the Nemesis, and I was only too happy to follow. The Autobots brought up the rear with Prime at their lead. I hope Lord Megatron’s explanation will answer my many questions I have.

Once we get to the bridge, Lord Megatron takes his seat and everyone else spreads out. Skyquake stood guard by the door, Soundwave moves to the monitors, the Insecticon moves to the back, and the other Autobots don’t move too far from Seaspray. I anticipated Starscream to take up his usual place the Lord Megatron’s right, but I did not expect the Prime to stand on the other side of Lord Megatron!

“First order of business, the New Cybertron Civilization, or NCC, has made a new set of rules for our people. I recommend reading them. You will not be considered a citizen of the NCC until you sign it, agreeing to try to uphold them to the best of your abilities. If you have any questions or concerns feel free to ask Aurora. She is my secretary and will either be able to answer your questions or take note of your concerns so we can try to find a solution.” “Secretary?! Also why are you calling Optima Aurora?!” Seaspray interrupts Lord Megatron. And even though I really want to show that Autobot his place for rudely interrupting Lord Megatron, I also really want to know the answer to those questions myself.

The Prime answered this one. “Yes, secretary. I have renounced the Primacy to make way for a new government we are working on. One that we believe will be less likely to be abused even if a tyrant ends up at its head like what happened with the Primacy in the past. The policies of the new government is explained in the datapads you will get. To further remove myself from the Primacy, I have adopted a new name, Aurora. I would appreciate it if you would address me as such.”

“Just as Aurora has found a job to contribute to the CNN, you will be expected to do so as well. Once you read the rules and sign. If you need any help finding work in this new era, feel free to ask. We might even have a few suggestions. Until then. Study the rules. Look around. Meet the mechs already here. You will be restricted to some areas until you become a citizen. You are all dismissed.” Lord Megatron dismissed us.

Aurora walked up to us with datapads and began handing them out. Once Seaspray got his, he left with his fellow Wreckers. The Rescue Bot called Boulder went with them once he got his. After the other Rescue Bots got theirs, they just stood there awkwardly for a click before Aurora offered. “If you want, I can show you 3 around the ship.” As Aurora walked out, the remaining 3 Rescue Bots quickly followed after her.

I still had a few questions. “Lord Megatron. I do not mean to undermine your decisions. But why let the Prime live? And why give her a position so close to you?” Why did he not punish the Prime for everything they have done to us?

“There is an expression I have come to appreciate on this planet, Dreadwing. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. With the Prime directly under my authority, I can watch her very closely. See if she is genuine about her surrender and intervene if she tries to pull something. And so far she has been one of the most active and hard working mechs here in trying to make this peace work. Besides, I think if the past tyrannical Primes were to see this, they would be far more displeased with their current successor serving the Primacy’s usurper for the rest of her life, then if I had merely executed her." Lord Megatron had another pleased smile on his face plate now.

"Ah. A brilliant plan my Liege." So that is why Lord Megatron has not punished the Prime. And it does seem like a worse and longer means of punishment than a quick and dignified execution.

"I thought so too. Now, I’m sure you and Skyquake have much to catch up on. Do not let me stop you." Lord Megatron waved us off, and I was all to grateful to have some time with my brother. With a quick bow my brother and I left the bridge.

"It is good to see you again brother." I said to Skyquake as soon as we entered the corridors. Briefly throwing my arm around him and giving him a strong 1 armed hug.

"Likewise. And welcome to the NCC. However I would warn you that things have been far from peaceful since the surrender." Skyquake answered as he returned the hug and lead me to who knows where, but I trusted my brother so I didn’t see the need to ask and just focused on our conversation.

"I can only imagine the Autobots not welcoming the surrender and making nuisances of themselves." I anticipate having to put more than a few in their place as our defeated foes.

"True, that was the case for the first few cycles, but now that is not the primary source of chaos on this ship." Skyquake countered, which surprised me. I would have expected the Autobots to hold a grudge about losing and done everything they could to make their displeasure known.

"What do you mean, brother?" I ask.

Skyquake has a pondering look for a click before he answers, "Surprisingly, it has been the very union of Autobots and Decepticons working together that has brought on much chaos. Both faction’s medics for example. They spend most of their time arguing about medical practices now, even while they work they argue. Now, most fear going to them and finding themselves in the middle of their fights on their examination table. The young sparks of both factions have also made quite a spectacle of themselves. Now, when they are not working, they are hanging out and playing games. Games that the rest of us tend to get mixed up in whether it is at the end during clean up, or during when they try to play around us.

"The most expected cause of chaos would be Starscream. He did not approve of Lord Megatron accepting the surrender, and he approved even less of accepting the Autobots into the fold. He argued that we could handle the Quintessans without their aid and of course, called Lord Megatron weak for not handling both the Autobots and Quintessans by himself. Pft! As if he could do any better by himself. Since then though, he has tried to find evidence of Lord Megatron’s inability to continue leading, of which he has not. But not for a lack of trying, especially with the rumors going around."

"You know that rumors cannot be trusted, brother." I interject, not believing for a nano-click that any rumors Starscream bought could actually be harmful to our master.

"I know! But, well…" Skyquake went quiet but I found feel his inner turmoil through our bond. I try to send back comfort and encouragement, hoping this will prompt him to finish. "But I actually saw them! I saw them together and Aurora was recharging! Recharging!! And then Breakdown actually caught them interfacing in a locked room!! And then ever since Aurora has been carrying around those sparklings, Lord Megatron has been looking at her a lot!!! And I hate to admit it but Starscream’s timeline does make sense and-"

"Stop!" I cover my brother’s mouth plate with my servo to cease his rambling. "You lost me shortly after you said you saw them. Saw who? And what do Breakdown, Lord Megatron, and those sparklings have to do with this?”

Skyquake stopped and got another pondering look on his face plate. I could feel him struggling through our bond. “It might be easier to just let the others explain. Knockout and Starscream would definitely be able to explain in more detail.” With that unhelpful answer, Skayquake continued down the corridor and I followed, hoping he would take me to them so I can know what is going on around here.

We ended up in the labs. There are a few Workers and mechs I do not recognize hovering around, and the medic Knockout and his conjunx Breakdown hovering around one of the many holovid screens lining the walls. There are also tables covered in different scientific tools, large inventions all over the floors, and … is that a large cold construction pod with a giant predacon in it?! "Shockwave is Starscream back yet? My brother wants to speak with him and Knockout about what has been happening recently." My brother’s question pulls me away from the tube and to Shockwave.

"Who are you?!" Or who I thought would be Shockwave. Instead of the large purple one armed tank I am familiar with, my brother is standing beside a smaller white, blue, and green mech with an obvious flight altmode judging by the wings.

"Brother! Calm yourself!” Skyquake jumps in between me and this stranger going by our chief scientist’s name, his arms outstretched to block any of my attacks. “This is Shockwave, or this is what Shockwave looked like before the Institute. Aurora used the Forge of Solus Prime to cure Shockwave and Soundwave of their empurata.”

I hear my brother and can feel through our bond that he is not lying, but what he says does not make sense! “But. Wait. Soundwave looked like his usual self earlier. He did not look any different!”

“That is because Aurora did more than just cure us.” Shockwave? interjected, “We found it most logical to keep the strengths of both our old forms and our empurata forms. So an experiment was conducted to see if Aurora could give us the ability to transform our rootmodes while keeping the altmodes to go with them. As you can logically deduce, the experiment was a complete success."

I feel my brain module struggling to make sense of this. Aurora, the former Prime, the last of the lineage that oppressed us and supported the Institute, had cured the Institute’s butchering and even made the victims stronger?! And by using a holy relic that the Primes before her had hoarded and kept hidden from the public like we lower caste could break it just by looking at it?!

“Don’t be fooled by this miracle cure nonsense!” I’d recognize that voice anywhere. Starscream has just joined us. “This is just proof that Lord Megatron is riding on the Prime’s power instead of doing anything himself!”

“Watch your glossa Starscream.” I never did like that sniveling runt of a seeker.

“You’ve just arrived so you would not know everything that has happened yet. Would he Skyquake?” Starscream turned to my brother, and my brother became very uncomfortable with this question for some reason. “It has all just become very complicated with the new union.” Skyquake tried to excuse.

“Ha! Complicated? Hardly. Allow me to spell it out for you Dreadwing.” Starscream then pulls out a holovid projector and datapad. With the push of a few buttons a large screen is projected with notes, image stills, and red lines. Starscream then pulled out a retractable pointer from his subspace and starts pointing it at certain images and notes.

“Observation 1: Megatron’s mysterious change of behavior started after he returned from a 3 year long solo trip. Observation 2: after spying on a few of the Autobots’ conversations I have come to the conclusion that the Prime’s behavior also change during that time. Their Prime had often gone on solo patrols and would be more stoic than usual when she returned from them. Like she had sometime important on her mind but could not share it with the rest of them. Observation 3: as soon as Megatron returns from his solo trip, he and the Prime are buddy buddy and acting like the past millenias of war did not even happen. Observation 4: (and this is my favorite observation) Megatron has clearly been submitting to the Prime ever since she boarded the Nemesis ! Being nice to the humans, ending numerous experiments and relics that would have made us stronger, carrying the Prime around, and even surrendering dominance to her in their interfacing!” “ WHAT!?!?” “I know, right? That one came as a shock to me too! But if you won’t take my work for it, ask our eye witness here.”

Starscream directed his pointer to Breakdown, who had been trying to disappear to the side with Knockout since Starscream came in. But now that the attention has been directed to him I could see his face plate beginning to heat up in embarrassment, turning his orange face very red. “Go on Breakdown. Tell Dreadwing what you saw.” Starscream ordered.

“Do-do I really have to? Once was bad enough.” Breakdown answered while his face plate somehow got even redder.

“Yes! You heard Dreadwing. He needs the eye witness report.” Starscream answered not taking no for an answer.

Breakdown looked like he would rather die than be here. But eventually he let out a groan and started speaking. “A-a few cycles ago, Knockout, Shockwave, and Ratchet finally completed the Synth-en formula and wanted to show it to Lord Megatron to get his permission to proceed with making more. But no one could find him. I eventually found the training room in lockdown and figured Lord Megatron just wanted to train in privacy. But when I commed the others they insisted I go in and get Lord Megatron so they could move along with the Synth-en making. Knockout game me his medical override code and-and …”

“Well, get on with it!” Starscream yelled when it looked like Breakdown was not going to finish his sentence.

“And I found Lord Megatron and Aurora interfacing in the middle of the training room floor!!! And not only that!!! Aurora was on top riding Lord Megatron while restraining his servos!!! And Lord Megatron was just about to lean up and kiss her when I walked in!!!!” Breakdown’s voice had risen several octaves higher by the end and his face plate was now redder than red energon. And I felt like I was not much better!

“Ha! See! If this is not proof that our mighty Lord and Master has become weak for the Autobot’s leader, I don’t know what is!!” Starscream shouted in triumph, and normally I would punish him for such insolence, but I was still struggling with what I just heard!

“Haaaaaa.” The groan from Knockout got our attention. “We have been over this a hundred times Starscream. The whole dominate partner being on top is an old high caste stereotype. One they did not even fully commit to, as I learned in my vorns as a pleasure bot. Dominance and preference are 2 different things. This proves nothing about your consistency theory aside from the 2 leaders getting along now. And this peace very likely being a long term thing.”

“You all are still being blind to-!“ the sudden swoosh of the doors quickly got Starscream to shut up and turn around in a panic like he thought Lord Megatron himself would be behind them. But instead, 4 of the Autobots came in.

“Grrr. What are you all doing here?” Starscream growls, apparently not liking being interrupted.

The one called Bulkhead answered, “We’re here to show Boulder the lab. The kid’s a math genius. And also to show Breakdown the good news!”

“Boulder?” Breakdown seems to have recovered from his embarrassment and is now focused on the new young mech. “Hi Breakdown! It’s really good to see you again!” Boulder answered as he ran up to Breakdown and hugged him.

With a smile on his lips plates, Breakdown returned the hug and answered. “Same here kid. Congratulations for making it out of the war alive. So, you’re still into math huh?”

“Yes! It’s why I’m the construction expert in my crew!” Boulder answered proudly.

“Well if you like construction, you are going to love this!” The other Wrecker, I think Seaspray called him Wheeljack, pulled Boulder to the biggest invention littering the floor. “It’s going to be a Synth-en mass production machine! Once we complete it, it will only require a few mech to make tons of Synth-en for everyone! The plan is to divert the extra labor to other jobs once we no longer have to worry about energon depletion. Like mining for metal resources for reconstruction and guarding for Quintessan attacks.”

"Be careful with that machine, Wheeljack." Shockwave suddenly orders. "Do not blow it up like you did with the last 5 prototypes."

"Pft! If it can blow up just from me touching it, then it should be scrapped so we can build a better one!" Wheeljack counters.

"There was nothing wrong with the last 5 prototypes. It is more logical that you somehow made them explode just from proximity to them." Shockwave explained. It didn’t sound very logical to me, but the fact that Shockwave came to that conclusion, says something about this Autobot and making things blow up.

“That sounds like an excellent machine. How does it work exactly?” Boulder interrupted, likely to stop the 2 factions’ inventors from arguing.

“Right? And the kicker is that it was Megatron’s idea! This way, mechs won’t have to be put in danger mining explosive energon deposits anymore! Mining for metal ores is much safer! So the way it works is that …” I lost track of their conversation after that.

But I did note that Wheeljack sounded surprised that Lord Megatron could come up with such genius. But then again, the Counsel did enjoy portraying my Master as a processorless brute. It warmed my spark to see Autobots start to see my master for the amazing mech and leader he truly is.

The news of Lord Megatron and the former Prime being together is still a shock and will take some time to get used to. But I do agree with Knockout that it serves as proof of how serious this peace is. And as I look around the lab, filled with inventions for the future and betterment of our race and Autobot and Decepticon working on said inventions to make them work, I can feel my respect for Lord Megatron rising along with my pride as his subordinate. Whatever future Lord Megatron makes, now that what was left of the Functionists has lost the war, I am confident it will be a great one. And I look forward to seeing it with my own optics.

"Hey traveling buddy!" Oh no. That annoying glitch suddenly called out to me. Looks like I’m not the only one no longer paying attention to the scientists’ talk, unfortunately.

"Say, did I tell you about the time…"

It looks like my brother was right. Just because we are at the end of our war, does not mean we will have peaceful times any time soon. At least not until I can find a way to get this annoying mech onto another planet!

~~~~~~~~~~

End Notes:

Sorry this took so long. I must have rewritten the first half a dozen times trying to make a good summery for the new arrivals without making it redundant for the readers who already know everything. Hope I succeeded.

And I know Dreadwing is here a lot earlier than in cannon. There’s 2 reasons for that. 1. Dreadwing is the type who, when his master says "Get here fast! It’s an emergency!" he’s gonna get there asap, especially with his alive brother added to the mix. 2. I figure that without Wheeljack hunting him down to avenge Seaspray, his trip to Earth would be a lot smoother and a lot faster. Butterfly effect, baby!🦋

And I know it is not technically a cork board, sorry PEDAwriter. But Starscream couldn’t find one big enough for him. So a holovid board was his best option. Bonus: he can carry it around easier than a giant cork board and show it to anyone he wants. Well bonus for him, not for everyone else.

I am completely opened and welcomed to comments. If I feel inspired with any I might even be able to finish this fic. I’m usually pretty bad with adding filler scenes in between major events and scenes.

Or if you just enjoyed the story, pretty please leave a comment, kudo, and bookmark. Would really appreciate it to hear if people are enjoying my style of story telling. Thank you!

Chapter Text

Beginning notes:

~italic words between this mark refers to scenes and/or conversations being remembered~

~~~~~~~~~~

~~~Megatron POV~~~

“What is this?” I ask as I skim through the datapad Aurora just handed me.

“What does it look like smart mech?” She asks with that grin that I have come to be weary of. It’s the same smug, caniving, self-satisfied grin she had when she put me through that torturous makeover and when she got me to agree to an outing after the race. It’s also the same grin I like seeing on her when she is outsmarting our enemies, but I don’t like seeing it when it is directed at me!

“It looks like the translation chart Soundwave made for you when we were teaching you Cybertronian words and slang, but much bigger.” This datapad’s contents is over three times the size of what Soundwave gave her!

“That’s right. I noticed that the datapad lacked an explanation of concepts that were similar but not exact between our cultures. So as your Earth liaison and PR advisor, I took the liberty to rectify that oversight and fully explain said concepts.” Aurora looks so proud of herself. And though the writer in me is impressed at what she has done, the majority of me has a bad feeling  about where this is going.

“And now, it is your turn to learn more about Earth language and concepts. There a test in the back too. 100 questions and 90 of them are essay questions. Once you start taking it you can’t stop and look back. And once you complete it, it will lock down the test until I score it and either give you a passing grade or change it up so you can retake it. So no cheating. I expect it to be done before the race in 2 weeks.”

“This is a very poor attempt at revenge against that buzzer Soundwave and I subjected you to for 24 hours. I will have no part in it. I know enough about those translations already.” I toss the datapad at her and she easily catches it. The nerve she has. Me! The feared Lord of the Decepticons being subjected to a test about the squishy Earthlings! Like I were some sparkling! The indignity!

Actually, I’ve never taken a test before in my life! Since I am a cold constructed, I was forbid to attend the academy. And my mentor, Terminus, preferred that I use his teachings, then test me on them. If I made a mistake, he would just correct me and tell me to do better next time. Even after I left the mines I was never tested on anything. In the Pits, surviving was considered a success in your combat training. And if there was anything I didn’t know about leading a revolution, I would just research it myself until I was satisfied with the results. I refuse to be tested like a sparkling by a little human like Aurora!

“Hm. Fine have it your way.” Aurora submitted to that way too easily. “I’ll let Starscream know.” After that vague send off she tries to leave my office.

“Wait! ‘Let Starscream know’ what?” I feel like I am walking into a trap. But anything that involves Aurora making that face and Starscream sends alarms ringing in my helm.

“That he will be taking the test in your place and will have to be your sitter- Oh! I mean translator in front of important political leaders and delegates.” Her manipulation is so obvious. Bring up that treacherous snake with wings. Make it seem like Starscream will somehow have an advantage over me if he takes the test and I don’t. It is an obvious play at my pride. But scrap is it working!

“That is not necessary. I have been a writer for millennia. And though I have been remiss in doing so lately due to the war effort, I still remember how to artfully structure conversation to achieve my desired affect. Doing the same with simple humans will not be a challenge.” However, perhaps I should take up writing again now that the war is over.

“That was for a Cybertronian audience, not an Earthling one. If you really are as competent a writer as you say, then you should know better than anyone how important it is to understand your audience’s concepts of the world and life, so you can explain your views in a way they will understand. This is why the original translation datapad ended up tripled in size once I added the concepts.” As much as I hate to admit it, she is not wrong. “But you don’t need to study this or take the test. Earth leaders use translators all the time. They will not look down on you for depending on the same aid they need.”

That was the final blow. Reverse psychology while comparing me to lowly humans. And she knows it! Look at that smug grin and easy stance, while she just so happens to be holding the datapad in my direction and waving it at me. Glaring at her, I seize the datapad back from her servos. But if I have to suffer, then so does everyone else.

“If I have to take it for our diplomatic relations, then so does everyone else. Distribute copies of this datapad throughout the ship to everyone who can take the test.” I say this with a challenge. If she has to give this test to every adult and young spark on this ship, she will end up needing to grade almost 100 tests, not counting any who will need to retake it.

“Hmf. Fine.” She walks out my office this time. And I sit down on my desk to begin studying. I look forward to her burnout when she has to grade all those tests.

The door suddenly opens again and Aurora sticks her helm in. “Oh and by the way, Soundwave made a special algorithm for me to help me with the grading. And I was planning on distributing the test around the ship anyway. What with all the new comers needing to learn about Earth. Your order just makes it a lot easier to do it without needing to worry about someone trying to get out of it. Thanks! Ha!”

Tzewww-CLUNK!

Scrap now I have a scorch mark on my door, and I can still hear her laughing in the corridors. “That sneaky conniving two-timing angelic-faced deceptive little grrr!” She’s lucky I respect her so much.

~~~Aurora POV~~~

“HAAAHAHAhahahaha!”

Judging from that blaster fire I heard before the door closed, I should probably avoid Megatron for a little while. At least until he calms down and finishes his test. That’s 1 payback plot successfully executed!

Now on to business. Before I give the datapad copies to everyone else, I should give Knockout and Breakdown their special ones and their mission first. That way they’ll have more time to prepare.

I comm them and ask them to meet me at the medibay for a private meeting. Once I get arrive, they are already there. “So, Aurora, you wanted a ‘private meeting.’ Do you want some tips for different positions you and Big M can try?” Knockout asks with an extremely salacious grin.

I feel my face heating up in embarrassment. It figures that Breakdown would tell Knockout about his walking in on Megatron and my training session. These rumors about Megatron and me being in some kind of intimate and sexual relationship have just been getting worse lately!

At first, it was just suspicious glances maybe a few whispered words here and there. But then a few Workers had started addressing me with honorifics like ‘Lady’ or ‘Madam’ some even called me ‘Consort!’ Even when I tried to tell them I wasn’t any of those things some refuse to call me my name casually!

And then some even started asking me various questions along the lines of ~“How long have you been conjunx/courting?” “How did it all start?” “Is it true you were in a relationship even when you were Andromeda?”~

Even the Autobots got in on the questions! Ratchet even started trying to give me lessons about signs for abusive relationships and what to do in them!

But the most embarrassing ones were asked by the more vulgar adult Workers and Skyquake surprisingly. Questions like. ~”Is the interfacing what convinced you to surrender?” “How good was it?” “How big is Lord Megatron?”~ And Skyquake actually asked ~”When do you believe you will have Lord Megatron’s heir?”~

I almost died during that conversation with Skyquake! I thought the rumors would go away eventually since we’re really not in that kind of relationship at all. That the lack of displayed intimacy would eventually lead to the rumors running out of gas.

But that’s turning out to not be the case at all! And we were only seen once in a compromising position! In the training room! Was that one time enough to make this rumor ignite to this level? But I need to focus on why I’m really here!

“Now Aurora no need to be shy. After all, they say the Rite of Intimacy is best done in a public way.” Knockout apparently does not want to drop this. But I really am here on business so he’s gonna have to whether he wants to or not!

“For the hundredth time, we are not interfacing or courting or Conjunx or anything like that! And I am here to give you 2 an important mission you’ll need to do during the race.” I give them both their datapads hoping that’s the end of that embarrassing conversation.

“What?! But you said we could race if we wanted to! I was looking forward to racing and showing those squishies what real racing is about!” Knockout yelled in rage. Wow. I did not know Knockout loved racing that much. Better explain fast.

“Relax, Knockout. You will still be able to race. This mission will just require your attention before the race. During it, I’m confident Breakdown will be able to take it from there on his own. Just read the mission summery and if you have any questions, ask away.” I move over to an exam table to sit while they read.

I watch their expressions closely. First they look indifferent, then surprise bleeds in, then their mouth plates drop. “What?! Aurora what kind of mission is this?!” They both yell at the same time. Knockout in shock and bewilderment, Breakdown in embarrassment if his red race is anything to go by.

“It is a PR mission. I already laid the groundwork of making Earth not see us a just advance robots. You 2 are going to be our next attack against any xenophobes who try to argue that we are robots and should not be treated or respected as fellow sentient and sapient beings.” I answer.

“If you want to attack them I’ll happily do that instead of this. Why do we have to do this? Why not your mushy feely Autobots? Like Arcee and Cliffjumper?” Knockout tries to argue back. I know this is a little controversial to how most Decepticons view displays of emotions but it has to be them.

“Because they are newlyweds. You 2 have been conjunxed for millennia while a war was being fought, and you came out of it still going strong. That kind of commitment and longevity in a relationship will appeal much more to the romantic side of humans. And that’s the kind of attack we need. Hard, fast, and wide spread. You 2 are the only 2 Cybertronians on Earth who can pull this mission off. Can I count on you both?” I ask.

I am not even over hyping it. This mission is going to be critical in our future relationship with Earth! And it needs to happen asap while the iron is hot! If they don’t agree to this mission, I’ll have to wait for another long-term couple to come to Earth, and who knows how long that will be?! And how much public opinion will change till then?!

The 2 of them pause and look at each other. Their faces go through different expressions without words. They are probably talking about it over their sparkbond. But judging by their expressions, Knockout looks really against this. Breakdown looks more reluctantly accepting of it. Maybe I should add something to the deal.

“Look at it like this. As you said Knockout, ‘they say the Rite of Intimacy is best done in a public way.’ Just think of it as you 2 renewing your Conjunx Rites after the war and this mission can double as your Rite of Intimacy.” I smile hoping to encourage them to accept this mission.

They look at each other for a few more clicks, before Knockout groans and hangs his helm. “Haaaaaaag. Fine. We’ll do it.” He finally says with a resigned air, but I am too happy to care.

“Yes! Thank you!” I jump up and pull them both into a quick hug. “Okay, you’ll need to study the rest of your datapads. It has all the relevant information you’ll need. I’ll also be testing you a few days before the race to make sure you’re both ready. And …”

~~~~~~~~~~

End notes:

Who can guess what the mission will be from what I’ve revealed so far?

Next chapter is finally the big race day!🏎️🏁

I am completely opened and welcomed to comments. If I feel inspired with any I might even be able to finish this fic. I’m usually pretty bad with adding filler scenes in between major events and scenes.

Or if you just enjoyed the story, pretty please leave a comment, kudo, and bookmark. Would really appreciate it to hear if people are enjoying my style of story telling. Thank you!

Chapter Text

~~~Steve Rogers POV~~~

“This is Christine Everhart on the last day of the Indianapolis 8hr race. This is the day that the Cybertronians will be taking part in the race! The crowds are crazy here! Absolutely insane! Due to popular demand and petitions, the Speedway Officials have actually needed to add in foldout chairs and tape the staircases and railings to make temporary seatings on the floor for people to reserve! There are dozens of news stations from all over the world here. Both invited and uninvited. All trying to get a closer look at our metallic alien visitors. Thankfully, due to my previous interview with the New Cybertronian Civilization, I am one of the few who have been invited into the pit area of the speedway to get a close up interview of the Cybertronians. Stay tuned to WHiH World News for when the Cybertronians actually get here.” She pointed some kind of signal to her cameraman and he turned the camera off and started packing it away.

“Waita set the hype Christine!” Tony claps and cheers from my right.

“Thank you Tony. And thank you for not crashing my broadcast.” Christine says but I can tell it is also a threat to not do it later.

“Christine! Sweetheart! Baby cakes! I thought we had something, a history! Would I do that to you?” Tony exclaims dramatically. Christine glares at him, clearly showing that she does believe he would do that.

“Ouch! The mistrust!” Tony dramatically falls onto me for support. I can’t help but chuckle. At first his over dramatics was annoying, but after living with him for a while and actual getting to know him with Rhodey’s help, I have learned that it is the only way Tony knows how to defuse a situation and have come to appreciate it.

“Hmhm. Don’t worry Miss Everhart. I’ll make sure he fulfills his end of the deal and won’t disturb and of your broadcasts. And thank you again for doing this favor for us and taking us with you down to the pit area.” I cut in.

“I’ll be holding you to that, Captain.” She glares at me before walking back to her cameraman and the rest of her staff. I feel like Peggy and that woman would have gotten along a little too well.

But while we have a moment, I look to Tony who has returned to casually leaning against a wall and messing with his phone. “And thank you again for getting us here Tony.”

“Think nothing of it, Cap! Christine’s is one of the most pleasant reporters to make deals with. Getting her to get us into the pit area so we can have a one on one talk with the Cybertronians was no trouble at all. Besides I would have wanted to come to this race anyway.” Tony tries to wave my thanks off. And a few weeks ago I would have fallen for it and thought he was being rude by not just accepting my thanks, but after everything we have been through lately, I know better now.

“I mean it Tony.” I press, “I know you don’t like owing private interviews to news stations because they can cash in at any time. So owing WHiH World News 3 is sure to put you and your company in a tight spot later. And you won’t even benefit in any way from helping me. And there’s not even a guarantee that this will work. I actually feel kind of guilty for dragging you out here.”

“Not benefit?! Guilty?! Cap!” At this point, Tony lowers his voice to a whisper, but I can still hear him clearly thanks to the serum. “We are working to uncover more about you-know-what organization so they can’t take over the world. How am I not benefiting from keeping them from destroying the world economy and my company as a result?”

The hunt for HYDRA has been extremely hush hush ever since Aurora uncovered their existence during her interview. SHIELD has been in a tizzy trying to figure out how they could have missed it. Which was why they refused to help me when I went to them begging for help in rescuing Bucky. They didn’t want to diverge man power on a perceived HYDRA agent who has already been captured and is being interrogated.

Which is why I ended up going to Tony to try begging him into letting me be his plus 1 at the auction. Even though Fury and Colson’s attempt hadn’t ended too well for them. Best choice of my life. Once I told Tony everything about Bucky and how he could never willingly work for HYDRA, Tony went above and beyond.

He gotten Pepper to let me be his plus 1 pretty easily. Pepper had mentioned that she trusted him to control Tony and make sure he didn’t spend too much. But not only that, Tony started hacking into different databases and trying to figure out it how we could meet the Cybertronians before the auction. He had even started trying to figure out why Bucky would be helping HYDRA and how he was still alive and young! He’s still looking into Bucky’s relatives to see if anyone near them is a HYDRA spy and could be blackmailing Bucky through them. And he’s been looking into any information about the Winter Soldier, the alias people called Bucky. He did this all while giving me a nice room so I could be close by while he worked and art supplies so I wasn’t only stressing out over Bucky.

Then Tony came up with the idea to go to this race. Even if Aurora and Lord Megatron are not here. We can still try to ask the Cybertronians who do come if they know anything about Bucky. I know it hadn’t been easy to get here. Everyone saw the attack on them, so the officials had tightened security like never before, just to try to prevent another attack from a terrorist organization. But Tony managed it.

I lower my voice to a whisper and swing my arm over his shoulder so I can whisper into his ear and continue this secret conversation. “Come on Tony. You can fool others, but you know we are just here to try to find out what happened to Bucky. HYDRA has extremely little to do with this. And if you really wanted to do something  about HYDRA, you could have continued hacking different databases from your tower with JARVIS. But you’re here, helping me find my best friend. Thank you.”

Tony now has an awkward and flummoxed look on his face. Rhodey was right. He really doesn’t know what to do with genuine thanks and compliments to his character instead of his inventions. I’m very glad I have been talking with Rhodey about living with Tony ever since we saved the President. It’s so fun seeing Tony get flummoxed instead of just me!

“Weeeeeell, I do owe you for your help with the Mandarin incident. This is just me repaying you for your help. If you hadn’t been there when the Mandarin attacked my house, my home would have gotten destroyed and I might have been destroyed with it.” Tony still tries to write off his own generosity. Seriously, getting this man to accept thanks for his character is like getting a cat to accept a bath.

“Tony, Steve!” Christine’s voice pulls us from our whispered conversation. “The guards are going to escort us to the pit area! Move it or loose it!”

We quickly fall into step behind her and her crew. Might as well move from this conversation while we are on the move. We can’t talk about Bucky or HYDRA openly in case someone from HYDRA is nearby.

“How is reconstruction going by the way?” That’s not HYDRA or Bucky related, and I am genuinely curious.

“It’s going well. Need to up security now that more people know where I live, but I’ve been thinking of making a few adjustments to the old building anyway. Try out a few security measures that have been in development, field test a few inventions to upgrade people’s daily lives. This just gave me more reasons to completely upgrade my house.” Tony seems genuinely exited at rebuilding his house.

I don’t completely get it. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the new value of money. Just the thought of the expenses needed to rebuild a normal house makes me twitchy. But I’ve come to learn that to Tony, money comes second to building things that can help people.

“I’m sure once you finish those upgrades and start selling them to the public, lots of people will be very happy and grateful.” I tell Tony and he is struck speechless for a few seconds. Seriously, if I had know that the way to stun Tony Stark into silence was just to compliment his good character, our first meeting would have gone so differently.

“Cough. Uuh, oh! Harley’s mom called! She said you need to call her so she can yell at you for teaching Harley how to beat up his bullies.” Tony suddenly says. And I feel unease rise in me at this news.

“Uuuuh. Did you tell her it was either that or you were going to give Harley a flash grenade?” I try to redirect the blame from me.

“Okay. 1. A flash grenade is harmless. Not at all the same as teaching a kid how to fist fight. And 2. It did not come up over her wanting to yell at you.” Tony looks pretty pleased at me getting in trouble with Harley’s mom.

But I really don’t regret it. Harley is a spunky kid. As soon as Tony and I met him while we were taking cover from the snow storm, I knew I would like him. True he had more in common with Tony with their shared brilliance, but he and I bonded over needing to be the man of the house while our moms had to work and over our shared experience with bullies. Of course I was going to teach him how to defend himself. Especially when Tony’s idea of help was giving him a flash grenade!

Then when he followed us to that explosion site and wanted to help so badly, I really wanted to take the boy under my wing. But Tony joked about how I can’t steal other people’s kids and call it adopting. I still want us to keep in contact with him. See how he’s doing with the bullies and what else he makes with that lab Tony gave him. Even I gotta admit, the potato gun was cool!

“You 2 with me!” Christine suddenly yells at us. As we get in some golf carts that will take us the rest of the way to the pit area.

Once we are moving, Christine spins around and pins us with a glare, and my back instantly straightens like I’m back with my drill sergeant. “Okay listen up! I don’t know why you 2 are so desperate to meet with the Cybertronians and I won’t ask as per our deal. But when we approach the Cybertronians I get to interview them first. Don’t throw your questions at them until after I am done. Got it?” She finishes with another glare to Tony.

“Sir yes sir!” Tony says giving her a salute.

“Yes ma’am.” I answer simply.

Once we arrive at the pit area, Christine leads us to the area reserved for the press. Tony continues to work on his phone while I keep guard and wait. An hour before the race is scheduled to start, I hear an odd crackling staticky sound.

Christine jumps into action, giving orders to her cameraman and crew like a seasoned commander. She runs to the sound and I finally notice a swirling blue mist high in the air. It takes a second for me to realize what I am seeing, and then the portal opens!

I watched the interview numerous times, but mostly I watched the end when Bucky comes on the scene. So most of the beginning is not as fresh in my memories. But I do remember Aurora driving out of a swirling portal in the beginning. And this time, 5 different vehicles drive out of it. I’m still learning about modern cars, but my time in Tony’s lab/garage has helped. I can identify a sleek small black sports car, a large heavy duty blue suv, a sporty red one with gold detailing, a yellow and black muscle car, a classic red muscle car with a bull horn hood ornament, and a blue and white police car.

“Whoooo whoooo.” That whistle diverts my attention to Tony. “Those are some classy rides! Hey, I wonder how they get their car forms? Can they change them into any car they want? Or did they always look like that?”

Those are very good questions. But I quickly torn my attention to the Cybertronians and Christine. We need to wait for a chance to ask our questions before the race. There’s no telling how long they will stay after the race. Right now, Christine is opening a new broadcast telling the viewers what’s happening now that the Cybertronians are here. And I can see the tv screens around the speedway also broadcasting the Cybertronians arriving.

Tsche-chu-chu-chu-tsche!

That sound rings through the air and I have a front row seat to these aliens transforming. I watched it on TV but it is nothing compared to real life! Looking at normal cars at eye level 1 second, then looking up at towering alien robots the next!

The red muscle car with the horns has become a red robot with actual horns and blue eyes. The sleek black car becomes a slender black robot without a mouth and a glowing red curved line where the eyes should be. The police care transforms into a blue and white robots with a badge on his helmet and blue sunglasses over his eyes. The yellow and black muscle car transforms into a robot with fluttering wings on his back, big blue eyes, and a very exited big smile on his face. This one reminds me of a big puppy exited to play. The big blue SUV transforms into a bulky blue robot with yellow eyes and an orange face I remember seeing near the end of the interview. He has some kind of missile launcher on his shoulder if I remember correctly. And the last red sports car transforms into a red robot with a white face, red eyes, and a helmet that reminds me of the spiky flame hair style I’ve seen a few teens have; and he’s standing like Tony does when he wants to appear suave and cool. I kind of want to prevent them from meeting.

A man in a dress suit steps forward from the crowd to greet the aliens, and the black and yellow robot steps forward to meet the man half way. “Welcome to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I’m the management team president, J. Douglas Boles.” Mr. Boles looked and sounded professional, even as he stands before giant alien robots.

The yellow and black robot stands still, but a shimmer of light appears on front of him and a young boy materializes from it! This must be that robot’s holoform! He’s wearing a yellow and black letterman jacket with matching joggers and sneakers, all of which match his robot body’s color scheme like Aurora’s did. But he looks so much younger than her! Like, about 18 years old whereas Aurora looked shy of 30. He’s got that happy puppy dog look to him that makes him look cute and even younger! And I can’t put my finger on it, but the shape of his face and nose looks really familiar.

Predictably, his yellow hair matches his robot’s yellow and has a black streak down the middle. His eyes are glowing blue in the same shade as his real body too. But unlike Aurora’s, his holoform has darker skin! Not African American level dark. More like a medium brown. Could he be trying to look Latino? But Aurora said that Holoforms are the subconscious representation of the Cybertronian. So what is the holoform’s different skin color supposed to represent?

“The pleasure is ours president Boles. Thank you for letting us take part in this exiting Earth race!” The holoform answered in an exited happy voice as he raised his age to shake Mr. Boles. Mr. Boles seemed a little reluctant at first, but eventually made contact with the holoform’s hand and shook it just like anyone else’s. With the hand shaking and greeting out of the way, the holoform dematerialized and the yellow and black robot body started moving and speaking again.

“Let me introduce all of you the Cybertronians taking part! First there’s me. My name is Bumblebee.” Bumblebee explained while bowing. “Over there is Cliffjumper.” Bee pointed to the red robot with the horns. “This girl is Zip.” Bee swing an arm around the slender black one without a normal face. “This is Chase.” He then pulled the blue and white one to him with his other arm. “And last but not least. Our final contestant, Knockout.” “Well I most definitely will not be least when I win this race.” The fancy red one says with confidence. His voice oozing with charm. I definitely don’t want him and Tony to meet. They will either get into some kind of sass cat fight or team up and sass everyone else to death.

“What about the blue one?” Mr. Boles asked.

“Oh, I’m Breakdown, but I’m not racing. I’m just here to cheer on my husband.” Breakdown suddenly pulled Knockout to his side and planted a quick kiss on his cheek!

“Husband?! You robots get married?!” One of the reporters shrieked. Very rudely in my opinion.

Knockout cocked an eyebrow and got a very smug look on his face. The same one Tony would get when he was about to roast a stupid reporter. “Weeeeell what else are you supposed do when you find someone who loves you wholeheartedly, is completely devoted to you, is willing to risk their life and future for you, is willing to spoil you rotten, and is willing to work with you through all the ups and downs of life as a life partner for the rest of your life?” Knockout finished his sarcastic rhetorical question with a peck to Breakdown’s cheek.

“But- but you are robots!!!” The same reporter shrieked. Even I could tell that was the wrong thing to say. The other Cybertronians were getting very tense and didn’t look happy.

“Ahem! I don’t mean to sound rude but, we are not robots. Aurora explained it during her interview that we are essentially metallic aliens who just so happen to resemble your modern day robots. But we can think, reason, doubt, fear, and feel just like any of you.” Bumblebee explained diplomatically.

“I’m terribly sorry about that I’ll have security escort him off the speedway!” Mr. Boles said as he signals security to do just that. After the guards drag the protesting reporter out, Mr. Boles turns to Bumblebee with a red, embarrassed face. “I am terribly sorry about that. If any of the other reporters harass you like that please let my security know and they will escort them out too.”

“Thank you for the consideration Mr. Boles.” Bumblebee says with a smile. “And sorry if we seem overly sensitive. The tyrannical regime that oppressed us before treated us like machines and would work us to death under that excuse while the leaders and upper caste lived in lazy luxury. So now we tend to get a little anxious whenever someone compares us to machines.”

That sounds horrible! To treat others of your own species like machines for your pleasure only! And why? Just cause they are on a different caste level than you set yourself at? But then again, we humans do the same thing just under the excuse of skin color. I make a mental note to stop considering them robots. Anyone who fought bullies and hypocrites like that are fellow freedoms fighters in my book.

“But how about we go over any last minute rules, hm?” Bee asks to divert us from that topic.

“Yes! Of course.” Mr. Boles answers. “You Cybertronians will not be allowed to transform. If you do, you will be immediately disqualified from the race and be forbidden from continuing. There will be no rough play. This is a race not a monster truck rally. And keep in mind that there are humans in the cars!  Smaller more frail humans that will need to jump out of their cars if there is an emergency. Other than those additional rules, you will be expected to adhere to all the other rules the human racers are expected to adhere to.”

All the Cybertronians nod their heads in understanding. But Chase steps forward and kneels down to Mr. Boles to add something else. “Excuse me Mr. Boles. But may I make a proposition?” “Shoot.” Mr. Boles answers. “To put anyone’s further worries about racing with large aliens at ease. How about the racers borrow one of our gadgets?” Chase moved like he is reaching into a pocket and pulls out a circuitry disk that is a little smaller than my shield and has a glass dome in the middle. “What is that?” Mr. Boles asks the question on everyone’s mind.

Bumblebee steps forward now, “To put it simply it is a container that has an automated release system filled with CHER Foam. We were thinking of hooking it up to your race car’s airbag sensors. That way, if something happens that would normally set off the airbags, this disk would release the CHER Foam. And CHER Foam is Collision, Heat, and Electric Resistant Foam. Once released it expands and fills up any open space. Then it solidifies quickly, making a safe cushion that is also highly fire and electricity resistant. This way the drivers are safe from any collisions, fires, or electric shocks caused by any accidents. Then after a few seconds the solid foam starts evaporating so the drivers will not be trapped or suffocate. Here. We can show you.”

Bee nods to Chase, and Chase takes this device to a stack of tires. After setting the device down he presses a button on it and creamy foam explodes out, encompassing the tires! Bee quickly walks up to it and hits it several times, but the blob of foam does not break! “See? Totally imperious to impacts.” Then the foam starts to shrink before our eyes and Bee reaches in and easily pulls out a tire! “And now the contents inside can be removed safely.”

Everyone is shocked. The racers look interested and very exited. The press look bursting with questions. Tony looks like he might start drooling and begging to take a closer look at that device and the CHER Foam. I grab his shoulder to make sure he doesn’t actually run over and try. That foam definitely looks like it could be very handy during the race. Especially if any of the Cybertronians get a little over exited or forget that they are not racing their own kind.

“If, uh, if you don’t mind sharing those gadgets during the race, I’ll ask the drivers if they don’t mind borrowing them. How many do you have?” Mr. Boles asked.

“Enough for all the racers. And we don’t mind sharing. We just want them back after the race.” Bee answers and everyone quickly moves into action after that.

Mr. Boles asks the racers. Most gladly accept the alien tech, but some refuse. Of the ones who accepted, Chase, Knockout, and Breakdown quickly begin hooking up the disks to their cars. All the while, the reporters are bombarding all the Cybertronians with questions. But Tony and I have to stay near Christine so we don’t catch any of the other reporters’ questions. And Christine follows Knockout and Breakdown. So much for hoping to keep Tony and Knockout away from each other.

“Excuse me. Mr. Knockout. Mr. Breakdown. Christine Everhart from WHiH World News. May I ask you 2 a few questions?” She asks first.

Both Cybertronians halt working on their racing cars to look at her. Knockout is the one who answers. “Ah. The reporter from Aurora’s interview. As long as you don’t mind if we work while we answer your questions, sure ask away. But you can just drop the Misters. We don’t really use those kind of honorifics for normal mechs like us.”

“Alright Knockout. Then feel free to just call me Christine or Everyart. Whichever is more comfortable for you. So, is racing your day job or mechanics?” Christine asks next after the pleasant introductions.

Knockout answers while he goes back to working in someone’s car. “I’m one of the chief medical officers in Lord Megatron’s crew and one of the best lab assistant for our chief scientists. Hooking up these disks to Earth cars is child’s play compared to some of the gadgets I have worked on.” He finishes his work on that car and moves on to the next one.

Breakdown not far behind and answers, “I’m Knockout’s chief nurse when he is healing people. So when he is in the labs I also try to help out there where I can. But it’s not much. My husband is the brains of this outfit.” “The brains and the looks.” Knockout calls out teasingly while blowing a kiss at Breakdown.

“It still fascinates me that you aliens also have marriages. Not trying to imply you don’t have feelings! But just the culture of marriage on other planets. Are there any differences in the marriage compared to human marriage or is it exactly the same?” Christine asks.

“Yes, there are quite a few differences.” Knockout calls out as he starts work an another car. “For starters, we call them Conjunxes, not marriages. Also, Cybertronian conjunxes are not just contracts on paper like your marriages. We are able to control our souls to an extant. Although we call them sparks. So when we marry, we exchange parts of our soul, or spark, with our partner. The result is a union and relationship similar to the Earth’s concept of soulmates.”

“Soulmates?!” Christine shouts in shock. Even Tony and I are surprised at this and pay very close attention to this information. “So you are able to choose any person you want and make them your soulmate?! What does that entail? Are you able to feel each others emotions? Have a telepathic communication?”

Breakdown’s the one who answers these questions, “Yes, we are able to feel each other’s emotions and communicate telepathically through what we call a spark bond. But no, we cannot just take anyone we want and make them our soulmate, anymore than you could marry anyone you want and make them your perfect spouse. I’m sure there are a few bad exes you have who you would not want to hear and feel everything they thought or felt, or for them to hear and feel everything you thought or felt” Christine’s grimace is answer enough for that.

Breakdown continues to explain, “The spark bond just means if it is a bad match for the marriage then any negative consequences will be amplified 10 fold in a conjunx. Like if a person were to accidentally marry a secret sadistic abuser. Then the abuser would still abuse their spouse and probably like it even more because they would be able to actually feel the pain and fear they inflict. While the abuse victim will be hurt even more because they will feel the sick joy their abuser will feel at their pain and fear.” Breakdown finishes his explanation and I feel sick just imagining it. Tony doesn’t look much better.

Christine looks a little green as she asks her next question, “So then, divorces must be an even bigger necessity for your people.”

“Actually, because of the spark bond, divorce is physically impossible once we choose a soulmate.” Knockout answers.

“What?!” Christine shrieked. “But I thought you just said that a bad marriage, or conjunx, can be even more dangerous for you? Couldn’t you just take back your part of your soul, or spark, from your abuser?”

Knockout finished his work on his car and turned to us. “Christine, we have more control of our spark than you humans your soul, but we do not have complete control over every little part of it any more than you can control your flow of blood in your body. Here’s this might help.” Knockout pulled a device from his invisible pocket? and something that looked like Tony’s holographic screens appear. On the screen is a cartoon like image of Knockout and Breakdown.

“When we sparkmerge, that’s when we bond our souls, we are essentially injecting a bit of our sparks into the other.” On the screen, it looks like 2 vials appear in front of them. Blue for Breakdown and red for Knockout. Two tubes are then connected between the vials. “Once the energies are together they mix and combine our souls into 1.” A bit of blue is added to Knockout’s vial, and a bit of red is added to Breakdowns. The added colors then change the colors of their vials. Making Knockout’s a light purple and Breakdown’s a dark purple. “To undo a sparkbond would require removing every last trace of our spark from the other without accidentally getting any of the other’s spark added to yours. And doing that is as impossible as separating all the red or blue out of purple paint after mixing it together. Impossible.”

As a painter I totally understand that. So for Cybertronians they literally marry for life! There is no possible way to undo it even if their lives depended on it!

“So what do you do to prevent a bad conjunx?” Christine asks.

Knockout answered with a shrug, “Same thing you humans do to find the right partner on the first try. Lots of time, lots of courtship. To us, if we conjunx with someone we’ve only been dating with for 1 year, it’s considered impulsive and rash. We even have a courtship ritual that we use to test how well we would be as a conjunxed couple.”

“Courtship ritual? What’s that like?” Christine asks.

Breakdown answers this one, “We call it the Conjunx Ritus. It has 4 Acts to it. Some people take creative liberties to some acts but I’ll explain the most traditional and effective practice for finding good Conjunxes. Traditionally all 4 Acts are only done by the courter as a sign of the courter wanting to prove their love and devotion to their courted. But some consider both parties doing all 4 Acts as a sign of their desire for an equal partnership. Now there’s no specific order to do these acts in, but it is considered common sense to save the last one I’ll mention for last."

Breakdown counts on his figures as he names off the 4 Acts of this Conjunx Ritus. “The Act of Intimacy. It refers to a public display of affection, such as holding hands or kissing. This act shows that a courter is proud to boast about their intended partner.”

“I could have used that act for a few of my exes.” Christine grumbles. I also really like that one. It would be a good deterrent from lovers who just want to steal money from you or cheat on you.

“The Act of Disclosure. Communication and trust are important aspects to every relationship. That’s why this act focuses on the building of both. The courter must confess something from the depths of their spark. Something intimate that no one but the courted will know. In turn, the courted will share something equally as intimate.”

“That act is kind of terrifying, but I can understand why that would be a really important Act when trying to find a soulmate you will never be able to leave.” Christine comments. I think it sounds lovely. Having someone you can share that level of trust with. The only person I can think of in my life who could have qualified would be Bucky.

“The Act of Preference. In the simplest terms, this is the act where the courter gives their courted a gift . But not just any gift. It has to be something of importance to the courted. To show the ability of the courter to listen to their partner, and take into consideration their wants and needs. Basically, the courtier needs to give their courted their heart’s desire without the courted asking for it directly.” I subconsciously look to Tony as Breakdown explains this. Tony is such a giver and customizer. I have no doubt that if he ever tried to do these Conjunx Ritus Acts, he would be able to complete this Act easily.

“That is sooooo sweet! If a man managed to do that for me I would totally marry him! Can you give an example of that? Like, what was you two’s Act of Preference?” Christine asks.

Breakdown’s orange face looks like it is getting red? Do these Cybertronians blush? Does blushing mean the same to them that it does for us? “Oooh this looks interesting.” Tony suddenly whispers with a conspiratorial smile on his face. He has put his phone away and is giving this his full attention now.

“Allow me to answer that for you.” Knockout says as he stands up from his work and leans against Breakdown. “This lunkhead thought it would be a good idea to gift me a forbidden Introductory Medical journal datapad! Uh, a datapad is our version of a book. But still a datapad! I almost died of a spark attack!” Knockout glared at Breakdown and slapped him on the back of his head. And Breakdown lowered his head in embarrassment.

“A book? Um, don’t get me wrong but, how is that your heart’s desire? You said you are a medic. If someone had gotten me a Journalism for Dummies book I’d have beaten them with it.” Christine said. That did make sense and I can totally see that happening.

Knockout explained, “Because I wasn’t a medic back then. In fact, I wasn’t allowed to be a medic. The old government regime, the Functionists, was all about keeping order by making people do the job the higher ups dubbed them best physical fit for.

“Take us for instance, Breakdown was a laborer. He did physical labors like hauling heavy things around. And then there’s me, some higher caste looked at me and thought ‘oh he’s hot and will be a good lay with those looks.’ So I was made a prostitute. And what use could a laborer or prostitute have for knowledgeable books like medical journals? Answer: none. All I should know is how to give others pleasure and all Breakdown should know is how to haul things without breaking them. Even knowing how to read was considered contradictory to our function and punishable by law.”

“What?! The old regime would have punished you just for knowing how to read?! And they made you a prostitute without your consent?! That’s-that’s not prostitution, that’s sex slavery!!” Christine yelled in outrage for them. I was feeling pretty enraged myself! Aurora mentioned that the slavery was so bad that many would die in the old regime, but she didn’t mention that even life was so torturous that death would have been preferable to some! Guess this is some of the content Aurora mentioned that was ‘too graphic because there are probably children listening.’

“Well for the upper caste of the old regime, having a book above my function is a sign of trying to do different from the order. And those who try to do different from their order are people who try to sow discord and hinder the productivity of the order and society. And those who try to hinder society are better off dead and their bodies used for something more productive.

“So when Breakdown came striding into my old workplace waving a medical datapad, I thought the Elite Guards were going to storm in and drag us both to the smelters!” Knockout glared at Breakdown again. Breakdown backed up with his hands in the air in surrender, “I said I was sorry! I just got so exited that I finally managed to get a medical journal from the black market! I couldn’t wait to give it to you for my Act of Preference!”

“Smelters? What is that?” Christine asked cautiously. Even I had a bad feeling about that name.

“Oh. I guess you could think of it as an organ shop. Any lower caste who disturbed the regime’s order were taken there to be killed and their bodies used for spare parts for the good obedient citizens.” Knockout explained this casually, like it was no big news.

But it is a very big news to us! So not only were they killed just for having books, but their bodies were violated under the excuse of using them for medicine?! I knew how important having spare organs is, I learned it from my mom’s job at the hospital. But the idea of those organs coming from people murdered just because they didn’t want to be controlled by some bullies? It made me want to throw up. The more I hear about the old government of Cybertron, the more I wanna shake Lord Megatron’s hand for putting those bullies in their place.

“Uh. That was very enlightening and I now understand why Aurora was reluctant to share this during her interview. But back to the topic we’re were originally discussing? So Breakdown’s Act of Preference was an illegal book that could have gotten you both killed, but was about what you secretly wanted to do instead of being a sex slave? That’s a pretty gutsy gift, Breakdown. But I can see how that would classify as Knockout’s heart’s desire. So he jumped through hoops to get you something that started you down the path to becoming a famous Doctor and you decided to marry him, Knockout?” Christine summarized.

“Not yet. There was still the last Act of the Conjunx Ritus. The Act of Devotion.” Knockout started explaining the very last act.

“The Act of Devotion is usually saved for last because it is the most important act of all. With the knowledge of the previous acts, the courter must now perform a spectacular demonstration of their love and trust, something meaningful for their intended partner. Each performance of this act depends on the individual person, but it must be something that assures the courted, the clearness of the courter’s intention to marry them.

“For instance, this cogs for brains, not only found a way past the Elite Guard patrols and borders, but also, somehow, bought a house for us in Kaon! A whole house! On his laborer wages! I still don’t know how you did that without anyone noticing!” Knockout playfully elbowed Breakdown. And Breakdown looked quite proud of himself.

And I can understand why. If this border and patrols were even half like the Berlin Wall during WW2, then getting him and Knockout past them and preparing a house waiting for them in freedom would be quite the Act of Devotion.

Before Christine can ask anymore questions, an alarm sounds summoning the racers to the track.

“That’s my cue. You all don’t mind if I leave you here do you?” Knockout asks as he turns to join the other racers.

“Not at all. Good luck Knockout. And thanks for the interview.” Christine calls out.

Breakdown quickly grabs Knockout’s hand and pulls him in for an embrace. Then, on live tv, they start French kissing! Not a peck like earlier, but full open mouthed and tongue! I looked away in embarrassment and to give them a little privacy. But Tony gives them a wolf whistle! After what felt like several minutes Knockout finally pulls away and continues to the race track.

~~~~~~~~~~

End Notes:

Don’t worry AnimeAddict578, I did take your suggestion of Bee resembling Aurora and Megatron to heart. You’ll see why I made Bee’s holoform look like that when you see Megatron’s.😉

Shout out and thanks to wasureukiyo! Whose interpretation of Conjunx Ritus is what I used instead of what Getaway explained in IDW. Partly because I don’t trust him. Feel free to check out their work “Heaven and Hell were Words to me.” Which is where I read it. https://ao3-rd-3.onrender.com/works/65375596/chapters/168227341?view_adult=true

Chapter Text

~~~Still Steve’s POV~~~

We watch the big screens as the racers get into their cars. The Cybertronians transform and roll into their own slots between the human drivers. Once everyone is ready they drive in formation around the track. Then once the green flag is waved, they’re off!

The Cybertronians stand out because of their more civilian car forms. I’m not too familiar with these races. But it looks like the Cybertronians are pretty maneuverable. But the human drivers are giving it their all too!

But I can’t focus on that. Christine has moved on to broadcasting the race, commenting on everything that’s happening. And Breakdown is alone and not being interviewed. This is the chance I’ve been waiting for! Looks like Tony thinks so too because he is also casually moving closer to Breakdown. But how do I bring it up? If I say something like ‘is the assassin who directed tried to attack Aurora alright?’ I might look like an accomplice to HYDRA!

“Hey Breakdown!” Tony yells. Please don’t tell me he’s just going to ask right out?! I know Tony doesn’t always filter his words well but this would be the worst time to be direct! “I know this is a little late but congratulations on yours and your husband’s marriage and getting away from those stiffs! What did you call them? Operationists?” Oh good. He’s not just going to ask right out.

“Functionists. And thank you for your congratulations. It is appreciated.” Breakdown answers.

“Sorry you had to go through that. We’ve had to deal with a couple of tyrants and dictators like that through the ages, but having to deal with that on a global scale must have been way worse. Is that why you helped us with exposing HYDRA? Because they have similar beliefs to your Functionism?” Tony asks next. Is he directing the conversation to HYDRA so we can ask about Bucky?

“That’s one of them. Lord Megatron doesn’t want us to have any dealings with governments or organizations like the Functionists. He’s too worried about history repeating itself with another species. Even the idea of aiding them is out of the question. If we stay, it will have to be under the condition that we have no business with those governments and organizations. And that they are never allowed to have control of your planet.” Breakdown answers.

I totally agree with that plan. This means we won’t need to worry about governments like North Korea or Russia getting alien tech and using it on innocent people. But I am really worried about Bucky now! If the Cybertronians see their old oppressors in HYDRA what will they do to Bucky?!

“Sounds good to me! I’m capitalist and laissez-faire market all the way! So what did you do with the ones you captured?” Tony is directing the conversation to find out about Bucky! I may need to have more confidence in Tony’s gift of gab from now on!

“I don’t really know too much. I just gave the ones I captived to Lord Megatron to interrogate. I think I heard that some were already dead. But some were still alive. And I think I heard Shockwave mention that he was given one to do something kind of experiment with.” Breakdown answered. Some are already dead? Oh please don’t tell me Bucky is one of them!

Sudden noise from the announcer draws our attention away from the conversation back to the race. On the large screens around the race track, we see one of the human’s cars loose control and swerve onto the green! Then, suddenly the car flips through the air at high speed! I make to start running, hoping to get to the car’s crash site. Though I doubt I’ll find the driver alive unless the car lands on its wheels and doesn’t continue to roll. But before I can take a step, foam bursts out of the car completely engulfing it!

I had forgotten about those disks and CHER Foam the Cybertronians put on some of the cars! On the screens the now foam covered car bounces and as the foam starts to evaporate we see parts of it come off as the car rolls! By the time it stops, the speedway ambulances are already there! And on life tv for the whole world to see, the driver climbs out of the now airy foam looking no worse for wear!

“Whooooooo! That foam is incredible! Think of all the car crash victims who could be saved with that.” Tony stares at the screens very stoically. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so sober, even when he is in his inventing binge! It takes me a minute to even guess why though.

Howard and his wife died in a car accident. When that realization hits me, I suddenly look at that CHER Foam more seriously too. If the foam could save that driver from a deadly car roll going that fast, then it would have definitely saved Howard and Maria Stark from a collision with a light pole even if they had been going slightly above the speed limit.

I hadn’t paid much stock to the auction of the Cybertronian tech before. I thought it didn’t matter too much since it was the big government’s and wealthy organizations that would get them. And no guarantee that the public or superhero’s would ever see them. But now, I really hope that tech like this is able to be mass produced and shared with the people of Earth.

“Say. Breakdown? Do you know if that CHER Foam will be in the auction?” Tony asks. He sounds confident, but one look at his trembling hands shows he is anxious about the answer.

“Uuuh. I’m not really sure. Aurora is the one mostly in charge of the auction.” Breakdown answers. And that makes sense that he wouldn’t know. But judging from the determination in Tony’s eyes, he’s either going to find out or get it by means other than the auction.

But as important as this CHER Foam is, we came here for another reason. I try to think how to ask about Bucky when…

“Hey! What’s going on with Knockout?” Tony suddenly yells and we all look up at the large tv screens. Which have all zoomed in on Knockout.

Knockout who was slowing down?! All the other cars were passing him by as they maneuvered around the gradually slowing Cybertronian. “I don’t know!” Breakdown sounded panicked and worried as he sprinted off to his husband.

Tony and I try to run after him, but his much longer legs give even me a challenge. And it isn’t long before poor Tony, with his arc reactor in his chest, has to stop to catch his breath. I quickly turn around to get back to him. I keep forgetting that his arc reactor is hurting and hindering him as much as it is helping him!

I felt sick and completely panicked when I first learned how deep it went into his chest and what it did to his internal organs. Though in my defense, I’m sure anyone would completely freak out upon learning that one of your best friends has a fatal weak point while they were all being held captive and under the mercy of a madman like Killian. I’m glad Pepper was there and temporarily super powered with Extremis to slap me out of my panic, before the fight on the oil tanker actually started. But I’m even more glad that the Extremis is gone from her body. That Extremis slap really hurt!

“Hey! Are you getting in or what?!” We look up at that yell and see Christine and her cameraman in a golf cart! With Christine driving like a maniac, speeding towards us. She slows down only a little so we can jump in, but then speeds up to catch up with Breakdown! Not even giving us a minute to try to situate ourselves, just try to hang on.

We do catch up and all safely arrive at the same time, as Knockout slows down and pulls over onto the grass. He transforms as soon as he is away from the race track.

“Knockout! Are you okay? What happened? Do you get hurt anywhere?” Breakdown hovers around Knockout like a mother hen. Looking all over him trying to find any visible sign for Knockout’s strange corse of action.

Clang!!

It takes a second for us to realize what happened. Knockout punched Breakdown!

“You glitch! You blunt buffoon! You spike brained neanderthal! This is all your fault!” Everyone just looks at the enraged Knockout in shock. Christine cameraman is recording this whole thing.

“I don’t understand, gorgeous! Did I miss something when I was examining you before the race?” Breakdown asks in dejection and worry.

“No, you moron! I was so looking forward to this race! It was going to be the first big race I would be legally authorized to be in and not have to worry about anyone judging me if I win! I was going to show everyone that not only am I a skilled medic and gorgeous automobile enthusiast, but also a great racer! But now I can’t! Waaaaaaaaaah” Knockout’s unexpected rage quickly turns into sobs!

Literal sobs! He even has tears streaming down his eyes! If I had any doubts about these aliens being able to feel emotions like ours they are gone now! But it still doesn’t explain what all the yelling and crying is about.

Poor Breakdown looked just as lost as us. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry honey! Please don’t cry! I’ll fix this! Just tell me what I need to do and I’ll fix it and talk to the race officials! Maybe I can talk them into letting you do another race?”

Clang!!

“Don’t you dare!!!” Knockout roars after hitting Breakdown again. And now he looks both mad and sad and is still crying! “How dare you even suggest that?! After all the hard work we put in to do this?! Don’t you still want it?! You were the one who came up to me and practically begged for one! But of all times your stupid transfluid could spark, it had to be before I was going to win a big race?! How dare you?!-“

“Wait! Did you say ‘spark’?” Breakdown ask now with a very hopeful look on his face. The rest of us are still in the dark though.

“Yes, you glitch head! Do I have to spell it out for you?! Maybe I need to get a new nurse! You sparked me you gigantic muscle head!!!” Knockout shrieks. I am having a very hard time following along with what is going on. But Breakdown looks in awe. “Are you sure?” He practically whispers.

“Yes, I’m sure! I just realized I have all the symptoms! I’m feeling hungrier a lot more frequently! I’m feeling a lot more tired even though I was completely rested just before the race! There’s pressure in my abdominal and it’s feeling warmer! I’ve been subconsciously trying to avoid any dangerous stunts lately! And in case you haven’t noticed, my emotions are all over the place for weeks now!!! And I just felt the start of another presence in my spark!!! Yes I am 100% sure I am spaaaarked!” Knockout barely gets to finish his rant as Breakdown suddenly swoops him up in a princess carry.

“You’re sparked! Oh thank Primus you’re sparked! Finally! We’re going to be a big family! You, me, and the sparkling!” Now Breakdown is crying and laughing, all while spinning around with Knockout in his arms. “I’ll call Soundwave right away! We need to get yo my back to the ship! And get some nutrient rich energon in you! And any other energon your cravings want! Oh Bulkhead is going to be thrilled!”

“We can’t just leave! We need to get the disks back after the race!” Knockout protests while he tries to wriggle out of Breakdown’s arms.

“I’ll also call Ratchet and Wheeljack! I’m sure they won’t mind taking over for us!” Breakdown counters.

“Uh. Excuse me, Breakdown.”Christine suddenly calls. “But those symptoms Knockout just mentioned. And the context of your speech. They sound a lot like when human women become pregnant.”

I feel my brain screeching to a stop. I knew those symptoms sounded familiar! My mom had explained them to me enough times while she had been talking about her work. But my brain was struggle to connect them with these metal aliens!

“That-that is correct Christine. ‘Sparked’ and ‘carrying’ are the Cybertronian terms for ‘pregnant.’ And ‘sparkling’ is our term for our babies.” Knockout answers. But his tone sounds very flat for some reason.

“But aren’t you a-a male?” Christine asks the question on everyone’s minds.

Knockout is a little slower to answer this time, “We Cybertronians do not differentiate male and female the same way you humans do. We use different characteristics to tell males and females apart. But yes, both Cybertronian males, mechs, and females, femmes, can become pregnant.”

Knockout sounds rather nervous as he explains. And as I look at Breakdown, I notice that he is also looking more guarded to us than before. Are they worried we’ll attack them now that we know they can get pregnant and Knockout is having an alien baby?

“Well, congratulations at this good new! And good luck with the rest of the pregnancy if it is even half as bad as it is for human women!” Christine says chipperly.

“Yeah! When I visit for the auction, I’ll bring a present for you! It’s an Earth custom to give gifts to newly expecting couples to help them out!” Tony also says chipperly.

It’s then that I realize what they are doing. They are trying to diffuse the Cybertronian’s nervousness by ignoring their tense energy, and showing their own happiness for them. My respect for Tony and Christine just went up. I’d better follow their lead. I really have no intention on hurting innocent new born babies, no matter what species they are. “Yes, congratulations! And thank you for coming out here while you could. It was nice meeting you both and getting to talk with you.”

“Thank you. Now, beautiful, let’s get you back to our hubsuite! I’ll give you a nice back and foot message.” Breakdown says as a new portal appears and he begins walking towards it.

“Do I look that far into my carrying to you?!” Knockout yells as they disappear into the portal. Once they are through, the portal disappears with them.

“Well. This race turned out more eventful than we thought hah folk?” I look to Christine and see she is talking into her camera. Apparently she is enough of a professional to continue doing her job even after this shocking revelation about the Cybertronian biology.

A hand on my shoulder diverts my attention to Tony, who whispers just low enough for me to hear, “Hey. There’s still other Cybertronians here. We can try questioning them to find out about Bucky. And even if they don’t know anything else, there’s still the auction. And I can continue keeping a lookout for any other sightings of others who might know.”

I hate to admit it. But that revelation had made me temporarily forget about Bucky! I’m grateful Tony remembered and is ready for us to continue. "Thank you Tony. You really don’t know how much this means to me." I actually do feel better and more confident that we will find Bucky eventually, together.

~~~Epilogue for this chapter~~~

None of the other Cybertronians had any more intel about Bucky. But Tony got into a very…interesting conversation about engineering with Wheeljack. It took the combined physical intervention of Steve and Ratchet to separate those 2. And Wheeljack got added to Steve’s list of Cybertronians Tony could not be left alone with.

Bumblebee won the race! But as per the agreement, the human racer who crossed the finish line just an inch behind him took the prize. Bee in his root mode and the racer both posed on the winner’s platform. A picture of Bee holding of the racer’s hand up in victory while doing a peace sign with his other hand, went viral as soon as it was posted.

~~~~~~~~~~

End Notes:

Vote time: Stucky and Pepperony, Stony, or Stuckony? At the moment, I could totally go any way in this fic. I could use some feedback to help me decide.

I know I promised an outing (coughdatecough) after the races. But before that, the Nemesis was not exactly quiet during the races. So next chapter we see what happened on the ship while the team was at the Indianapolis.

Shout out and thanks to Classjezter on Tumblr. Which is where I got my inspiration on Cybertronian carrying. You can read about it here. Totally recommend checking out their tumblr page. Their art is to die for adorable!!!🥰 😍💘https://www. /classjezter/786791843189948416/guide-to-cybertronian-carriage-part-1?source=share

Chapter Text

~~~Megatron POV~~~

"When did this stop being my ship?" Is all I can ask as I take in the chaos around me.

"Hm? What do you mean, Megs? It’s still your ship.” I can barely hear Aurora among the racket of everything else that is going on. But she genuinely seems like she doesn’t understand why I would ask that. I am starting to mistrust that look.

“It doesn’t feel like it is when stuff like this keeps going on without my knowledge!” This currently being the Nemesis’s make shift kitchen in utter chaos!

Aurora and Steve are at the center table with the newly emerged first Predacon watching their every move. The Autobot Medic Ratchet, that jittery Rescue Bot Blades, and numerous other adult Workers with their new spark wards are at other surrounding tables. All the tables are filled with vials and containers of various colors and sizes of who knows what. Around them between the tables are other new sparks looking like they are just entertaining themselves with all manner of objects and making a mess while doing so. At a table in a corner is Wheeljack working on some kind of invention. At the opposite corner are Shockwave in his original body and Boulder both looking over a datapad. The red leader of the Rescue Bots is secreted in a third corner also looking over a datapad. And Soundwave is in the final corner of the room, also in his original body with his visor down. Likely, somehow, working amidst this chaos. In the open section of the room are all the Vehicon and Eradicon sparklings playing with Bob and Shelly. The Autobots Arcee, Bulkhead, the Insecticon Hardshell, and an adult Vehicon I believe is named Mary stand around the sparklings supervising them. And the Weaponizer minicons are scattered playing with everyone. Even Laserbeak is in her true rootmode flying through the air playing with that other minicon Aerobolt. I did not realize the lab we converted into the kitchen was this big!

“Oh relax. We’re just cooking! With the race going on I finally have a free moment to learn how." Aurora explains. Sort of.

“And what would you call the rest of all this ?” I ask gesturing the entire room. I begin making my way to Aurora, no doubt the source of this chaos, to confront her about her actions here.

However, just before I can reach her, my progress is halted when several Worker sparklings quickly latch onto me as I try to pass them. Then, like that was some kind of planned ambush, the other sparklings quickly start moving towards me as well. I try to pull them off gently so I do not accidentally hurt them with my strength or claws. But their grip is very strong and their servos are very small. By the time I can safely pry 1 off, 2 more have already climbed on somewhere else!

Mary tries to help me, but there are quite a few sparklings here and they all seem determined to use me as their jungle gym. I look to the Autobots expecting them to help. But once I see their gleeful faces, I realize that they have recognized my predicament and have no intention to help me. After several minutes of Mary and I not making any headway in freeing me of the sparklings, I just accept my fate and let the sparklings climb on me. Praying they get board with me very quickly and move on to some other entertainment.

“You look so adorable!!!” Hearing Aurora’s voice, I look up in mortification. Aurora is staring at me with the biggest smile on her face plate. No doubt she has already taken several image stills of me and my current confinement. The amusement I feel over my amica bond implies Soundwave has too. Or worse, he is recording it even now! I’ll need to get my treacherous amica to delete everything later. For now though, it looks like I’ll have to confront Aurora from here.

“Aurora! Explain how cooking lessons became this madness!” I command loudly but not too loudly to avoid scaring the sparklings on me.

“Well that’s a long story.” Is all she says before she turns back to her table, pours some white powder into her bowl, and begins mixing it together.

“Then start telling it now!” I command. Still getting swarmed with sparklings, and now Bob and Shelly have joined them!

“So, as I’m sure you know. This morning, Shockwave expected the Predacon to emerge from his cold construction pod, and I was the only one who volunteered to be his guardian. Shockwave wanted to call him PC1 since he’s the first PredaCon. But I didn’t feel right calling him by a number so I’m just calling him PC until he chooses his own name. So anyway, I woke up early, went to the lab, and PC emerged and successfully imprinted on me.

“But I had also made plans to finally learn how to cook with energon with Steve today. You know, now that the Synth-En mass production machine is complete and pumping out plenty of it, so we don’t have to worry about starvation. So I brought PC along, thinking he could sample the treats we made. Some time during the lesson, I mentioned a kitchen tool I read the humans useing and thought it would be very handy for our cooking. But Steve said we didn’t have any tool like it.

“So I commed Wheeljack to see if he could make one for us. He was happy to help and finished it really quickly. He’s working on another kitchen gadget I asked for right now. But Ratchet also came to make sure Wheeljack was careful since there’s energon here. And then Ratchet got interested in our cooking too and wanted to learn so he can fix up diet regiments to substitute just mixing in packets of various supplements into energon.

“When the Indianapolis team was a few hours away from leaving, I asked Soundwave if he could come here to monitor the situation at the speedway and keep me updated while we cooked. As you can see he agreed, and of course he brought Laserbeak. But Laserbeak also brought the Weaponizer minicons too. Aerobolt wanted to talk with me about some changes to the Minicon Rights Rules that he thought of. They’re really good and would be very helpful in the future.

“So I commed Boulder to consult with him and see about implementing Aerobolt’s ideas to the Nemesis . And he ended up bringing Blades and Heatwave. Blades got into cooking with us. And Heatwave wanted to ask me a few questions about what they can do around here. I gave Heatwave the outline for our camp plans for him to look over. Figured he would be able to look for any safety issues that we may have missed. And he’s still going through them now.

“But Boulder said he couldn’t finish the plans without better understanding of the structure of the ship. So I asked the minicons if we could get Shockwave in on this and help them with their plans. At first they refused but after Boulder and I explained that Shockwave is the only mech here who would know enough about the ship to implement their plans, they reluctantly agreed and I commed Shockwave. They were weary when Shockwave first arrived. But after they saw he was just focused on his discussions and designing with Boulder, they went back to their play time.”

“Wait! What are you planning to do to my ship now?” I interject.

”I’ve made notes. I’ll give them to you once you’re free . Hehehe.” I can only give her my best death glare as she laughs at my predicament.

"Anyway, while Aerobolt, Boulder, Shockwave, and I talked, the other minicons went to explore PC. I was initially worried that PC might harm them since he’s so big and was just born today, but after just a few warnings and demonstrations on how to be gentle with them, PC treated them really well. They even started playing together! Well, except for Laserbeak and Aerobolt. They’re started and are still doing some kind of avian ariel tag game.

“After seeing how well PC handled being introduced to the minicons, I thought of introducing PC to the other new sparks his own age! So I commed the adult Workers who have new spark wards and asked them if any of them would like to have a group cooking session with our wards. The mechs you see are the ones who accepted! When our wards aren’t helping us with the cooking they are playing with each other and socializing!

“And then Hardshell came in with Bob and Shelly throwing tantrums. Said the hive was hoping I would be able to calm them down. They actually did calm down as soon as they saw me and wanted to stay. So since they were here I thought I’d comm the supervisor for the Worker sparklings, Mary, and ask her is she could bring them here for a play date with Bob and Shelly. That way we can see how they get along.

“I’d like to make a nursery for all the sparklings, vehicle formers and beast formers. And a separate one for the constructed cold new sparks too when we have more beast former new sparks. That way they can get to know each other from a young age and hopefully accept each other a lot easier.

“But anyway, Mary brought the sparklings here to meet Bob and Shelly. At first they were all cautious, but curiosity and encouragement won out in the end, and they started playing and having lots of fun together! So I think my nursery idea will work. I wanted to give them a treat for being such good sparklings. But there were so many I couldn’t leave Mary to supervise them alone.

“So I asked Arcee and Bulkhead if they could come over to help Mary while I cooked them something. Even Cliff wanted to come over to help instead of go to the race! But since we had already told the race officials how many Cybertronians would be racing, I thought it wouldn’t be a good idea for relations to go back on our word last minute. But he’ll definitely be joining us as soon as he gets back from the race.”

Aurora goes back to focusing on what is on her table as I struggle to wrap my helm around everything she just told me. So, in general, Aurora didn’t intentionally cause this. But she also did cause it! And now the kitchen is a mess and there a sparklings and new sparks everywhere!

How has this become a thing in my life? Before I met Aurora my life was so much calmer. Sure there were battles and skirmishes. War was far from peaceful but at least it was predictable. Now though, it felt like not a day goes by when something weird, surprising, crazy, or chaotic doesn’t happens. If it’s not something Aurora directly initiates, then it something she inadvertently causes! Everything she touches seems to lead to some kind of chaos! It’s like she’s a literal spawn of Unicron the Chaos Bringer!

…

Wait! Isn’t Earth born from Unicron? So wouldn’t that mean that humans like Aurora are the literal spawns of the Chaos bringer? That would answer so much about Aurora!!! But wait! Aurora is from another universe where we don’t exist. So that means Unicron wouldn’t exist either. So the humans from her Earth wouldn’t be the literal spawns of Unicron. But how would an Earth exist thanks to Unicron in 1 universe but not in another one? … I really need to stop thinking about that isekai stuff. All it does is give me helmaches. Which is another thing Aurora inadvertently causes me.

There’s really no way to plan or anticipate anything she does! And there’s only one thing I can think of doing in response to this current situation. "Just clean up this mess when you’re done!" I order.

"Eye eye Megan." Aurora answers. Even gives me a salute! But this doesn’t not feel like a victory at all.

“Aah!!!”

“Sqeeeeee!”

Great. Now one of the Eradicon sparklings has almost slipped off my helmet and is now kicking me in the face. Tilting my helmet back slightly, the sparkling is no longer about to slip off entirely. I need to slowly right my helmet so he can climb back up and into a secure position on top of my helmet.

“You are a lot more patient with them than I expected.” I turn my helmet slowly to that voice, and see the Autobot Arcee staring at me strangely.

“Let me guess. You expected me to either growl and yell at them until they left me alone, or beat them into submission.” I answer. She doesn’t bother answering. Which is an answer in of itself.

“Hmf. Of course you would think that. Contrary to what you middle and high caste think, us low caste treasure our sparklings and learn how to care for them early on in life. I’ve known how to raise a sparkling on my own since before I was even a young spark. Aah!” And now Bob’s claws are digging in between my transformation seams. I reach down and grab him by his scuff. He goes limp and squeals but calms once I place him on my pauldrons.

“Pft. Who would teach a new spark how to raise a sparkling while they are little more than a sparkling yourself? Sounds irresponsible to me.” Arcee scoffs. It figures that an obvious former high caste would not understand.

“I would not expect a high caste to understand. None of you ever had to worry about how orphaned sparklings would survive. You all had plenty of shanix to provide for them and plenty of mechs at your beck and call if they ever needed help. We low caste on the other hand had to worry about our sparklings constantly. Not only because the only energon we got for our hard work was complete rubbish and not fit for sparklings, but also because we were denied critical services, like medicine and maintenance. So we had to know how to provide anything they needed with whatever we had.” “What?! That can’t be right!!” Ratchet bellows from his table, interrupting my conversation with the two wheeler and startling the sparklings and new sparks.

“What do you mean your sparklings were denied medicine and maintenance?! I know the low caste mechs were treated as disposables but sparklings are a gift from Primus! No self respecting medic would ever turn them away. Especially if they were injured!” Ratchet yelled with so much conviction. Hmf. Guess the Functionists only shared their beliefs with like minded medics and kept the others in the dark. That figures. Looks like I’ll have to educate them.

“Every medic in Kaon and Tarn, I ever met, believed that constructed colds were not natural Cybertronians, so they are not citizens of Cybertron deserving of any rights, which was why we were disposables. By that logic, constructed colds sparklings are even worse. Since we are not natural Cybertronians, then creating life like normal Cybertronians was considered a perversion against nature. Every

middle or high caste who considered us disposables, considered our sparklings abominations. And medics were no exception. Why would they waste valuable and expensive medicine on disposables and abominations?”

Ratchet and Arcee look distressed and disgusted. Arcee even clutches the sparkling in her arms in a subconscious act to protect them. Bulkhead just looks resigned. Since he was a low caste in Iacon, he likely experienced something similar. The fact that those 2 didn’t immediately call me a lier or try to defend their old ‘Golden Age,’ speaks volumes about their current faith in the old order. Looks like Aurora has been slowly getting them to open up to the truth.

“One-one moment. I’m getting a comm.” Ratchet suddenly says, turning away to get a semblance of privacy. “Hello?” … “What?!” … “Are you sure?!” … “What do you mean go to the race track?! I’m going to be meeting you at the medibay!!” Ratchet starts trying to run to the door without stepping on any sparklings. But he stops as soon as he gets to the door. “But-!” … “Grrrrrr! Fine! But I’ll be doing my own scans once I get back!” “Wheeljack!”

Everyone freezes at his bellow, especially Wheeljack. The sparklings start whimpering in fear, and I have to start purring to calm them. “Take those unfinished gadgets to the lab! You and I are going to the speedway to take over for Knockout and Breakdown in removing the disks from the race cars!”

“What?” Everyone asks at the same time.

“Ratchet, what do you mean you and Wheeljack are replacing Knockout and Breakdown? What happened?” Aurora asks in worry.

“Nothing.” Soundwave answers. “Knockout just experienced the most undeniable symptom of carrying. And exited the race to protect his sparkling. In his jubilance, Breakdown announced it to the whole planet on live TV. I have already sent them a Ground Bridge and will have another one ready for you and Wheeljack in 2 minutes, Ratchet.”

Everyone freezes at this news, but only for a second.

“So they finally did it.”

“Pft, took them long enough.”

“I know! I lost 3 energon cubes in a bet because of how long it took them!”

“That’s nothing! I lost 5!”

“I’M GANNA BE AN UNCLE!!!”

“Everyone calm down!” Everyone obeys my order immediately.“Ratchet, Wheeljack, you are dismissed. It is imperative we get all the disks back. Do not let anyone try to steal them.”

“Can I go too? I wanna meet up with Knockout and Breakdown!” Bulkhead asks excitedly.

“Fine. Maybe with you 3 leaving, others will start leaving too and things will get less chaotic here.” With that dismissal, they collect Wheeljack’s stuff and leave in a hurry.

“I hope this doesn’t interfere with your plans, Aurora. I know you sent them off on an important mission.” I may not under all of Aurora’s plans, but I do acknowledge that they all serve some purpose or groundwork.

“I sent them off primarily to become a real-life, successful, alien, Romeo and Juliet of wartime. If them getting all happy couple over becoming parents doesn’t do that, then I don’t know what will. But I will talk with them later for a more thorough debriefing.” Aurora is saying words, but I only really understand the last sentence.

She had tried explaining it to me, something about building bridges using concepts that most humans can relate to. This is why I leave the Earth PR to her. Now I just need these sparklings to get tired of climbing on me and I can go too.

But not 10 minutes after those 3 left, Bulkhead comes back with Knockout and Breakdown in tow! “What are you 3 doing here?”

“Bulkhead told us that the party is here. How could we not join?Looks like you are having fun too Lord Megatron.” Knockout said with a very annoying amused grin. I am very tempted to growl at him, but now that he’s carrying, I have to be careful not to appear threatening. Otherwise, Breakdown’s protective sire coding might target me as a threat.

“Hi, Knockout! Hi, Breakdown! Congratulations!” Aurora shouts, and that causes everyone else to shout out their congrats too.

“Yeah!”

“It’s about time!”

“Honestly with all the interfacing you 2 did even during the war, I’m shocked you didn’t spark sooner!”

“Hey! No talking about interfacing around the sparklings and new sparks!” Mary threatens. That ends the congrats before they could get even more lewd.

“So, what are you 3 doing here?“ Aurora asks getting back to a safer topic.

“Well, we were planing to go to our hubsuite, but then, when Bulkhead told us about the cooking class, I suddenly wanted to try a few supplements mix into those energon treats. And Breakdown was all too eager to try making me some.” Knockout explains as he contours through the chaos. Somehow avoiding getting any sparklings on him. But that maybe because they are all on me!

“Cool! Come here. Steve and I will be happy to help you cook something up!” Aurora calls out.

I just zone them out after that. I have no interest in learning how to cook. I need to focus on a few of the sparklings on me. Two have started trying to wrestle each other on my pauldrons. I have to break that up before one falls. And the Eradicon sparkling on my helm has fallen into recharge up there. So I have to be careful how I move my helm since he is no longer hanging on.

“So how did the mission go?” Aurora’s question gets my attention. And now that I don’t have to worry about the sparklings falling off me, I zone back into the conversation.

“Embarrassing! Did we have to tell the humans the mushiest version of the Conjunx Ritus?” Knockout complains.

“Yes! We want to reach the hearts of the largest audience. And romance is the most popular concept for humans. Every human has either had some point in their life where they imagined romance or they have lived it. If we want the humans to acknowledge that we have emotions, love is the most relatable emotion of all among us. And yes it had to be the mushiest version because if I had let you tell your whole version of the Ritus, only the adults would have even been allowed to hear it!” Aurora scolded.

“Hmf. Picky picky. However, I can report a positive reaction to the history lesson we slipped in. That reporter you saw, Everwit? Whatever. Was very angry when we told her about some of the things we went through.” Hmm. That is interesting. I would not have expected the humans to care about what we went through millions of years ago. Could this be a result of Aurora’s PR work? Or did I underestimate humans? … Naaah.

After that it seems like Aurora and Knockout go back to talking about the cooking. So I zone out again and start meditating on our plans and the future Aurora has revealed. Looking for any flaws and trying to approach each trial from different angles to see if the plans should be changed. I came back to the present almost an hour later, to the sound of a car engine racing closer and closer.

“Aurora!” Bumblebee shouts as he transforms out of his altmode into the kitchen. “I got first place! The humans are really good drivers! And the speedway president Mr. Boles was really nice to us and even invited us back!! And … What is going on here?” Bumblebee’s exited tale peter off as he notices me and my predicament.

Cliffjumper comes in behind Bumblebee and follows the scout’s line of sight to me. “Pft! Hahaha! Looks like you are in a bit of a tight spot, huu Megs? Hahaha”

“Bee! Congratulations!” Aurora shouts as she pulls Bumblebee into a hug, distracting the young Autobot from me. “And how about you Cliff? Also, did Mr. Boles tell you when they would be sending our share of the profits?”

“I got 4th. Those humans are not bad drivers at all. Mr. Boles says it should take 2-3 days after the races end. They need to make sure they pay the cleaners and other workers their wages first.” Cliffjumper answers as he makes his way to his conjunx. But not before giggling in my face as he passes me. “Hey AC. Looks like you’re having lots of fun with the bitlets.”

“Yes, they are all very sweet.” Arcee answers as she continues to rock the Vehicon sparkling in her arms.

I decide to ignore them as I turn back to Aurora. “Come here, Bee! I have a treat for you!” Aurora begins leading Bumblebee to her table. The scout is so exited, he practically hops as he follows Aurora to her table, his door wings fluttering nonstop.

“What is it?” He asks excitedly. His optics wide in wonder.

“I call it Iced Energon.” Aurora begins to explain. “I based it off of Earth Ice Cream. It’s supposed to be cold with a creamy texture and you’re supposed to be able to easily mix in other flavors to have many different varieties. Knockout’s already tried it and is still eating some over there.” I look to where Aurora is pointing and see that Knockout is eating something out of an energon cube as Breakdown and Bulkhead are doing something on the kitchen table near him. “Here smell these additives and tell me which one smells best to you.” Aurora pushes some small bowls to Bumblebee.

Eventually, Bumblebee selects a green powder additive and Aurora gets out a device I have never seen before. It must be that kitchen gadget she asked Wheeljack to build. It has a base and some kind of support structure that bends at the top. At the end of the bent top is a weird paddle with large gaps in it. In a large oddly thick bowl, Aurora pores in some oddly light blue energon and the additives that Bumblebee selected. She puts the bowl on the base and bends the top of the structure so the paddle is in the bowl. When she turns it on, the paddle begins slowly spinning.

“It will take 20 minutes before it’s done. How about I introduce you to PC while we wait?” Aurora pulls Bumblebee to the Predacon. “Bee, meet PC, my new ward. I’m going to be relying on you to be a good example to PC, Bee. PC, meet Bumblebee, think of him as your older brother. I expect you to respect him as the older and more experienced brother.” Aurora steps back but closely watches them for any signs of a problem.

I also keep a close optic on them. Everyone knows that Aurora and PC are imprinted. But it is pretty obvious that Aurora and Bumblebee have an imprinted relationship too, even if they have not directly said it. I don’t know when they imprinted or even if Aurora knows they did. But familial imprinting is a private matter and not my business. However, it is not unusual for new sparks to feel threatened or jealous about older imprinted siblings, and PC is so much bigger than Bumblebee and Aurora. If he tries to get physical, I will have to shake off the sparklings and intervene before those 2 get hurt.

“Uh, Hi! Nice to meet you! Aurora has been waiting excitedly for you to emerge!” Bumblebee sounds unsure and nervous. He even holds out his servo like he is going to shake the Predacon’s giant clawed servo. PC looms over the small Autobot scout and sniffs him all over. To the scout’s credit, he does not flinch.

But instead of attacking or growling, PC licks Bumblebee, and starts rubbing against him. “Hey!” Bumblebee laughs out as PC rubs so hard that Bumblebee almost gets pushed over. But the small scout maneuvers away and rights himself. PC seems to take this as a sign of wanting to play. He crouches down with his tail swinging in a playful manner.

The 2 of them start some kind of game of chase. Bumblebee would lead PC around the kitchen, avoiding the tables, new sparks, and sparklings, and PC would try to catch the more maneuverable scout. Bumblebee’s laughing and PC’s playful growling shows that it’s all in good fun. However, when their rough housing gets too close to the sparklings I do intervene.

“Grrrrrrr! Watch it you 2. Play away from the sparklings before you hurt someone.” I warn them. Fortunately they both seem to know better than to argue.

“Yes, sir.” Bumblebee says, while PC just whimpers in submission. They move their game to the other side of the open area of the kitchen.

After about 20 minutes, Aurora returns to the device to turn it off and grabs a large and small spoon and small empty energon cube. She scoops out the contents of the bowl and reveals a semi solid light blue energon with green streaks mixed into it. “Bee! Here. Try it and tell me what you think.” At Aurora’s call, Bumblebee and PC stop their game and move over to their shared guardian.

Bumblebee takes the small spoon and scoops out a bite of the iced energon. “Oh Primus! This is so good! It’s sweet and cold and soft all in one! PC you gotta try this!” Bumblebee scoops up a big scoop and holds it out to PC. PC looks at the tiny spoon and licks it up.

PC seems to take a moment to find the taste, but when he does he tries to stick his nose into Bumblebee’s cube. “Hey! If you want more, ask Aurora!” Bumblebee says as he tries to save the rest of his iced energon from the Predacon.

“Hahaha. Here PC.“ Aurora scoops out more iced energon and puts it into a large energon cube. PC happily sticks his nose into the cube and starts scarfing it down before she even puts it on the table. Aurora starts making another batch of iced energon with a yellow additive. Between Bumblebee and PC, the green mix iced energon doesn’t last long.

Aurora finishes with the next batch of iced energon not long after those 2 finish theirs. “Sparklings! Who wants some iced energon?!” Aurora calls out cheerfully. And surprisingly, the sparklings all react at once.

As though ‘iced energon’ were a code word. They scamble off me as fast as they can. “Ow!” The one on my helm even kicks me again on his way down! Once they are on the floor, they race to Aurora as fast as their little legs can go! Aurora starts handing out small containers for each of them. They dip their servos in and scoop out the iced energon, gleefully eating it.

“Aurora? How long ago could you have done that?” I ask with suspicion. She’s clearly already known how to make that even before Knockout and Breakdown arrived. And the sparklings clearly know what it is even though I never saw them try it while I’ve been here!

“You can’t rush science, and cooking is a science. Just ask Shockwave over there.” Aurora answers, but that doesn’t answer my question at all!

“Oh don’t sulk Megs. Here. These are the notes to Aerobolt’s suggested improvements to the Minicon Rights Laws. And take some iced energon with you when you go. But you gotta eat it quickly before it melts.” Aurora flits over to me with a datapad and a small energon cube stacked high with the iced energon from her recent batch.

I decide to not press the issue since she will likely just try to deflect it again. Instead, I make for the door quickly, before the sparklings finish their iced energon and try to climb me again. The silence of the corridor is almost a shock after being in that noisy chaos for so long.

As I make my way back to the bridge, I put the datapad in my subspace to read later and study the cube of iced energon. Even in the container it is cold to the touch. With the yellow additive, the colors have blended in varying degrees making swirls of yellow and green mixed into the light blue. I grab the small spoon stuck in it and take a tentative bite. Bumblebee’s description is correct. But this one also has some tart taste mixed in with the sweetness. It’s not bad.

~~~~~~~~~~

End Notes:

lol! This chapter was so chaotic, even I had trouble keeping up with what all was happening! Hope everyone had fun reading it though.🍨

Next up, the date! I mean outing! And you finally get to see Megatron’s holoform!

Chapter Text

~~~Megatron POV~~~

“Why am I here?” I ask for the dozenth time, hoping the answer this time will be a little clearer.

“I thought we went over this. You need to get out, meet people, let humans see you mingling with people, and exercise your holoform. Besides, this was part of the deal for that dreadful spar." Aurora answers with a scowl. Looks like she’s still bitter about that first spar. "Plus, while we’re out, we should get something for Knockout and Breakdown to congratulate them for their sparkling, and some supplies for the remodeling of the ship for the minicons."

“You keep listing things like that, but I still do not understand the other reason. I can tell that the ones you’ve listed so far are not all the reasons you want me out here. We may have only been working together for a little more than a month, but I have come to learn that there are usually many different reasons you do something that you do not mention. Beside, you have had that devious smile on your face ever since we bridged here. And all those other reasons are far too innocent to be the cause of that smile.” I can tell she is trying to deceive me.

If she were more like Starscream I would have beaten her to get the answers I’m looking for. But she is not Starscream. And every time she has schemed something against me so far, it really has been harmless to me in the long run while being beneficial in the long run too. However, I have never like it in the short run.

But, and I will never tell her this to her face, I am enjoying this outing so far. She had taken me to New York City. The busy streets and tall towers kind of remind me of Iacon the few times I was there, and the back shaded allies remind me of Kaon. The humans keep staring at me and some even take out their phones and point them at me. Some in fear, but most in awe or curiosity. Clearly Aurora’s interview and Indianapolis PR mission have had their desired effects of making us more known in a way that the humans will recognize us but not immediately panic at the sight of us.

However there are a few female’s and male’s gazes that I notice looking at me almost, lustful? I cannot be sure though since there are some expressions that are different between our species. Blushing the same color and not being able to tell if a person is embarrassed or turned on sounds like an inconvenience to me. Aurora just called that culture clash.

But if they do find my holoform appealing I cannot help but puff my chest out with pride. Looking at the reflection on a store window I see myself and try to see the appeal. From a gladiator’s perspective I like that my holoform is a rather large man by human standards. My height is an even 7ft and my shoulders take up more than half of the sidewalk. My arms, legs and chest are pretty thick, Aurora explained that it is usually a physical sign of strength. If that is true I could probably give that human who attacked Aurora a good fight in this form, even if he still had his metal arm.

But unlike Aurora, who has the human’s light Caucasian skin, I have the very dark brown skin of an African American. Aurora called it ironic, then explained that African Americans had suffered some of the worst slavery see on Earth. With that context I actually like my holoform’s skin tone. But my hair, like Aurora’s, shares my real helm’s color instead of the skin tone’s usual pairing. It is a silver gray color and goes down to my shoulders, and it is very full. Aurora commented that it looked like a lion’s mane. Still not sure if she was teasing me or not. Fortunately, my face still has my few scars and fangs left over after that dreadful makeover, and my familiar glowing red eyes still stare back at me.

Aurora had chosen my wardrobe when I told her I did not care what I wore. She had selected an ensemble that she called mafia chic. The upper half of my body is wearing an opened silver business suit jacket with a royal purple pocket square and a black button up shirt with the top buttons undone down to just below my chest exposing some, what Aurora called, chest hair. I am wearing a chain with a smaller version of my purple Decepticon insignia resting on my chest. On my lower half, I am wearing matching silver business pants held up with a thick black leather belt with another Decepticon insignia for the buckle, and matching silver business shoes. Finally, on my back, is a silver gray overcoat with a purple fur collar and a satin purple undercoat, hanging over my shoulders like a cape. I have to admit, I like the cape effect and am considering having a cape made for my mech form. It could be used for more formal occasions.

“However, I there is something important that I need to talk with you about in secret.” Aurora says over our comms. As I look at her I see she is looking around acting like she is just sightseeing. Looks like she has been practicing sending comm messages without giving outward signs of it. When Soundwave and I first tried to teach her she had a difficult time not wanting to mouth the words as she sent the message. Might as well play along.

“What is it?” I comm back while staring at various humans milling about doing who knows what.

“I need your help with a very special training session.” She comms. And with an opening like that, I cannot resist teasing her.

“Ooooh. Have the training sessions we’ve been doing every other day not been ‘special’ enough? Should I make it even more ‘special’ than our first one?” I taunt, being sure to purr through the comms. And it has the desired effect! Aurora’s holoform blushes, and I can see her straining not turn around and glare angrily at me! Even I know it would look weird if my secretary suddenly glared at me without any visible reason.

“Not that kind of special! I need you to train PC and Bee! And I need your help to practice using my Predacon mode!” Aurora yells through the comms. But I need a minute to review what she said. Then another to control my face so I do not appear suddenly surprised and confused for no visible reason.

“Did you say your ‘Predacon mode?’ Aurora, you do not have a Predacon form. You are a semi truck. A vehicle.” I explain.

“I don’t understand it completely either!” She yells back. “I mean I knew there was a way to get a third mode. Optima taught it to Heatwave some time in the future in the Rescue Bots series, and then she got a third mode later in the series! But I have no idea how she did it, and since I don’t have her memories and it is not mentioned in any other literature, I figured that it was information lost with her spark when I isekaied into her body!

“But then when PC and I were relaxing in my room after the cooking lessons, I suddenly scanned him out of nowhere! Next thing I know, I am a dragon Predacon like him! Which makes no sense because Optima’s third mode was a T-Rex! And don’t get me started on how long it took me to transform out of that mode! I’m just lucky nobody decided to pay a late night visit!”

There is so much about that rant I am struggling to wrap my processor around. Optima knew how to train mechs into gaining a third altmode? She could transform into a Tyrannosaurus Rex? And now Aurora could transform into a Predacon?! Does this mean I could gain a third altmode too?

“Aurora! Calm yourself!” I comm, deciding that just wondering will not solve any of my questions. A calm and rational Aurora will. “Now, what do you know about Optima’s training for a third altmode?”

Aurora gets a distant unfocused look on her face, and her pupils disappear. I’ve familiar with this look now. It is how she looks when she is looking over her knowledge of the other universes. I leave her to it. Waiting for her response as I watch our surroundings. It would not be good for us to get attacked while she is distracted, deep in researching the other universes.

“Optima said it ‘requires tremendous energy and concentration’ to ‘harness the energy within’ and something about ‘reaching into your spark to find inner strength.’ Hey! Don’t look at me like that! I’m quoting Optima! These are her words not mine!” Aurora yells at me through the comm.

But I cannot help it! That sounds so much like when Optima would preach at me in the middle of a battle! My face just scowled in disgust at her on reflex as soon as I heard it! But Aurora does not let my lack of ability to control my scowl discouraged her from continuing, “Anyway, it looks like you are supposed to perform an ‘energy focusing process’ while do some kind of meditation which makes you glow for a minute and prepares you for a rescan. After that, you can scan a third altmode whenever you want. Logistically, obviously your spark and T-cog are involved. But I can’t tell if the energy she talked about is your spark energy or a different energy in you.”

I reflect on what Aurora has told me as we continue walking. A mech gaining an entirely different third altmode without surgery or frame reformatting! I definitely need to look into this more. But I think I do have an answer to a couple of Aurora’s questions. “I can’t say anything for how it’s done. But I think I have an idea of what happened with you. I think Optima must have already done that ‘energy focusing process’ before you isekaied into her body. She just had not done a rescan for a third altmode yet.

“And as for your different third altmodes, as Soundwave and I have taught you, our altmodes are limited under certain parameters. We cannot just transform into anything. Factors like: mass, density, and certain irreplaceable biological components influence what we can have as altmodes. But who we are also plays a part, our personalities.

“You still transform into a semi truck, but a smaller one than she had because of your lesser mass after your makeover. But perhaps the different third altmode is an indication of your different personalities. Optima’s was more befitting for a Tyrannosaurus Rex, yours is more befitting for a Predacon. Which is why you would instinctively scan one once you were in a calm environment.” I conclude.

“That actually makes sense. And I have seen Cybertronians who seemed to scan their altmodes while in a trance.” Aurora sounds much calmer now that a few of her questions have been answered. “Thank you for that deduction. But back to my original question. Would you please train me, Bee, and PC?”

“I’m always happy to train you.” I purr during this comm too. Just to see Aurora’s blushing, struggling face. “But why must I train Bumblebee and PC too?”

“PC needs to be trained in controlling his strength, especially during a fight. Who better to teach him than the strongest most experienced warrior we have? And Bee should really continue with his combat training. Just because we are at peace doesn’t mean there aren’t dangers. And Bee hasn’t mentioned anything about quitting being a scout. In cannon, he most likely stayed alive as long as he did because of the training he continued to get. I shudder to think of what might happen to him if he relaxes during training just because of my surrender.” Aurora actually looks like she pales a little as she thinks that.

She really worries about her imprinted youngling, even if their imprint does seem rather new and he is on the crisp of adulthood. Maybe I should ask if she realizes she has imprinted on the scout?

“Very well. I will train them too.” I answer.

“Thank you. No take backs!” Aurora sends over the coms. “And finally! We’re here!” Aurora suddenly shouts aloud in triumph.

Looking up, I see a brightly colored restaurant. But before I can question it, Aurora drags me inside. As soon as the servant in front sees us he pales and quickly shows us to a seat and gives us paper with words on it.

“I-is th-there anything I can start you out with.” He asks nervously, eyeing us like we could transform into our rootmodes right here in the building.

“Yes please! Your Chips and a verity of Salsas. And glasses of milk.” Aurora answers very chipperly. Which again grows my suspicions, especially after her last comm! However, we are in a public place now and I can see other patrons pointing their phones at us.  Therefore, I have to be careful what I say aloud. Hopefully Aurora has been practicing speaking while simultaneously using her comm frequency like I told her.

“What is so special about coming here Aurora?” “Why did you drag me here? What is your real plan?” I ask her verbally and over the comms.

“As I told Miss Everhart. I believe it is important for relations to experience what others experience. And Mexican restaurants like this are a staple across America.” “And honestly, I used to come to restaurants like this in my old life. With my family. I wanted to share the experience.” She tries to answer verbal and over the comms.

She still has a lag time and her verbal speech is still not as smooth as when she’s not trying to comm something at the same time. She is still not used to saying 2 things at once, and still has the habit of wanting to wait until she finishes saying 1 thing before saying another. But I can tell that she has been practicing.

Before I can ask more, the servant returns and puts what I assume Aurora ordered in front of us. It is a basket of oddly misshapened thin triangles and 3 small bowls of some red chunky substance. Neither of which look appetizing to me.

Aurora must find my expression amusing because she starts laughing. “Hahaha! Relax Megs! These are chips and these are salsas. They are an appetizer. And just made with various plant based ingredients. Here see?” Aurora then takes a ‘chip’ and scoops out some of the ‘salsa’ with it. Then she takes it to her mouth and starts chewing it like a rust stick.

“See? Here! You try some.” She pushes one of the other bowls in front of me. But I pay more attention to what she does afterwards.

“Why are you pointing a phone at me now? Why do you even have a phone?” I ask. Every instinct I have developed thanks to Starscream tells me something suspicious is about to happen.

“I got the phone for my PR work.“ She answers.

“And me trying this Earth dish is ‘PR work?’” I am very skeptical.

“It could become PR work.” She answers very vaguely, still not puting that phone down.

I take a long look at the chips and salsa. She is clearly not going to let this go. But that does not mean I have to follow everything she tells me to. I take one of those flimsy chips and dip it in the salsa Aurora dipped hers in.

"Wait. Megs, try the salsa I gave you." Aurora says. Once again pushing the bowl she put in front of me closer.

"No. I think I’ll try yours." I take a big bite. The chip is crunchier than I expected considering how thin it is. The salsa is a little acidic with lots of different flavors in it. It’s pretty good. After growing up on the lowest quality energon in the mines and Pits, I had learned to love and appreciate flavors whenever I could get them.

Then, suddenly the acidity seemed to grow in my mouth. And before long it goes from acidic to feeling like it’s burning my mouth! Why does it feel like that?! I have already swallowed the chip and salsa!

"Here." Aurora suddenly said, pushing the glass of milk closer to me. "Milk helps with the burning."

So that’s why she brought me here, and why she has that phone out! To document my reaction and humiliate me! Well, too bad for her I am more than experienced with this sort of thing thanks to Starscream.

"I don’t know what you are talking about." I say neutrally. I even eat another chip with salsa to emphasize that it is not affecting me.

But scrap it is! And it is getting worse! And that second helping made it worsen even faster! Shouldn’t I be getting used to it?! Aurora is obviously used to it since she had some without any reaction!

"What?! You didn’t even flinch! Darn it! Maybe I shouldn’t have been so nice to a hot and spicy beginner by introducing you to just salsa. I should have taken you to a Cajun restaurant for hot sauce." Aurora sulks as she takes another helping of that Pit forsaken chip and salsa. So there are even worse human foods than this?! Scrap! I’m going to have to be careful of this ‘Cajun Restaurant.’

But right now I have to worry about saving my dignity in this situation! I take a third chip with salsa and find that, yes, it does just get worse the more I try it. So building up a resistance is not an option! Perhaps I can just tough through it until the effect wears off. After all, I’ve fought and won hours long battles with my arm cut off and a sword through my abdomen! I refuse to be bested by a weak organic’s cuisine!

"Waiter." Aurora calls. "We’re ready to take our order."

What is she planing now?

"I’ll have the ‘chicken tacos meal’ and Lord Megatron here will take the ‘spicy tamales meal.’ If you liked the salsa you’ll love these." Aurora says happily, looking completely innocent and not like she is subjecting me to a new form of torture!

I feel like I am offlining on the inside! Scrap! So I won’t be able to just tough it out! Aurora intends to feed me this ‘hot and spicy’ human food for the rest of this outing now that she shrinks I can stand it! I need to think of a new plan! Aurora said that ‘milk’ will help. But if I drink some she’ll know she got the best of me with this human food! Maybe I can get rid of the evidence.

There! One of the servants looks like he will be making a trajectory past us, and he is carrying another glass of milk on his tray. He is looking down at his paper so as long as I am fast he won’t notice. A side glance at Aurora shows that she is also doing something on her phone. So she will not notice either. I just need to time things just right.

I quickly take the milk and chug it. I can feel the cooling effects immediately and almost sigh in relief. But that could alert Aurora so I have to rein it in and focus on the next phase of my plan. As soon as the servant passes, I quickly swap my empty glass with his and set the new glass of milk where mine was. And just in time too because Aurora suddenly looks up at me.

"So, when will we see these humans you wanted me to meet?" I ask nonchalantly. Trying to sound like I am board.

Aurora looks at me, but then she looks at my glass. "Did you just-did you just drink your milk? HA! I knew it! I knew it would affect you!” Aurora shouts in triumph. She couldn’t possibly know! Could she?

“What are you talking about? My milk is right here. Untouched.” I tell her.

But she suddenly snatches the milk from the table and takes a big gulp. After swishing it around in her mouth for a second she looks at me very smugly and says, “One small problem with your alibi Megs. This is not milk. It’s Horchata.”

“What?”

“Horchata is milk based so it looks like milk. But it has a few spices mixed in giving it a slightly different taste and color.” She explains. Now that I look closer and compare it to her glass of milk, the color is a little different.

“Hey! What happened to my horchata?!” Someone yells from across the restaurant. And if my ruse was not already exposed it would be now.

“Hehehehe.” Aurora starts laughing at my failed deception. “Hahahah! S-sorry about that! We had a heat emergency here! We’ll pay for any other drinks they order! Hahahahaha!” The other customers seem placated at this and start ordering other drinks as Aurora continues to laugh at me.

"Here try this one it’s much better I promise." Once she has her laughing under control, Aurora slides over the salsa bowl she had originally put in front of me to try.

"How do I know that this one is not even hotter than the other one?" I am not sure I can trust this human now.

"Because I deliberately tried the hottest one and tried to keep you from trying it, figuring that you would want to try it to spite me. Earthlings call it reverse psychology." Aurora has an extremely pleased grin on her face. Not even trying to hide her pleasure at besting me.

"I cannot believe I fell for such an old and simple trick." But I still dip the chip into the salsa she recommended and found that it is a lot better and not nearly as hot.

Perhaps this is a sign that I am getting old and loosing my touch. It has been quite a long time. I was thrown into the gladiatorial arenas when I was just entering my adulthood. Probably about Bumblebee’s age actually. Then, by the time I started my revolution, I was in the early prime of my life. We Cybertronians are a near immortal race. Meaning we can live for billions of years under the right circumstances. I have not quite reach my first billion, but millions of years of war has not done my longevity any favors. However, now that the war has ended, and I can actually see the end of my original campaign in sight. Perhaps it is time to start thinking about the next few millennia without war like Aurora keeps recommending.

It would be nice to finally start a family now that I have the freedom to, and I would not have to fear them dying early in an oppressive system. But I might not be able to take a conjunx. Too much risk of them just using me to get political power or revenge for old grudges. Perhaps when I retire from the High Lord Protector job. But there should be no problem getting a sparkling now. Even the Autobots had noted that I am still pretty good with sparklings, even if it has been quite a while.

I had adopted a sparkling in the mines back when I was D-16. I had just found him crying next to his offlined creators and could not leave him. Terminus had helped me take care of him since I was still a young spark back then. I treasured N-05 and considered it a privilege to raise him, but my happiness had not lasted. N-05 had gotten cut by one of the mining tools. His cut had not been bad and could have easily been treated. But because he was a disposable’s sparkling, an abomination , no medic in the mines or in all of Tarn had deemed him worthy of receiving treatment! N-05’s injury had gotten infected with rust quickly in those conditions. And he died in my arms soon after.

He had not lived long but I loved him and would have given him the world if I could. Thinking back, that was probably when I gave up hope for Cybertron ever changing before all of us constructed colds and lower caste were wiped out. When I decided that only a firm radical servo would be able to save mechs like us, sparklings like N-05. And I became that firm radical servo. But now that I am so close to making my dream world where sparklings like N-05 will not die needlessly like that, I am rather ashamed that I pushed all my happy memories of him out of my processor all these millennia.

But now, any sparkling of mine would never die like that. Skyquake and Dreadwing can function as his bodyguards. Knockout wouldn’t dare try to refuse treating him. And there will be plenty of the best quality energon for him thanks to the Synth-En formula and mass production machine. And thanks to this new merit system Aurora and I are working on, he will not be burdened with any work he doesn’t want to do.

True we still have a few hurtles to overcome but I am quite confident Aurora and I can handle them with our united forces. Yes, now would be an adequate time to start thinking and looking into having a sparkling again. I could always try to adopt? But I don’t know of any orphanages that are affiliated with the Decepticons or would be willing to let me adopt. And any orphaned Worker sparklings are usually quickly adopted by amicas or other friends. And thanks to the peace, there is no chance of any new orphans any time soon.

Perhaps a surrogate? I would have to be careful about who I choose though. It would have to be someone trustworthy and competent. Someone good with sparklings and knowledgeable about raising them. Who would love him themself and want my sparkling to be healthy and happy. After all, if I do not have a conjunx to help raise my sparkling, it will be important for the surrogate to give some love and care to my sparkling themselves. Sparklings are happiest when both their creators love them, even if they are not conjunxed. An indifferent surrogate could harm my sparkling when he is still young and impressionable. Any sparkling of mine deserves only the best .

The CNA of the surrogate is also important to consider, just in case the sparkling takes after them. They would have to be physically strong. But smart with a good processor. That way, they could also help teach them to make good choices whenever they are around. But they would also need to be attractive too. Sparklings generally do look cute with bright colors and neutral optics. Wait! Why is the surrogate starting to sound like Aurora?!?!

I need to get my helm on strait! Maybe the spicy food is affecting my processor. I snatch the horchata back from Aurora’s hands and drink from it. Hopefully the milk in this drink will help quell the effects of the salsa more.

“Hagh!” Aurora suddenly makes a weird sound.

I look over and see her cheeks turning redder. “What?” I ask having no idea what caused that reaction.

“Nothing. It’s nothing.” She answers very quickly, taking a sip of her own milk now.

“It’s called an indirect kiss.” Someone says behind us.

Aurora spits out her milk in surprise and her face instantly becomes very red. Though it could also be because Aurora is having a coughing fit. Looking behind us I see 2 faces Aurora had me memorize because they are important for our plans.

“An indirect what?” I ask. Not sure if I heard that correctly.

Tony Stark starts explaining with a mischievous smile on his face. “An indirect kiss is when one person eats or drinks something, and then another eats or drinks it too from the same spot.” It sounds ridiculous to me but Aurora’s reaction to this is amusing.

“It’s nothing! It’s just something human youths talk about to mess with each other! It means nothing! Shut up, Stark!” Aurora manages to yell after she recovers from her coughing fit.

“Tony, please don’t mess with them. We need to talk with them.” Steve Rogers speaks up. “Don’t mind Tony. He just likes teasing people. We’re really sorry for interrupting your date, but could we please joined you, just for a bit? We really have something important we need to talk with you about.“

"It’s not a date!" Aurora shouts. Before seeming to realize she said that louder than she intended and notices that other humans are now looking at us funny. Her face grows shockingly redder, and she quickly covers her face while sliding down in her seat. Like she thinks that can somehow hide her.

"Riiiiiiiiiiight~. ‘Not a date.’ Got it." Tony Stark says with a large grin on his face.

~~~~~~~~~~

End Notes:

Totally cried writing the part about N-05!😭🤧 Shout out to Fluff_Off who had introduced me to the original character N-05 in her fanfic, Last of the Primes! https://ao3-rd-3.onrender.com/chapters/158780470?show_comments=true&view_adult=true&view_full_work=false#comments

AnimeAddict578 totally called it for why I made Bee’s skin color medium brown! When you have white and black biracial parents, you often get kids with some kind of shade of brown skin!👏

Next up. The date crashers! Or could it be a double date? I’ll let you readers decide after you read the next chapter.

Chapter Text

~~~Aurora POV~~~

If I didn’t die to isekai here, I wonder what would happen if I died now from embarrassment! I can’t even think of anyway to salvage my dignity! I’m just sitting here like a bump on a log as Megatron, Tony, and Steve get comfortable around me! Megs is now sitting next to me, Tony is across from me, and Steve is next to Tony. I need to get my mind off of my mortification and onto something else.

Like, why is Tony staring at me like that? “What? Is there something on my face Mr. Stark?” I ask while absentmindedly wiping around my mouth.

“No, no. There’s nothing there. Just, noticing how nice your nose is shaped. And your skin tone really works for you, Lord Megatron. My best friend is also black. Can’t wait to tell him that your holoform is too.” Tony casually says. But I am very confused about why he would like the shape of my nose. “And please, call me Tony. Your friends Breakdown and Knockout mentioned that your people don’t have any honorifics like that. Speaking of which, how are they doing? Pregnancy isn’t too hard on your people is it?”

I’m still confused about the nose comment, but fortunately Megatron is composed enough to answer. “Thank you, Tony. We also like the holoforms we got. And despite numerous differences, pregnancy for our people is no more difficult than it is for yours. Last we saw them. Knockout was trying to work while Breakdown and Breakdown’s Amica, Bulkhead, fussed all over him. It was getting to the point where even Knockout was getting tired of the attention.”

Steve answers this time. “Pfthahah. Guess that’s 1 similarity between our kinds. Good husbands will always fuss over their expectant spouses until said spouse gets sick of them. But may I ask what an Amica is? I don’t think we have those on Earth, unless this is another modern thing I’ve yet to learn?” Steve looks to Tony for confirmation and Tony shakes his head no, they do have that here on Earth.

I answer this time since I am the Earth Liaison. “I take it, since you’ve heard Knockout and Breakdown’s interview, you’ve also heard about how we are able to choose soulmates?” As soon as they nod I continue. “Well, we are also able to choose platonic soulmates. Conjunx is our term for our chosen romantic soulmates. Amica is our term for our chosen platonic soulmates.”

“Oooh. That’s pretty cool. Is there a big difference between Amicas and Conjunxes?” Tony asks.

“Aside from the obvious intercourse and child bearing, an amica bond is weaker than a conjunx so the empathetic and telepathic link is not as strong. Because of that, they are not obligated to know every little thing about each other. But they do share a much deeper level of trust than with anyone else in their lives, aside from their conjunx of course.” I answer.

“I can think of a few people I would like to make my amicas if I could.” Tony said as Steve nodded along.

And that’s another thing I am even more confused about than Tony’s comment, Tony and Steve’s dynamic! They look so comfortable together! Which should not be how they are according to the movies! Around this time in the movies, it felt  more like they were kept at a distance from each other, interpersonally and literally. Both because of that stupid ‘Ironman, yes. Tony Stark, not recommended’ report; and because of Tony living in NYC and Steve in Washington DC around this time. Because of that, I was more expecting Tony than Steve joining us. Especially since I even deliberately chose a restaurant near Stark Tower to make sure of it. And yet, they arrived here together!

Sure, I knew Steve would hunt us down and find us eventually after I unmasked Bucky on live TV. But I was expecting him to team up with Natasha or Clint or even Sam, if he’s met him yet, like he did in the movies in order to save Bucky. Him teaming up with Tony to find us is a surprise. How did his happen? When did this happen? Was it something I did or a natural cannon divergences?

"Hey, waiter, what’s your best alcoholic drink?" Tony asks the poor waiter who looks like he might be having a panic attack.

"Waiter, Tony will just have a water and juice." Steve pipes up before leaning over to Tony and whispering, "You know you shouldn’t have alcohol in your condition. Your liver is compromised too." Fortunately, even in our holoforms Cybertronian have very good hearing so we heard that.

But that is another 2 surprises, Tony still has the Arc Reactor? I thought he got rid of it to make up to Pepper after the Mandarin. I know the Mandarin happened because I looked it up online. And Steve knows about the Reactor and what it does to Tony? If I remember correctly, he was never around Tony long enough for him to learn before he got it removed, and the report on Tony never mentioned the effect of the Reactor on him.

"Oh come on Cap. Just a little. You don’t need to baby me. I’m a big boy and am legally allowed to drink." Tony pouts and tries to give Steve puppy eyes.

"Well some adult has to make sure all little boys make wise grown up decisions." Steve sasses. He actually sasses Tony back!

"Pft. Whatever you say, grandpa." Tony sasses back.

I just keep seeing more and more signs of how close these two are! They trust each other enough to share weaknesses, they tease and sass each other, and they are generally being their own quirky selves! In the movies, Steve always kept a professional distance, while Tony tried to use his ‘charming’ mask to be friendly with him while feeling uncomfortable because of Howard’s portrayal of Steve growing up. I was expecting the same here! I was anticipating needing to lock those 2 in a closet or something until they actually talked, worked out their differences, and prevented the Avengers Civil War! But right now, it looks like that won’t be necessary! What changed? I haven’t directly done anything to either of them. Unless you count giving Tony a ticket to the auction and getting Bucky. But how would that lead to this? The power of the Butterfly Effect is awesome. And really scary.

As confusing as this development is, I really need to focus on what we are here for. But first, we need to keep up the small talk. "So, what brings you 2 here? Don’t tell me you’re on a date yourselves." "Pffffft!" I was not expecting that reaction. Tony spit out the water the waiter just gave him! And, do I see his ears turning red? Looking over at Steve, I see he isn’t doing much better.

He’s as red as the red strip on his shield and stuttering, “D-date? Us? No no no no. We-we’re not on a date. I just live with Tony. I mean we arriving together because Tony gave me one of his rooms. No! Wait! I don’t mean it like that! Tony’s just helping me get used to the new era and showing me how people live nowadays. Wait! That didn’t sound right either! Tony’s just really generous. So he mf!” Steve’s rambling gets cut off by Tony’s hand.

“He-he means that since Steve has no where to go now and is ignorant of the modern dangers, and SHIELD has been busy lately, I’ve offered to by his teacher in all things modern. Since you know I am a Futurist. Who better to teach him, right?” Tony tries to explain, and Steve nods along while his mouth is still covered. But Tony’s ears are still red! I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a time he blushed!

“Oh, of course.” Megatron finally says. But as I look over at him, he looks very amused. Which is not always a good sign. “It is important for close teammates to support and care for each other even in their day to day life. Living under the same roof just makes that easier. Helps build camaraderie and trust.”

“Yeah. Exactly!” Tony says hurriedly. I don’t know what’s going on with Tony and Steve but I really need to get us off this topic.

“Ahem. Speaking of your futuristic inventions Tony, I’m very fascinated with your AI research. We have a few AIs, but yours sounds more personable than ours.”

“Really? I would have thought that all your tech would be superior to ours.” Tony says with interest. I’ve seen that look in every Iron Man movie. It’s the look of Tony in science mode.

“It’s really more of a cultural development difference I think.” I begin to explain. “The Functionists were in power for many generations, during that time, they wanted to make the living inhabitants their slaves. They invested in ways to make us mindless and emotionless. Essentially brainwashed robot slaves that could only do what they wanted and nothing else. AIs that could aid people were not on their list of developments to support or encourage.”

“Hmf. That figures. From what little I’ve heard of your old government regime, they seem like the type who would ban anything good in the world.” Tony says with a scowl.

“That reminds me.” Steve suddenly leans over and reaches out his hand to Megatron. “Please let me formally congratulate you for saving your planet and people from your tyrants.”

That got me by surprise, and judging from Megatron’s face, it got him by surprise too! I had hoped to portray Megatron and his revolution as freedom fighters. But I wasn’t expecting it to be this effective this quickly. And to Captain America of all people! I try to subtly look around, and see that almost all the people here are watching us and most are recording us!

“Ah, ahem. Thank you.” Megatron says as he leans over and takes Steve’s hand. “But I cannot take all the credit. Many good men made our revolution possible. And many were lost in the war.” I have no doubt that the videos and pictures of Captain America and Lord Megatron shaking hands will go viral!

“Unfortunately, that is always the price of war. But I’m sure that this war was worth it, compared to if you all had done nothing. And I’m sure all your fallen comrades knew that and were honored to contribute to a better future for your people.” Steve answers solemnly. As they shake hands, they both bow their heads in remembrance for their fallen friends.

Steve’s way more right than he knows. I can confirm with 110% certainty that the war, no matter how bad it got, was worth it. The Functionist universe was worse than a nightmare.

"Ahem. So is that also something you are looking to do while you are here? To learn more about the areas your old tyrants neglected to develop but we have been able to?" Tony asks, breaking up the somber atmosphere.

"Yes. And not just in the developments of conveniences like your AIs." Megatron says as he and Steve sit down. "I personally want to look into your safety developments for your planet’s various labor industries and see about adapting them to ours. As you can probably guess, our old oppressors also did not care about how safe we were while we worked. Results for them were all that mattered, how many died while making said results did not. My people have tried to make work environments safer for our laborers, but the war slowed down progress in many areas not related to warfare.”

“Oh, well if you want to learn about making safe and convenient tech for leisure and work, Tony here’s the man for you!” Steve got an extremely happy and proud look on his face as he started singing Tony’s praises. “He’s really diligent and thoughtful with everything he invents! He always wants to make something that’s best for the individual’s needs and preferences. And he never quits until it is completely safe and working to his high standards. And mf!”

“That’s-that’s enough Cap!” Tony once again interrupts while covering Steve’s mouth. And his ears are blushing again! Tony Stark blushing, not just once, but twice!

“But, yes Stark Industries prides itself with inventing only the best.” Tony quickly recovers from his embarrassment and now has a serious look on his face. I wonder if he could teach me how to do that quick expression change? “But I can’t divulge too much. Not here at least. Company patents and other rules like that. Why don’t we go somewhere more private and talk about this more there?”

Aaah, Tony’s giving us an incentive to move somewhere else for a secret conversation, and not to talk about inventions of convenience. Well fortunately for him, this is part of our plan too.

Megatron happily answers, “Very well. We would greatly appreciate your help in this endeavor. Once we finish our food we may go.”

“Why wait?” Tony asks. “Why not just order to-go and have our food and talk somewhere more private? Waiter! Pack up their meals and ours, please. We’re be taking our lunch on the road. And also, charge their meals to my account.”

Oh dear. Here Tony goes again. "That’s not necessary Tony. We have more than enough money after the race." I try to get Tony to not start spending money on us. I don’t want him to start treating us the way SHIELD had him treat the Avengers!

"Nonsense! You’re visiting dignitaries and I’m hosting you at my place. This is just common Earth courtesy." Tony defends. And knowing how stubborn he gets with his generosity, he really won’t let this go.

After we got the food, we walk to Avengers Tower. Even though it was only a block away, we got lots of stares and phones pointed at us. I’ll have to see what people are saying later. Once we enter the building things calm down and we make it to the penthouse without incident.

"Welcome back, Sir, Captain. I see you’ve brought guests." JARVIS says as soon as we step out of the elevator.

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Megatron jump and get into a fighting stance. But I’m too busy getting stars in my eyes to care! I loved JARVIS in the movies! I am determined to save him here! But right now I need to act like I have just read about him until now! “Is this your AI?”

“Yep! Aurora, Megatron, meet JARVIS. JARVIS, meet Lord Megatron of the New Cybertron Civilization, and Aurora, his secretary.” Tony introduces us as he takes his bags to the living room coffee table.

“Hello, JARVIS. It’s a true pleasure to meet you.” I answer as the rest of us follow Tony’s lead to the living room.

“Likewise, Lady Aurora.” JARVIS answers in his usual polite British accent.

“You don’t need to call me Lady. I would not be considered a Lady in either of our cultures.” I explain.

“Forgive me, Lady Aurora. But it the Lord and Leader of an entire planet sees you competent and trustworthy enough to be his personal secretary, then you must have some of the qualifications to be considered a Lady.” JARVIS argues back.

“Ha!” Megatron suddenly laughs. “You were right. This AI is a lot more personable!” I like that Megatron seems to like JARVIS, I don’t think I like that they both seem to be teaming up against me.

“Well, now that introductions are out of the way, let’s get down to business.” Megatron says as he sets his bags down and flops onto the sofa like he owns the place.

“Lord Megatron, please behave yourself.” I try to scold.

“Why should I? We are finally safe from prying eyes. Why keep up the act? Let’s just get down to why we were brought here.” Megatron casually argues while pointedly looking at Tony and Steve.

“Megatron…” I try to scold again. We can’t be building hostilities with the Avengers! We need them!

“No, it’s alright. After all, we are not the only ones after something.” Tony answers with a sly look on his face as he too plops down on the seat in front of Megatron. “After all, why else would you go to a 4 star restaurant that just so happens to be in the shadow of my building, if not to get our attention?”

The two stare each other down for what feels like minutes. “Should we do something?” Steve leans over to whisper to me. “I don’t think so.” I whisper back.

Eventually, Megs must find something satisfying. “Ha. I like you human. You’re smart and cunning, but you still speak your mind! Yes, let’s skip the political speech and just admit what we both are here for.” Megatron and Tony then just start digging into the food, taking what they want from the spread. I’m not sure how to feel about these 2 getting along so well so quickly.

Once Steve and I join them and get our own selections of food, the real talk begins. “You 2 may go first. We have quite a bit to go over with you. We can save that for last.” Megatron says as he tries a taco.

“Very well.” Steve starts off. “It’s about that attacker who was disguised as a cameraman during your interview, Aurora. I know him, and I know he would never willingly work for HYDRA! Please! Is he alright, and is there any way I can speak with him?” Steve is practically bowing at us at the end of his speech. It is a really good thing he did not try this when we were in the restaurant.

Megatron is the one who answers him. “Calm yourself, Steve. We do not torture or even interrogate brainwashed or mind controlled captives. It is highly counterproductive and a waste of time. Your friend is perfectly fine, if not hungry from our mediocre human food we have managed to obtain until now. We were actually planing to take any leftovers to him after our outing.”

Steve deflates in his relief so much so, I am surprised he does not float to the floor like a large, popped balloon. “Wait! ‘Brainwashed’? ‘Mind Controlled?’” Tony pipes up. Leave it to him to notice the small but important details.

“Yes. Brainwashed and mind controlled.” Megatron answers as he finishes his second taco. “Once we rounded up all the attackers, we noticed that particular human was not actually like the others. Catatonic, obedient, even when we got rough with him he did not react to the pain. We have encountered several like that among our own species.  Puppets whose missions have failed, and now do not know what to do without their controller’s orders. Our scientist, Shockwave, soon confirmed that his brain had been tampered with and he was a mind controlled puppet, not an attacker. We then treated him accordingly.”

“Mind controlled. Bucky’s been mind controlled. That explains everything!” Steve looks like he’s no longer all here.

“What do you mean by ‘treated him accordingly’?” Tony asks since it looks like Steve is not in the mindset to ask any questions.

“Oh. Right. Brainwashing and mind control are relatively new and unfamiliar crimes on your planet. So there is no established procedure to deal with captives who are victims of either.” Megatron sounded surprised by this need to explain further. And if I didn’t know any better. Even I would think that he has not been expecting to explain all this to the Avengers ever since he and I had made our future plans. “Well, when we discover someone who looks like they are not acting under their own volition, the first thing we do is identify if they are brainwashed, mind controlled, or a mix of both. Then we identify the characteristics of them and the techniques used to inflict the brainwashing. In your friend’s case. He is a mix of both. According to Shockwave’s scans and Soundwave’s hacking into HYDRA’s database, they used a combination of conditioning and lobotomies to brainwash him. And a combination of chemicals and electric alterations to his brainwaves to mind control him.”

Poor Steve looked green as Megatron listed everything done to his best friend. Tony didn’t look much better.

“W-wait. You keep interchanging ‘brainwashing’ and ‘mind control’ like they are 2 different things.” Tony asks. Leave it to him to put his scientific curiosity before his nausea.

I take over from here since I might be able to illustrate their differences to them better than Megatron. “They are. Brainwashing involves using some outside influence to changing the victim’s memories, way of thinking and/or emotional responses to align with the brainwasher’s desired plans for the victim. This can be done with simple manipulation or by controlled abuse on the victim’s brain, and the effects are usually permanent unless something is done to try to cure them. Mind control involves controlling the victim’s body even if their mind and emotions do not want to do it. Like how you can use remote controls to manipulate a toy instead of letting it go on Autopilot. Because of that, mind control usually requires a controller to continuously renew the mind control. And of course, victims can be mixes of both do varying degrees.”

Megatron takes over from there. “Fortunately for your friend, Earth’s brainwashing and mind control techniques are relatively primitive compared to the Functionist’s that they had developed. We have needed to make some adjustments due to the difference in species, but my scientists think they will be able to remove most of the brainwashing from your friend. At least enough so that he will be able to make his own decisions. After that, we will see about getting him some therapy and questioning him about what he remembers of HYDRA.”

“Then-then what happens to Bucky?” Steve finally asks fearfully.

“As long as he cooperates with our investigation, nothing. He will be free to go once we verify his information and we are positive he does not know anything else.” Megatron answers simply like it is obvious.

“Really? You’ll just let him go? No jail time, no execution? And you’re okay with this, Aurora? Sorry Cap. It’s gotta be asked.” Tony asks us before directing his last comments to a very worried looking Steve.

“Of course I’m okay with it.” I answer. “I am well aware that brainwashed and mind controlled victims like Bucky’s are not accountable for their actions. They are tools, their controllers are the ones at fault. As long as Bucky willingly helps us find the people who sent him after me, I hold no grudges against him personally. Besides, according to NCC law, he is not guilty of any actions his body performed while under mind control. So even if I did hold any misplaced grief against him, I would have no legal ground to back me.” As I say this I pray that Tony will remember this when he learns about his parents.

“Can Bucky come here? I might be able to help him remember since we’re old friends. And Tony’s tower is the most secure place on Earth. And Tony can also help treat Bucky. And-“ “Wait!” Tony again silences Steve. Only this time, he just uses one figure to do so.

“Steve, hear me out. I think Bucky might actually be safer staying with the Cybertronians.” Steve does try to protest, but Tony silences him with his whole hand this time before continuing. “Let me finish before you object! Megatron was right earlier. Earth has very little knowledge about dealing with this type of brainwashing and mind control. The only example we have is with Loki and his staff, and we didn’t even handle that well. Plus this is clearly something entirely different. It sounds like the their scientist, Shockwave, may be the most knowledgeable about this sort of thing on the entire planet right now. I’m flattered you have such confidence in my smarts, but if I were to try treating Bucky, I would be starting from square one! But these guys are starting from what sounds like generations of first hand knowledge and experience.

“Furthermore, Bucky might be safer with them both legally and from HYDRA. I can’t think of a harder place for HYDRA to infiltrate than a high tech alien space ship that’s already on the look out for them. And i hate to admit it Cap, but most people will not be as forgiving or understanding as Aurora. You’ve seen the Winter Soldier files I’ve hacked. Even with the knowledge that Bucky was under HYDRA’s control, people are going to want a scapegoat to blame and punish. And even if we can get the controllers behind the Winter Soldier’s crimes, people can be really petty and demand more than just punishing the controllers when there is a living breathing weapon they can punish too. The fact is Steve, Earth just isn’t developed in this area enough to adequately do Bucky justice.”

Wow. Tony is really good. He just hears about all this and he already comes up with all the pros and cons of various future actions. That’s a certified genius brain for you. But poor Steve looks crest fallen. Well, at least he is hearing Tony out and not immediately renouncing his argument. This is a level of trust that they didn’t have in  the movies.

“No. Cap. No! Don’t give me the kicked puppy left out in the rain look!” Tony dramatically covers his eyes like Steve’s face physically pains him. “Look. I’m not saying it’s hopeless for Bucky! Just difficult right now. I’m sure we can figure something out. Here look. I’ll text my lawyers and tell them to scrap the blackmail legal case for Bucky and start up on a brainwashed/mind controlled legal case for him instead. Now that we know Bucky is safe right now. We can start getting Earth safe for him once he’s cured and can come back.”

"Really Tony?" Steve asks getting a hopeful star eyed look. "You really think Bucky can still be safe here? And that your lawyers will be able to help?"

I interject here to make an offer, "If it’s any help, we can talk with your lawyers and tell them about our experiences with this kind of thing and why we have our procedures for them. And once Bucky is more stable, we can invite Steve onto our ship. It is possible he might be able to help because of their past. But it is also possible that you won’t be able to help, Steve. I should warn you. There are many instances where the victim is never fully cured from their brainwashing. Your friend would not be the first who never gets his memories back and will essentially need to remake his life and connections from square 1. We have records of a brainwashed mother never remembering her own child and husband even after our best treatments. She needed to get to know them as though they were strangers." Not lying. There is a list of many different victims of the Functionist regime in the Decepticon’s database.

"That would be very helpful. And I will also start working to prepare for Bucky reentering into society if he doesn’t fully recover. JARVIS, start looking into cases of people needing to relearn how to live after severe cases of amnesia." “At once Sir.” Tony and JARVIS quickly get to work, while multitasking with our conversation. "But what’s the catch? Those are very generous offers but they can’t be just for free." Looks like Tony’s business model is on. Good.

"Well, if that is primarily what you wanted to see us about, we might as well move on to why we needed to see you." Megatron says. And once Tony and Steve nod their heads in agreement, Megatron starts explaining our reasons for being here. "There are actually 3 reasons we are here. One reason is to discuss what we have learned about HYDRA, and begin making plans to deal with them.”

“I thought you were going to give that intel to the government?” Steve asks.

“We were.” Megatron begins explaining. “But during our investigation we found out that most governments and organizations on Earth have some HYDRA spy in key positions. America is no exception. There is even a very high ranking spy within your SHIELD. Therefore, we thought it best to give this intel to you.”

“There’s a spy in SHIELD? In Peggy’s organization?” Steve looked both shocked and outraged.

“Why us? I mean I’m flattered, but why trust us with this information? Who’s to say we aren’t spies?” Ton asks.

“Because of a very important file Soundwave found in his hacking. There’s an algorithm HYDRA has made. It tells them who is and will most likely become great threats to them. They made it to help them determine who they need to kill and when. Your names are very high on that list. Therefore, we are very confident that you 2 are not spies.” After Megatron finishes explaining, Tony and Steve look white as a sheet.

“Okay. Let me see if I got this right. HYDRA is trying to make a kill list, with math? That-that will most likely end up putting a target on half the population of Earth! Especially if they don’t cross check their conclusions!” Tony answers. I can practically see the numbers going through his head as he figures out the ramifications. “Wait! I gotta ask. Are we higher on the list than Fury?”

“Yes, you’re higher on the threat list than Fury.” I answer, while struggling not to smile or start laughing myself. “Ha! I cannot wait to rub that in his one eye!” Tony laughs.

“Ahem! Back to the topic.” Steve interrupts Tony’s gloating. “Is there anything else that you found?”

"Yes, HYDRA has an AI." "WHAT?!” Tony yells in enraged indignation, interrupting Megatron. "Not an AI like yours Tony. He was originally a human. But somehow he downloaded his mind into machines in a bid for immortality. He’s called Arnin Zola, and he is the mastermind behind the algorithm."

"Apparently, he also lost his common sense with his body." Tony comments in a huff. "But thanks for the warning JARVIS and I will be extra careful of foreign AIs while we continue our own hacking into HYDRA."

"I’m afraid it only gets worse. HYDRA plans to combine the algorithm with the Helicarriers’s automatic weapons system you have been helping SHIELD build, Tony. That way the Helicarriers will be able to quickly take out all their potential enemies from a vantage point most weapons will not be able to effectively counter." After Megatron finishes explaining this, Tony and Steve have their mouths dropped open in shock.

Tony recovers first. "WHAT?!?!?!” Tony jumps up and starts pacing and ranting around "They are doing what?! And with the Helicarriers Fury talked me into consulting him with?! I told Fury they were a bad idea!!! That I don’t make weapons anymore!! But does he listen? NO!!! Why should he listen to a certified genius?! One of the smartest men on Earth?! It’s all ‘it’s for the greater good Stark.’ ‘You’re father was an invaluable help to us with the weapons he invented.’"

"Tony!” Steve jumps up to grab Tony and stop his pacing. "Calm down. You can yell all this at Fury later." Once Steve wrestles Tony back to the sofas, he turns to us. "So to recap, HYDRA has a dangerous algorithm powered by a human turned AI that we need to destroy. And some Helicarriers under their control too that we should probably destroy as well. Does that about cover it?"

"Yes. We will happily give you the algorithm and list so you can know who to trust. And I also offer you the services of my Seeker armada and rescue forces." Megatron answers.

"I’m not sure what a Seeker armada is but we will happily accept all the help we can get." Tony answers. "But why offer your rescue forces?"

"To help minimize civilian casualties." I answer. "The Helicarriers are hidden in major cities. Ideally, we will be able to prevent them from being launch entirely, but if they are, then it will turn into a dog fight over heavily populated areas. Our rescue forces will be able to help your local ones to minimize casualties in the worst case scenario."

"Ah. Yes, that makes sense. And we will happily accept their help too. Is there anything else we need to talk about?" Tony asks.

"Yes. There is going to be a planetary alignment in less than a year’s time." Megatron starts explaining the impending Allignment and Convergence. Hopefully we can convince them the seriousness of it with our minimal data we were able to get. "It is a once in several millennia astronomical occurrence. Earth is at the end of the alignment. Because of that, there will likely be strong magnetic disturbances all over your planet, causing bizarre natural phenomena, as well as supernatural considering Earth’s connection to 8 of the other planets that will be aligned."

"What do you mean supernatural, and what 8 other planets?" Tony asks.

"From our scans. It looks like Earth is connected to 8 other planets by some kind of energy chain. Because these planets will all be aligned together. The energies connecting them will be focused in a line.” Megatron explains, but when I see Steve and Tony’s confused faces, I decide to throw in my 2¢.

“Think of it like when sunlight is focused through a magnifying glass, with Earth at the end. Only instead of sunlight, it’s these unusual energies shared among 9 different planets.”

“Wait. 9 planets? Could this be connected with Thor’s 9 Realms thing?” Tony asks.  Thank goodness Tony is putting the Convergence together!

“Thor should still return soon with information from Asgard. We can ask him then.” Steve concluded.

“We have not met Thor yet or been to Asgard. But perhaps Loki could help too?” I throw in the bait, hoping Megatron and I will be able to steer the conversation where we need it to go next.

“Loki?! Why would he help?! Why would you even ask? He tried to conquer Earth only a few months ago!” Tony yells furiously. I knew he would be the hardest to convince since Loki did try to throw him out his window, but we need Loki’s help with so much of the future problems.

"Wait." Megatron says. "You actually thought Loki was really trying to conquer your planet back then?" He sounds genuinely confused and like he doesn’t already know everything. I really picked a good actor to be my partner in crime!

"Well it sure felt like it when he threw me off my tower!" Tony yells, gesturing to his window that Loki threw him out of.

"You have several suits of armor that can be flown by remote control. Even I know that." Megatron pointed out. "If someone had thrown me off a tower even though I can fly, I would have just taken it as a challenge for a friendly dual."

"He opened a wormhole and let an army into New York City!" Steve argued next.

"A very stupid strategic move any strategist would be embarrassed to make." Megatron countered. "As a former Warlord and Commander of an army, I would never make a 1 way entrance and exit in the middle of enemy territory. Not only would my soldiers be at a disadvantage on enemy turf before my whole army could get through, but if the exit were to be closed, then all my soldiers would be stranded with no way to get reinforcements or retreat. If that is Loki’s idea of a good invasion then I do not want to see his idea of an embarrassing loss. I might die from second hand embarrassment."

"He brainwashed several people! Didn’t you just say that that is a big no no in our culture?" Tony argued next.

Megatron looks at me in confusion. "Do they-do they not realize that-?" Wow Megs is a really good actor! I’m almost buying it!

"Realize what?!" Tony asks sounding like he is getting impatient.

"I did tell you that they are not as developed in that area. In retrospect, it is understandable that they would not have realized it yet." I answer playing along.

"Would you 2 please tell us what you are talking about?" Steve asks trying to sound calm and not like he is just as worked up as Tony. He is not that good of an actor though but I give his attempt a 5 out of 10.

Megatron answers this time. "Loki was mind controlled during the invasion." " WHAT?! " Steve’s and Tony yell, but Megatron is not deterred. "It’s quite obvious when you know what signs to look for."

Tony then jumps ups and yells, "JARVIS! Pull up the footage we have of Loki!" JARVIS quickly complies and projects multiple holographic screens around us all with videos of Loki. "Show us." Tony orders desperately.

Fortunately, we have gone over this and carefully analyzed the video footage Soundwave hacked for real signs of the mind control. Megatron quickly finds one of the video feeds we found. “There, look at his face. See how they it twitches and shifts suddenly? Like he is about to make an expression then abruptly stops and switches to another one?”

Tony and Steve carefully look at the  footage and see what Megatron is talking about. “I thought that that was just bad acting or Loki poorly trying to rein in his tantrums.”

“In a sense you are half right. However, if it was only that, then the transitions of expressions would be much smoother. This looks like someone did a poor editing job of 2 videos. Like they spliced on Loki making 1 expression in the middle of him making another.” Megatron begins to explain. “This is a classic sign of mind control. Because in mind control, the victim still has his emotions and thoughts. So subconsciously, his body tries to respond to his emotions. Like when you suddenly start laughing and cannot control it. But because of the mind control, his body is not able to finish the expression he starts. It cuts off unnaturally to do what his controller wants instead.”

Tony and Steve then start pulling up multiple different videos of Loki and zoom in on his face. In each one they see the twitching and sudden shifts. I hope they are warmed up enough for this next .

“Another thing I noticed, is his eyes. For most of his time here. His eyes are blue. But then when he is arrested, his eyes are green.” I pull up a random video of Loki before the invasion, then I pull up the only video we could get of Loki after the invasion. It wasn’t easy since we couldn’t hack Tony’s network without likely angering him. But fortunately, Soundwave had no problem hacking SHIELD. I then zoom in on bother pictures’s eyes. They are very clearly different colors.

Tony and Steve stare at the before and after images for several minutes in complete shock. Tony gets up agin and starts pacing. Steve is too lost in thought to get up and stop him this time. Megatron and I just continue eating while they process.

“He… he was mind controlled.” Oh good. Tony is starting to process this. “But wait. If Loki was mind controlled, then who was really behind the invasion?” I know, but I’m not sure I should say yet.

“Loki likely knows.” Thank goodness Megatron knows how to respond to this. “Did Thor not mention anything about Asgard’s findings when they questioned Loki? Or find anything suspicious during their examination of him? He must have gotten a physical examination after that battle. Mind control usually leaves physical signs that good scanners would pick up. Either in the brain’s chemistry or scars around the head, depending on how the mind control was inflicted.”

“Thor said that Loki was in prison. He didn’t say anything about questioning him or an examination.” Steve finally answered.

“Yeash! Did they even give him a trial? Has no one in this galaxy ever heard of mind control?” I ask the question I’ve wanted to ask in Loki’s defense for years!

“We will ask Thor when he gets back. Looks like we will be asking him a lot of questions when he gets back. He’d better not ghost us again.” Tony grumbles the last part. But he does have a point. Thor does seem to only operate on his own time table. And we need to work fast to prepare for the Convergence/Allignment.

“Is there no one on Earth that Thor makes regular contact with? Or who he will likely try to find aside from you Avengers?” I ask. It would be a good idea to get Jane in on this before the Convergence

“Yes. A woman named Jane Foster.” Tony answers. “She and Thor have history. And she has been studying the Einstein-Rosen Bridge or the Bifrost as Thor calls it… Wait! You said your scans can detect energies connecting our planet to 8 others like a chain. Could that be the Einstein-Rosen Bridge and the Bifrost?” Leave it to Tony to make scientific connections with only a little information.

“I’m not sure. But if you can get this Jane Foster to help with this, we can provide copies of our scan results.” Megatron offers. Fortunately, Soundwave really did find these energies when we were trying to come up with evidences for our future plans. Foresight really is a handy thing.

“Yes. That would be really helpful and I’m sure it will get Miss Foster here really fast.” Tony says as he pulls up a new holographic screen and starts typing notes faster than a normal human would be able to.

“Before you get too lost in your science Tony, we have 1 more thing we need to discuss. And that 1, we will especially need your help with.” Megatron interrupts.

Steve needs to physically pull Tony away from the screen and get him to focus on us. “What? Oh uh. Okay. What’s this last thing?” Tony asks but anyone could tell that he just wants to get this over with so he can get back to sciencing.

“It is about our long term stay here. We cannot keep relaying on the big news stations to put out information on us. We cannot trust that they will not eventually alter what we try to give them and spread propaganda on us for their own gain.” Megatron says extremely grave and serious. It definitely gets Steve and even Tony’s full attention.

“You’re right there. The gossip stations are the worst and the things even reputable news outlets will do for extra money is disgusting. But what other means is there?” Tony asks.

I take over from here. This is mostly my idea after all. “Social media, Live-streaming, content blogs. That sort of thing. We hope to bring humans to our ship to build relationships with and share our world with them. Then they can share it with your world through their social media. But not just any humans. Specifically human youths. Say between 12-18 years old. human youths are much more adaptable and open minded; furthermore, they are more adept at using modern social media. We think they will not only best be able to reach the most people and talk with the next generation, but also be the most willing to learn our culture and share theirs.”

Tony looks pensive as he considers the statistics of our plan. Steve looks worried. “How would you even get children into your ship? And would they really be safe? What if one of your people steps on them?” Looks like Steve’s in mother hen mode.

“With an after school camp on our alien ship. Like a foreign exchange only instead of whole school semesters it will only be select days after classes and weekends. The kids can come to our ship via ground bridge. We can help them with school work, while sharing our culture. Then we can send them home later.

“And you do not need to worry about them getting stepped on. Cybertronians do not just come in the large size you have seen so far. We also come in sizes little bigger than you. The only reason you have not seen them yet is because they are a minority and have more difficulty learning other languages. But what matters is that, the children visiting can just stick to the catwalks and passages built for these smaller Cybertronians. And to further protect them, we can assign guardians to them to help watch them and keep them out of any dangerous areas.” I answer. I really owe Aerobolt for the suggestion of building those passageways and catwalks around the Nemesis.

“What makes you think the governments would agree to this? Or the children’s parents?” Tony asks next.

“I’m expecting the governments to be our biggest supporters for this. Especially after their attempts to spy on us during the auction fail. With our ship being in space, they have no hope of any spies making it in there. These kids revealing our world to Earth via social media will be their next best bet to find out our secrets. And as for the parents. We’re willing to accept adult chaperones who are related to the children too. And I’m sure that the parents would feel even more secure if Earth’s mightiest heroes endorsed this as well as chaperone their children.” I hint. Pointedly looking at both Tony and Steve.

“Ah ha! There’s the angle! You want us to play babysitters for you! That’s why you’ve been so cooperative and supportive with us!“ Tony yells pointing at us like some lawyer in court.

“Don’t tell me you wouldn’t happily babysit if it means you would also get a chance to see alien tech close up and frequently? And we all know you would be happy to babysit, Steve, since it means you would be able to see Bucky every day you are there.” I give them both a knowing smirk.

Steve looks like a puppy offered a treat. No doubt he will help with this plan. Tony’s confidence visibly deflates as he realizes that I totally called him out on his science nerdiness. He soon crosses his arms and plops back down in his seat with a sulk. “Hmf. Whatever. So how frequently are we talking about?” Tony asks. Good, looks like the science nerd has accepted his fate.

“However often you can get it approved. I am aware that this kind of camp will require permits and the permition of the governments. Since you are an internationally famous businessman, I was hoping you could help us with the official process and proposal.” I bat my eyes at him. Acting like I am not 100% sure that he will agree to helping us.

“Hmf. You’ve really put a lot of thought into this.” Tony calls me out.

“Pft. You have no idea.” Megatron grumbles as he continues munching on chips dipped in the mild salsa.

“Well how do you plan to select the kids. Surely you’re not planning to just accept any kid begging to go on your ship.” Tony says.

“Once you get all the paperwork done. We were going to make another announcement online, advertising the camp. We will then post a test for potential campers and chaperones online. We will make our selection from that. Leave it to us to determine who among the applicants we will select.” Though I already have a list of campers to accept. I do intend to look at the others just in case there is anyone not mentioned in the continuities who could be good allies for us.

“Haaaaa. JARVIS pull up everything we need to know about starting an after school camp. And try to get in contact with Jane Foster. And any word yet from our lawyers about the Bucky new case?” Looks like Tony is satisfied with our answers so far, and is now getting down to business. This is why we needed to see Tony during our outing. Dealing with the future problems will be much easier now that the Avengers’ leaders are on our side.

~~~~~~~~~~

End notes:

Well, now you readers know how the kids are going to join the fun! But I have a question for you all. Which kids should join the camp? Of course the obvious are going to join, Jack, Raf, Miko, Cody, Frankie, and all the Marvel kids like Peter, Harley, Kamala, etc. But should I include kids from other Transformers continuities? Like Alexis, Chip, Sam, Micaela, Sari, or anyone else? And if anyone has any ideas for oc’s, leave a bio on the comments and I might add them if I think they will be a good fit in the plots I have outlines.

Chapter Text

~~~3rd person~~~

The Young Sparks are all in their club house, arranging their seats in front of a large blank wall. But it won’t be blank for long. Jump Start, the Vehicon technician-in-training is rigging up a holoscreen projector to project an Earth movie onto the blank wall!

"Why didn’t Aurora tell us about the Earth Slumber Parties before? This is going to be so much fun! All of us relaxing together, eating tasty food, laughing at poor human movies! And best of all? I can’t think of a way this could go bad and result in Ratchet yelling at us again!" Mark says as he helps Michal hold up a large metal sheet.

"Bee says that Aurora was worried we would get bored with a slumber party and thought we would like physically active games more. But after Ratchet lectured her, she thought this would be a good way to keep us all off his radar.” Michal replied from his side of the metal sheet. “But Rose, how much longer are you going to take!? This thing is getting heavy!"

"These cubes need to be placed at just the right spot Mark. Otherwise the makeshift table might be uneven. And then our snacks might fall." Rose answers, as she stacks 4 small towers of empty energon cubes to use as their table’s legs.

"Would you rather the snacks fall or this heavy thing?" Mark whimpers as his arms start to tremble.

"Alright. Alright. You can bring it over. No more to the left. My left! Now more to your side Mark. Stop! Now set it down gently. Perfect!" Rose directs.

Once the table is finished Mark and Michal collapses on some seats to recover. "Finally! Now all we need is to fill it with some taste treats. Hey Steve? Where are the treats?" Mark yells.

"I don’t have them. Bee said he would bring the treats. Apparently, Lady Aurora wanted to make something special for our slumber party." Steve answers as he carries stacks of empty energon cubes to use as bowls for said treats.

"Well where is Bee? He’s late! He said he would be here to help us set up after he puts PC down for his recharge, but he never showed up!" Mark sulked.

"Oh give him a break." Steve defends. "From what he’s told me, he’s never sparksat before. He was the youngest among the Autobots. And he most definitely never sparksat a new spark before."

Rose joins in to defend Bee. "Yeah. You remember your first time needing to spark sit your first new spark sibling, don’t you Mark? Needing to keep them from breaking anything with their strength they are still learning how to control, keeping them away from dangerous devices they could hurt themselves with, trying to make them go places they don’t want to. And Bee’s sibling is so much bigger than him! I’m sure spark sitting PC must be even harder… Maybe one of us should go check on him?" Rose asks in real worry now.

"Naaaa. You know what Lord Megatron says, ‘you learn best by doing.’ Or something like that. I’m sure if Bee was really in danger he’d comm someone." Mitch answers as he flops down in his seat. Not worried in the least for Bumblebee. "Instead of worrying about Bee, how about we get to know our newest member?" Mitch stares expectantly at Blades.

“Me?” Blades asks.

“Yeah. How’re you settling in with the whole peace thing?” Mitch asks.

“Well. Okay I guess.” Blades answers vaguely.

“No need to hold back.” Steve tries to encourage. “Tell us the details. What does ‘I guess’ mean?”

“Well-“ Blades starts twiddling his digits nervously as he tries to figure out how to explain his situation. “It’s just that, everyone in my team seems to have found a job they like. Chase is reviewing the new laws and rules and talking with Aurora and Megatron about them, Boulder is working on the remodeling of the Nemesis with Shockwave when he’s not in the lab help with any inventions he and Wheeljack are working on, even Heatwave is starting to get into the liaison work with the humans that Aurora has him doing, but I’m still trying to find of job to do myself! And that is one of the requirements of joining the NCC! What if Megatron kicks me out for taking too long?!” Blades is panicking by the end of his rant.

“Lord Megatron is not going to kick you out for taking too long. He may assign a job for you to do until you decide on one yourself but he’s not going to dump you on the edge of the galaxy or something like that.” Steve comforts. “But why are you having such a hard time? I thought you mentioned that you did EMR work for the Rescue Bots and liked it? You could just expand on that and work in the medibay. We have 2 very competent medics who would be happy to mentor you.”

“That’s the problem! I’m afraid to ask Ratchet or Knockout to mentor me! You’ve heard how they argue! Can you imagine how bad it will be for me if I ask them to teach me?! And with Knockout carrying and having mood swings now, it will only get worse!” Blades explains in clear terror at the thought.

“Hm, you got a point.” Steve answers not even able to think of a way to counter that argument to comfort Blades.

“Pft! Yeah! Their arguments have only gotten worse since Knockout started carrying.” Mark laughs. “Even Breakdown and Bulkhead haven’t been able to do anything about it! I heard that when Breakdown tried to intervene, worried that the argument might threaten his sparkling and Conjunx’s health, Knockout snapped at him and was all like. ‘Frag off, Breakdown! This is between the medics! If you interfere again I’ll weld you codpiece closed!’” Mark tries to imitate Knockout.

“Pft hahaha! I think Breakdown is still afraid of his Conjunx after that threat!“ Butch laughs remembering Breakdown’s weary expression. “Can you imagine what any test would be like with them? ‘Blades! Quick! How do you weld back on a limb after it’s been torn off?!’” Butch asks Blades trying to imitate Ratchet. Even grabbing a pipe from somewhere to use as a make believe wrench.

Blades though, becomes very panicked at this make believe test with the make believe medics. “Uh uh first you scan the wound for trauma. Then you weld the energon lines shut to stop the energon loss. Then you-“

“‘No no no.’” Mark interrupts with a smug tone, trying to sound like Knockout. “‘That’s the old way to do it that only fossils like this one still do. Now what is the new and better way to do it, Blades?’”

“‘Who’re you calling a fossil you over polished nurse bot?! You are supposed to do it this way otherwise this will happen! No ‘new’ way can counter that if you don’t do it!’” Butch tries to imitates Ratchet again wile still swinging his pipe, pretending wrench.

“‘On the contrary you rusted crank shaft! This new study shows that it is actually not as important to do that! So you should be focusing on this first when you fix a torn limb, Blades!’” Mark answers still trying to sound like Knockout.

“Guys! Knock it off!” Clark suddenly yells at the 2 jokesters. “Can’t you see you’re scaring Blades?” Everyone looks to where Clark is pointing, and finally notices that Blades had slid off his seat and is sitting in a fetal position on the floor. Rose and Steve are with him trying to calm him down.

“Is okay Blades. Mark and Butch are just joking. That’s what they do. I’m sure it wouldn’t be that bad.” Steve tries to comfort.

“Yeah. And maybe you can just choose 1 to be your mentor? Who says you need to have both be your mentors?” Rose asks.

“But knowing how competitive those 2 are, even if you tried to only choose 1, the other would still try to but in and add his own opinions to the lessons.” Butch points out.

“Shut up, Butch! You’re not helping!” Rose and Steve yell at him at the same time.

"Hi everyone! Sorry I’m late!" Bee suddenly shouts as he walks through the door. Piles of full energon cubes barely not falling out of his arms. “I know I promised to help set up, but PC would not settle down! He just wanted to play and get into everything! Resulting in me needing to clean everything in Aurora’s room at least twice! And… Uh. What happened to Blades?” Bumblebee’s rambled explanation trails off as he notices the state Blades is in.

“Oh nothing. He’s just going through job hunting troubles. And Rose figured that was what was holding you up.” Sam explains as he and several others step up to help Bee with his load. “So, being the older sibling is not as easy as you thought huh?”

“Understatement! I never imagined being the older sibling was so hard! I don’t remember being that much trouble to my older pseudo siblings. And if I was, I’m surprised they put up with me! If Hot Rod, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, and all the other younglings who sparksat me are still alive, I’m gonna to owe them all a HUGE thank you and apologize when they get here!” Bee dramatically flops down on a seat as soon as the snacks are safely deposited onto the table.

“Hahahaha! Don’t worry Bee. We’ve all been there! My younger sibling, Tap, had a knack for finding and pushing buttons! I was sooooo relieved when he grew up enough to understand that just because the buttons are pretty when you push them, doesn’t mean it always leads to a good thing when you do! But I guess it is what lead him to like monitor work so much.” Rose tells her story as she, Steve, and Blades joins the others around the snack table. Now able to laugh at her old troubles in sparksitting.

“Ugh! I haven’t even thought about when PC starts transforming and gets opposable thumbs! Sparksitting him then is going to be a nightmare! And he’s so much bigger than me! Quick! Someone change topics! I need to get my mind off of this before I delve into an anxiety attack!” Bee pleads looking like he really is about to start crying.

“Okay! How about telling us what Aurora made for us?” Michal asks as he digs into the energon cubes that Bee brought. No one is quite sure what he pulls out though. It look like oddly shaped energon blue solid bubbles, all clumped together in chunks only a little smaller than a worker’s palm. “It’s the right color for energon. But it’s really light. It feels like a shell. Is there something inside?”

“No. Aurora said it’s her attempt at replicating Earth popcorn. Apparently it’s a staple to eat it while watching movies. I’m not quite sure how she made it. Something about injecting water into Energon jellies, somehow replicating the science of how popcorn pops, then cooking them until they harden? She said the end result isn’t exactly like what she was aiming for but it’s still good.” Bee tries to explain as he picks up a small clump of energon popcorn. He examines it briefly before taking a bite of it. It has a subtle crunch. But quickly softens in his mouth plate. It’s harder than jelled energon but not so hard that it is difficult to chew. In fact, it is rather fun to chew!

“It tastes just like normal energon. But the air bubbles in it make it fun to chew! Aurora said she made it in different flavors. Sweet, savory, and salty.” Bee explains as he reaches into different energon cubes. Pulling out different colored energon popcorns from each one.

Emboldened after Bumblebee’s successful test, the others all pull out chunks of energon popcorn to try for themselves. “Mmm! This is good! And so interesting with the different flavors!” Sam says as he eats a teal popcorn.

“Yeah! I can see why humans would like to chew it while watching movies! It’s light and fun, but not so much so that it’s distracting! You are so lucky Bee! Having Aurora as your Caer, you must get to try so many different treats!” Bolt says as he gobbled up a purple popcorn.

But Bee started choking on his popcorn after he heard Bolt. “Cough! What?! Cough! Caer?! Cough! Aurora?! Me?! What?! What are you talking about?!” Bee manages to ask as he tries to clear his fuel line.

"You don’t need to keep it a secret from us. It’s kind of obvious really. The way you happily hang off every word she says, the way you joyfully react when she calls, the way she hovers around you, the way she keeps asking how you’re doing, all the special custom treats she makes you, and she called you her ward’s sibling! If that’s not an obvious sign I don’t know what is!" Michal listened off every sign on his digits.

"I’m just being a good soldier! She was my commander just a month ago! She does that to all the younglings!" Bee tries to argue.

"Really? Cause even we don’t react like that to Lord Megatron. And we’re all young sparks too. Yet she hasn’t done any of that to us." Sam adds in.

Bee looks like he’s about to object again. But then he freezes. Then he wilts in his seat and covers his reddening face plate. "You mechs can’t tell Aurora this. Or anyone for that matter! It happened millennia ago! On accident! No one can know I accidentally made a one-sided parental imprint on my commander!" Bumblebee confesses and pleads.

"One-sided? Did you not just hear all the signs I listed? It sure doesn’t seem one sided to me!" Michal pointed out.

"But… But she’s my commander. It’s not appropriate for a soldier to imprint on his commander officer. And most of that is new. She didn’t do most of that stuff until recently!” Bee explains in confusion.

Clark shrugs his confusion. “In case you’ve forgotten Bee. She’s not you commander anymore. She is a secretary. And I can’t be sure, but maybe they reason she didn’t act like a carrier is because she didn’t think it was a good idea to make it public? Not because of any problem with you or anything!”

Clark quickly corrects once he notices Bee looking heartbroken. His self doubt coming to the wrong conclusions with that statement. “I mean maybe it was for your protection!? Like, maybe she was worried that Lord Megatron would kill you or sparklingnap you if she made it obvious she had imprinted on you? I mean he did…you know. Anyway. So now that the war is over, maybe she feels safe to be the carrier to you she has always wanted to be?”

Bee looks relieved by the end of Clark’s theorizing. “I guess that makes sense. So you think she and I are real carrier and sparkling? Not just one-sided?”

“Not one-sided at all.” Steve answers as he takes a seat next to Bee. “But if you’re will not sure maybe try asking her?”

“I’m-I’m not sure about that.” But before Bee can continue, Jump Start suddenly hops up from where he’s been crouching over the holoscreen projector.

“Hey, guys! I finally got this old thing hooked up right! Let’s watch some movies!” Jump Start pushes a button and an energon blue screen appears on the wall.

“About time! What should we watch?” Michal asks as he and everyone else who is still standing finds a seat.

“Well, thanks to Soundwave, we can watch pretty much anything on Earth.” Jump Start explains as he picks up a remote for the holoscreen.

“Remember. Aurora said to only watch movies rated for our age group.” Bee reminds.

“No problem Bee. I did my research. The highest rating is NC-17, which means for viewers older than 17 Earth years. The youngest of us here is 12,450 Earth years old. So we can watch anything the humans have made!” Michal explains.

“Well. Okay. If you’re sure. So which movie should we watch? The humans have made quite a few.” Bee asks as he looks at the list of movies Jump Start is scrolling through.

“How about 1 recommendation to us first? Knockout’s been to quite a few drive in movies and he suggested several. Hey! Here’s one he recommended!” Michal still the remote from Jump Start and selected a movie they had just passed. “30 Days of Night. And it’s just rated R. So it’s not even the highest rating. I’m sure it’s just sparkling stuff. We can just laze to it and make fun of the plot and primitive special effects.”

“I guess it’s as good a movie as any on the list.” Steve said. And everyone agreed to it. So Michal pressed play and they all got comfortable. But little did they know the Pandora’s Box they had opened.

zzzzzzzzzz

The Stranger: Mr. and Mrs. Sheriff. So sweet. So helpless against what is coming.

Stella: He's just trying to freak us out.

Jake: It's working.

Eben: We have more important things to think about. I'll check on Gus.

The Stranger: Check on Gus. Board the windows. Try to hide. They're coming. This time they're gonna take me with them... honor me. Yeah. For all that I have done.

Eben: They? Who are they?

“This Stranger sounds like a raving lunatic. Are we actual supposed to be scared from this?” Butch asks as he munches on his Energon popcorn.

zzzzzzzzzz

Doug: I kept shootin', and they just kept comin'. It's like they're all cooked up on PCP or something.

zzzzzzzzzz

“AAAAAAAAHHH!” Someone screamed! But everyone was too busy staring at the screen to note who.

Girl Vampire: I'm done playing with this one. You wanna play with me now?

zzzzzzzzzz

The Stranger: No way out of town. No one coming to help.

Jake: Shut up.

The Stranger: The cold isn't the weather, that's death approaching.

zzzzzzzzzz

“Is-is that human head support to look real? It doesn’t look real at all! Right guys?” Mitch asks trying to sound like he is not shaken.

zzzzzzzzzz

Marlow: [speaking in vampire language] There is no escape. No hope. Only hunger and pain.

zzzzzzzzzz

Marlow: It took us centuries to make them believe that we are no more than just bad dreams. We should give them no reason to suspect.

zzzzzzzzzz

Jake: [shaking uncontrollably] Sh-she was...j-just a g-girl...

Stella: [Embracing Jake] It's ok.

zzzzzzzzzz

Eben: They're burning down the town.

Denise: Nobody will know what happened. They'll just think it was some horrible accident.

zzzzzzzzzz

Stella: What did you do to yourself?

Eben: What I had to. Should I go after them?

[Stella shakes her head]

Eben:It's almost dawn. We made it.

Stella:Eben, Dawn! [starts crying]

As the credits play, the young sparks can only sit in silence for a click.

“Like-like I said. Poor quality stupid Earth movies. None of that seemed real or scary at all! Haha haha ha~” Mark tries to laugh, but it is very weak.

“I was scared!” Blades blurts out from where he had been hiding in Bee’s side. “The way that vampire jumped on that truck and tore into it to get to the humans inside! What if they try to do that to us through our glass windows?! They could tear out vital internal components!” Blades was practically streaking in fear now.

“Blades. This was just a made up movie. There’s no such thing as vampires. I’ve been living on Earth for years and never saw anything like them.” Bee tries to comfort Blades.

“But-but you heard Marlow! They’ve deliberately been hiding so everyone would forget they were real! That way they could launch a surprise attack! What if they really are real and hiding?!” Blades asks in hysterics. And no one could think of a counter argument for that.

Clank!

“Aaahh!”

“Everyone calm down! That-that just sounded like something fell in the corridors.” Michal tries to explain.

“Fell? Or was knocked down? And who could have knocked it down? It’s late in the night cycle. And the few mechs up for night duty should be in the main areas. Not down here. Where it’s just us. Where no one would be able to get to us in time to save us if we were attacked!~” Rose’s observation had everyone on edge by the end of it.

“This-this is ridiculous. Here! I’ll show you nothing’s out there.” Bee gets up and confidently strides to the door. He hesitates for only a nano-click before pressing the button to open the door, and walking out.

The others all follow behind him. Worried what might happen to him if he’s left alone. In the corridor, there is nothing at all.

“See? Nothing. We are freaking out over nothing.” Bee says sounding more confide than he honestly feels.

“I’m also not seeing anything that could have made that clank sound. So where did it come from? And I ask again, who made it?” Rose asks as she tries to hide behind Bee.

“Is it just me? Or is it getting colder? And I know the Nemesis has always been dark, but has it always been this dark?” Blades asks.

“That’s impossible! The environmental controls don’t let the inside of the ship get too cold.“ Tipp explains.

“But I can see my own vents! And normally I can see the end of the corridors! But now I can’t!” Everyone soon realizes that Blades is right! They can’t see very far into the corridors like they usually can. And all of them can see their vents too! That is not normal!

“Uh, maybe the ship moved into a really cold place. It takes a few clicks for the environmental controls to adapt to the new outside environment and regulate the temperatures inside.” Jump Start tries to explain.

“‘A really cold place’? Like Barrow, Alaska?” Steve asks getting really scared himself.

“That’s not a real place! … Right?” Sam asks Michal. His voice raising an octave.

“I’m sure it’s just the weather outside!” Bee says still trying to sound confident. “Nothing weird at all.”

"That cold ain’t the weather, youngling."

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!”

Once Bee opens his optics again after screaming his helm off, he sees Megatron and Aurora standing together looking at them all like they have lost their processors. “M-Megatron! And Aurora! It’s-it’s just you!” Bee says in relief. Everyone else finally registers Bee’s words after another click of screaming, and they finally calm down too.

“L-lord Megatron! Oh scrap am I glad it’s just you!”

“Oh thank Primus!”

“I’ve never been so scared in my life.”

Once the scare has worn off, all the young spark realize the position they are in. In their fright they had all reacted in different ways! Blades had jumped into Bee’s arms. Rose had glitched and was still on the floor offline. And everyone else was hugging and clutching each other in various states.

“Yes, it’s just us. Now will someone care to explain what you young sparks are doing out here screaming your helms off?” Megatron asks, but it came off as more of an order.

~~~1 explanation later~~~

~~~Bumblebee’s POV~~~

Back in the club room, we are all kneeling on the floor completely ashamed of our actions. “When I told you to only watch movies rated for our age group, I ment your developmental age. Not your Earth year age. We went over that in my Translations test!” Aurora scolds us all. And I don’t know why, but this scolding feels so much worse than the last time she did it. I mean, I always hated disappointing my commander and secret Caer figure, but this somehow feels worse. Even though I don’t know what the difference is.

“Ooooh. Yeah, in retrospect, that makes more sense.” Michal admits next to me.

“Haaaaaaah. Honestly. I’m starting to think it’s you young sparks who need chaperones.” Aurora grumbled to herself. That hurts. I haven’t had a sparksitter in vorns! But considering what happened tonight and the last time. I can’t really argue. And judging from my friends’ expressions, neither can they.

“I still don’t get why you were all screaming.” Megatron asks from where he was watching Aurora scold us.

“It was that line you said. ‘That cold ain’t the weather.’ It’s from the movie! The stranger said that before the vampires attacked! And why would you say that anyway?!” Blades asks. He still sounds jittery after his scare.

“You all were wondering why the ship was colder and darker than normal. I was going to explain that Soundwave commed me, alerting me that Wheeljack’s latest invention shorted out the environmental controls and lights.” Megatron calmly explains.

“Well, why are you 2 down here this late at night anyway? We thought we were alone in this area of the Nemesis.” Mitch asks next.

“We just got back from our outing Earthside. The meetings with a few humans took longer than we thought so we got back late. I wanted to check in on how your slumber party was going before I went to berth, and Lord Megatron decided to join me.” Aurora explains. “Also, out of all the movies you could have watched, why did you choose this one?”

“Uh. Knockout recommended it? He said he saw it at a drive in movie and liked it.” Michal answers.

“Haaaah. I’m going to have a talk with Knockout tomorrow morning.” Aurora says tiredly, making her way to the door.

“Well. One good thing that came out of all this, I’m sure all of you will be on your best behavior for a while now whenever I give you an order, right?” Megatron asks menacingly. His vampiric fangs gleam in the low lighting. I feel a cold shiver down my back strut. He wouldn’t actually try to eat us like those vampires did in the movie, right?

“YES, SIR!” All of us still yell simultaneously, just in case.

“Megatron! Don’t traumatize the young sparks anymore than they already are!” Aurora chastises him. “All of you have a good recharge, and forget that movie.”

But as Aurora and Megatron start to leave, I have conflicting feelings. I actually want to recharge with Aurora tonight! I felt so safe when she hugged me. I’m sure recharging cuddling with her will feel even better! But that feels like it would be stepping over so many boundaries!But then, I Remember what Clark and Steve said earlier about us seeming like a real Caer and youngling. So, in a burst of boldness, I shoot up and nervously grasp 1 of Aurora’s digits. “Uh-u-uh.” Despite my bold action, my new voice decides to betray me and doesn’t want to cooperate! I can feel my whole face plate heating up!

“Well, scout?” Megatron suddenly says, startling me out of my stutter. “Spit it out already.”

“Can I recharge with you tonight?!” I shout out in mortification. Regretting it immediately and wanting to jump off the Nemesis in mortification. What am I doing?! I am not a sparkling! Why would I ask Aurora that?! Just because all my friends say that we have a real Caer/youngling bond?! Just cause she has been treating me more like her youngling lately?

“Sure.” That 1 word from Aurora gets my attention turned back to Aurora. “If that’s what you want, you’re welcomed to recharge with me anytime Bee.” Aurora gives me a small smile. I am almost tempted to call it a loving smile! But what matters is she’s accepting me to go recharge with her! She’s not scolding me for being a sparkling, or overstepping, or trying to intrude or anything! Could my friends be right? Could Aurora really have imprinted on me and become my real adopted Caer?

“You mechlings don’t mind my stealing Bee from you, do you?” Aurora asks. I turn around hoping I didn’t hurt anyone’s feelings! I had wanted to recharge with Aurora so much tonight after that scare, I had completely forgotten how the others might feel about me abandoning them and our slumber party!

“No problem with us!”

“Yeah Bee! You need to spend more time with your Ca- I mean with Aurora!”

“We’ll see you tomorrow!”

All their words sound like encouragement. But their tones sound more teasing and mocking. Are they enjoying my embarrassing attempt to initiate some Caer/youngling time with Aurora?

“Alright. Then good night everyone.” Aurora and Megatron turn to go and I follow after her.

Once we got to her hubsuite and parted ways with Megatron, she even let me cuddle up to her as we recharged! It was the best recharge of my life.

~~~~~~~~~~

End Notes:

Sorry this chapter took so long. I wasn’t satisfied with my first attempt so I rewrote the whole chapter, I had to pick up extra shifts at work, and I had such a hard time with the horror movie part. Hope everyone likes it though.🍿

Unfortunately the next chapter might take a while to write. My bosses are forecasting more busy work weeks with the major holidays coming up, and I’m going to have to experiment to determine what pov to write the next chapter in. So please be patient with me.