"We live and we learn to take one step at a time,
There's no need to rush,
It's like learning to fly,
Or falling in love,"

»«

Ratchet worked tirelessly on the formula, testing each new batch that he created in hopes that he could finally complete it and thus get to Dana faster. When he did, he would have to suppress the urge to just take her and run; he had no plan for breaking out, and if they were caught, Megatron would not hesitate to either never let him see her again, or kill him.

He was not about to do that to her.

Shockwave noticed the medic's meticulous work, finding his progress to be satisfactory as with each passing Earth day he became closer and closer to the final piece. Updates on his human companion's health status seemed to fuel him more than a cube of energon, so the scientist let him go without rations for a little while. Occasionally, the medic was forced to eat, but as quickly as he was given the cube he downed it and began working once more.

It was interesting, this Autobot's near obsession with the human. A species much lesser than himself, yet Ratchet did not seem to regard her as such. Shockwave perceived them to be close, though how close he was unsure. Certainly not much more than friends or partners; the medic was far too proud to stoop to intimacy with an inferior lifeform.

Shockwave was also intrigued by the affect she had on his master. Megatron was, at his best, ruthless and unforgiving even with his own Cybertronian kind; and he couldn't care less about the human race which tainted the planet below them. But not only had he toyed with her, then broke her, he had fixed her. Kidnapped another human for the sole purpose of putting her back together, because he did not trust even Soundwave to do the procedure correctly.

Megatron cared, whether he admitted it to himself or not. She had grabbed his attentions and held on so tightly he had begun to care about her own well-being. His fixation, Shockwave felt, was unhealthy.

Starscream had also noticed this, but he wanted to use the human for more malevolent purposes. If Megatron cared so much to give a lowly worm new life, then she could be his undoing. The second in command had already begun to plan, fully intending to use her as a means to bring Megatron to his knees, and give up control over the Decepticons. The only problem was the timing. When could he implement this idea?

Shockwave was pulled from his thoughts as the Autobot made a small sound of delight, most unlike him. The Decepticon scientist turned his optic onto the prisoner, who was looking at the screen in delight.

"I found it," Ratchet murmured. "I completed the formula!" He announced, looking at Shockwave expectantly.

His heavy footsteps echoed through the quiet lab as he took Ratchet's place, gazing at the screen for a long time before he pressed a few buttons. "Indeed. The formula is complete; thank you for your cooperation."

"I get to see her now," Ratchet demanded. "Take me to Dana."

Shockwave was a little surprised. The medic seemed to not care that they now held the key to reviving their planet, Cybertron. All he wanted was the human.

Why the human? It is simply illogical.

The scientist briefly tried to make sense of it, yet his thought processes went through loops and tangles that simply did not make sense to him. He decided to stop trying to understand, and simply contacted two drones to escort Ratchet to Megatron's quarters.

"You will be leaving shortly," Is all he said.

»«

Dana groaned and her legs shook as she gripped the cold, silver metal that held her up, her breaths unable to come fast enough as her body perspired.

"Megatron . . ."

"If you keep going, it will stop hurting." He instructed, a little short and frustrated. She was not making as much progress as he hoped, silently and angrily wondering if the procedure had even worked.

"It feels like my legs are being poked with a million needles." She snapped back, practically draped across his large fore-digit. It helped that most of her weight was off her legs, but they still seemed to scream in utter agony. She supposed it was a good thing she could feel anything at all.

But it hurt.

"Are you able to at least move them?" The warlord demanded.

Dana grunted in effort and pain as she glanced down, watching her legs as they almost miraculously started moving. She could barely believe it, and she would have been happy, if the motion didn't spark another round of agonizing pain.

"Yeah . . ." She glared. "Doesn't make any of this feel better."

"Put more weight on them," he insisted, slowly trying to shake her off a bit to encourage her. "Perhaps that will help."

Dana bit back angry choice words, sinking to her feet and making another sound of pain, but much to her surprise  the prickly sensation started to wane, and new sensations came to her legs.

A small sigh escapes her as the pain diminishes, and what could only be described as peace settles under her skin. She lifted her body off of his finger and readjusted her shirt, still using him as support while her legs trembled and struggled to maintain her wait. Almost weeks of immobilization had already atrophied them a significant amount.

The human woman took deep breaths as she kept her balance, staring at the metal digit in front of her. How odd it was, she thought, that the same hands that had hurt her before were now helping her. And Megatron, of all Decepticons . . . As much as she wanted to believe they were back to where they had been before, something kept nagging at the back of her mind, telling her to stay away.

I don't want to be hurt again.

"There," Megatron broke the silence, watching her as closely as always. "Do they work?"

"I think so," she replied, letting him go and taking a few steps back. She flinched as the occasional bit of pain flared up in her legs, but the device which now pulsed gently on her spine seemed to be doing its job. Every command resulted in immediate action, however she did note that it took some time for her to receive sensory indications. However, better late than never she suppose, instead focusing on her own movements.

"This is amazing." She breathed.

"An impressive feat of Decepticon engineering, isn't it?" Megatron stated proudly. "Shockwave never ceases to impress."

That earned him an unamused eyeroll. "You can't help but be full of yourself, can you?" She muttered, refocusing on her legs. With some reluctance, she admitted to herself that it was amazing. She could walk again, run, stand, whatever she wanted.

"I am only stating the truth-" he began when the doors open, Dana's head snapping up as bright orange and white caught her attention.

"Ratchet?" She called his name in disbelief as the medic was escorted by two drones into Megatron's private quarters, the warlord himself looking less than displeased by the interruption.

"Dana." Her Autobot partner murmured, something unspoken seeming to pass between the two of them. His optics were wide in wonderment, gazing at her, almost disbelieving that Shockwave's experiment had worked. There was a pause as the two took each other in, Dana wondering how Ratchet had gotten here, Ratchet  relieved that she was alive and well.

Megatron stepped aside when the Autobot decided to finally move, his footsteps clicking softly against the metal floor as he approached the desk, his servos still cuffed but that didn't stop him from giving his digit to Dana.

"Thank the Allspark you're alive." He said happily as his charge almost ran forward, her legs carrying her where she desired and hugging his digit tightly, mindful of his sensitive pads.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded softly, more happy than angry her guardian was here. Her green eyes sparkled when she looked up at him, comforted to the point of near tears.

"I came to help you." He replied gently, his gaze turning to Megatron and becoming stony. "I want ten minutes with her. Unsupervised." Ratchet demanded.

Megatron gazed at the pair for some time, feeling an odd sense of jealousy pass over, but it was gone as quickly as it had come, and so he thought nothing of it. "As you wish." He replied, gesturing for the Vehicons to leave, taking Ratchet's cuffs off before stalking out with them.

Dana looked at the medic in confusion. "What's going on?"

"I . . . This is my reward . . . For helping Megatron." Ratchet confessed, looking somewhat guilty. "I was told I could see you if I helped them complete the synthetic energon formula. And I did it."

"Why would you help them?" Dana shook her head. "If I had known, I would have never let you-"

"They plan to revive Cybertron." Ratchet interrupted to explain himself. "They are building a new Omega Lock, which is almost complete. How much time we have left, I don't know, but once it's done . . ."

Dana frowned, giving him an unhappy look. "They will use it on Earth first." Her expression became hurt, as the thought that Ratchet hadn't even taken her planet into account crossed her mind.

"I know," he sighed. "Which is why we need to find a way to escape, and warn the others. The last thing I want to do is destroy it, but . . . If it can be rebuilt once, surely it can be rebuilt again."

A smile returned to Dana's face, the human looking at him with an expression he couldn't quite place, but he understood she was feeling a sense of admiration for him. "That's the spirit." She murmured. "Alright, so what's the plan?"

"I don't have much of one." He confessed. "But it involves a lot of driving, finding an unused console and sending a message before the Decepticons can figure out were we are, and then more driving. Possibly a Groundbridge, if we're lucky."

"So, we're doing this all on a whim?" She asked.

"Yes." He confessed. "It's not much of a plan, and the odds of it working are slim-"

"It's the best plan I've heard all day." She grinned. "Tell me what I need to do."