𝚂𝚘𝚗𝚐 : 𝙻𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚕𝚢 - 𝚋𝚢 𝙽𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚆𝚊𝚐𝚗𝚎𝚛

" 𝕊𝕠 𝕎𝕙𝕠 ℂ𝕒𝕟 𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕡 𝕄𝕖 𝕀𝕗 𝕀 𝔻𝕖𝕔𝕚𝕕𝕖

𝕋𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕐𝕠𝕦'𝕣𝕖 𝕄𝕪 𝔻𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕪? "

𝕄𝔼𝔾𝔸𝕋ℝ𝕆ℕ allowed his pedes to lead him to Rung's office, he hoped muscle memory would do him well, as his mind was a bit occupied. Thoughts of them became uncontrollable, he couldn't force himself out of his reminiscing - if he could even call it that. Instead he tried to remember the brighter days they shared. The few filled with smiles as they moved along the surface of the world - something rare for a miner such as himself.

Without realizing it, the door to Rung's office slid open. Rung placed his model Ark back on the shelf with the several other ships, gently laying it in order as he turned around to Megatron. "Nice to see you again, Megatron." He said as he pulled his chair along, "Take a seat and we can resume where we did previously."

In that moment Megatron had forgotten when he had last met with Rung. Had it been a day? A week maybe? It couldn't have possibly been a month - that was absurd. Though, it felt almost like a millennia; his time perception always shifted, even momentarily, when he thought of his past.

Without a word, he moved to take a seat where he had previously; in the same exact position, with a less terrified expression, but the same fears. The fear of resurfacing the unforgivable actions of his past and who was thrown away for his lost cause. But the progress of all living beings was to overcome their fears, whatever they may be.

"I suppose I should begin with answering your question from yesterday." Megatron finally said, cutting through the deafening silence.

Rung did nothing but listen to him, activating his natural reaction of suspicion and uncertainty. Eons of being a warmonger had taken its toll, and he found himself looking desperately for any indications on Rung's face. Nothing betrayed the psychologist's original intentions - to help, but that's what Megatron feared. The unconditional want to help someone - it had been years since he last saw it directed at him - and even then he had quickly stomped it out to the best of his ability.

"The day I met you was the day I was arrested. It was the day that had changed my life in several ways. One of them was because of... because of (Y/N)." He had finally spoken their name, but it felt almost sin to do so.

"I remember the bar fight beginning - a friend of mine - Impactor, had jumped into the fray of it. I remember ducking for cover, hoping the chaos would pass. And then (Y/N) ran in. I was so afraid that they would be harmed in the middle of it all that - that I pushed them back out of the bar.

(Y/N) was more fragile than the normal miner types. They weren't made for mining at all. Their alt-mode betrayed their profession and anyone who saw them working in the mines would assume that they were a criminal put to work, but (Y/N) wasn't. They were forged in the mines and stayed there by choice. They had the chance to move higher along the caste system, but decided against it.

It was natural for me to push them outside, to move them away from the danger. I cared for them and they were... so much younger than I was."

Megatron went silent; allowing for his words to fall over himself and Rung in waves. His head fell into his servos and he found himself staring at the floor in despair. He had been the death of (Y/N) and the truth of it came back to haunt him once again.

When Rung realized his patient was spiraling downwards, he decided to intervene. He almost decided against it, though. Megatron - the level-headed ex-leader of the Decepticons, was falling apart on him and Rung had only a few ideas of what he might do if the psychiatrist dug too deep. Nothing as bad as Whirl, he was sure, but something that may halt their progress; such as stop coming to their appointments.

So he asked a question - yet another that Megatron did not wish to answer. "If (Y/N) was so important to you... why were they not mentioned in your autobiography? Even Terminus had his place in your book - short lived as it may have been, but a place nonetheless."

He hesitated and cursed himself for doing so. Megatron was fully aware of why he didn't place (Y/N) in his book, but the reason had been one of the many steps he took that led him to his place as an ex-warmonger. "Because I knew what others would do." He admitted. "They would use (Y/N) as an advantage over me."

Suddenly Rung's expression shifted - not by much, but it was noticeable. Suddenly, everything clicked together in its intricacies and he had learned that this new level of Megatron had been hidden long before the war. It was his job to understand Megatron; and this forever budded love was one of the keys to do so. He was determined to learn more, but he had to be gentle. It was obvious this side of him had been untouched for eons and even then was still sensitive.

One question remained unanswered to Rung, though. If (Y/N) had known Megatron long before the war, as many of his trusted officers did, then why had no one else mentioned them? Why was it left untouched for so long? And why did it still pain him - even when he lost Terminus, he removed the old mech's name from his book.

"He taught me not to get attached."

Those were Megatron's words when he asked why he removed Terminus' name from the dedications. Although, he could not say the same for (Y/N), as they had never been mentioned in Megatron's novel at all. Still, Megatron betrayed his own words. It was obvious he cared much for the people he had to figuratively and literally leave behind.

Terminus and (Y/N) were both lost before the height of the war, but as many of Megatron's closely knit officers were, they too knew Megatron before the war. Had none of them mentioned Terminus or (Y/N)? Had none of them gotten the chance to meet them? Or was it taboo for Decepticons to even mention their names?

"I suppose that's hardly an explanation is it?" Megatron started again. "I... I should explain it from the beginning. I think it's the only way to understand what - what (Y/N) meant to me."

The hesitance in his voice was obvious, but Rung pushed it aside for now. "Continue." He urged.

_________________________________________________________

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

𝚂𝚘𝚗𝚐 : 𝚂𝚊𝚍 𝙼𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚎 - 𝚋𝚢 𝙿𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚁𝚘𝚋𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚘𝚗

"Megatron!" Shouted a loud voice from the other side of the tunnel. "Come quickly, look!"

"What is it Impactor?" The young miner approached the other. "What did you find this time?"

Before Impactor could answer the other's question, Megatron's jaw nearly dropped. Utterly speechless, he pointed to the little bot behind him, optics wide, mouth unhinged, and hoping uselessly for an explanation. All he got in return was a 'shhh' from his friend.

"Impactor!" Megatron whispered loudly. "What is that!? Why is there a minibot here!?"

"Quiet, Megatron! If the supervisors see them, who knows what they'll do!" Impactor tried to usher the smaller bot in front of him. "C'mon kid, introduce yourself."

The little (A/C) bot did nothing, only trembled as they rushed to get behind Impactor again. "You have got to be kidding me." The mech mumbled impatiently. "Anyways, this is (Y/N), a newspark, not a minibot."

"Where in the Pits did you get a newspark!? They don't just appear out of nowhere!"

"Actually, they do." Impactor was insistent on proving his point. "A friend of mine showed me a fresh spark he dug up by accident and (Y/N) here formed out of it by pure chance."

"These types of things don't happen by 'pure chance'! You need a very scientific and specific amount of Sentio Metalico! If you give too much or too little... Who knows what could happen!"

"Well the kid's fine, so I guess we have nothing to worry about! There's nothing wrong with them." Impactor shot back.

"Well, what are you going to do with them? You can't just keep them here, the supervisors will find out, punish you, and then ship (Y/N) off to the Functionists for a job interview." Megatron explained.

All he got in return from his friend was a blank, but stubborn look. It was obvious the mech didn't plan on letting his new friend being released into the hands of the Senate or the Functionists. "You have to be kidding me - Impactor we can't keep them! Look - they're not even meant for mining! No treads, no drills, nothing! They have wings! You brought a flier online!"

"Hey! They haven't changed shape yet, you don't know - maybe they're - they're door wings!" His friend stayed stubborn.

"You made fun of me for being naive and a 'hopeless literature-romantic'! Now you're just being impractical! They have a chance at a better life than us - than this!"

"Megatron don't start with me about that." Impactor's sudden change in attitude caught him off guard. "You're always preaching 'bout a new era, one without the functionists, without the Senate. Why are you deciding what to do with the kid before they can have a say in it? Why should we hand them over to our oppressors'?"

"I... I get a say in this?" The newspark finally spoke up. "I - I want to stay with Impactor!"

The sudden bravery shined in their optics and reflected off of the other two miners. (Y/N) had been entirely silent for the whole encounter, but at the given chance to speak for themselves, they jumped at it. The only problem was, it was the opposite of what Megatron had hoped the newspark would say.

"Look Impactor, they're attached to you! That's not good! If they become to dependent then they'll-"

"They'll what?!" He hissed. "They'll become weaker? Be taken advantage of? I'll take care of them Megatron, so you can shut up and help me, or you can shut up and leave." Impactor said finally, turning from his friend. "Just so you know, if you tell a spark about this whole ordeal, then I'm coming after you. I've lost too many friends already, I'm not loosing another one. Especially not this one."

Impactor had walked a few feet away before Megatron called back out to his friend. "Impactor, wait! I said that this wasn't a wise course of action, but I never said I wouldn't help you." His words caught Impactor's attention. "I will help you, because you were right. (Y/N) needs to decide what they think is best for them, and until then we'll just have to take care of them; no matter what the Senate or the Functionists say." 

Turning around, Impactor smiled at his friend. "You finally came around." He muttered. "Then I suppose we have to get started. We're going to have to let the boss know we found a newspark - and then convince them to keep (Y/N) here in the mines."

"But how are we supposed to do that? I understand that he is not the brightest, but we would still need to by-pass the funcitonists."

"Don't worry, I don't think it would be that hard. We could use a few heavy duty transports. I'm sure when (Y/N) grows a little more, they'd do fine with that job."

"Still Impactor, they have a chance to live a better life than we do."

"But it's like you said Megatron. No matter what they, or you, or I transform into..."

"I still function."

_________________________________________________________

Another day passed after he had spoken to Rung about his initial meeting with (Y/N), one that catalyzed several interactions with others. With them so involved in the early stages of his life, how could he not think about them? How could he not think about the ways they changed his life?

He remembered their first conversation alone. Impactor had left them in Megatron's custody to report to their higher-ups and convince them to allow (Y/N) to stay with them in the mines. Though their alt-mode wasn't one designed for mining, they decided that (Y/N) would do best without the Senate or the Functionists hovering over their shoulder-plates.

They stayed silent for the majority of the conversation. Many awkward pauses and long silences with a few phrases in between, but Megatron still remembered (Y/N)'s words clearly. It wasn't as if he could forget, after all.

"(Y/N), do you wish to stay here in the mines?"

. . .

"Yes, I want to stay with Impactor, he's taking care of me."

. . .

"So you say, but is that what you want or is it what you think Impactor wants?"

. . .

"What I want is what Impactor wants."

. . .

"(Y/N) you don't have to do this for Impactor, you can do what you wish -"

"You misunderstand, Megatron. I want to stay with those I care about, you included."

. . .

There was a stunned silence from Megatron, one longer than the others, but he smiled in return.

. . .

"Then you will stay, I can promise you that (Y/N)."

. . .

"Thank you."